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diff --git a/old/11526.txt b/old/11526.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f05d2ab..0000000 --- a/old/11526.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7502 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Summer on the Lakes, in 1843, by S.M. Fuller - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Summer on the Lakes, in 1843 - -Author: S.M. Fuller - -Release Date: March 9, 2004 [EBook #11526] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUMMER ON THE LAKES, IN 1843 *** - - - - -Produced by Paul Murray and PG Distributed Proofreaders - - - - -[Illustration: ARCHED ROCK AT MACKINAW] - - - - SUMMER ON THE LAKES - - IN 1843 - - BY - - S. M. FULLER - - - - MDCCCXLIV. - - - - -SUMMER ON THE LAKES. - - Summer days of busy leisure, - Long summer days of dear-bought pleasure, - You have done your teaching well; - Had the scholar means to tell - How grew the vine of bitter-sweet, - What made the path for truant feet, - Winter nights would quickly pass, - Gazing on the magic glass - O'er which the new-world shadows pass; - But, in fault of wizard spell, - Moderns their tale can only tell - In dull words, with a poor reed - Breaking at each time of need. - But those to whom a hint suffices - Mottoes find for all devices, - See the knights behind their shields, - Through dried grasses, blooming fields. - - - - -TO A FRIEND. - - Some dried grass-tufts from the wide flowery plain, - A muscle shell from the lone fairy shore, - Some antlers from tall woods which never more - To the wild deer a safe retreat can yield, - An eagle's feather which adorned a Brave, - Well-nigh the last of his despairing band, - For such slight gifts wilt thou extend thy hand - When weary hours a brief refreshment crave? - I give you what I can, not what I would, - If my small drinking-cup would hold a flood, - As Scandinavia sung those must contain - With which the giants gods may entertain; - In our dwarf day we drain few drops, and soon must thirst again. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - - Niagara, June 10, 1843. - -Since you are to share with me such foot-notes as may be made on the -pages of my life during this summer's wanderings, I should not be quite -silent as to this magnificent prologue to the, as yet, unknown drama. -Yet I, like others, have little to say where the spectacle is, for once, -great enough to fill the whole life, and supersede thought, giving us -only its own presence. "It is good to be here," is the best as the -simplest expression that occurs to the mind. - -We have been here eight days, and I am quite willing to go away. So -great a sight soon satisfies, making us content with itself, and with -what is less than itself. Our desires, once realized, haunt us again -less readily. Having "lived one day" we would depart, and become worthy -to live another. - -We have not been fortunate in weather, for there cannot be too much, or -too warm sunlight for this scene, and the skies have been lowering, with -cold, unkind winds. My nerves, too much braced up by such an atmosphere, -do not well bear the continual stress of sight and sound. For here there -is no escape from the weight of a perpetual creation; all other forms -and motions come and go, the tide rises and recedes, the wind, at its -mightiest, moves in gales and gusts, but here is really an incessant, an -indefatigable motion. Awake or asleep, there is no escape, still this -rushing round you and through you. It is in this way I have most felt -the grandeur--somewhat eternal, if not infinite. - -At times a secondary music rises; the cataract seems to seize its own -rhythm and sing it over again, so that the ear and soul are roused by a -double vibration. This is some effect of the wind, causing echoes to the -thundering anthem. It is very sublime, giving the effect of a spiritual -repetition through all the spheres. - -When I first came I felt nothing but a quiet satisfaction. I found that -drawings, the panorama, &c. had given me a clear notion of the position -and proportions of all objects here; I knew where to look for -everything, and everything looked as I thought it would. - -Long ago, I was looking from a hill-side with a friend at one of the -finest sunsets that ever enriched this world. A little cow-boy, trudging -along, wondered what we could be gazing at. After spying about some -time, he found it could only be the sunset, and looking, too, a moment, -he said approvingly "that sun looks well enough;" a speech worthy of -Shakspeare's Cloten, or the infant Mercury, up to everything from the -cradle, as you please to take it. - -Even such a familiarity, worthy of Jonathan, our national hero, in a -prince's palace, or "stumping" as he boasts to have done, "up the -Vatican stairs, into the Pope's presence, in my old boots," I felt -here; it looks really _well enough_, I felt, and was inclined, as you -suggested, to give my approbation as to the one object in the world that -would not disappoint. - -But all great expression, which, on a superficial survey, seems so easy -as well as so simple, furnishes, after a while, to the faithful observer -its own standard by which to appreciate it. Daily these proportions -widened and towered more and more upon my sight, and I got, at last, a -proper foreground for these sublime distances. Before coming away, I -think I really saw the full wonder of the scene. After awhile it so drew -me into itself as to inspire an undefined dread, such as I never knew -before, such as may be felt when death is about to usher us into a new -existence. The perpetual trampling of the waters seized my senses. I -felt that no other sound, however near, could be heard, and would start -and look behind me for a foe. I realized the identity of that mood of -nature in which these waters were poured down with such absorbing force, -with that in which the Indian was shaped on the same soil. For -continually upon my mind came, unsought and unwelcome, images, such as -never haunted it before, of naked savages stealing behind me with -uplifted tomahawks; again and again this illusion recurred, and even -after I had thought it over, and tried to shake it off, I could not help -starting and looking behind me. - -As picture, the Falls can only be seen from the British side. There they -are seen in their veils, and at sufficient distance to appreciate the -magical effects of these, and the light and shade. From the boat, as -you cross, the effects and contrasts are more melodramatic. On the road -back from the whirlpool, we saw them as a reduced picture with delight. -But what I liked best was to sit on Table Rock, close to the great fall. -There all power of observing details, all separate consciousness, was -quite lost. - -Once, just as I had seated myself there, a man came to take his first -look. He walked close up to the fall, and, after looking at it a moment, -with an air as if thinking how he could best appropriate it to his own -use, he spat into it. - -This trait seemed wholly worthy of an age whose love of _utility_ is -such that the Prince Puckler Muskau suggests the probability of men -coming to put the bodies of their dead parents in the fields to -fertilize them, and of a country such as Dickens has described; but -these will not, I hope, be seen on the historic page to be truly the age -or truly the America. A little leaven is leavening the whole mass for -other bread. - -The whirlpool I like very much. It is seen to advantage after the great -falls; it is so sternly solemn. The river cannot look more -imperturbable, almost sullen in its marble green, than it does just -below the great fall; but the slight circles that mark the hidden -vortex, seem to whisper mysteries the thundering voice above could not -proclaim,--a meaning as untold as ever. - -It is fearful, too, to know, as you look, that whatever has been -swallowed by the cataract, is like to rise suddenly to light here, -whether uprooted tree, or body of man or bird. - -The rapids enchanted me far beyond what I expected; they are so swift -that they cease to seem so; you can think only of their beauty. The -fountain beyond the Moss Islands, I discovered for myself, and thought -it for some time an accidental beauty which it would not do to leave, -lest I might never see it again. After I found it permanent, I returned -many times to watch the play of its crest. In the little waterfall -beyond, nature seems, as she often does, to have made a study for some -larger design. She delights in this,--a sketch within a sketch, a dream -within a dream. Wherever we see it, the lines of the great buttress in -the fragment of stone, the hues of the waterfall, copied in the flowers -that star its bordering mosses, we are delighted; for all the lineaments -become fluent, and we mould the scene in congenial thought with its -genius. - -People complain of the buildings at Niagara, and fear to see it further -deformed. I cannot sympathize with such an apprehension: the spectacle -is capable to swallow up all such objects; they are not seen in the -great whole, more than an earthworm in a wide field. - -The beautiful wood on Goat Island is full of flowers; many of the -fairest love to do homage here. The Wake Robin and May Apple are in -bloom now; the former, white, pink, green, purple, copying the rainbow -of the fall, and fit to make a garland for its presiding deity when he -walks the land, for they are of imperial size, and shaped like stones -for a diadem. Of the May Apple, I did not raise one green tent without -finding a flower beneath. - -And now farewell, Niagara. I have seen thee, and I think all who come -here must in some sort see thee; thou art not to be got rid of as easily -as the stars. I will be here again beneath some flooding July moon and -sun. Owing to the absence of light, I have seen the rainbow only two or -three times by day; the lunar bow not at all. However, the imperial -presence needs not its crown, though illustrated by it. - -General Porter and Jack Downing were not unsuitable figures here. The -former heroically planted the bridges by which we cross to Goat Island, -and the Wake-Robin-crowned genius has punished his temerity with -deafness, which must, I think, have come upon him when he sank the first -stone in the rapids. Jack seemed an acute and entertaining -representative of Jonathan, come to look at his great water-privilege. -He told us all about the Americanisms of the spectacle; that is to say, -the battles that have been fought here. It seems strange that men could -fight in such a place; but no temple can still the personal griefs and -strifes in the breasts of its visiters. - -No less strange is the fact that, in this neighborhood, an eagle should -be chained for a plaything. When a child, I used often to stand at a -window from which I could see an eagle chained in the balcony of a -museum. The people used to poke at it with sticks, and my childish heart -would swell with indignation as I saw their insults, and the mien with -which they were borne by the monarch-bird. Its eye was dull, and its -plumage soiled and shabby, yet, in its form and attitude, all the king -was visible, though sorrowful and dethroned. I never saw another of the -family till, when passing through the Notch of the White Mountains, at -that moment striding before us in all the panoply of sunset, the driver -shouted, "Look there!" and following with our eyes his upward-pointing -finger, we saw, soaring slow in majestic poise above the highest summit, -the bird of Jove. It was a glorious sight, yet I know not that I felt -more on seeing the bird in all its natural freedom and royalty, than -when, imprisoned and insulted, he had filled my early thoughts with the -Byronic "silent rages" of misanthropy. - -Now, again, I saw him a captive, and addressed by the vulgar with the -language they seem to find most appropriate to such occasions--that of -thrusts and blows. Silently, his head averted, he ignored their -existence, as Plotinus or Sophocles might that of a modern reviewer. -Probably, he listened to the voice of the cataract, and felt that -congenial powers flowed free, and was consoled, though his own wing was -broken. - -The story of the Recluse of Niagara interested me a little. It is -wonderful that men do not oftener attach their lives to localities of -great beauty--that, when once deeply penetrated, they will let -themselves so easily be borne away by the general stream of things, to -live any where and any how. But there is something ludicrous in being -the hermit of a show-place, unlike St. Francis in his mountain-bed, -where none but the stars and rising sun ever saw him. - -There is also a "guide to the falls," who wears his title labeled on his -hat; otherwise, indeed, one might as soon think of asking for a -gentleman usher to point out the moon. Yet why should we wonder at such, -either, when we have Commentaries on Shakspeare, and Harmonics of the -Gospels? - -And now you have the little all I have to write. Can it interest you? To -one who has enjoyed the full life of any scene, of any hour, what -thoughts can be recorded about it, seem like the commas and semicolons -in the paragraph, mere stops. Yet I suppose it is not so to the absent. -At least, I have read things written about Niagara, music, and the like, -that interested _me_. Once I was moved by Mr. Greenwood's remark, that -he could not realize this marvel till, opening his eyes the next morning -after he had seen it, his doubt as to the possibility of its being still -there, taught him what he had experienced. I remember this now with -pleasure, though, or because, it is exactly the opposite to what I -myself felt. For all greatness affects different minds, each in "its own -particular kind," and the variations of testimony mark the truth of -feeling. - -I will add a brief narrative of the experience of another here, as being -much better than anything I could write, because more simple and -individual. - -"Now that I have left this 'Earth-wonder,' and the emotions it excited -are past, it seems not so much like profanation to analyze my feelings, -to recall minutely and accurately the effect of this manifestation of -the Eternal. But one should go to such a scene prepared to yield -entirely to its influences, to forget one's little self and one's little -mind. To see a miserable worm creep to the brink of this falling world -of waters, and watch the trembling of its own petty bosom, and fancy -that this is made alone, to act upon him excites--derision?--No,--pity." - -As I rode up to the neighborhood of the falls, a solemn awe -imperceptibly stole over me, and the deep sound of the ever-hurrying -rapids prepared my mind for the lofty emotions to be experienced. When I -reached the hotel, I felt a strange indifference about seeing the -aspiration of my life's hopes. I lounged about the rooms, read the stage -bills upon the walls, looked over the register, and, finding the name of -an acquaintance, sent to see if he was still there. What this hesitation -arose from, I know not; perhaps it was a feeling of my unworthiness to -enter this temple which nature has erected to its God. - -At last, slowly and thoughtfully I walked down to the bridge leading to -Goat Island, and when I stood upon this frail support, and saw a quarter -of a mile of tumbling, rushing rapids, and heard their everlasting roar, -my emotions overpowered me, a choaking sensation rose to my throat, a -thrill rushed through my veins, "my blood ran rippling to my finger's -ends." This was the climax of the effect which the falls produced upon -me--neither the American nor the British fall moved me as did these -rapids. For the magnificence, the sublimity of the latter I was prepared -by descriptions and by paintings. When I arrived in sight of them I -merely felt, "ah, yes, here is the fall, just as I have seen it in -picture." When I arrived at the terrapin bridge, I expected to be -overwhelmed, to retire trembling from this giddy eminence, and gaze -with unlimited wonder and awe upon the immense mass rolling on and on, -but, somehow or other, I thought only of comparing the effect on my mind -with what I had read and heard. I looked for a short time, and then with -almost a feeling of disappointment, turned to go to the other points of -view to see if I was not mistaken in not feeling any surpassing emotion -at this sight. But from the foot of Biddle's stairs, and the middle of -the river, and from below the table rock, it was still "barren, barren -all." And, provoked with my stupidity in feeling most moved in the wrong -place, I turned away to the hotel, determined to set off for Buffalo -that afternoon. But the stage did not go, and, after nightfall, as there -was a splendid moon, I went down to the bridge, and leaned over the -parapet, where the boiling rapids came down in their might. It was -grand, and it was also gorgeous; the yellow rays of the moon made the -broken waves appear like auburn tresses twining around the black rocks. -But they did not inspire me as before. I felt a foreboding of a mightier -emotion to rise up and swallow all others, and I passed on to the -terrapin bridge. Everything was changed, the misty apparition had taken -off its many-colored crown which it had worn by day, and a bow of -silvery white spanned its summit. The moonlight gave a poetical -indefiniteness to the distant parts of the waters, and while the rapids -were glancing in her beams, the river below the falls was black as -night, save where the reflection of the sky gave it the appearance of a -shield of blued steel. No gaping tourists loitered, eyeing with their -glasses, or sketching on cards the hoary locks of the ancient river god. -All tended to harmonize with the natural grandeur of the scene. I gazed -long. I saw how here mutability and unchangeableness were united. I -surveyed the conspiring waters rushing against the rocky ledge to -overthrow it at one mad plunge, till, like toppling ambition, -o'erleaping themselves, they fall on t'other side, expanding into foam -ere they reach the deep channel where they creep submissively away. - -Then arose in my breast a genuine admiration, and a humble adoration of -the Being who was the architect of this and of all. Happy were the first -discoverers of Niagara, those who could come unawares upon this view and -upon that, whose feelings were entirely their own. With what gusto does -Father Hennepin describe "this great downfall of water," "this vast and -prodigious cadence of water, which falls down after a surprising and -astonishing manner, insomuch that the universe does not afford its -parallel. 'Tis true Italy and Swedeland boast of some such things, but -we may well say that they be sorry patterns when compared with this of -which we do now speak." - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - -THE LAKES. - - SCENE, STEAMBOAT.--_About to leave Buffalo--Baggage coming on - board--Passengers bustling for their berths--Little boys persecuting - everybody with their newspapers and pamphlets--J., S. and M. huddled - up in a forlorn corner, behind a large trunk--A heavy rain falling_. - -_M_. Water, water everywhere. After Niagara one would like a dry strip -of existence. And at any rate it is quite enough for me to have it under -foot without having it over head in this way. - -_J_. Ah, do not abuse the gentle element. It is hardly possible to have -too much of it, and indeed, if I were obliged to choose amid the four, -it would be the one in which I could bear confinement best. - -_S_. You would make a pretty Undine, to be sure! - -_J_. Nay, I only offered myself as a Triton, a boisterous Triton of the -sounding shell ... You; M. I suppose, would be a salamander, rather. - -_M_. No! that is too equivocal a position, whether in modern mythology, -or Hoffman's tales. I should choose to be a gnome. - -_J_. That choice savors of the pride that apes humility. - -_M_. By no means; the gnomes are the most important of all the elemental -tribes. Is it not they who make the money? - -_J_. And are accordingly a dark, mean, scoffing,-- - -_M_. You talk as if you had always lived in that wild unprofitable -element you are so fond of, where all things glitter, and nothing is -gold; all show and no substance. My people work in the secret, and their -works praise them in the open light; they remain in the dark because -only there such marvels could be bred. You call them mean. They do not -spend their energies on their own growth, or their own play, but to feed -the veins of mother earth with permanent splendors, very different from -what she shows on the surface. - -Think of passing a life, not merely in heaping together, but making -gold. Of all dreams, that of the alchymist is the most poetical, for he -looked at the finest symbol. Gold, says one of our friends, is the -hidden light of the earth, it crowns the mineral, as wine the vegetable -order, being the last expression of vital energy. - -_J_. Have you paid for your passage? - -_M_. Yes! and in gold, not in shells or pebbles. - -_J_. No really wise gnome would scoff at the water, the beautiful water. -"The spirit of man is like the water." - -_S_. Yes, and like the air and fire, no less. - -_J_. Yes, but not like the earth, this low-minded creature's chosen -dwelling. - -_M_. The earth is spirit made fruitful,--life. And its heart-beats are -told in gold and wine. - -_J_. Oh! it is shocking to hear such sentiments in these times. I -thought that Bacchic energy of yours was long since repressed. - -_M_. No! I have only learned to mix water with my wine, and stamp upon -my gold the heads of kings, or the hieroglyphics of worship. But since I -have learnt to mix with water, let's hear what you have to say in praise -of your favorite. - -_J_. From water Venus was born, what more would you have? It is the -mother of Beauty, the girdle of earth, and the marriage of nations. - -_S_. Without any of that high-flown poetry, it is enough, I think, that -it is the great artist, turning all objects that approach it to picture. - -_J_. True, no object that touches it, whether it be the cart that -ploughs the wave for sea-weed, or the boat or plank that rides upon it, -but is brought at once from the demesne of coarse utilities into that of -picture. All trades, all callings, become picturesque by the water's -side, or on the water. The soil, the slovenliness is washed out of every -calling by its touch. All river-crafts, sea-crafts, are picturesque, are -poetical. Their very slang is poetry. - -_M_. The reasons for that are complex. - -_J_. The reason is, that there can be no plodding, groping words and -motions, on my water as there are on your earth. There is no time, no -chance for them where all moves so rapidly, though so smoothly, -everything connected with water must be like itself, forcible, but -clear. That is why sea-slang is so poetical; there is a word for -everything and every act, and a thing and an act for every word. Seamen -must speak quick and bold, but also with utmost precision. They cannot -reef and brace other than in a Homeric dialect--therefore,--(Steamboat -bell rings.) But I must say a quick good-by. - -_M_. What, going, going back to earth after all this talk upon the other -side. Well, that is nowise Homeric, but truly modern. - -J. is borne off without time for any reply, but a laugh--at himself, of -course. - -S. and M. retire to their state-rooms to forget the wet, the chill and -steamboat smell in their just-bought new world of novels. - -Next day, when we stopped at Cleveland, the storm was just clearing up; -ascending the bluff, we had one of the finest views of the lake that -could have been wished. The varying depths of these lakes give to their -surface a great variety of coloring, and beneath this wild sky and -changeful lights, the waters presented kaleidoscopic varieties of hues, -rich, but mournful. I admire these bluffs of red, crumbling earth. Here -land and water meet under very different auspices from those of the -rock-bound coast to which I have been accustomed. There they meet -tenderly to challenge, and proudly to refuse, though not in fact repel. -But here they meet to mingle, are always rushing together, and changing -places; a new creation takes place beneath the eye. - -The weather grew gradually clearer, but not bright; yet we could see -the shore and appreciate the extent of these noble waters. - -Coming up the river St. Clair, we saw Indians for the first time. They -were camped out on the bank. It was twilight, and their blanketed forms, -in listless groups or stealing along the bank, with a lounge and a -stride so different in its wildness from the rudeness of the white -settler, gave me the first feeling that I really approached the West. - -The people on the boat were almost all New Englanders, seeking their -fortunes. They had brought with them their habits of calculation, their -cautious manners, their love of polemics. It grieved me to hear these -immigrants who were to be the fathers of a new race, all, from the old -man down to the little girl, talking not of what they should do, but of -what they should get in the new scene. It was to them a prospect, not of -the unfolding nobler energies, but of more ease, and larger -accumulation. It wearied me, too, to hear Trinity and Unity discussed in -the poor, narrow doctrinal way on these free waters; but that will soon -cease, there is not time for this clash of opinions in the West, where -the clash of material interests is so noisy. They will need the spirit -of religion more than ever to guide them, but will find less time than -before for its doctrine. This change was to me, who am tired of the war -of words on these subjects, and believe it only sows the wind to reap -the whirlwind, refreshing, but I argue nothing from it; there is nothing -real in the freedom of thought at the West, it is from the position of -men's lives, not the state of their minds. So soon as they have time, -unless they grow better meanwhile, they will cavil and criticise, and -judge other men by their own standard, and outrage the law of love every -way, just as they do with us. - -We reached Mackinaw the evening of the third day, but, to my great -disappointment, it was too late and too rainy to go ashore. The beauty -of the island, though seen under the most unfavorable circumstances, did -not disappoint my expectations. But I shall see it to more purpose on my -return. - -As the day has passed dully, a cold rain preventing us from keeping out -in the air, my thoughts have been dwelling on a story told when we were -off Detroit, this morning, by a fellow passenger, and whose moral beauty -touched me profoundly. - -Some years ago, said Mrs. L., my father and mother stopped to dine at -Detroit. A short time before dinner my father met in the hall Captain -P., a friend of his youthful days. He had loved P. extremely, as did -many who knew him, and had not been surprised to hear of the distinction -and popular esteem which his wide knowledge, talents, and noble temper -commanded, as he went onward in the world. P. was every way fitted to -succeed; his aims were high, but not too high for his powers, suggested -by an instinct of his own capacities, not by an ideal standard drawn -from culture. Though steadfast in his course, it was not to overrun -others, his wise self-possession was no less for them than himself. He -was thoroughly the gentleman, gentle because manly, and was a striking -instance that where there is strength for sincere courtesy, there is no -need of other adaptation to the character of others, to make one's way -freely and gracefully through the crowd. - -My father was delighted to see him, and after a short parley in the -hall--"We will dine together," he cried, "then we shall have time to -tell all our stories." - -P. hesitated a moment, then said, "My wife is with me." - -"And mine with me," said my father, "that's well; they, too, will have -an opportunity of getting acquainted and can entertain one another, if -they get tired of our college stories." - -P. acquiesced, with a grave bow, and shortly after they all met in the -dining-room. My father was much surprised at the appearance of Mrs. P. -He had heard that his friend married abroad, but nothing further, and he -was not prepared to see the calm, dignified P. with a woman on his arm, -still handsome, indeed, but whose coarse and imperious expression showed -as low habits of mind as her exaggerated dress and gesture did of -education. Nor could there be a greater contrast to my mother, who, -though understanding her claims and place with the certainty of a lady, -was soft and retiring in an uncommon degree. - -However, there was no time to wonder or fancy; they sat down, and P. -engaged in conversation, without much vivacity, but with his usual ease. -The first quarter of an hour passed well enough. But soon it was -observable that Mrs. P. was drinking glass after glass of wine, to an -extent few gentlemen did, even then, and soon that she was actually -excited by it. Before this, her manner had been brusque, if not -contemptuous towards her new acquaintance; now it became, towards my -mother especially, quite rude. Presently she took up some slight remark -made by my mother, which, though it did not naturally mean anything of -the sort, could be twisted into some reflection upon England, and made -it a handle, first of vulgar sarcasm, and then, upon my mother's -defending herself with some surprise and gentle dignity, hurled upon her -a volley of abuse, beyond Billingsgate. - -My mother, confounded, feeling scenes and ideas presented to her mind -equally new and painful, sat trembling; she knew not what to do, tears -rushed into her eyes. My father, no less distressed, yet unwilling to -outrage the feelings of his friend by doing or saying what his -indignation prompted, turned an appealing look on P. - -Never, as he often said, was the painful expression of that sight -effaced from his mind. It haunted his dreams and disturbed his waking -thoughts. P. sat with his head bent forward, and his eyes cast down, -pale, but calm, with a fixed expression, not merely of patient wo, but -of patient shame, which it would not have been thought possible for -that, noble countenance to wear, "yet," said my father, "it became him. -At other times he was handsome, but then beautiful, though of a beauty -saddened and abashed. For a spiritual light borrowed from the worldly -perfection of his mien that illustration by contrast, which the -penitence of the Magdalen does from the glowing earthliness of her -charms." - -Seeing that he preserved silence, while Mrs. P. grew still more -exasperated, my father rose and led his wife to her own room. Half an -hour had passed, in painful and wondering surmises, when a gentle knock -was heard at the door, and P. entered equipped for a journey. "We are -just going," he said, and holding out his hand, but without looking at -them, "Forgive." - -They each took his hand, and silently pressed it, then he went without a -word more. - -Some time passed and they heard now and then of P., as he passed from -one army station to another, with his uncongenial companion, who became, -it was said, constantly more degraded. Whoever mentioned having seen -them, wondered at the chance which had yoked him to such a woman, but -yet more at the silent fortitude with which he bore it. Many blamed him -for enduring it, apparently without efforts to check her; others -answered that he had probably made such at an earlier period, and -finding them unavailing, had resigned himself to despair, and was too -delicate to meet the scandal that, with such a resistance as such a -woman could offer, must attend a formal separation. - -But my father, who was not in such haste to come to conclusions, and -substitute some plausible explanation for the truth, found something in -the look of P. at that trying moment to which none of these explanations -offered a key. There was in it, he felt, a fortitude, but not the -fortitude of the hero, a religious submission, above the penitent, if -not enkindled with the enthusiasm of the martyr. - -I have said that my father, was not one of those who are ready to -substitute specious explanations for truth, and those who are thus -abstinent rarely lay their hand on a thread without making it a clue. -Such an one, like the dexterous weaver, lets not one color go, till he -finds that which matches it in the pattern; he keeps on weaving, but -chooses his shades, and my father found at last what he wanted to make -out the pattern for himself. He met a lady who had been intimate with -both himself and P. in early days, and finding she had seen the latter -abroad, asked if she knew the circumstances of the marriage. "The -circumstances of the act I know," she said, "which sealed the misery of -our friend, though as much in the dark as any one about the motives that -led to it." - -We were quite intimate with P. in London, and he was our most delightful -companion. He was then in the full flower of the varied accomplishments, -which set off his fine manners and dignified character, joined, towards -those he loved, with a certain soft willingness which gives the -desirable chivalry to a man. None was more clear of choice where his -personal affections were not touched, but where they were, it cost him -pain to say no, on the slightest occasion. I have thought this must have -had some connexion with the mystery of his misfortunes. - -One day he called on me, and, without any preface, asked if I would be -present next day at his marriage. I was so surprised, and so -unpleasantly surprised, that I did not at first answer a word. We had -been on terms so familiar, that I thought I knew all about him, yet had -never dreamed of his having an attachment, and, though I had never -inquired on the subject, yet this reserve, where perfect openness had -been supposed, and really, on my side, existed, seemed to me a kind of -treachery. Then it is never pleasant to know that a heart, on which we -have some claim, is to be given to another. We cannot tell how it will -affect our own relations with a person; it may strengthen or it may -swallow up other affections; the crisis is hazardous, and our first -thought, on such an occasion, is too often for ourselves, at least, mine -was. Seeing me silent, he repeated his question. - -To whom, said I, are you to be married? - -That, he replied, I cannot tell you. He was a moment silent, then -continued with an impassive look of cold self-possession, that affected -me with strange sadness. - -"The name of the person you will hear, of course, at the time, but more -I cannot tell you. I need, however, the presence, not only of legal, but -of respectable and friendly witnesses. I have hoped you and your husband -would do me this kindness. Will you?" - -Something in his manner made it impossible to refuse. I answered before -I knew I was going to speak, "We will," and he left me. - -I will not weary you with telling how I harassed myself and my husband, -who was, however, scarce less interested, with doubts and conjectures. -Suffice it that, next morning, P. came and took us in a carriage to a -distant church. We had just entered the porch when a cart, such as fruit -and vegetables are brought to market in, drove up, containing an elderly -woman and a young girl. P. assisted them to alight, and advanced with -the girl to the altar. - -The girl was neatly dressed and quite handsome, yet, something in her -expression displeased me the moment I looked upon her. Meanwhile the -ceremony was going on, and, at its close, P. introduced us to the bride, -and we all went to the door. - -Good-by, Fanny, said the elderly woman. The new-made Mrs. P. replied -without any token of affection or emotion. The woman got into the cart -and drove away. - -From that time I saw but little of P. or his wife. I took our mutual -friends to see her, and they were civil to her for his sake. Curiosity -was very much excited, but entirely baffled; no one, of course, dared -speak to P. on the subject, and no other means could be found of solving -the riddle. - -He treated his wife with grave and kind politeness, but it was always -obvious that they had nothing in common between them. Her manners and -tastes were not at that time gross, but her character showed itself hard -and material. She was fond of riding, and spent much time so. Her style -in this, and in dress, seemed the opposite of P.'s; but he indulged all -her wishes, while, for himself, he plunged into his own pursuits. - -For a time he seemed, if not happy, not positively unhappy; but, after a -few years, Mrs. P. fell into the habit of drinking, and then such scenes -as you witnessed grew frequent. I have often heard of them, and always -that P. sat, as you describe him, his head bowed down and perfectly -silent all through, whatever might be done or whoever be present, and -always his aspect has inspired such sympathy that no person has -questioned him or resented her insults, but merely got out of the way, -so soon as possible. - -Hard and long penance, said my father, after some minutes musing, for an -hour of passion, probably for his only error. - -Is that your explanation? said the lady. O, improbable. P. might err, -but not be led beyond himself. - -I know his cool gray eye and calm complexion seemed to say so, but a -different story is told by the lip that could tremble, and showed what -flashes might pierce those deep blue heavens; and when these over -intellectual beings do swerve aside, it is to fall down a precipice, for -their narrow path lies over such. But he was not one to sin without -making a brave atonement, and that it had become a holy one, was written -on that downcast brow. - -The fourth day on these waters, the weather was milder and brighter, so -that we could now see them to some purpose. At night was clear moon, -and, for the first time, from the upper deck, I saw one of the great -steamboats come majestically up. It was glowing with lights, looking -many-eyed and sagacious; in its heavy motion it seemed a dowager queen, -and this motion, with its solemn pulse, and determined sweep, becomes -these smooth waters, especially at night, as much as the dip of the -sail-ship the long billows of the ocean. - -But it was not so soon that I learned to appreciate the lake scenery; it -was only after a daily and careless familiarity that I entered into its -beauty, for nature always refuses to be seen by being stared at. Like -Bonaparte, she discharges her face of all expression when she catches -the eye of impertinent curiosity fixed on her. But he who has gone to -sleep in childish ease on her lap, or leaned an aching brow upon her -breast, seeking there comfort with full trust as from a mother, will see -all a mother's beauty in the look she bends upon him. Later, I felt that -I had really seen these regions, and shall speak of them again. - -In the afternoon we went on shore at the Manitou islands, where the boat -stops to wood. No one lives here except woodcutters for the steamboats. -I had thought of such a position, from its mixture of profound solitude -with service to the great world, as possessing an ideal beauty. I think -so still, after seeing the woodcutters and their slovenly huts. - -In times of slower growth, man did not enter a situation without a -certain preparation or adaptedness to it. He drew from it, if not to the -poetical extent, at least, in some proportion, its moral and its -meaning. The woodcutter did not cut down so many trees a day, that the -hamadryads had not time to make their plaints heard; the shepherd tended -his sheep, and did no jobs or chores the while; the idyl had a chance to -grow up, and modulate his oaten pipe. But now the poet must be at the -whole expense of the poetry in describing one of these positions; the -worker is a true Midas to the gold he makes. The poet must describe, as -the painter sketches Irish peasant girls and Danish fishwives, adding -the beauty, and leaving out the dirt. - -I come to the west prepared for the distaste I must experience at its -mushroom growth. I know that where "go ahead" is the only motto, the -village cannot grow into the gentle proportions that successive lives, -and the gradations of experience involuntarily give. In older countries -the house of the son grew from that of the father, as naturally as new -joints on a bough. And the cathedral crowned the whole as naturally as -the leafy summit the tree. This cannot be here. The march of peaceful is -scarce less wanton than that of warlike invasion. The old landmarks are -broken down, and the land, for a season, bears none, except of the -rudeness of conquest and the needs of the day, whose bivouac fires -blacken the sweetest forest glades. I have come prepared to see all -this, to dislike it, but not with stupid narrowness to distrust or -defame. On the contrary, while I will not be so obliging as to confound -ugliness with beauty, discord with harmony, and laud and be contented -with all I meet, when it conflicts with my best desires and tastes, I -trust by reverent faith to woo the mighty meaning of the scene, perhaps -to foresee the law by which a new order, a new poetry is to be evoked -from this chaos, and with a curiosity as ardent, but not so selfish as -that of Macbeth, to call up the apparitions of future kings from the -strange ingredients of the witch's caldron. Thus, I will not grieve that -all the noble trees are gone already from this island to feed this -caldron, but believe it will have Medea's virtue, and reproduce them in -the form of new intellectual growths, since centuries cannot again adorn -the land with such. - -On this most beautiful beach of smooth white pebbles, interspersed with -agates and cornelians, for those who know how to find them, we stepped, -not like the Indian, with some humble offering, which, if no better than -an arrow-head or a little parched corn, would, he judged, please the -Manitou, who looks only at the spirit in which it is offered. Our visit -was so far for a religious purpose that one of our party went to inquire -the fate of some Unitarian tracts left among the woodcutters a year or -two before. But the old Manitou, though, daunted like his children by -the approach of the fire-ships which he probably considered demons of a -new dynasty, he had suffered his woods to be felled to feed their pride, -had been less patient of an encroachment, which did not to him seem so -authorized by the law of the strongest, and had scattered those leaves -as carelessly as the others of that year. - -But S. and I, like other emigrants, went not to give, but to get, to -rifle the wood of flowers for the service of the fire-ship. We returned -with a rich booty, among which was the uva ursi, whose leaves the -Indians smoke, with the kinnick-kinnick, and which had then just put -forth its highly-finished little blossoms, as pretty as those of the -blueberry. - -Passing along still further, I thought it would be well if the crowds -assembled to stare from the various landings were still confined to the -kinnick-kinnick, for almost all had tobacco written on their faces, -their cheeks rounded with plugs, their eyes dull with its fumes. We -reached Chicago on the evening of the sixth day, having been out five -days and a half, a rather longer passage than usual at a favorable -season of the year. - - - Chicago, June 20. - -There can be no two places in the world more completely thoroughfares -than this place and Buffalo. They are the two correspondent valves that -open and shut all the time, as the life-blood rushes from east to west, -and back again from west to east. - -Since it is their office thus to be the doors, and let in and out, it -would be unfair to expect from them much character of their own. To make -the best provisions for the transmission of produce is their office, and -the people who live there are such as are suited for this; active, -complaisant, inventive, business people. There are no provisions for the -student or idler; to know what the place can give, you should be at work -with the rest, the mere traveller will not find it profitable to loiter -there as I did. - -Since circumstances made it necessary for me so to do, I read all the -books I could find about the new region, which now began to become real -to me. All the books about the Indians, a paltry collection, truly, yet -which furnished material for many thoughts. The most narrow-minded and -awkward recital, still bears some lineaments of the great features of -this nature, and the races of men that illustrated them. - -Catlin's book is far the best. I was afterwards assured by those -acquainted with the regions he describes, that he is not to be depended -on for the accuracy of his facts, and, indeed, it is obvious, without -the aid of such assertions, that he sometimes yields to the temptation -of making out a story. They admitted, however, what from my feelings I -was sure of, that he is true to the spirit of the scene, and that a far -better view can be got from him than from any source at present -existing, of the Indian tribes of the far west, and of the country where -their inheritance lay. - -Murray's travels I read, and was charmed by their accuracy and clear -broad tone. He is the only Englishman that seems to have traversed these -regions, as man, simply, not as John Bull. He deserves to belong to an -aristocracy, for he showed his title to it more when left without a -guide in the wilderness, than he can at the court of Victoria. He has, -himself, no poetic force at description, but it is easy to make images -from his hints. Yet we believe the Indian cannot be looked at truly -except by a poetic eye. The Pawnees, no doubt, are such as he describes -them, filthy in their habits, and treacherous in their character, but -some would have seen, and seen truly, more beauty and dignity than he -does with all his manliness and fairness of mind. However, his one fine -old man is enough to redeem the rest, and is perhaps the relic of a -better day, a Phocion among the Pawnees. - -Schoolcraft's Algic Researches is a valuable book, though a worse use -could hardly have been made of such fine material. Had the mythological -or hunting stones of the Indians been written down exactly as they were -received from the lips of the narrators, the collection could not have -been surpassed in interest, both for the wild charm they carry with -them, and the light they throw on a peculiar modification of life and -mind. As it is, though the incidents have an air of originality and -pertinence to the occasion, that gives us confidence that they have not -been altered, the phraseology in which they were expressed has been -entirely set aside, and the flimsy graces, common to the style of -annuals and souvenirs, substituted for the Spartan brevity and sinewy -grasp of Indian speech. We can just guess what might have been there, as -we can detect the fine proportions of the Brave whom the bad taste of -some white patron has arranged in frock-coat, hat, and pantaloons. - -The few stories Mrs. Jameson wrote out, though to these also a -sentimental air has been given, offend much less in that way than is -common in this book. What would we give for a completely faithful -version of some among them. Yet with all these drawbacks we cannot doubt -from internal evidence that they truly ascribe to the Indian a delicacy -of sentiment and of fancy that justifies Cooper in such inventions as -his Uncas. It is a white man's view of a savage hero, who would be far -finer in his natural proportions; still, through a masquerade figure, it -implies the truth. - -Irving's books I also read, some for the first, some for the second -time, with increased interest, now that I was to meet such people as he -received his materials from. Though the books are pleasing from their -grace and luminous arrangement, yet, with the exception of the Tour to -the Prairies, they have a stereotype, second-hand air. They lack the -breath, the glow, the charming minute traits of living presence. His -scenery is only fit to be glanced at from dioramic distance; his Indians -are academic figures only. He would have made the best of pictures, if -he could have used his own eyes for studies and sketches; as it is, his -success is wonderful, but inadequate. - -McKenney's Tour to the Lakes is the dullest of books, yet faithful and -quiet, and gives some facts not to be met with elsewhere. - -I also read a collection of Indian anecdotes and speeches, the worst -compiled and arranged book possible, yet not without clues of some -value. All these books I read in anticipation of a canoe-voyage on Lake -Superior as far as the Pictured Rocks, and, though I was afterwards -compelled to give up this project, they aided me in judging of what I -afterwards saw and heard of the Indians. - -In Chicago I first saw the beautiful prairie flowers. They were in their -glory the first ten days we were there-- - - "The golden and the flame-like flowers." - -The flame-like flower I was taught afterwards, by an Indian girl, to -call "Wickapee;" and she told me, too, that its splendors had a useful -side, for it was used by the Indians as a remedy for an illness to which -they were subject. - -Beside these brilliant flowers, which gemmed and gilt the grass in a -sunny afternoon's drive near the blue lake, between the low oakwood and -the narrow beach, stimulated, whether sensuously by the optic nerve, -unused to so much gold and crimson with such tender green, or -symbolically through some meaning dimly seen in the flowers, I enjoyed a -sort of fairyland exultation never felt before, and the first drive amid -the flowers gave me anticipation of the beauty of the prairies. - -At first, the prairie seemed to speak of the very desolation of -dullness. After sweeping over the vast monotony of the lakes to come to -this monotony of land, with all around a limitless horizon,--to walk, -and walk, and run, but never climb, oh! it was too dreary for any but a -Hollander to bear. How the eye greeted the approach of a sail, or the -smoke of a steamboat; it seemed that any thing so animated must come -from a better land, where mountains gave religion to the scene. - -The only thing I liked at first to do, was to trace with slow and -unexpecting step the narrow margin of the lake. Sometimes a heavy swell -gave it expression; at others, only its varied coloring, which I found -more admirable every day, and which gave it an air of mirage instead of -the vastness of ocean. Then there was a grandeur in the feeling that I -might continue that walk, if I had any seven-leagued mode of conveyance -to save fatigue, for hundreds of miles without an obstacle and without a -change. - -But after I had rode out, and seen the flowers and seen the sun set with -that calmness seen only in the prairies, and the cattle winding slowly -home to their homes in the "island groves"--peacefullest of sights--I -began to love because I began to know the scene, and shrank no longer -from "the encircling vastness." - -It is always thus with the new form of life; we must learn to look at it -by its own standard. At first, no doubt my accustomed eye kept saying, -if the mind did not, What! no distant mountains? what, no valleys? But -after a while I would ascend the roof of the house where we lived, and -pass many hours, needing no sight but the moon reigning in the heavens, -or starlight falling upon the lake, till all the lights were out in the -island grove of men beneath my feet, and felt nearer heaven that there -was nothing but this lovely, still reception on the earth; no towering -mountains, no deep tree-shadows, nothing but plain earth and water -bathed in light. - -Sunset, as seen from that place, presented most generally, low-lying, -flaky clouds, of the softest serenity, "like," said S., "the Buddhist -tracts." - -One night a star shot madly from its sphere, and it had a fair chance to -be seen, but that serenity could not be astonished. - -Yes! it was a peculiar beauty of those sunsets and moonlights on the -levels of Chicago which Chamouny or the Trosachs could not make me -forget. - -Notwithstanding all the attractions I thus found out by degrees on the -flat shores of the lake, I was delighted when I found myself really on -my way into the country for an excursion of two or three weeks. We set -forth in a strong wagon, almost as large, and with the look of those -used elsewhere for transporting caravans of wild beasteses, loaded with -every thing we might want, in case nobody would give it to us--for -buying and selling were no longer to be counted on--with a pair of -strong horses, able and willing to force their way through mud holes and -amid stumps, and a guide, equally admirable as marshal and companion, -who knew by heart the country and its history, both natural and -artificial, and whose clear hunter's eye needed neither road nor goal to -guide it to all the spots where beauty best loves to dwell. - -Add to this the finest weather, and such country as I had never seen, -even in my dreams, although these dreams had been haunted by wishes for -just such an one, and you may judge whether years of dullness might not, -by these bright days, be redeemed, and a sweetness be shed over all -thoughts of the West. - -The first day brought us through woods rich in the moccasin flower and -lupine, and plains whose soft expanse was continually touched with -expression by the slow moving clouds which - - "Sweep over with their shadows, and beneath - The surface rolls and fluctuates to the eye; - Dark hollows seem to glide along and chase - The sunny ridges," - -to the banks of the Fox river, a sweet and graceful stream. We reached -Geneva just in time to escape being drenched by a violent thunder -shower, whose rise and disappearance threw expression into all the -features of the scene. - -Geneva reminds me of a New England village, as indeed there, and in the -neighborhood, are many New Englanders of an excellent stamp, generous, -intelligent, discreet, and seeking to win from life its true values. -Such are much wanted, and seem like points of light among the swarms of -settlers, whose aims are sordid, whose habits thoughtless and slovenly. - -With great pleasure we heard, with his attentive and affectionate -congregation, the Unitarian clergyman, Mr. Conant, and afterward visited -him in his house, where almost everything bore traces of his own handy -work or that of his father. He is just such a teacher as is wanted in -this region, familiar enough with the habits of those he addresses to -come home to their experience and their wants; earnest and enlightened -enough to draw the important inferences from the life of every day. - -A day or two we remained here, and passed some happy hours in the woods -that fringe the stream, where the gentlemen found a rich booty of fish. - -Next day, travelling along the river's banks, was an uninterrupted -pleasure. We closed our drive in the afternoon at the house of an -English gentleman, who has gratified, as few men do, the common wish to -pass the evening of an active day amid the quiet influences of country -life. He showed us a bookcase filled with books about this country; -these he had collected for years, and become so familiar with the -localities that, on coming here at last, he sought and found, at once, -the very spot he wanted, and where he is as content as he hoped to be, -thus realizing Wordsworth's description of the wise man, who "sees what -he foresaw." - -A wood surrounds the house, through which paths are cut in every -direction. It is, for this new country, a large and handsome dwelling; -but round it are its barns and farm yard, with cattle and poultry. -These, however, in the framework of wood, have a very picturesque and -pleasing effect. There is that mixture of culture and rudeness in the -aspect of things as gives a feeling of freedom, not of confusion. - -I wish it were possible to give some idea of this scene as viewed by the -earliest freshness of dewy dawn. This habitation of man seemed like a -nest in the grass, so thoroughly were the buildings and all the objects -of human care harmonized with what was natural. The tall trees bent and -whispered all around, as if to hail with sheltering love the men who had -come to dwell among them. - -The young ladies were musicians, and spoke French fluently, having been -educated in a convent. Here in the prairie, they had learned to take -care of the milk-room, and kill the rattlesnakes that assailed their -poultry yard. Beneath the shade of heavy curtains you looked out from -the high and large windows to see Norwegian peasants at work in their -national dress. In the wood grew, not only the flowers I had before -seen, and wealth of tall, wild roses, but the splendid blue spiderwort, -that ornament of our gardens. Beautiful children strayed there, who were -soon to leave these civilized regions for some really wild and western -place, a post in the buffalo country. Their no less beautiful mother was -of Welsh descent, and the eldest child bore the name of Gwynthleon. -Perhaps there she will meet with some young descendants of Madoc, to be -her friends; at any rate, her looks may retain that sweet, wild beauty, -that is soon made to vanish from eyes which look too much on shops and -streets, and the vulgarities of city "parties." - -Next day we crossed the river. We ladies crossed on a little -foot-bridge, from which we could look down the stream, and see the wagon -pass over at the ford. A black thunder cloud was coming up. The sky and -waters heavy with expectation. The motion of the wagon, with its white -cover, and the laboring horses, gave just the due interest to the -picture, because it seemed as if they would not have time to cross -before the storm came on. However, they did get across, and we were a -mile or two on our way before the violent shower obliged us to take -refuge in a solitary house upon the prairie. In this country it is as -pleasant to stop as to go on, to lose your way as to find it, for the -variety in the population gives you a chance for fresh entertainment in -every hut, and the luxuriant beauty makes every path attractive. In this -house we found a family "quite above the common," but, I grieve to say, -not above false pride, for the father, ashamed of being caught barefoot, -told us a story of a man, one of the richest men, he said, in one of the -eastern cities, who went barefoot, from choice and taste. - -Near the door grew a Provence rose, then in blossom. Other families we -saw had brought with them and planted the locust. It was pleasant to see -their old home loves, brought into connection with their new splendors. -Wherever there were traces of this tenderness of feeling, only too rare -among Americans, other things bore signs also of prosperity and -intelligence, as if the ordering mind of man had some idea of home -beyond a mere shelter, beneath which to eat and sleep. - -No heaven need wear a lovelier aspect than earth did this afternoon, -after the clearing up of the shower. We traversed the blooming plain, -unmarked by any road, only the friendly track of wheels which tracked, -not broke the grass. Our stations were not from town to town, but from -grove to grove. These groves first floated like blue islands in the -distance. As we drew nearer, they seemed fair parks, and the little log -houses on the edge, with their curling smokes, harmonized beautifully -with them. - -One of these groves, Ross's grove, we reached just at sunset. It was of -the noblest trees I saw during this journey, for the trees generally -were not large or lofty, but only of fair proportions. Here they were -large enough to form with their clear stems pillars for grand cathedral -aisles. There was space enough for crimson light to stream through upon -the floor of water which the shower had left. As we slowly plashed -through, I thought I was never in a better place for vespers. - -That night we rested, or rather tarried at a grove some miles beyond, -and there partook of the miseries so often jocosely portrayed, of -bedchambers for twelve, a milk dish for universal handbasin, and -expectations that you would use and lend your "hankercher" for a towel. -But this was the only night, thanks to the hospitality of private -families, that we passed thus, and it was well that we had this bit of -experience, else might we have pronounced all Trollopian records of the -kind to be inventions of pure malice. - -With us was a 'young lady who showed herself to have been bathed in the -Britannic fluid, wittily described by a late French writer, by the -impossibility she experienced of accommodating herself to the indecorums -of the scene. We ladies were to sleep in the bar-room, from which its -drinking visitors could be ejected only at a late hour. The outer door -had no fastening to prevent their return. However, our host kindly -requested we would call him, if they did, as he had "conquered them for -us," and would do so again. We had also rather hard couches; (mine was -the supper table,) but we yankees, born to rove, were altogether too -much fatigued to stand upon trifles, and slept as sweetly as we would in -the "bigly bower" of any baroness. But I think England sat up all night, -wrapped in her blanket shawl, and with a neat lace cap upon her head; so -that she would have looked perfectly the lady, if any one had come in; -shuddering and listening. I know that she was very ill next day, in -requital. She watched, as her parent country watches the seas, that -nobody may do wrong in any case, and deserved to have met some -interruption, she was so well prepared. However, there was none, other -than from the nearness of some twenty sets of powerful lungs, which -would not leave the night to a deadly stillness. In this house we had, -if not good beds, yet good tea, good bread, and wild strawberries, and -were entertained with most free communications of opinion and history -from our hosts. Neither shall any of us have a right to say again that -we cannot find any who may be willing to hear all we may have to say. -"A's fish that comes to the net," should be painted on the sign at Papaw -grove. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - -In the afternoon of this day we reached the Rock river, in whose -neighborhood we proposed to make some stay, and crossed at Dixon's -ferry. - -This beautiful stream flows full and wide over a bed of rocks, -traversing a distance of near two hundred miles, to reach the -Mississippi. Great part of the country along its banks is the finest -region of Illinois, and the scene of some of the latest romance of -Indian warfare. To these beautiful regions Black Hawk returned with his -band "to pass the summer," when he drew upon himself the warfare in -which he was finally vanquished. No wonder he could not resist the -longing, unwise though its indulgence might be, to return in summer to -this home of beauty. - -Of Illinois, in general, it has often been remarked that it bears the -character of country which has been inhabited by a nation skilled like -the English in all the ornamental arts of life, especially in landscape -gardening. That the villas and castles seem to have been burnt, the -enclosures taken down, but the velvet lawns, the flower gardens, the -stately parks, scattered at graceful intervals by the decorous hand of -art, the frequent deer, and the peaceful herd of cattle that make -picture of the plain, all suggest more of the masterly mind of man, than -the prodigal, but careless, motherly love of nature. Especially is this -true of the Rock river country. The river flows sometimes through these -parks and lawns, then betwixt high bluffs, whose grassy ridges are -covered with fine trees, or broken with crumbling stone, that easily -assumes, the forms of buttress, arch and clustered columns. Along the -face of such crumbling rocks, swallows' nests are clustered, thick as -cities, and eagles and deer do not disdain their summits. One morning, -out in the boat along the base of these rocks, it was amusing, and -affecting too, to see these swallows put their heads out to look at us. -There was something very hospitable about it, as if man had never shown -himself a tyrant near them. What a morning that was! Every sight is -worth twice as much by the early morning light. We borrow something of -the spirit of the hour to look upon them. - -The first place, where we stopped was one of singular beauty, a beauty -of soft, luxuriant wildness. It was on the bend of the river, a place -chosen by an Irish gentleman, whose absenteeship seems of the wisest -kind, since for a sum which would have been but a drop of water to the -thirsty fever of his native land, he commands a residence which has all -that is desirable, in its independence, its beautiful retirement, and -means of benefit to others. - -His park, his deer-chase, he found already prepared; he had only to -make an avenue through it. This brought us by a drive, which in the heat -of noon seemed long, though afterwards, in the cool of morning and -evening, delightful, to the house. This is, for that part of the world, -a large and commodious dwelling. Near it stands the log-cabin where its -master lived while it was building, a very ornamental accessory. - -In front of the house was a lawn, adorned by the most graceful trees. A -few of these had been taken out to give a full view of the river, -gliding through banks such as I have described. On this bend the bank is -high and bold, so from the house or the lawn the view was very rich and -commanding. But if you descended a ravine at the side to the water's -edge, you found there a long walk on the narrow shore, with a wall above -of the richest hanging wood, in which they said the deer lay hid. I -never saw one, but often fancied that I heard them rustling, at -daybreak, by these bright clear waters, stretching out in such smiling -promise, where no sound broke the deep and blissful seclusion, unless -now and then this rustling, or the plash of some fish a little gayer -than the others; it seemed not necessary to have any better heaven, or -fuller expression of love and freedom than in the mood of nature here. - -Then, leaving the bank, you would walk far and far through long grassy -paths, full of the most brilliant, also the most delicate flowers. The -brilliant are more common on the prairie, but both kinds loved this -place. - -Amid the grass of the lawn, with a profusion of wild strawberries, we -greeted also a familiar love, the Scottish harebell, the gentlest, and -most touching form of the flower-world. - -The master of the house was absent, but with a kindness beyond thanks -had offered us a resting place there. Here we were taken care of by a -deputy, who would, for his youth, have been assigned the place of a page -in former times, but in the young west, it seems he was old enough for a -steward. Whatever be called his function, he did the honors of the place -so much in harmony with it, as to leave the guests free to imagine -themselves in Elysium. And the three days passed here were days of -unalloyed, spotless happiness. - -There was a peculiar charm in coming here, where the choice of location, -and the unobtrusive good taste of all the arrangements, showed such -intelligent appreciation of the spirit of the scene, after seeing so -many dwellings of the new settlers, which showed plainly that they had -no thought beyond satisfying the grossest material wants. Sometimes they -looked attractive, the little brown houses, the natural architecture of -the country, in the edge of the timber. But almost always when you came -near, the slovenliness of the dwelling and the rude way in which objects -around it were treated, when so little care would have presented a -charming whole, were very repulsive. Seeing the traces of the Indians, -who chose the most beautiful sites for their dwellings, and whose habits -do not break in on that aspect of nature under which they were born, we -feel as if they were the rightful lords of a beauty they forbore to -deform. But most of these settlers do not see it at all; it breathes, it -speaks in vain to those who are rushing into its sphere. Their progress -is Gothic, not Roman, and their mode of cultivation will, in the course -of twenty, perhaps ten, years, obliterate the natural expression of the -country. - -This is inevitable, fatal; we must not complain, but look forward to a -good result. Still, in travelling through this country, I could not but -be struck with the force of a symbol. Wherever the hog comes, the -rattlesnake disappears; the omnivorous traveller, safe in its stupidity, -willingly and easily makes a meal of the most dangerous of reptiles, and -one whom the Indian looks on with a mystic awe. Even so the white -settler pursues the Indian, and is victor in the chase. But I shall say -more upon the subject by-and-by. - -While we were here we had one grand thunder storm, which added new glory -to the scene. - -One beautiful feature was the return of the pigeons every afternoon to -their home. Every afternoon they came sweeping across the lawn, -positively in clouds, and with a swiftness and softness of winged -motion, more beautiful than anything of the kind I ever knew. Had I been -a musician, such as Mendelsohn, I felt that I could have improvised a -music quite peculiar, from the sound they made, which should have -indicated all the beauty over which their wings bore them. I will here -insert a few lines left at this house, on parting, which feebly indicate -some of the features. - - Familiar to the childish mind were tales - Of rock-girt isles amid a desert sea, - Where unexpected stretch the flowery vales - To soothe the shipwrecked sailor's misery. - Fainting, he lay upon a sandy shore, - And fancied that all hope of life was o'er; - But let him patient climb the frowning wall, - Within, the orange glows beneath the palm tree tall, - And all that Eden boasted waits his call. - - Almost these tales seem realized to-day, - When the long dullness of the sultry way, - Where "independent" settlers' careless cheer - Made us indeed feel we were "strangers" here, - Is cheered by sudden sight of this fair spot, - On which "improvement" yet has made no blot, - But Nature all-astonished stands, to find - Her plan protected by the human mind. - - Blest be the kindly genius of the scene; - The river, bending in unbroken grace, - The stately thickets, with their pathways green, - Fair lonely trees, each in its fittest place. - Those thickets haunted by the deer and fawn; - Those cloudlike flights of birds across the lawn; - The gentlest breezes here delight to blow, - And sun and shower and star are emulous to deck the show. - - Wondering, as Crusoe, we survey the land; - Happier than Crusoe we, a friendly band; - Blest be the hand that reared this friendly home, - The heart and mind of him to whom we owe - Hours of pure peace such as few mortals know; - May he find such, should he be led to roam; - Be tended by such ministering sprites-- - Enjoy such gaily childish days, such hopeful nights! - And yet, amid the goods to mortals given, - To give those goods again is most like heaven. - - Hazelwood, Rock River, June 30th, 1843. - - -The only really rustic feature was of the many coops of poultry near the -house, which I understood it to be one of the chief pleasures of the -master to feed. - -Leaving this place, we proceeded a day's journey along the beautiful -stream, to a little town named Oregon. We called at a cabin, from whose -door looked out one of those faces which, once seen, are never -forgotten; young, yet touched with many traces of feeling, not only -possible, but endured; spirited, too, like the gleam of a finely -tempered blade. It was a face that suggested a history, and many -histories, but whose scene would have been in courts and camps. At this -moment their circles are dull for want of that life which is waning -unexcited in this solitary recess. - -The master of the house proposed to show us a "short cut," by which we -might, to especial advantage, pursue our journey. This proved to be -almost perpendicular down a hill, studded with young trees and stumps. -From these he proposed, with a hospitality of service worthy an -Oriental, to free our wheels whenever they should get entangled, also, -to be himself the drag, to prevent our too rapid descent. Such -generosity deserved trust; however, we women could not be persuaded to -render it. We got out and admired, from afar, the process. Left by our -guide--and prop! we found ourselves in a wide field, where, by playful -quips and turns, an endless "creek," seemed to divert itself with our -attempts to cross it. Failing in this, the next best was to whirl down a -steep bank, which feat our charioteer performed with an air not unlike -that of Rhesus, had he but been as suitably furnished with chariot and -steeds! - -At last, after wasting some two or three hours on the "short cut," we -got out by following an Indian trail,--Black Hawk's! How fair the scene -through which it led! How could they let themselves be conquered, with -such a country to fight for! - -Afterwards, in the wide prairie, we saw a lively picture of nonchalance, -(to speak in the fashion of dear Ireland.) There, in the wide sunny -field, with neither tree nor umbrella above his head, sat a pedler, with -his pack, waiting apparently for customers. He was not disappointed. We -bought, what hold in regard to the human world, as unmarked, as -mysterious, and as important an existence, as the infusoria to the -natural, to wit, pins. This incident would have delighted those modern -sages, who, in imitation of the sitting philosophers of ancient Ind, -prefer silence to speech, waiting to going, and scornfully smile in -answer to the motions of earnest life, - - "Of itself will nothing come, - That ye must still be seeking?" - -However, it seemed to me to-day, as formerly on these sublime occasions, -obvious that nothing would come, unless something would go; now, if we -had been as sublimely still as the pedler, his pins would have tarried -in the pack, and his pockets sustained an aching void of pence! - -Passing through one of the fine, park-like woods, almost clear from -underbrush and carpeted with thick grasses and flowers, we met, (for it -was Sunday,) a little congregation just returning from their service, -which had been performed in a rude house in its midst. It had a sweet -and peaceful air, as if such words and thoughts were very dear to them. -The parents had with them all their little children; but we saw no old -people; that charm was wanting, which exists in such scenes in older -settlements, of seeing the silver bent in reverence beside the flaxen -head. - -At Oregon, the beauty of the scene was of even a more sumptuous -character than at our former "stopping place." Here swelled the river in -its boldest course, interspersed by halcyon isles on which nature had -lavished all her prodigality in tree, vine, and flower, banked by noble -bluffs, three hundred feet high, their sharp ridges as exquisitely -definite as the edge of a shell; their summits adorned with those same -beautiful trees, and with buttresses of rich rock, crested with old -hemlocks, which wore a touching and antique grace amid the softer and -more luxuriant vegetation. Lofty natural mounds rose amidst the rest, -with the same lovely and sweeping outline, showing everywhere the -plastic power of water,--water, mother of beauty, which, by its sweet -and eager flow, had left such lineaments as human genius never dreamt -of. - -Not far from the river was a high crag, called the Pine Rock, which -looks out, as our guide observed, like a helmet above the brow of the -country. It seems as if the water left here and there a vestige of forms -and materials that preceded its course, just to set off its new and -richer designs. - -The aspect of this country was to me enchanting, beyond any I have ever -seen, from its fullness of expression, its bold and impassioned -sweetness. Here the flood of emotion has passed over and marked -everywhere its course by a smile. The fragments of rock touch it with a -wildness and liberality which give just the needed relief. I should -never be tired here, though I have elsewhere seen country of more secret -and alluring charms, better calculated to stimulate and suggest. Here -the eye and heart are filled. - -How happy the Indians must have been here! It is not long since they -were driven away, and the ground, above and below, is full of their -traces. - - "The earth is full of men." - -You have only to turn up the sod to find arrowheads and Indian pottery. -On an island, belonging to our host, and nearly opposite his house, they -loved to stay, and, no doubt, enjoyed its lavish beauty as much as the -myriad wild pigeons that now haunt its flower-filled shades. Here are -still the marks of their tomahawks, the troughs in which they prepared -their corn, their caches. - -A little way down the river is the site of an ancient Indian village, -with its regularly arranged mounds. As usual, they had chosen with the -finest taste. It was one of those soft shadowy afternoons when we went -there, when nature seems ready to weep, not from grief, but from an -overfull heart. Two prattling, lovely little girls, and an African boy, -with glittering eye and ready grin, made our party gay; but all were -still as we entered their little inlet and trod those flowery paths. -They may blacken Indian life as they will, talk of its dirt, its -brutality, I will ever believe that the men who chose that -dwelling-place were able to feel emotions of noble happiness as they -returned to it, and so were the women that received them. Neither were -the children sad or dull, who lived so familiarly with the deer and the -birds, and swam that clear wave in the shadow of the Seven Sisters. The -whole scene suggested to me a Greek splendor, a Greek sweetness, and I -can believe that an Indian brave, accustomed to ramble in such paths, -and be bathed by such sunbeams, might be mistaken for Apollo, as Apollo -was for him by West. Two of the boldest bluffs are called the Deer's -Walk, (not because deer do _not_ walk there,) and the Eagle's Nest. The -latter I visited one glorious morning; it was that, of the fourth of -July, and certainly I think I had never felt so happy that I was born in -America. Wo to all country folks that never saw this spot, never swept -an enraptured gaze over the prospect that stretched beneath. I do -believe Rome and Florence are suburbs compared to this capital of -nature's art. - -The bluff was decked with great bunches of a scarlet variety of the -milkweed, like cut coral, and all starred with a mysterious-looking dark -flower, whose cup rose lonely on a tall stem. This had, for two or -three days, disputed the ground with the lupine and phlox. My companions -disliked, I liked it. - -Here I thought of, or rather saw, what the Greek expresses under the -form of Jove's darling, Ganymede, and the following stanzas took form. - - GANYMEDE TO HIS EAGLE, - - SUGGESTED BY A WORK OF THORWALDSEN'S. - - Composed on the height called the Eagle's Nest, Oregon, Rock River, - July 4th, 1843. - - Upon the rocky mountain stood the boy, - A goblet of pure water in his hand, - His face and form spoke him one made for joy, - A willing servant to sweet love's command, - But a strange pain was written on his brow, - And thrilled throughout his silver accents now-- - - "My bird," he cries, "my destined brother friend, - O whither fleets to-day thy wayward flight? - Hast thou forgotten that I here attend, - From the full noon until this sad twilight? - A hundred times, at least, from the clear spring, - Since the full noon o'er hill and valley glowed, - I've filled the vase which our Olympian king - Upon my care for thy sole use bestowed; - That at the moment when thou should'st descend, - A pure refreshment might thy thirst attend. - - Hast thou forgotten earth, forgotten me, - Thy fellow bondsman in a royal cause, - Who, from the sadness of infinity, - Only with thee can know that peaceful pause - In which we catch the flowing strain of love, - Which binds our dim fates to the throne of Jove? - - Before I saw thee, I was like the May, - Longing for summer that must mar its bloom, - Or like the morning star that calls the day, - Whose glories to its promise are the tomb; - And as the eager fountain rises higher - To throw itself more strongly back to earth, - Still, as more sweet and full rose my desire, - More fondly it reverted to its birth, - For, what the rosebud seeks tells not the rose, - The meaning foretold by the boy the man cannot disclose. - - I was all Spring, for in my being dwelt - Eternal youth, where flowers are the fruit, - Full feeling was the thought of what was felt, - Its music was the meaning of the lute; - But heaven and earth such life will still deny, - For earth, divorced from heaven, still asks the question _Why?_ - - Upon the highest mountains my young feet - Ached, that no pinions from their lightness grew, - My starlike eyes the stars would fondly greet, - Yet win no greeting from the circling blue; - Fair, self-subsistent each in its own sphere, - They had no care that there was none for me; - Alike to them that I was far or near, - Alike to them, time and eternity. - - But, from the violet of lower air, - Sometimes an answer to my wishing came, - Those lightning births my nature seemed to share, - They told the secrets of its fiery frame, - The sudden messengers of hate and love, - The thunderbolts that arm the hand of Jove, - And strike sometimes the sacred spire, and strike the sacred grove. - - Come in a moment, in a moment gone, - They answered me, then left me still more lone, - They told me that the thought which ruled the world, - As yet no sail upon its course had furled, - That the creation was but just begun, - New leaves still leaving from the primal one, - But spoke not of the goal to which _my_ rapid wheels would run. - - Still, still my eyes, though tearfully, I strained - To the far future which my heart contained, - And no dull doubt my proper hope profaned. - - At last, O bliss, thy living form I spied, - Then a mere speck upon a distant sky, - Yet my keen glance discerned its noble pride, - And the full answer of that sun-filled eye; - I knew it was the wing that must upbear - My earthlier form into the realms of air. - - Thou knowest how we gained that beauteous height, - Where dwells the monarch of the sons of light, - Thou knowest he declared us two to be - The chosen servants of his ministry, - Thou as his messenger, a sacred sign - Of conquest, or with omen more benign, - To give its due weight to the righteous cause, - To express the verdict of Olympian laws. - - And I to wait upon the lonely spring, - Which slakes the thirst of bards to whom 'tis given - The destined dues of hopes divine to sing, - And weave the needed chain to bind to heaven. - Only from such could be obtained a draught - For him who in his early home from Jove's own cup has quaffed. - - To wait, to wait, but not to wait too long, - Till heavy grows the burthen of a song; - O bird! too long hast thou been gone to-day, - My feet are weary of their frequent way, - The spell that opes the spring my tongue no more can say. - - If soon thou com'st not, night will fall around, - My head with a sad slumber will be bound, - And the pure draught be spilt upon the ground. - - Remember that I am not yet divine, - Long years of service to the fatal Nine - Are yet to make a Delphian vigor mine. - - O, make them not too hard, thou bird of Jove, - Answer the stripling's hope, confirm his love, - Receive the service in which he delights, - And bear him often to the serene heights, - Where hands that were so prompt in serving thee, - Shall be allowed the highest ministry, - And Rapture live with bright Fidelity. - -The afternoon was spent in a very different manner. The family, whose -guests we were, possessed a gay and graceful hospitality that gave zest -to each moment. They possessed that rare politeness which, while fertile -in pleasant expedients to vary the enjoyment of a friend, leaves him -perfectly free the moment he wishes to be so. With such hosts, pleasure -may be combined with repose. They lived on the bank opposite the town, -and, as their house was full, we slept in the town, and passed three -days with them, passing to and fro morning and evening in their boats. -(To one of these, called the Fairy, in which a sweet little daughter of -the house moved about lighter than any Scotch Ellen ever sung, I should -indite a poem, if I had not been guilty of rhyme on the very last page.) -At morning this was very pleasant; at evening, I confess I was generally -too tired with the excitements of the day to think it so. - -Their house--a double log cabin--was, to my eye, the model of a Western -villa. Nature had laid out before it grounds which could not be -improved. Within, female taste had veiled every rudeness--availed itself -of every sylvan grace. - -In this charming abode what laughter, what sweet thoughts, what pleasing -fancies, did we not enjoy! May such never desert those who reared it and -made us so kindly welcome to all its pleasures! - -Fragments of city life were dexterously crumbled into the dish prepared -for general entertainment. Ice creams followed the dinner drawn by the -gentlemen from the river, and music and fireworks wound up the evening -of days spent on the Eagle's Nest. Now they had prepared a little fleet -to pass over to the Fourth of July celebration, which some queer -drumming and fifing, from the opposite bank, had announced to be "on -hand." - -We found the free and independent citizens there collected beneath the -trees, among whom many a round Irish visage dimpled at the usual puffs -of Ameriky. - -The orator was a New Englander, and the speech smacked loudly of Boston, -but was received with much applause, and followed by a plentiful dinner, -provided by and for the Sovereign People, to which Hail Columbia served -as grace. - -[Illustration: LOG CABIN AT ROCK RIVER] - -Returning, the gay flotilla hailed the little flag which the children -had raised from a log-cabin, prettier than any president ever saw, and -drank the health of their country and all mankind, with a clear -conscience. - -Dance and song wound up the day. I know not when the mere local -habitation has seemed to me to afford so fair a chance of happiness as -this. To a person of unspoiled tastes, the beauty alone would afford -stimulus enough. But with it would be naturally associated all kinds of -wild sports, experiments, and the studies of natural history. In these -regards, the poet, the sportsman, the naturalist, would alike rejoice in -this wide range of untouched loveliness. - -Then, with a very little money, a ducal estate may be purchased, and by -a very little more, and moderate labor, a family be maintained upon it -with raiment, food and shelter. The luxurious and minute comforts of a -city life are not yet to be had without effort disproportionate to their -value. But, where there is so great, a counterpoise, cannot these be -given up once for all? If the houses are imperfectly built, they can -afford immense fires and plenty of covering; if they are small, who -cares?--with such fields to roam in. In winter, it may be borne; in -summer, is of no consequence. With plenty of fish, and game, and wheat, -can they not dispense with a baker to bring "muffins hot" every morning -to the door for their breakfast? - -Here a man need not take a small slice from the landscape, and fence it -in from the obtrusions of an uncongenial neighbor, and there cut down -his fancies to miniature improvements which a chicken could run over in -ten minutes. He may have water and wood and land enough, to dread no -incursions on his prospect from some chance Vandal that may enter his -neighborhood. He need not painfully economise and manage how he may use -it all; he can afford to leave some of it wild, and to carry out his own -plans without obliterating those of nature. - -Here, whole families might live together, if they would. The sons might -return from their pilgrimages to settle near the parent hearth; the -daughters might find room near their mother. Those painful separations, -which already desecrate and desolate the Atlantic coast, are not -enforced here by the stern need of seeking bread; and where they are -voluntary, it is no matter. To me, too, used to the feelings which haunt -a society of struggling men, it was delightful to look upon a scene -where nature still wore her motherly smile and seemed to promise room -not only for those favored or cursed with the qualities best adapting -for the strifes of competition, but for the delicate, the thoughtful, -even the indolent or eccentric. She did not say, Fight or starve; nor -even, Work or cease to exist; but, merely showing that the apple was a -finer fruit than the wild crab, gave both room to grow in the garden. - -A pleasant society is formed of the families who live along the banks of -this stream upon farms. They are from various parts of the world, and -have much to communicate to one another. Many have cultivated minds and -refined manners, all a varied experience, while they have in common the -interests of a new country and a new life. They must traverse some -space to get at one another, but the journey is through scenes that make -it a separate pleasure. They must bear inconveniences to stay in one -another's houses; but these, to the well-disposed, are only a source of -amusement and adventure. - -The great drawback upon the lives of these settlers, at present, is the -unfitness of the women for their new lot. It has generally been the -choice of the men, and the women follow, as women will, doing their best -for affection's sake, but too often in heart-sickness and weariness. -Beside it frequently not being a choice or conviction of their own minds -that it is best to be here, their part is the hardest, and they are -least fitted for it. The men can find assistance in field labor, and -recreation with the gun and fishing-rod. Their bodily strength is -greater, and enables them to bear and enjoy both these forms of life. - -The women can rarely find any aid in domestic labor. All its various and -careful tasks must often be performed, sick or well, by the mother and -daughters, to whom a city education has imparted neither the strength -nor skill now demanded. - -The wives of the poorer settlers, having more hard work to do than -before, very frequently become slatterns; but the ladies, accustomed to -a refined neatness, feel that they cannot degrade themselves by its -absence, and struggle under every disadvantage to keep up the necessary -routine of small arrangements. - -With all these disadvantages for work, their resources for pleasure are -fewer. When they can leave the housework, they have not learnt to ride, -to drive, to row, alone. Their culture has too generally been that given -to women to make them "the ornaments of society." They can dance, but -not draw; talk French, but know nothing of the language of flowers; -neither in childhood were allowed to cultivate them, lest they should -tan their complexions. Accustomed to the pavement of Broadway, they dare -not tread the wild-wood paths for fear of rattlesnakes! - -Seeing much of this joylessness, and inaptitude, both of body and mind, -for a lot which would be full of blessings for those prepared for it, we -could not but look with deep interest on the little girls, and hope they -would grow up with the strength of body, dexterity, simple tastes, and -resources that would fit them to enjoy and refine the western farmer's -life. - -But they have a great deal to war with in the habits of thought acquired -by their mothers from their own early life. Everywhere the fatal spirit -of imitation, of reference to European standards, penetrates, and -threatens to blight whatever of original growth might adorn the soil. - -If the little girls grow up strong, resolute, able to exert their -faculties, their mothers mourn over their want of fashionable delicacy. -Are they gay, enterprising, ready to fly about in the various ways that -teach them so much, these ladies lament that "they cannot go to school, -where they might learn to be quiet." They lament the want of "education" -for their daughters, as if the thousand needs which call out their young -energies, and the language of nature around, yielded no education. - -Their grand ambition for their children, is to send them to school in -some eastern city, the measure most likely to make them useless and -unhappy at home. I earnestly hope that, ere long, the existence of good -schools near themselves, planned by persons of sufficient thought to -meet the wants of the place and time, instead of copying New York or -Boston, will correct this mania. Instruction the children want to enable -them to profit by the great natural advantages of their position; but -methods copied from the education of some English Lady Augusta, are as -ill suited to the daughter of an Illinois farmer, as satin shoes to -climb the Indian mounds. An elegance she would diffuse around her, if -her mind were opened to appreciate elegance; it might be of a kind new, -original, enchanting, as different from that of the city belle as that -of the prairie torch-flower from the shopworn article that touches the -cheek of that lady within her bonnet. - -To a girl really skilled to make home beautiful and comfortable, with -bodily strength to enjoy plenty of exercise, the woods, the streams, a -few studies, music, and the sincere and familiar intercourse, far more -easily to be met here than elsewhere, would afford happiness enough. Her -eyes would not grow dim, nor her cheeks sunken, in the absence of -parties, morning visits, and milliner's shops. - -As to music, I wish I could see in such places the guitar rather than -the piano, and good vocal more than instrumental music. - -The piano many carry with them, because it is the fashionable instrument -in the eastern cities. Even there, it is so merely from the habit of -imitating Europe, for not one in a thousand is willing to give the labor -requisite to ensure any valuable use of the instrument. - -But, out here, where the ladies have so much less leisure, it is still -less desirable. Add to this, they never know how to tune their own -instruments, and as persons seldom visit them who can do so, these -pianos are constantly out of tune, and would spoil the ear of one who -began by having any. - -The guitar, or some portable instrument which requires less practice, -and could be kept in tune by themselves, would be far more desirable for -most of these ladies. It would give all they want as a household -companion to fill up the gaps of life with a pleasant stimulus or -solace, and be sufficient accompaniment to the voice in social meetings. - -Singing in parts is the most delightful family amusement, and those who -are constantly together can learn to sing in perfect accord. All the -practice it needs, after some good elementary instruction, is such as -meetings by summer twilight, and evening firelight naturally suggest. -And, as music is an universal language, we cannot but think a fine -Italian duet would be as much at home in the log cabin as one of Mrs. -Gore's novels. - -The sixth July we left this beautiful place. It was one of those rich -days of bright sunlight, varied by the purple shadows of large sweeping -clouds. Many a backward look we cast, and left the heart behind. - -Our journey to-day was no less delightful than before, still all new, -boundless, limitless. Kinmont says, that limits are sacred; that the -Greeks were in the right to worship a god of limits. I say, that what is -limitless is alone divine, that there was neither wall nor road in Eden, -that those who walked there lost and found their way just as we did, and -that all the gain from the Fall was that we had a wagon to ride in. I do -not think, either, that even the horses doubted whether this last was -any advantage. - -Everywhere the rattlesnake-weed grows in profusion. The antidote -survives the bane. Soon the coarser plantain, the "white man's -footstep," shall take its place. - -We saw also the compass plant, and the western tea plant. Of some of the -brightest flowers an Indian girl afterwards told me the medicinal -virtues. I doubt not those students of the soil knew a use to every fair -emblem, on which we could only look to admire its hues and shape. - -After noon we were ferried by a girl, (unfortunately not of the most -picturesque appearance) across the Kishwaukie, the most graceful stream, -and on whose bosom rested many full-blown water-lilies, twice as large -as any of ours. I was told that, _en revanche_, they were scentless, but -I still regret that I could not get at one of them to try. - -Query, did the lilied fragrance which, in the miraculous times, -accompanied visions of saints and angels, proceed from water or garden -lilies? - -Kishwaukie is, according to tradition, the scene of a famous battle, and -its many grassy mounds contain the bones of the valiant. On these waved -thickly the mysterious purple flower, of which I have spoken before. I -think it springs from the blood of the Indians, as the hyacinth did from -that of Apollo's darling. - -The ladies of our host's family at Oregon, when they first went there, -after all the pains and plagues of building and settling, found their -first pastime in opening one of these mounds, in which they found, I -think, three of the departed, seated in the Indian fashion. - -One of these same ladies, as she was making bread one winter morning, -saw from the window a deer directly before the house. She ran out, with -her hands covered with dough, calling the others, and they caught him -bodily before he had time to escape. - -Here (at Kishwaukie) we received a visit from a ragged and barefoot, but -bright-eyed gentleman, who seemed to be the intellectual loafer, the -walking Will's coffeehouse of the place. He told us many charming snake -stories; among others, of himself having seen seventeen young ones -reenter the mother snake, on the intrusion of a visiter. - -This night we reached Belvidere, a flourishing town in Boon county, -where was the tomb, now despoiled, of Big Thunder. In this later day we -felt happy to find a really good hotel. - -From this place, by two days of very leisurely and devious journeying, -we reached Chicago, and thus ended a journey, which one at least of the -party might have wished unending. - -I have not been particularly anxious to give the geography of the -scene, inasmuch as it seemed to me no route, nor series of stations, but -a garden interspersed with cottages, groves and flowery lawns, through -which a stately river ran. I had no guide-book, kept no diary, do not -know how many miles we travelled each day, nor how many in all. What I -got from the journey was the poetic impression of the country at large; -it is all I have aimed to communicate. - -The narrative might have been made much more interesting, as life was at -the time, by many piquant anecdotes and tales drawn from private life. -But here courtesy restrains the pen, for I know those who received the -stranger with such frank kindness would feel ill requited by its -becoming the means of fixing many spy-glasses, even though the scrutiny -might be one of admiring interest, upon their private homes. - -For many of these, too, I was indebted to a friend, whose property they -more lawfully are. This friend was one of those rare beings who are -equally at home in nature and with man. He knew a tale of all that ran -and swam, and flew, or only grew, possessing that extensive familiarity -with things which shows equal sweetness of sympathy and playful -penetration. Most refreshing to me was his unstudied lore, the unwritten -poetry which common life presents to a strong and gentle mind. It was a -great contrast to the subtleties of analysis, the philosophic strainings -of which I had seen too much. But I will not attempt to transplant it. -May it profit others as it did me in the region where it was born, -where it belongs. The evening of our return to Chicago the sunset was of -a splendor and calmness beyond any we saw at the West. The twilight that -succeeded was equally beautiful; soft, pathetic, but just so calm. When -afterwards I learned this was the evening of Allston's death, it seemed -to me as if this glorious pageant was not without connection with that -event; at least, it inspired similar emotions,--a heavenly gate closing -a path adorned with shows well worthy Paradise. - - * * * * * - - Farewell, ye soft and sumptuous solitudes! - Ye fairy distances, ye lordly woods, - Haunted by paths like those that Poussin knew, - When after his all gazers eyes he drew; - I go,--and if I never more may steep - An eager heart in your enchantments deep, - Yet ever to itself that heart may say, - Be not exacting; thou hast lived one day; - Hast looked on that which matches with thy mood, - Impassioned sweetness of full being's flood, - Where nothing checked the bold yet gentle wave, - Where nought repelled the lavish love that gave. - A tender blessing lingers o'er the scene, - Like some young mother's thought, fond, yet serene, - And through its life new-born our lives have been. - Once more farewell,--a sad, a sweet farewell; - And, if I never must behold you more, - In other worlds I will not cease to tell - The rosary I here have numbered o'er; - And bright-haired Hope will lend a gladdened ear, - And Love will free him from the grasp of Fear, - And Gorgon critics, while the tale they hear, - Shall dew their stony glances with a tear, - If I but catch one echo from your spell;-- - And so farewell,--a grateful, sad farewell! - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - -CHICAGO AGAIN. - -Chicago had become interesting to me now, that I knew it as the portal -to so fair a scene. I had become interested in the land, in the people, -and looked sorrowfully on the lake on which I must soon embark, to leave -behind what I had just begun to enjoy. - -Now was the time to see the lake. The July moon was near its full, and -night after night it rose in a cloudless sky above this majestic sea. -The heat was excessive, so that there was no enjoyment of life, except -in the night, but then the air was of that delicious temperature, worthy -of orange groves. However, they were not wanted;--nothing was, as that -full light fell on the faintly rippling waters which then seemed -boundless. - -A poem received shortly after, from a friend in Massachusetts, seemed to -say that the July moon shone there not less splendid, and may claim -insertion here. - - TRIFORMIS. - - So pure her forehead's dazzling white, - So swift and clear her radiant eyes, - Within the treasure of whose light - Lay undeveloped destinies,-- - Of thoughts repressed such hidden store - Was hinted by each flitting smile, - I could but wonder and adore, - Far off, in awe, I gazed the while. - - I gazed at her, as at the moon, - Hanging in lustrous twilight skies, - Whose virgin crescent, sinking soon, - Peeps through the leaves before it flies. - Untouched Diana, flitting dim, - While sings the wood its evening hymn. - - II. - - Again we met. O joyful meeting! - Her radiance now was all for me, - Like kindly airs her kindly greeting, - So full, so musical, so free. - Within romantic forest aisles, - Within romantic paths we walked, - I bathed me in her sister smiles, - I breathed her beauty as we talked. - - So full-orbed Cynthia walks the skies, - Filling the earth with melodies, - Even so she condescends to kiss - Drowsy Endymions, coarse and dull, - Or fills our waking souls with bliss, - Making long nights too beautiful. - - III. - - O fair, but fickle lady-moon, - Why must thy full form ever wane? - O love! O friendship! why so soon - Must your sweet light recede again? - I wake me in the dead of night, - And start,--for through the misty gloom - Red Hecate stares--a boding sight!-- - Looks in, but never fills my room. - - Thou music of my boyhood's hour! - Thou shining light on manhood's way! - No more dost thou fair influence shower - To move my soul by night or day. - O strange! that while in hall and street - Thy hand I touch, thy grace I meet, - Such miles of polar ice should part - The slightest touch of mind and heart! - But all thy love has waned, and so - I gladly let thy beauty go. - -Now that I am borrowing, I will also give a letter received at this -time, and extracts from others from an earlier traveller, and in a -different region of the country from that I saw, which, I think, in -different ways, admirably descriptive of the country. - -[Illustration: PRAIRIE & LONG GROVE IN THE DISTANCE] - -"And you, too, love the Prairies, flying voyager of a summer hour; but -_I_ have only there owned the wild forest, the wide-spread meadows; -there only built my house, and seen the livelong day the thoughtful -shadows of the great clouds color, with all-transient browns, the -untrampled floor of grass; there has Spring pranked the long smooth -reaches with those golden flowers, whereby became the fields a sea -too golden to o'erlast the heats. Yes! and with many a yellow bell she -gilded our unbounded path, that sank in the light swells of the varied -surface, skirted the unfilled barrens, nor shunned the steep banks of -rivers darting merrily on. There has the white snow frolicsomely strown -itself, till all that vast, outstretched distance glittered like a -mirror in which only the heavens were reflected, and among these drifts -our steps have been curbed. Ah! many days of precious weather are on the -Prairies! - -"You have then found, after many a weary hour, when Time has locked your -temples as in a circle of heated metal, some cool, sweet, swift-gliding -moments, the iron ring of necessity ungirt, and the fevered pulses at -rest. You have also found this where fresh nature suffers no ravage, -amid those bowers of wild-wood, those dream-like, bee-sung, murmuring -and musical plains, swimming under their hazy distances, as if there, in -that warm and deep back ground, stood the fairy castle of our hopes, -with its fountains, its pictures, its many mystical figures in repose. -Ever could we rove over those sunny distances, breathing that modulated -wind, eyeing those so well-blended, imaginative, yet thoughtful -surfaces, and above us wide--wide a horizon effortless and superb as a -young divinity. - -"I was a prisoner where you glide, the summer's pensioned guest, and my -chains were the past and the future, darkness and blowing sand. There, -very weary, I received from the distance a sweet emblem of an -incorruptible, lofty and pervasive nature, but was I less weary? I was -a prisoner, and you, plains, were my prison bars. - -"Yet never, O never, beautiful plains, had I any feeling for you but -profoundest gratitude, for indeed ye are only fair, grand and majestic, -while I had scarcely a right there. Now, ye stand in that past day, -grateful images of unshattered repose, simple in your tranquillity, -strong in your self-possession, yet ever musical and springing as the -footsteps of a child. - -"Ah! that to some poet, whose lyre had never lost a string, to whom -mortality, kinder than is her custom, had vouchsafed a day whose down -had been untouched,--that to him these plains might enter, and flow -forth in airy song. And you, forests, under whose symmetrical shields of -dark green the colors of the fawns move, like the waters of the river -under its spears,--its cimeters of flag, where, in gleaming circles of -steel, the breasts of the wood-pigeons flash in the playful sunbeam, and -many sounds, many notes of no earthly music, come over the well-relieved -glades,--should not your depth pass into that poet's heart,--in your -depths should he not fuse his own?" - -The other letters show the painter's eye, as this the poet's heart. - - - "Springfield, Illinois, May 20, 1840. - -"Yesterday morning I left Griggsville, my knapsack at my back, pursued -my journey all day on foot, and found so new and great delight in this -charming country, that I must needs tell you about it. Do you remember -our saying once, that we never found the trees tall enough, the fields -green enough. Well, the trees are for once tall, and fair to look upon, -and one unvarying carpet of the tenderest green covers these marvellous -fields, that spread out their smooth sod for miles and miles, till they -even reach the horizon. But, to begin my day's journey. Griggsville is -situated on the west side of the Illinois river, on a high prairie; -between it and the river is a long range of bluffs which reaches a -hundred miles north and south, then a wide river bottom, and then the -river. It was a mild, showery morning, and I directed my steps toward -the bluffs. They are covered with forest, not like our forests, tangled -and impassable, but where the trees stand fair and apart from one -another, so that you might ride every where about on horseback, and the -tops of the hills are generally bald, and covered with green turf, like -our pastures. Indeed, the whole country reminds me perpetually of one -that has been carefully cultivated by a civilized people, who had been -suddenly removed from the earth, with all the works of their hands, and -the land given again into nature's keeping. The solitudes are not -savage; they have not that dreary, stony loneliness that used to affect -me in our own country; they never repel; there are no lonely heights, no -isolated spots, but all is gentle, mild, inviting,--all is accessible. -In following this winding, hilly road for four or five miles, I think I -counted at least a dozen new kinds of wild flowers, not timid, retiring -little plants like ours, but bold flowers of rich colors, covering the -ground in abundance. One very common flower resembles our cardinal -flower, though not of so deep a color, another is very like rocket or -phlox, but smaller and of various colors, white, blue and purple. -Beautiful white lupines I find too, violets white and purple. The vines -and parasites are magnificent. I followed on this road till I came to -the prairie which skirts the river, and this, of all the beauties of -this region, is the most peculiar and wonderful. Imagine a vast and -gently-swelling pasture of the brightest green grass, stretching away -from you on every side, behind, toward these hills I have described, in -all other directions, to a belt of tall trees, all growing up with noble -proportions, from the generous soil. It is an unimagined picture of -abundance and peace. Somewhere about, you are sure to see a huge herd, -of cattle, often white, and generally brightly marked, grazing. All -looks like the work of man's hand, but you see no vestige of man, save -perhaps an almost imperceptible hut on the edge of the prairie. Reaching -the river, I ferried myself across, and then crossed over to take the -Jacksonville railroad, but, finding there was no train, passed the night -at a farm house. And here may find its place this converse between the -solitary old man and the young traveller. - - SOLITARY. - - My son, with weariness thou seemest spent, - And toiling on the dusty road all day, - Weary and pale, yet with inconstant step, - Hither and thither turning,--seekest thou - To find aught lost, or what dark care pursues thee? - If thou art weary, rest, if hungry, eat. - - TRAVELLER. - - Oh rather, father, let me ask of thee - What is it I do seek, what thing I lack? - These many days I've left my father's hall, - Forth driven by insatiable desire, - That, like the wind, now gently murmuring, - Enticed me forward with its own sweet voice - Through many-leaved woods, and valleys deep, - Yet ever fled before me. Then with sound - Stronger than hurrying tempest, seizing me, - Forced me to fly its power. Forward still, - Bound by enchanted ties, I seek its source. - Sometimes it is a something I have lost, - Known long since, before I bent my steps - Toward this beautiful broad plane of earth. - Sometimes it is a spirit yet unknown, - In whose dim-imaged features seem to smile - The dear delight of these high-mansioned thoughts, - That sometimes visit me. Like unto mine - Her lineaments appear, but beautiful, - As of a sister in a far-off world, - Waiting to welcome me. And when I think - To reach and clasp the figure, it is gone, - And some ill-omened ghastly vision comes - To bid beware, and not too curiously - Demand the secrets of that distant world, - Whose shadow haunts me.--On the waves below - But now I gazed, warmed with the setting sun, - Who sent his golden streamers to my feet, - It seemed a pathway to a world beyond, - And I looked round, if that my spirit beckoned - That I might follow it. - - SOLITARY. - - Dreams all, my son. Yes, even so I dreamed, - And even so was thwarted. You must learn - To dream another long and troublous dream. - The dream of life. And you shall think you wake, - And think the shadows substance, love and hate, - Exchange and barter, joy, and weep, and dance, - And this too shall be dream. - - TRAVELLER. - - Oh who can say - Where lies the boundary? What solid things - That daily mock our senses, shall dissolve - Before the might within, while shadowy forms - Freeze into stark reality, defying - The force and will of man. These forms I see, - They may go with me through eternity, - And bless or curse with ceaseless company, - While yonder man, that I met yesternight, - Where is he now? He passed before my eyes, - He is gone, but these stay with me ever. - - That night the young man rested with the old, - And, grave or gay, in laughter or in tears, - They wore the night in converse. Morning came, - The dreamer took his solitary way; - And, as he pressed the old man's hand, he sighed, - Must this too be a dream? - -Afterwards, of the rolling prairie. "There was one of twenty miles in -extent, not flat, but high and rolling, so that when you arrived at a -high part, by gentle ascents, the view was beyond measure grand; as far -as the eye could reach, nothing but the green, rolling plain, and at a -vast distance, groves, all looking gentle and cultivated, yet all -uninhabited. I think it would impress you, as it does me, that these -scenes are truly sublime. I have a sensation of vastness which I have -sought in vain among high mountains. Mountains crowd one sensation on -another, till all is excitement, all is surprise, wonder, enchantment. -Here is neither enchantment or disappointment, but expectation fully -realized. I have always had an attachment for a plain. The Roman -Campagna is a prairie. Peoria is in a most lovely situation. In fact I -am so delighted that I am as full of superlatives as the Italian -language. I could, however, find fault enough, if you ask what I -dislike." - -But no one did ask; it is not worth while where there is so much to -admire. Yet the following is a good statement of the shadow side. - -"As to the boasts about the rapid progress here, give me rather the firm -fibre of a slow and knotty growth. I could not help, thinking as much -when I was talking to E. the other day, whom I met on board the boat. He -quarrelled with Boston for its slowness; said it was a bad place for a -young man. He could not make himself felt, could not see the effects of -his exertions as he could here.--To be sure he could not. Here he comes, -like a yankee farmer, with all the knowledge that our hard soil and -laborious cultivation could give him, and what wonder if he is surprised -at the work of his own hands, when he comes to such a soil as this. But -he feeds not so many mouths, though he tills more acres. The plants he -raises have not so exquisite a form, the vegetables so fine a flavor. -His cultivation becomes more negligent, he is not so good a farmer. Is -not this a true view? It strikes me continually. The traces of a man's -hand in a new country are rarely productive of beauty. It is a cutting -down of forest trees to make zigzag fences." - -The most picturesque objects to be seen from Chicago on the inland side -were the lines of Hoosier wagons. These rude farmers, the large first -product of the soil, travel leisurely along, sleeping in their wagons by -night, eating only what they bring with them. In the town they observe -the same plan, and trouble no luxurious hotel for board and lodging. In -the town they look like foreign peasantry, and contrast well with the -many Germans, Dutch, and Irish. In the country it is very pretty to see -them prepared to "camp out" at night, their horses taken out of harness, -and they lounging under the trees, enjoying the evening meal. - -On the lake side it is fine to see the great boats come panting it from -their rapid and marvellous journey. Especially at night the motion of -their lights is very majestic. - -When the favorite boats, the Great Western and Illinois, are going out, -the town is thronged with people from the south and farther west, to go -in them. These moonlight nights I would hear the French rippling and -fluttering familiarly amid the rude ups and downs of the Hoosier -dialect. - -At the hotel table were daily to be seen new faces, and new stories to -be learned. And any one who has a large acquaintance may be pretty sure -of meeting some of them here in the course of a few days. - -Among those whom I met was Mrs. Z., the aunt of an old schoolmate, to -whom I impatiently hastened, as soon as the meal was over, to demand -news of Mariana. The answer startled me. Mariana, so full of life, was -dead. That form, the most rich in energy and coloring of any I had ever -seen, had faded from the earth. The circle of youthful associations had -given way in the part, that seemed the strongest. What I now learned of -the story of this life, and what was by myself remembered, may be bound -together in this slight sketch. - -At the boarding-school to which I was too early sent, a fond, a proud, -and timid child, I saw among the ranks of the gay and graceful, bright -or earnest girls, only one who interested my fancy or touched my young -heart; and this was Mariana. She was, on the father's side, of Spanish -Creole blood, but had been sent to the Atlantic coast, to receive a -school education under the care of her aunt, Mrs. Z. - -This lady had kept her mostly at home with herself, and Mariana had gone -from her house to a day-school; but the aunt, being absent for a time in -Europe, she had now been unfortunately committed for some time to the -mercies of a boarding-school. - -A strange bird she proved there,--a lonely swallow that could not make -for itself a summer. At first, her schoolmates were captivated with her -ways; her love of wild dances and sudden song, her freaks of passion and -of wit. She was always new, always surprising, and, for a time, -charming. - -But, after awhile, they tired of her. She could never be depended on to -join in their plans, yet she expected them to follow out hers with -their whole strength. She was very loving, even infatuated in her own -affections, and exacted from those who had professed any love for her, -the devotion she was willing to bestow. - -Yet there was a vein of haughty caprice in her character; a love of -solitude, which made her at times wish to retire entirely, and at these -times she would expect to be thoroughly understood, and let alone, yet -to be welcomed back when she returned. She did not thwart others in -their humors, but she never doubted of great indulgence from them. - -Some singular habits she had which, when new, charmed, but, after -acquaintance, displeased her companions. She had by nature the same -habit and power of excitement that is described in the spinning -dervishes of the East. Like them, she would spin until all around her -were giddy, while her own brain, instead of being disturbed, was excited -to great action. Pausing, she would declaim verse of others or her own; -act many parts, with strange catch-words and burdens that seemed to act -with mystical power on her own fancy, sometimes stimulating her to -convulse the hearer with laughter, sometimes to melt him to tears. When -her power began to languish, she would spin again till fired to -recommence her singular drama, into which she wove figures from the -scenes of her earlier childhood, her companions, and the dignitaries she -sometimes saw, with fantasies unknown to life, unknown to heaven or -earth. - -This excitement, as may be supposed, was not good for her. It oftenest -came on in the evening, and often spoiled her sleep. She would wake in -the night, and cheat her restlessness by inventions that teazed, while -they sometimes diverted her companions. - -She was also a sleep-walker; and this one trait of her case did somewhat -alarm her guardians, who, otherwise, showed the same profound stupidity -as to this peculiar being, usual in the overseers of the young. They -consulted a physician, who said she would outgrow it, and prescribed a -milk diet. - -Meantime, the fever of this ardent and too early stimulated nature was -constantly increased by the restraints and narrow routine of the -boarding school. She was always devising means to break in upon it. She -had a taste which would have seemed ludicrous to her mates, if they had -not felt some awe of her, from a touch of genius and power that never -left her, for costume and fancy dresses, always some sash twisted about -her, some drapery, something odd in the arrangement of her hair and -dress, so that the methodical preceptress dared not let her go out -without a careful scrutiny and remodelling, whose soberizing effects -generally disappeared the moment she was in the free air. - -At last, a vent for her was found in private theatricals. Play followed -play, and in these and the rehearsals she found entertainment congenial -with her. The principal parts, as a matter of course, fell to her lot; -most of the good suggestions and arrangements came from her, and for a -time she ruled masterly and shone triumphant. - -During these performances the girls had heightened their natural bloom -with artificial red; this was delightful to them--it was something so -out of the way. But Mariana, after the plays were over, kept her carmine -saucer on the dressing-table, and put on her blushes regularly as the -morning. - -When stared and jeered at, she at first said she did it because she -thought it made her look prettier; but, after a while, she became quite -petulant about it,--would make no reply to any joke, but merely kept on -doing it. - -This irritated the girls, as all eccentricity does the world in general, -more than vice or malignity. They talked it over among themselves, till -they got wrought up to a desire of punishing, once for all, this -sometimes amusing, but so often provoking nonconformist. - -Having obtained the leave of the mistress, they laid, with great glee, a -plan one evening, which was to be carried into execution next day at -dinner. - -Among Mariana's irregularities was a great aversion to the meal-time -ceremonial. So long, so tiresome she found it, to be seated at a certain -moment, to wait while each one was served at so large a table, and one -where there was scarcely any conversation; from day to day it became -more heavy to her to sit there, or go there at all. Often as possible -she excused herself on the ever-convenient plea of headache, and was -hardly ever ready when the dinner-bell rang. - -To-day it found her on the balcony, lost in gazing on the beautiful -prospect. I have heard her say afterwards, she had rarely in her life -been so happy,--and she was one with whom happiness was a still -rapture. It was one of the most blessed summer days; the shadows of -great white clouds empurpled the distant hills for a few moments only to -leave them more golden; the tall grass of the wide fields waved in the -softest breeze. Pure blue were the heavens, and the same hue of pure -contentment was in the heart of Mariana. - -Suddenly on her bright mood jarred the dinner bell. At first rose her -usual thought, I will not, cannot go; and then the _must_, which daily -life can always enforce, even upon the butterflies and birds, came, and -she walked reluctantly to her room. She merely changed her dress, and -never thought of adding the artificial rose to her cheek. - -When she took her seat in the dining-hall, and was asked if she would be -helped, raising her eyes, she saw the person who asked her was deeply -rouged, with a bright glaring spot, perfectly round, in either cheek. -She looked at the next, same apparition! She then slowly passed her eyes -down the whole line, and saw the same, with a suppressed smile -distorting every countenance. Catching the design at once, she -deliberately looked along her own side of the table, at every schoolmate -in turn; every one had joined in the trick. The teachers strove to be -grave, but she saw they enjoyed the joke. The servants could not -suppress a titter. - -When Warren Hastings stood at the bar of Westminster Hall--when the -Methodist preacher walked through a line of men, each of whom greeted -him with a brickbat or a rotten egg, they had some preparation for the -crisis, and it might not be very difficult to meet it with an impassive -brow. Our little girl was quite unprepared to find herself in the midst -of a world which despised her, and triumphed in her disgrace. - -She had ruled, like a queen, in the midst of her companions; she had -shed her animation through their lives, and loaded them with prodigal -favors, nor once suspected that a powerful favorite might not be loved. -Now, she felt that she had been but a dangerous plaything in the hands -of those whose hearts she never had doubted. - -Yet, the occasion found her equal to it, for Mariana had the kind of -spirit, which, in a better cause, had made the Roman matron truly say of -her death-wound, "It is not painful, Poetus." She did not blench--she -did not change countenance. She swallowed her dinner with apparent -composure. She made remarks to those near her, as if she had no eyes. - -The wrath of the foe of course rose higher, and the moment they were -freed from the restraints of the dining-room, they all ran off, gaily -calling, and sarcastically laughing, with backward glances, at Mariana, -left alone. - -She went alone to her room, locked the door, and threw herself on the -floor in strong convulsions. These had sometimes threatened her life, as -a child, but of later years, she had outgrown them. School-hours came, -and she was not there. A little girl, sent to her door, could get no -answer. The teachers became alarmed, and broke it open. Bitter was their -penitence and that of her companions at the state in which they found -her. For some hours, terrible anxiety was felt; but, at last, nature, -exhausted, relieved herself by a deep slumber. - -From this Mariana rose an altered being. She made no reply to the -expressions of sorrow from her companions, none to the grave and kind, -but undiscerning comments of her teacher. She did not name the source of -her anguish, and its poisoned dart sank deeply in. It was this thought -which stung her so. What, not one, not a single one, in the hour of -trial, to take my part, not one who refused to take part against me. -Past words of love, and caresses, little heeded at the time, rose to her -memory, and gave fuel to her distempered thoughts. Beyond the sense of -universal perfidy, of burning resentment, she could not get. And -Mariana, born for love, now hated all the world. - -The change, however, which these feelings made in her conduct and -appearance bore no such construction to the careless observer. Her gay -freaks were quite gone, her wildness, her invention. Her dress was -uniform, her manner much subdued. Her chief interest seemed now to lie -in her studies, and in music. Her companions she never sought, but they, -partly from uneasy remorseful feelings, partly that they really liked -her much better now that she did not oppress and puzzle them, sought her -continually. And here the black shadow comes upon her life, the only -stain upon the history of Mariana. - -They talked to her, as girls, having few topics, naturally do, of one -another. And the demon rose within her, and spontaneously, without -design, generally without words of positive falsehood, she became a -genius of discord among them. She fanned those flames of envy and -jealousy which a wise, true word from a third will often quench forever; -by a glance, or a seemingly light reply, she planted the seeds of -dissension, till there was scarce a peaceful affection, or sincere -intimacy in the circle where she lived, and could not but rule, for she -was one whose nature was to that of the others as fire to clay. - -It was at this time that I came to the school, and first saw Mariana. Me -she charmed at once, for I was a sentimental child, who, in my early ill -health, had been indulged in reading novels, till I had no eyes for the -common greens and browns of life. The heroine of one of these, "The -Bandit's Bride," I immediately saw in Mariana. Surely the Bandit's Bride -had just such hair, and such strange, lively ways, and such a sudden -flash of the eye. The Bandit's Bride, too, was born to be -"misunderstood" by all but her lover. But Mariana, I was determined, -should be more fortunate, for, until her lover appeared, I myself would -be the wise and delicate being who could understand her. - -It was not, however, easy to approach her for this purpose. Did I offer -to run and fetch her handkerchief, she was obliged to go to her room, -and would rather do it herself. She did not like to have people turn -over for her the leaves of the music book as she played. Did I approach -my stool to her feet, she moved away, as if to give me room. The bunch -of wild flowers which I timidly laid beside her plate was left there. - -After some weeks my desire to attract her notice really preyed upon me, -and one day meeting her alone in the entry, I fell upon my knees, and -kissing her hand, cried, "O Mariana, do let me love you, and try to love -me a little." But my idol snatched away her hand, and, laughing more -wildly than the Bandit's Bride was ever described to have done, ran into -her room. After that day her manner to me was not only cold, but -repulsive; I felt myself scorned, and became very unhappy. - -Perhaps four months had passed thus, when, one afternoon, it became -obvious that something more than common was brewing. Dismay and mystery -were written in many faces of the older girls; much whispering was going -on in corners. - -In the evening, after prayers, the principal bade us stay; and, in a -grave, sad voice, summoned forth Mariana to answer charges to be made -against her. - -Mariana came forward, and leaned against the chimney-piece. Eight of the -older girls came forward, and preferred against her charges, alas, too -well-founded, of calumny and falsehood. - -My heart sank within me, as one after the other brought up their proofs, -and I saw they were too strong to be resisted. I could not bear the -thought of this second disgrace of my shining favorite. The first had -been whispered to me, though the girls did not like to talk about it. I -must confess, such is the charm of strength to softer natures, that -neither of these crises could deprive Mariana of hers in my eyes. - -At first, she defended herself with self-possession and eloquence. But -when she found she could no more resist the truth, she suddenly threw -herself down, dashing her head, with all her force, against the iron -hearth, on which a fire was burning, and was taken up senseless. - -The affright of those present was great. Now that they had perhaps -killed her, they reflected it would have been as well, if they had taken -warning from the former occasion, and approached very carefully a nature -so capable of any extreme. After awhile she revived, with a faint groan, -amid the sobs of her companions. I was on my knees by the bed, and held -her cold hand. One of those most aggrieved took it from me to beg her -pardon, and say it was impossible not to love her. She made no reply. - -Neither that night, nor for several days, could a word be obtained from -her, nor would she touch food; but, when it was presented to her, or any -one drew near for any cause, she merely turned away her head, and gave -no sign. The teacher saw that some terrible nervous affection had fallen -upon her, that she grew more and more feverish. She knew not what to do. - -Meanwhile a new revolution had taken place in the mind of the -passionate, but nobly-tempered child. All these months nothing but the -sense of injury had rankled in her heart. She had gone on in one mood, -doing what the demon prompted, without scruple and without fear. - -But, at the moment of detection, the tide ebbed, and the bottom of her -soul lay revealed to her eye. How black, how stained and sad. Strange, -strange that she had not seen before the baseness and cruelty of -falsehood, the loveliness of truth. Now, amid the wreck, uprose the -moral nature which never before had attained the ascendant. "But," she -thought, "too late, sin is revealed to me in all its deformity, and, -sin-defiled, I will not, cannot live. The, mainspring of life is -broken." - -And thus passed slowly by her hours in that black despair of which only -youth is capable. In older years men suffer more dull pain, as each -sorrow that comes drops its leaden weight into the past, and, similar -features of character bringing similar results, draws up a heavy burden -buried in those depths. But only youth has energy, with fixed unwinking -gaze, to contemplate grief, to hold it in the arms and to the heart, -like a child which makes it wretched, yet is indubitably its own. - -The lady who took charge of this sad child had never well understood her -before, but had always looked on her with great tenderness. And now love -seemed, when all around were in greatest distress, fearing to call in -medical aid, fearing to do without it, to teach her where the only balm -was to be found that could have healed this wounded spirit. - -One night she came in, bringing a calming draught. Mariana was sitting, -as usual, her hair loose, her dress the same robe they had put on her at -first, her eyes fixed vacantly upon the whited wall. To the proffers and -entreaties of her nurse she made no reply. - -The lady burst into tears, but Mariana did not seem even to observe it. - -The lady then said, "O my child, do not despair, do not think that one -great fault can mar a whole life. Let me trust you, let me tell you the -griefs of my sad life. I will tell to you, Mariana, what I never -expected to impart to any one." - -And so she told her tale: it was one of pain, of shame, borne, not for -herself, but for one near and dear as herself. Mariana knew the lady, -knew the pride and reserve of her nature; she had often admired to see -how the cheek, lovely, but no longer young, mantled with the deepest -blush of youth, and the blue eyes were cast down at any little emotion. -She had understood the proud sensibility of the character. She fixed her -eyes on those now raised to hers, bright with fast falling tears. She -heard the story to the end, and then, without saying a word, stretched -out her hand for the cup. - -She returned to life, but it was as one who has passed through the -valley of death. The heart of stone was quite broken in her. The fiery -life fallen from flame to coal. When her strength was a little restored, -she had all her companions summoned, and said to them; "I deserved to -die, but a generous trust has called me back to life. I will be worthy -of it, nor ever betray the truth, or resent injury more. Can you forgive -the past?" - -And they not only forgave, but, with love and earnest tears, clasped in -their arms the returning sister. They vied with one another in offices -of humble love to the humbled one; and, let it be recorded as an -instance of the pure honor of which young hearts are capable, that these -facts, known to forty persons, never, so far as I know, transpired -beyond those walls. - -It was not long after this that Mariana was summoned home. She went -thither a wonderfully instructed being, though in ways those who had -sent her forth to learn little dreamed of. - -Never was forgotten the vow of the returning prodigal. Mariana could not -resent, could not play false. The terrible crisis, which she so early -passed through, probably prevented the world from hearing much of her. A -wild fire was tamed in that hour of penitence at the boarding school, -such as has oftentimes wrapped court and camp in its destructive glow. - -But great were the perils she had yet to undergo, for she was one of -those barks which easily get beyond soundings, and ride not lightly on -the plunging billow. - -Her return to her native climate seconded the effects of inward -revolutions. The cool airs of the north had exasperated nerves too -susceptible for their tension. Those of the south restored her to a more -soft and indolent state. Energy gave place to feeling, turbulence to -intensity of character. - -At this time love was the natural guest, and he came to her under a form -that might have deluded one less ready for delusion. - -Sylvain was a person well proportioned to her lot in years, family, and -fortune. His personal beauty was not great, but of a noble character. -Repose marked his slow gesture, and the steady gaze of his large brown -eye, but it was a repose that would give way to a blaze of energy when -the occasion called. In his stature, expression, and heavy coloring, he -might not unfitly be represented by the great magnolias that inhabit the -forests of that climate. His voice, like everything about him, was rich -and soft, rather than sweet or delicate. - -Mariana no sooner knew him than she loved, and her love, lovely as she -was, soon excited his. But, oh! it is a curse to woman to love first, or -most. In so doing she reverses the natural relations, and her heart can -never, never be satisfied with what ensues. - -Mariana loved first, and loved most, for she had most force and variety -to love with. Sylvain seemed, at first, to take her to himself, as the -deep southern night might some fair star. But it proved not so. - -Mariana was a very intellectual being, and she needed companionship. -This she could only have with Sylvain, in the paths of passion and -action. Thoughts he had none, and little delicacy of sentiment. The -gifts she loved to prepare of such for him, he took with a sweet, but -indolent smile; he held them lightly, and soon they fell from his grasp. -He loved to have her near him, to feel the glow and fragrance of her -nature, but cared not to explore the little secret paths whence that -fragrance was collected. - -Mariana knew not this for a long time. Loving so much, she imagined all -the rest, and, where she felt a blank, always hoped that further -communion would fill it up. When she found this could never be; that -there was absolutely a whole province of her being to which nothing in -his answered, she was too deeply in love to leave him. Often after -passing hours together, beneath the southern moon, when, amid the sweet -intoxication of mutual love, she still felt the desolation of solitude, -and a repression of her finer powers, she had asked herself, can I give -him up? But the heart always passionately answered, no! I may be -miserable with him, but I cannot live without him. - -And the last miserable feeling of these conflicts was, that if the -lover, soon to be the bosom friend, could have dreamed of these -conflicts, he would have laughed, or else been angry, even enough to -give her up. - -Ah weakness of the strong. Of these strong only where strength is -weakness. Like others she had the decisions of life to make, before she -had light by which to make them. Let none condemn her. Those who have -not erred as fatally, should thank the guardian angel who gave them more -time to prepare for judgment, but blame no children who thought at arm's -length to find the moon. Mariana, with a heart capable of highest Eros, -gave it to one who knew love only as a flower or plaything, and bound -her heartstrings to one who parted his as lightly as the ripe fruit -leaves the bough. The sequel could not fail. Many console themselves for -the one great mistake with their children, with the world. This was not -possible to Mariana. A few months of domestic life she still was almost -happy. But Sylvain then grew tired. He wanted business and the world; -of these she had no knowledge, for them no faculties. He wanted in her -the head of his house; she to make her heart his home. No compromise was -possible between natures of such unequal poise, and which had met only -on one or two points. Through all its stages she - - "felt - The agonizing sense - Of seeing lore from passion melt - Into indifference; - The fearful shame that, day by day, - Burns onward, still to burn, - To have thrown her precious heart away, - And met this black return," - -till death at last closed the scene. Not that she died of one downright -blow on the heart. That is not the way such cases proceed. I cannot -detail all the symptoms, for I was not there to watch them, and aunt Z. -was neither so faithful an observer or narrator as I have shown myself -in the school-day passages; but, generally, they were as follows. - -Sylvain wanted to go into the world, or let it into his house. Mariana -consented; but, with an unsatisfied heart, and no lightness of -character, she played her part ill there. The sort of talent and -facility she had displayed in early days, were not the least like what -is called out in the social world by the desire to please and to shine. -Her excitement had been muse-like, that of the improvisatrice, whose -kindling fancy seeks to create an atmosphere round it, and makes the -chain through which to set free its electric sparks. That had been a -time of wild and exuberant life. After her character became more tender -and concentrated, strong affection or a pure enthusiasm might still have -called out beautiful talents in her. But in the first she was utterly -disappointed. The second was not roused within her thought. She did not -expand into various life, and remained unequal; sometimes too passive, -sometimes too ardent, and not sufficiently occupied with what occupied -those around her to come on the same level with them and embellish their -hours. - -Thus she lost ground daily with her husband, who, comparing her with the -careless shining dames of society, wondered why he had found her so -charming in solitude. - -At intervals, when they were left alone, Mariana wanted to open her -heart, to tell the thoughts of her mind. She was so conscious of secret -riches within herself, that sometimes it seemed, could she but reveal a -glimpse of them to the eye of Sylvain, he would be attracted near her -again, and take a path where they could walk hand in hand. Sylvain, in -these intervals, wanted an indolent repose. His home was his castle. He -wanted no scenes too exciting there. Light jousts and plays were well -enough, but no grave encounters. He liked to lounge, to sing, to read, -to sleep. In fine, Sylvain became the kind, but preoccupied husband, -Mariana, the solitary and wretched wife. He was off continually, with -his male companions, on excursions or affairs of pleasure. At home -Mariana found that neither her books nor music would console her. - -She was of too strong a nature to yield without a struggle to so dull a -fiend as despair. She looked into other hearts, seeking whether she -could there find such home as an orphan asylum may afford. This she did -rather because the chance came to her, and it seemed unfit not to seize -the proffered plank, than in hope, for she was not one to double her -stakes, but rather with Cassandra power to discern early the sure course -of the game. And Cassandra whispered that she was one of those - - "Whom men love not, but yet regret." - -And so it proved. Just as in her childish days, though in a different -form, it happened betwixt her and these companions. She could not be -content to receive them quietly, but was stimulated to throw herself too -much into the tie, into the hour, till she filled it too full for them. -Like Fortunio, who sought to do homage to his friends by building a fire -of cinnamon, not knowing that its perfume would be too strong for their -endurance, so did Mariana. What she wanted to tell, they did not wish to -hear; a little had pleased, so much overpowered, and they preferred the -free air of the street, even, to the cinnamon perfume of her palace. - -However, this did not signify; had they staid, it would not have availed -her! It was a nobler road, a higher aim she needed now; this did not -become clear to her. - -She lost her appetite, she fell sick, had fever. Sylvain was alarmed, -nursed her tenderly; she grew better. Then his care ceased, he saw not -the mind's disease, but left her to rise into health and recover the -tone of her spirits, as she might. More solitary than ever, she tried to -raise herself, but she knew not yet enough. The weight laid upon her -young life was a little too heavy for it. One long day she passed alone, -and the thoughts and presages came too thick for her strength. She knew -not what to do with them, relapsed into fever, and died. - -Notwithstanding this weakness, I must ever think of her as a fine sample -of womanhood, born to shed light and life on some palace home. Had she -known more of God and the universe, she would not have given way where -so many have conquered. But peace be with her; she now, perhaps, has -entered into a larger freedom, which is knowledge. With her died a great -interest in life to me. Since her I have never seen a Bandit's Bride. -She, indeed, turned out to be only a merchant's.--Sylvain is married -again to a fair and laughing girl, who will not die, probably, till -their marriage grows a "golden marriage." - -Aunt Z. had with her some papers of Mariana's, which faintly shadow -forth the thoughts that engaged her in the last days. One of these seems -to have been written when some faint gleam had been thrown across the -path, only to make its darkness more visible. It seems to have been -suggested by remembrance of the beautiful ballad, _Helen of Kirconnel -Lee_, which once she loved to recite, and in tones that would not have -sent a chill to the heart from which it came. - - "Death - Opens her sweet white arms, and whispers Peace; - Come, say thy sorrows in this bosom! This - Will never close against thee, and my heart, - Though cold, cannot be colder much than man's." - - "I wish I were where Helen lies," - A lover in the times of old, - Thus vents his grief in lonely sighs, - And hot tears from a bosom cold. - - But, mourner for thy martyred love, - Could'st thou but know what hearts must feel, - Where no sweet recollections move, - Whose tears a desert fount reveal. - - When "in thy arms burd Helen fell," - She died, sad man, she died for thee, - Nor could the films of death dispel - Her loving eye's sweet radiancy. - - Thou wert beloved, and she had loved, - Till death alone the whole could tell, - Death every shade of doubt removed, - And steeped the star in its cold well. - - On some fond breast the parting soul - Relies,--earth has no more to give; - Who wholly loves has known the whole, - The wholly loved doth truly live. - - But some, sad outcasts from this prize, - Wither down to a lonely grave, - All hearts their hidden love despise, - And leave them to the whelming wave. - - They heart to heart have never pressed, - Nor hands in holy pledge have given, - By father's love were ne'er caressed, - Nor in a mother's eye saw heaven. - - A flowerless and fruitless tree, - A dried up stream, a mateless bird, - They live, yet never living be, - They die, their music all unheard. - - I wish I were where Helen lies, - For there I could not be alone; - But now, when this dull body dies, - The spirit still will make its moan. - - Love passed me by, nor touched my brow; - Life would not yield one perfect boon; - And all too late it calls me now, - O all too late, and all too soon. - - If thou couldst the dark riddle read - Which leaves this dart within my breast, - Then might I think thou lov'st indeed, - Then were the whole to thee confest. - - Father, they will not take me home, - To the poor child no heart is free; - In sleet and snow all night I roam; - Father,--was this decreed by thee? - - I will not try another door, - To seek what I have never found; - Now, till the very last is o'er, - Upon the earth I'll wander round. - - I will not hear the treacherous call - That bids me stay and rest awhile, - For I have found that, one and all, - They seek me for a prey and spoil. - - They are not bad, I know it well; - I know they know not what they do; - They are the tools of the dread spell - Which the lost lover must pursue. - - In temples sometimes she may rest, - In lonely groves, away from men, - There bend the head, by heats distrest, - Nor be by blows awoke again. - - Nature is kind, and God is kind, - And, if she had not had a heart, - Only that great discerning mind, - She might have acted well her part. - - But oh this thirst, that none can still, - Save those unfounden waters free; - The angel of my life should fill - And soothe me to Eternity! - -It marks the defect in the position of woman that one like Mariana -should have found reason to write thus. To a man of equal power, equal -sincerity, no more!--many resources would have presented themselves. He -would not have needed to seek, he would have been called by life, and -not permitted to be quite wrecked through the affections only. But such -women as Mariana are often lost, unless they meet some man of -sufficiently great soul to prize them. - -Van Artevelde's Elena, though in her individual nature unlike my -Mariana, is like her in a mind whose large impulses are disproportioned -to the persons and occasions she meets, and which carry her beyond those -reserves which mark the appointed lot of woman. But, when she met Van -Artevelde, he was too great not to revere her rare nature, without -regard to the stains and errors of its past history; great enough to -receive her entirely and make a new life for her; man enough to be a -lover! But as such men come not so often as once an age, their presence -should not be absolutely needed to sustain life. - -At Chicago I read again Philip Van Artevelde, and certain passages in it -will always be in my mind associated with the deep sound of the lake, as -heard in the night. I used to read a short time at night, and then open -the blind to look out. The moon would be full upon the lake, and the -calm breath, pure light, and the deep voice harmonized well with the -thought of the Flemish hero. When will this country have such a man? It -is what she needs; no thin Idealist, no coarse Realist, but a man whose -eye reads the heavens while his feet step firmly on the ground, and his -hands are strong and dexterous for the use of human implements. A man -religious, virtuous and--sagacious; a man of universal sympathies, but -self-possessed; a man who knows the region of emotion, though he is not -its slave; a man to whom this world is no mere spectacle, or fleeting -shadow, but a great solemn game to be played with good heed, for its -stakes are of eternal value, yet who, if his own play be true, heeds not -what he loses by the falsehood of others. A man who hives from the -past, yet knows that its honey can but moderately avail him; whose -comprehensive eye scans the present, neither infatuated by its golden -lures, nor chilled by its many ventures; who possesses prescience, as -the wise man must, but not so far as to be driven mad to-day by the gift -which discerns to-morrow. When there is such a man for America, the -thought which urges her on will be expressed. - -Now that I am about to leave Illinois, feelings of regret and admiration -come over me, as in parting with a friend whom we have not had the good -sense to prize and study, while hours of association, never perhaps to -return, were granted. I have fixed my attention almost exclusively on -the picturesque beauty of this region; it was so new, so inspiring. But -I ought to have been more interested in the housekeeping of this -magnificent state, in the education she is giving her children, in their -prospects. - -Illinois is, at present, a by-word of reproach among the nations, for -the careless, prodigal course, by which, in early youth, she has -endangered her honor. But you cannot look about you there, without -seeing that there are resources abundant to retrieve, and soon to -retrieve, far greater errors, if they are only directed with wisdom. - -[Illustration: ROLLING PRAIRIE OF ILLINOIS] - -Might the simple maxim, that honesty is the best policy be laid to -heart! Might a sense of the true aims of life elevate the tone of -politics and trade, till public and private honor become identical! -Might the western man in that crowded and exciting life which develops -his faculties so fully for to-day, not forget that better part which -could not be taken from him! Might the western woman take that interest -and acquire that light for the education of the children, for which she -alone has leisure! - -This is indeed the great problem of the place and time. If the next -generation be well prepared for their work, ambitious of good and -skilful to achieve it, the children of the present settlers may be -leaven enough for the mass constantly increasing by emigration. And how -much is this needed where those rude foreigners can so little understand -the best interests of the land they seek for bread and shelter. It would -be a happiness to aid in this good work, and interweave the white and -golden threads into the fate of Illinois. It would be a work worthy the -devotion of any mind. - -In the little that I saw, was a large proportion of intelligence, -activity, and kind feeling; but, if there was much serious laying to -heart of the true purposes of life, it did not appear in the tone of -conversation. - -Having before me the Illinois guide-book, I find there mentioned, as a -"visionary," one of the men I should think of as able to be a truly -valuable settler in a new and great country--Morris Birkbeck, of -England. Since my return, I have read his journey to, and letters from, -Illinois. I see nothing promised there that will not surely belong to -the man who knows how to seek for it. - -Mr. Birkbeck was an enlightened philanthropist, the rather that he did -not wish to sacrifice himself to his fellow men, but to benefit them -with all he had, and was, and wished. He thought all the creatures of a -divine love ought to be happy and ought to be good, and that his own -soul and his own life were not less precious than those of others; -indeed, that to keep these healthy, was his only means of a healthy -influence. - -But his aims were altogether generous. Freedom, the liberty of law, not -license; not indolence, work for himself and children, and all men, but -under genial and poetic influences;--these were his aims. How different -from those of the new settlers in general! And into his mind so long ago -shone steadily the two thoughts, now so prevalent in thinking and -aspiring minds, of "Resist not evil," and "Every man his own priest, and -the heart the only true church." - -He has lost credit for sagacity from accidental circumstances. It does -not appear that his position was ill chosen, or his means -disproportioned to his ends, had he been sustained by funds from -England, as he had a right to expect. But through the profligacy of a -near relative, commissioned to collect these dues, he was disappointed -of them, and his paper protested and credit destroyed in our cities, -before he became aware of his danger. - -Still, though more slowly and with more difficulty, he might have -succeeded in his designs. The English farmer might have made the English -settlement a model for good methods and good aims to all that region, -had not death prematurely cut short his plans. - -I have wished to say these few words, because the veneration with which -I have been inspired for his character by those who knew him well, -makes me impatient of this careless blame being passed from mouth to -mouth and book, to book. Success is no test of a man's endeavor, and -Illinois will yet, I hope, regard this man, who knew so well what -_ought_ to be, as one of her true patriarchs, the Abraham of a promised -land. - -He was one too much before his time to be soon valued; but the time is -growing up to him, and will understand his mild philanthropy and clear, -large views. - -I subjoin the account of his death, given me by a friend, as expressing, -in fair picture, the character of the man. - -"Mr. Birkbeck was returning from the seat of government, whither he had -been on public business, and was accompanied by his son Bradford, a -youth of sixteen or eighteen. It was necessary to cross a ford, which -was rendered difficult by the swelling of the stream. Mr. B.'s horse was -unwilling to plunge into the water, so his son offered to go first, and -he followed. Bradford's horse had just gained footing on the opposite -shore, when he looked back and perceived his father was dismounted, -struggling in the water, and carried down by the current. - -"Mr. Birkbeck could not swim; Bradford could; so he dismounted, and -plunged into the stream to save his father. He got to him before he -sank, held him up above water, and told him to take hold of his collar, -and he would swim ashore with him. Mr. B. did so, and Bradford exerted -all his strength to stem the current and reach the shore at a point -where they could land; but, encumbered by his own clothing and his -father's weight, he made no progress; and when Mr. B. perceived this, -he, with his characteristic calmness and resolution, gave up his hold of -his son, and, motioning to him to save himself, resigned himself to his -fate. His son reached the shore, but was too much overwhelmed by his -loss to leave it. He was found by some travellers, many hours after, -seated on the margin of the stream, with his head in his hands, -stupefied with grief. - -"The body was found, and on the countenance was the sweetest smile; and -Bradford said, 'just so he smiled upon me when he let go and pushed me -away from him.'" - -Many men can choose the right and best on a great occasion, but not many -can, with such ready and serene decision, lay aside even life, when it -is right and best. This little narrative touched my imagination in very -early youth, and often has come up, in lonely vision, that face, -serenely smiling above the current which bore him away to another realm -of being. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - -WISCONSIN. - -A territory, not yet a state; still, nearer the acorn than we were. - -It was very pleasant coming up. These large and elegant boats are so -well arranged that every excursion may be a party of pleasure. There are -many fair shows to see on the lake and its shores, almost always new and -agreeable persons on board, pretty children playing about, ladies -singing, (and if not very well, there is room to keep out of the way.) -You may see a great deal here of Life, in the London sense, if you know -a few people; or if you do not, and have the tact to look about you -without seeming to stare. - -We came to Milwaukie, where we were to pass a fortnight or more. - -This place is most beautifully situated. A little river, with romantic -banks, passes up through the town. The bank of the lake is here a bold -bluff, eighty feet in height. From its summit, you enjoyed a noble -outlook on the lake. A little narrow path wound along the edge of the -lake below. I liked this walk much. Above me this high wall of rich -earth, garlanded on its crest with trees, the long ripples of the lake -coming up to my feet. Here, standing in the shadow, I could appreciate -better its magnificent changes of color, which are the chief beauties of -the lake-waters; but these are indescribable. - -It was fine to ascend into the lighthouse, above this bluff, and watch -from thence the thunder-clouds which so frequently rose over the lake, -or the great boats coming in. Approaching the Milwaukie pier, they made -a bend, and seemed to do obeisance in the heavy style of some dowager -duchess entering a circle she wishes to treat with especial respect. - -These boats come in and out every day, and still afford a cause for -general excitement. The people swarm down to greet them, to receive and -send away their packages and letters. To me they seemed such mighty -messengers, to give, by their noble motion, such an idea of the power -and fullness of life, that they were worthy to carry despatches from -king to king. It must be very pleasant for those who have an active -share in carrying on the affairs of this great and growing world to see -them come in. It must be very pleasant to those who have dearly loved -friends at the next station. To those who have neither business nor -friends, it sometimes gives a desolating sense of insignificance. - -The town promises to be, some time, a fine one, as it is so well -situated; and they have good building material--a yellow brick, very -pleasing to the eye. It seems to grow before you, and has indeed but -just emerged from the thickets of oak and wild roses. A few steps will -take you into the thickets, and certainly I never saw so many wild -roses, or of so beautiful a red. Of such a color were the first red ones -the world ever saw, when, says the legend, Venus flying to the -assistance of Adonis, the rosebushes kept catching her to make her stay, -and the drops of blood the thorns drew from her feet, as she tore -herself away, fell on the white roses, and turned them this beautiful -red. - -I will here insert, though with no excuse, except that it came to memory -at the time, this description of Titian's Venus and Adonis. - -"This picture has that perfect balance of lines and forms that it would, -(as was said of all Raphael's) 'seen at any distance have the air of an -ornamental design.' It also tolls its story at the first glance, though, -like all beautiful works, it gains by study. - -"On one side slumbers the little God of Love, as an emblem, I suppose, -that only the love of man is worth embodying, for surely Cytherea's is -awake enough. The quiver of Cupid, suspended to a tree, gives sportive -grace to the scene which softens the tragedy of a breaking tie. The dogs -of Adonis pull upon his hand; he can scarce forbear to burst from the -detaining arms of Beauty herself, yet he waits a moment to coax her--to -make an unmeaning promise. 'A moment, a moment, my love, and I will -return; a moment only.' Adonis is not beautiful, except in his -expression of eager youth. The Queen of Beauty does not choose Apollo. -Venus herself is very beautiful; especially the body is lovely as can -be; and the soft, imploring look, gives a conjugal delicacy to the face -which purifies the whole picture. This Venus is not as fresh, as moving -and breathing as Shakspeare's, yet lovelier to the mind if not to the -sense. 'T is difficult to look at this picture without indignation, -because it is, in one respect, so true. Why must women always try to -detain and restrain what they love? Foolish beauty; let him go; it is -thy tenderness that has spoiled him. Be less lovely--less feminine; -abandon thy fancy for giving thyself wholly; cease to love so well, and -any Hercules will spin among thy maids, if thou wilt. But let him go -this time; thou canst not keep him. Sit there, by thyself, on that bank, -and, instead of thinking how soon he will come back, think how thou -may'st love him no better than he does thee, for the time has come." - -It was soon after this moment that the poor Queen, hearing the -frightened hounds, apprehended the rash huntsman's danger, and, flying -through the woods, gave their hue to the red roses. - -To return from the Grecian isles to Milwaukie. One day, walking along -the river's bank in search of a waterfall to be seen from one ravine, we -heard tones from a band of music, and saw a gay troop shooting at a -mark, on the opposite bank. Between every shot the band played; the -effect was very pretty. - -On this walk we found two of the oldest and most gnarled hemlocks that -ever afforded study for a painter. They were the only ones we saw; they -seemed the veterans of a former race. - -At Milwaukie, as at Chicago, are many pleasant people, drawn together -from all parts of the world. A resident here would find great piquancy -in the associations,--those he met having such dissimilar histories and -topics. And several persons I saw evidently transplanted from the most -refined circles to be met in this country. There are lures enough in the -West for people of all kinds;--the enthusiast and the cunning man; the -naturalist, and the lover who needs to be rich for the sake of her he -loves. - -The torrent of emigration swells very strongly towards this place. -During the fine weather, the poor refugees arrive daily, in their -national dresses, all travel-soiled and worn. The night they pass in -rude shantees, in a particular quarter of the town, then walk off into -the country--the mothers carrying their infants, the fathers leading the -little children by the hand, seeking a home, where their hands may -maintain them. - -One morning we set off in their track, and travelled a day's journey -into this country,--fair, yet not, in that part which I saw, comparable, -in my eyes, to the Rock River region. It alternates rich fields, proper -for grain, with oak openings, as they are called; bold, various and -beautiful were the features of the scene, but I saw not those majestic -sweeps, those boundless distances, those heavenly fields; it was not the -same world. - -Neither did we travel in the same delightful manner. We were now in a -nice carriage, which must not go off the road, for fear of breakage, -with a regular coachman, whose chief care was not to tire his horses, -and who had no taste for entering fields in pursuit of wild flowers, or -tempting some strange wood path in search of whatever might befall. It -was pleasant, but almost as tame as New England. - -But charming indeed was the place where we stopped. It was in the -vicinity of a chain of lakes, and on the bank of the loveliest little -stream, called the Bark river, which flowed in rapid amber brightness, -through fields, and dells, and stately knolls, of most idylic beauty. - -The little log cabin where we slept, with its flower garden in front, -disturbed the scene no more than a stray lock on the fair cheek. The -hospitality of that house I may well call princely; it was the boundless -hospitality of the heart, which, if it has no Aladdin's lamp to create a -palace for the guest, does him still higher service by the freedom of -its bounty up to the very last drop of its powers. - -Sweet were the sunsets seen in the valley of this stream, though here, -and, I grieve to say, no less near the Rock River, the fiend, who has -ever liberty to tempt the happy in this world, appeared in the shape of -mosquitoes, and allowed us no bodily to enjoy our mental peace. - -One day we ladies gave, under the guidance of our host, to visiting all -the beauties of the adjacent lakes--Nomabbin, Silver, and Pine Lakes. On -the shore of Nomabbin had formerly been one of the finest Indian -villages. Our host said that, one day, as he was lying there beneath the -bank, he saw a tall Indian standing at gaze on the knoll. He lay a long -time, curious to see how long the figure would maintain its statue-like -absorption. But, at last, his patience yielded, and, in moving, he made -a slight noise. The Indian saw him, gave a wild, snorting sound of -indignation and pain, and strode away. - -What feelings must consume their heart at such moments! I scarcely see -how they can forbear to shoot the white man where he stands. - -But the power of fate is with the white man, and the Indian feels it. -This same gentleman told of his travelling through the wilderness with -an Indian guide. He had with him a bottle of spirit which he meant to -give him in small quantities, but the Indian, once excited, wanted the -whole at once. I would not, said Mr.----, give it him, for I thought if -he got really drunk, there was an end to his services as a guide. But he -persisted, and at last tried to take it from me. I was not armed; he -was, and twice as strong as I. But I knew an Indian could not resist the -look of a white man, and I fixed my eye steadily on his. He bore it for -a moment, then his eye fell; he let go the bottle. I took his gun and -threw it to a distance. After a few moments' pause, I told him to go and -fetch it, and left it in his hands. From that moment he was quite -obedient, even servile, all the rest of the way. - -This gentleman, though in other respects of most kindly and liberal -heart, showed the aversion that the white man soon learns to feel for -the Indian on whom he encroaches, the aversion of the injurer for him he -has degraded. After telling the anecdote of his seeing the Indian gazing -at the seat of his former home, - - "A thing for human feelings the most trying," - -and which, one would think, would have awakened soft compassion--almost -remorse--in the present owner of that fair hill, which contained for the -exile the bones of his dead, the ashes of his hopes,--he observed, "They -cannot be prevented from straggling back here to their old haunts. I -wish they could. They ought not to permitted to drive away _our_ game." -OUR game--just heavens! - -The same gentleman showed, on a slight occasion, the true spirit of the -sportsman, or, perhaps I might say of Man, when engaged in any kind of -chase. Showing us some antlers, he said, "This one belonged to a -majestic creature. But this other was the beauty. I had been lying a -long time at watch, when at last I heard them come crackling along. I -lifted my head cautiously, as they burst through the trees. The first -was a magnificent fellow; but then I saw coming one, the prettiest, the -most graceful I ever beheld--there was something so soft and beseeching -in its look. I chose him at once; took aim, and shot him dead. You see -the antlers are not very large; it was young, but the prettiest -creature!" - -In the course of this morning's drive, we visited the gentlemen on their -fishing party. They hailed us gaily, and rowed ashore to show us what -fine booty they had. No disappointment there, no dull work. On the -beautiful point of land from which we first saw them, lived a contented -woman, the only one I heard of out there. She was English, and said she -had seen so much suffering in her own country that the hardships of this -seemed as nothing to her. But the others--even our sweet and gentle -hostess--found their labors disproportioned to their strength, if not -to their patience; and, while their husbands and brothers enjoyed the -country in hunting or fishing, they found themselves confined to a -comfortless and laborious indoor life. But it need not be so long. - -This afternoon, driving about on the banks of these lakes, we found the -scene all of one kind of loveliness; wide, graceful woods, and then -these fine sheets of water, with fine points of land jutting out boldly -into them. It was lovely, but not striking or peculiar. - -All woods suggest pictures. The European forest, with its long glades -and green sunny dells, naturally suggested the figures of armed knight -on his proud steed, or maiden, decked in gold and pearl, pricking along -them on a snow white palfrey. The green dells, of weary Palmer sleeping -there beside the spring with his head upon his wallet. Our minds, -familiar with such figures, people with them the New England woods, -wherever the sunlight falls down a longer than usual cart-track, -wherever a cleared spot has lain still enough for the trees to look -friendly, with their exposed sides cultivated by the light, and the -grass to look velvet warm, and be embroidered with flowers. These -western woods suggest a different kind of ballad. The Indian legends -have, often, an air of the wildest solitude, as has the one Mr. Lowell -has put into verse, in his late volume. But I did not see those wild -woods; only such as suggest little romances of love and sorrow, like -this: - - A maiden sat beneath the tree, - Tear-bedewed her pale cheeks be, - And she sigheth heavily. - - From forth the wood into the light, - A hunter strides with carol light, - And a glance so bold and bright. - - He careless stopped and eyed the maid; - "Why weepest thou?" he gently said, - "I love thee well; be not afraid." - - He takes her hand, and leads her on; - She should have waited there alone, - For he was not her chosen one. - - He leans her head upon his breast, - She knew 't was not her home of rest, - But ah! she had been sore distrest. - - The sacred stars looked sadly down; - The parting moon appeared to frown, - To see thus dimmed the diamond crown. - - Then from the thicket starts a deer, - The huntsman, seizing on his spear, - Cries, "Maiden, wait thou for me here." - - She sees him vanish into night, - She starts from sleep in deep affright, - For it was not her own true knight. - - Though but in dream Gunhilda failed; - Though but a fancied ill assailed, - Though she but fancied fault bewailed. - - Yet thought of day makes dream of night: - She is not worthy of the knight, - The inmost altar burns not bright. - - If loneliness thou canst not bear, - Cannot the dragon's venom dare, - Of the pure meed thou shouldst despair. - - Now sadder that lone maiden sighs, - Far bitterer tears profane her eyes, - Crushed in the dust her heart's flower lies. - -[Illustration: INDIAN ENCAMPMENT] - -On the bank of Silver Lake we saw an Indian encampment. A shower -threatened us, but we resolved to try if we could not visit it before it -came on. We crossed a wide field on foot, and found them amid the trees -on a shelving bank; just as we reached them the rain began to fall in -torrents, with frequent thunder claps, and we had to take refuge in -their lodges. These were very small, being for temporary use, and we -crowded the occupants much, among whom were several sick, on the damp -ground, or with only a ragged mat between them and it. But they showed -all the gentle courtesy which marks them towards the stranger, who -stands in any need; though it was obvious that the visit, which -inconvenienced them, could only have been caused by the most impertinent -curiosity, they made us as comfortable as their extreme poverty -permitted. They seemed to think we would not like to touch them: a sick -girl in the lodge where I was, persisted in moving so as to give me the -dry place; a woman with the sweet melancholy eye of the race, kept off -the children and wet dogs from even the hem of my garment. - -Without, their fires smouldered, and black kettles, hung over them on -sticks, smoked and seethed in the rain. An old theatrical looking Indian -stood with arms folded, looking up to the heavens, from which the rain -dashed and the thunder reverberated; his air was French-Roman, that is, -more romanesque than Roman. The Indian ponies, much excited, kept -careering through the wood, around the encampment, and now and then -halting suddenly, would thrust in their intelligent, though amazed, -phizzes, as if to ask their masters when this awful pother would cease, -and then, after a moment, rush and trample off again. - -At last we got off, well wetted, but with a picturesque scene for -memory. At a house where we stopped to get dry, they told us that this -wandering band (of Pottawattamies,) who had returned on a visit, either -from homesickness, or need of relief, were extremely destitute. The -women had been there to see if they could barter their head bands with -which they club their hair behind into a form not unlike a Grecian knot, -for food. They seemed, indeed, to have neither food, utensils, clothes, -nor bedding; nothing but the ground, the sky, and their own strength. -Little wonder if they drove off the game! - -Part of the same band I had seen in Milwaukie, on a begging dance. The -effect of this was wild and grotesque. They wore much paint and feather -head-dresses. "Indians without paint are poor coots," said a gentleman -who had been a great deal with, and really liked, them; and I like the -effect of the paint on them; it reminds of the gay fantasies of nature. -With them in Milwaukie, was a chief, the finest Indian figure I saw, -more than six feet in height, erect, and of a sullen, but grand gait and -gesture. He wore a deep red blanket, which fell in large folds from his -shoulders to his feet, did not join in the dance, but slowly strode -about through the streets, a fine sight, not a French-Roman, but a real -Roman. He looked unhappy, but listlessly unhappy, as if he felt it was -of no use to strive or resist. - -While in the neighborhood of these lakes, we visited also a foreign -settlement of great interest. Here were minds, it seemed, to "comprehend -the trusts," of their new life; and if they can only stand true to them, -will derive and bestow great benefits therefrom. - -But sad and sickening to the enthusiast who comes to these shores, -hoping the tranquil enjoyment of intellectual blessings, and the pure -happiness of mutual love, must be a part of the scene that he encounters -at first. He has escaped from the heartlessness of courts, to encounter -the vulgarity of a mob; he has secured solitude, but it is a lonely, a -deserted solitude. Amid the abundance of nature he cannot, from petty, -but insuperable obstacles, procure, for a long time, comforts, or a -home. - -But let him come sufficiently armed with patience to learn the new -spells which the new dragons require, (and this can only be done on the -spot,) he will not finally be disappointed of the promised treasure; the -mob will resolve itself into men, yet crude, but of good dispositions, -and capable of good character; the solitude will become sufficiently -enlivened and home grow up at last from the rich sod. - -In this transition state we found one of these homes. As we approached -it seemed the very Eden which earth might still afford to a pair willing -to give up the hackneyed pleasures of the world, for a better and more -intimate communion with one another and with beauty: the wild road led -through wide beautiful woods, to the wilder and more beautiful shores of -the finest lake we saw. On its waters, glittering in the morning sun, a -few Indians were paddling to and fro in their light canoes. On one of -those fair knolls I have so often mentioned, stood the cottage, beneath -trees which stooped as if they yet felt brotherhood with its roof tree. -Flowers waved, birds fluttered round, all had the sweetness of a happy -seclusion; all invited on entrance to cry, All hail ye happy ones! to -those who inhabited it. - -But on entrance to those evidently rich in personal beauty, talents, -love, and courage, the aspect of things was rather sad. Sickness had -been with them, death, care, and labor; these had not yet blighted them, -but had turned their gay smiles grave. It seemed that hope and joy had -given place to resolution. How much, too, was there in them, worthless -in this place, which would have been so valuable elsewhere. Refined -graces, cultivated powers, shine in vain before field laborers, as -laborers are in this present world; you might as well cultivate -heliotropes to present to an ox. Oxen and heliotropes are both good, but -not for one another. - -With them were some of the old means of enjoyment, the books, the -pencil, the guitar; but where the wash-tub and the axe are so constantly -in requisition, there is not much time and pliancy of hand for these. - -In the inner room the master of the house was seated; he had been -sitting there long, for he had injured his foot on ship-board, and his -farming had to be done by proxy. His beautiful young wife was his only -attendant and nurse, as well as a farm housekeeper; how well she -performed hard and unaccustomed duties, the objects of her care shewed; -everything that belonged to the house was rude but neatly arranged; the -invalid, confined to an uneasy wooden chair, (they had not been able to -induce any one to bring them an easy chair from the town,) looked as -neat and elegant as if he had been dressed by the valet of a duke. He -was of northern blood, with clear full blue eyes, calm features, a -tempering of the soldier, scholar, and man of the world, in his aspect; -whether that various intercourses had given himself that thorough-bred -look never seen in Americans, or that it was inherited from a race who -had known all these disciplines. He formed a great but pleasing contrast -to his wife, whose glowing complexion and dark mellow eye bespoke an -origin in some climate more familiar with the sun. He looked as if he -could sit there a great while patiently, and live on his own mind, -biding his time; she, as if she could bear anything for affection's -sake, but would feel the weight of each moment as it passed. - -Seeing the album full of drawings and verses which bespoke the circle of -elegant and affectionate intercourse they had left, behind, we could not -but see that the young wife sometimes must need a sister, the husband a -companion, and both must often miss that electricity which sparkles from -the chain of congenial minds. - -For man, a position is desirable in some degree proportioned to his -education. Mr. Birkbeck was bred a farmer, but these were nurslings of -the court and city; they may persevere, for an affectionate courage -shone in their eyes, and, if so, become true lords of the soil, and -informing geniuses to those around; then, perhaps, they will feel that -they have not paid too dear for the tormented independence of the new -settler's life. But, generally, damask roses will not thrive in the -wood, and a ruder growth, if healthy and pure, we wish rather to see -there. - -I feel very differently about these foreigners from Americans; American -men and women are inexcusable if they do not bring up children so as to -be fit for vicissitudes; that is the meaning of our star, that here all -men being free and equal, all should be fitted for freedom and an -independence by his own resources wherever the changeful wave of our -mighty stream may take him. But the star of Europe brought a different -horoscope, and to mix destinies breaks the thread of both. The Arabian -horse will not plough well, nor can the plough-horse be rode to play the -jereed. But a man is a man wherever he goes, and something precious -cannot fail to be gained by one who knows how to abide by a resolution -of any kind, and pay the cost without a murmur. - -Returning, the fine carriage at last fulfilled its threat of breaking -down. We took refuge in a farm house. Here was a pleasant scene. A rich -and beautiful estate, several happy families, who had removed together, -and formed a natural community, ready to help and enliven one another. -They were farmers at home, in western New York, and both men and women -knew how to work. Yet even here the women did not like the change, but -they were willing, "as it might be best for the young folks." Their -hospitality was great, the housefull of women and pretty children seemed -all of one mind. - -Returning to Milwaukie much fatigued, I entertained myself for a day or -two with reading. The book I had brought with me was in strong contrast -with the life around me. Very strange was this vision of an exalted and -sensitive existence, which seemed to invade the next sphere, in contrast -with the spontaneous, instinctive life, so healthy and so near the -ground I had been surveying. This was the German book entitled: - -Die Scherin von Prevorst.--Eroeffnungen ueber das innere Leben des -Menschen und ueber das hereinragen einer Geisterwelt in die unsere. -Mitgetheilt von Justinus Kerner. - -The Seeress of Prevorst.--Revelations concerning the inward life of man, -and the projection of a world of spirits into ours, communicated by -Justinus Kerner. - -This book, published in Germany some twelve years since, and which -called forth there plenteous dews of admiration, as plenteous -hail-storms of jeers and scorns, I never saw mentioned till some year or -two since, in any English publication. Then a playful, but not sarcastic -account of it, in the Dublin Magazine, so far excited my curiosity that -I procured the book intending to read it so soon as I should have some -leisure days, such as this journey has afforded. - -Dr. Kerner, its author, is a man of distinction in his native land, both -as a physician and a thinker, though always on the side of reverence, -marvel, and mysticism. He was known to me only through two or three -little poems of his in Catholic legends, which I much admired for the -fine sense they showed of the beauty of symbols. - -He here gives a biography, mental and physical, of one of the most -remarkable cases of high nervous excitement that the age, so interested -in such, yet affords, with all its phenomena of clairvoyance and -susceptibility of magnetic influences. I insert some account of this -biography at the request of many who have been interested by slight -references to it. The book, a thick and heavy volume, written with true -German patience, some would say clumsiness, has not, probably, and may -not be translated into other languages. As to my own mental position on -these subjects it may be briefly expressed by a dialogue between several -persons who honor me with a portion of friendly confidence and of -criticism, and myself expressed as _Free Hope_. The others may be styled -_Old Church, Good Sense_, and _Self-Poise_. - -_Good Sense_. I wonder you can take any interest in such observations or -experiments. Don't you see how almost impossible it is to make them with -any exactness, how entirely impossible to know anything about them -unless made by yourself, when the least leaven of credulity, excited -fancy, to say nothing of willing or careless imposture, spoils the -whole loaf. Beside, allowing the possibility of some clear glimpses into -a higher state of being, what do we want of it now? All around us lies -what we neither understand nor use. Our capacities, our instincts for -this our present sphere are but half developed. Let us confine ourselves -to that till the lesson be learned; let us be completely natural, before -we trouble ourselves with the supernatural. I never see any of these -things but I long to get away and lie under a green tree and let the -wind blow on me. There is marvel and charm enough in that for me. - -_Free Hope_. And for me also. Nothing is truer than the Wordsworthian -creed, on which Carlyle lays such stress, that we need only look on the -miracle of every day, to sate ourselves with thought and admiration -every day. But how are our faculties sharpened to do it? Precisely by -apprehending the infinite results of every day. - -Who sees the meaning of the flower uprooted in the ploughed field? The -ploughman who does not look beyond its boundaries and does not raise his -eyes from the ground? No--but the poet who sees that field in its -relations with the universe, and looks oftener to the sky than on the -ground. Only the dreamer shall understand realities, though, in truth, -his dreaming must not be out of proportion to his waking! - -The mind, roused powerfully by this existence, stretches of itself into -what the French sage calls the "aromal state." From the hope thus -gleaned it forms the hypothesis, under whose banner it collects its -facts. - -Long before these slight attempts were made to establish as a science -what is at present called animal magnetism, always, in fact men were -occupied more or less with this vital principle, principle of flux and -influx, dynamic of our mental mechanics, human phase of electricity. -Poetic observation was pure, there was no quackery in its free course, -as there is so often in this wilful tampering with the hidden springs of -life, for it is tampering unless done in a patient spirit and with -severe truth; yet it may be, by the rude or greedy miners, some good ore -is unearthed. And some there are who work in the true temper, patient -and accurate in trial, not rushing to conclusions, feeling there is a -mystery, not eager to call it by name, till they can know it as a -reality: such may learn, such may teach. - -Subject to the sudden revelations, the breaks in habitual existence -caused by the aspect of death, the touch of love, the flood of music, I -never lived, that I remember, what you call a common natural day. All my -days are touched by the supernatural, for I feel the pressure of hidden -causes, and the presence, sometimes the communion, of unseen powers. It -needs not that I should ask the clairvoyant whether "a spirit-world -projects into ours." As to the specific evidence, I would not tarnish my -mind by hasty reception. The mind is not, I know, a highway, but a -temple, and its doors should not be carelessly left open. Yet it were -sin, if indolence or coldness excluded what had a claim to enter; and I -doubt whether, in the eyes of pure intelligence, an ill-grounded hasty -rejection be not a greater sign of weakness than an ill-grounded and -hasty faith. - -I will quote, as my best plea, the saying of a man old in years, but not -in heart, and whose long life has been distinguished by that clear -adaptation of means to ends which gives the credit of practical wisdom. -He wrote to his child, "I have lived too long, and seen too much to be -incredulous." Noble the thought, no less so its frank expression, -instead of saws of caution, mean advices, and other modern instances. -Such was the romance of Socrates when he bade his disciples "sacrifice a -cock to Aesculapius." - -_Old Church_. You are always so quick-witted and voluble, Free Hope, you -don't get time to see how often you err, and even, perhaps, sin and -blaspheme. The Author of all has intended to confine our knowledge -within certain boundaries, has given us a short span of time for a -certain probation, for which our faculties are adapted. By wild -speculation and intemperate curiosity we violate his will and incur -dangerous, perhaps fatal, consequences. We waste our powers, and, -becoming morbid and visionary, are unfitted to obey positive precepts, -and perform positive duties. - -_Free Hope_. I do not see how it is possible to go further beyond the -results of a limited human experience than those do who pretend to -settle the origin and nature of sin, the final destiny of souls, and the -whole plan of the causal spirit with regard to them. I think those who -take your view, have not examined themselves, and do not know the ground -on which they stand. - -I acknowledge no limit, set up by man's opinion, as to the capacities -of man. "Care is taken," I see it, "that the trees grow not up into -heaven," but, to me it seems, the more vigorously they aspire the -better. Only let it be a vigorous, not a partial or sickly aspiration. -Let not the tree forget its root. - -So long as the child insists on knowing where its dead parent is, so -long as bright eyes weep at mysterious pressures, too heavy for the -life, so long as that impulse is constantly arising which made the Roman -emperor address his soul in a strain of such touching softness, -vanishing from the thought, as the column of smoke from the eye, I know -of no inquiry which the impulse of man suggests that is forbidden to the -resolution of man to pursue. In every inquiry, unless sustained by a -pure and reverent spirit, he gropes in the dark, or falls headlong. - -_Self-Poise_. All this may be very true, but what is the use of all this -straining? Far-sought is dear-bought. When we know that all is in each, -and that the ordinary contains the extraordinary, why should we play the -baby, and insist upon having the moon for a toy when a tin dish will do -as well. Our deep ignorance is a chasm that we can only fill up by -degrees, but the commonest rubbish will help us as well as shred silk. -The God Brahma, while on earth, was set to fill up a valley, but he had -only a basket given him in which to fetch earth for this purpose; so is -it with us all. No leaps, no starts will avail us, by patient -crystallization alone the equal temper of wisdom is attainable. Sit at -home and the spirit-world will look in at your window with moonlit -eyes; run out to find it, and rainbow and golden cup will have vanished -and left you the beggarly child you were. The better part of wisdom is a -sublime prudence, a pure and patient truth that will receive nothing it -is not sure it can permanently lay to heart. Of our study there should -be in proportion two-thirds of rejection to one of acceptance. And, amid -the manifold infatuations and illusions of this world of emotion, a -being capable of clear intelligence can do no better service than to -hold himself upright, avoid nonsense, and do what chores lie in his way, -acknowledging every moment that primal truth, which no fact exhibits, -nor, if pressed by too warm a hope, will even indicate. I think, indeed, -it is part of our lesson to give a formal consent to what is farcical, -and to pick up our living and our virtue amid what is so ridiculous, -hardly deigning a smile, and certainly not vexed. The work is done -through all, if not by every one. - -_Free Hope._ Thou art greatly wise, my friend, and ever respected by me, -yet I find not in your theory or your scope, room enough for the lyric -inspirations, or the mysterious whispers of life. To me it seems that it -is madder never to abandon oneself, than often to be infatuated; better -to be wounded, a captive, and a slave, than always to walk in armor. As -to magnetism, that is only a matter of fancy. You sometimes need just -such a field in which to wander vagrant, and if it bear a higher name, -yet it may be that, in last result, the trance of Pythagoras might be -classed with the more infantine transports of the Seeress of Prevorst. - -What is done interests me more than what is thought and supposed. Every -fact is impure, but every fact contains in it the juices of life. Every -fact is a clod, from which may grow an amaranth or a palm. - -Do you climb the snowy peaks from whence come the streams, where the -atmosphere is rare, where you can see the sky nearer, from which you can -get a commanding view of the landscape. I see great disadvantages as -well as advantages in this dignified position. I had rather walk myself -through all kinds of places, even at the risk of being robbed in the -forest, half drowned at the ford, and covered with dust in the street. - -I would beat with the living heart of the world, and understand all the -moods, even the fancies or fantasies, of nature. I dare to trust to the -interpreting spirit to bring me out all right at last--to establish -truth through error. - -Whether this be the best way is of no consequence, if it be the one -individual character points out. - - For one, like me, it would be vain - From glittering heights the eyes to strain; - I the truth can only know, - Tested by life's most fiery glow. - Seeds of thought will never thrive - Till dews of love shall bid them live. - -Let me stand in my age with all its waters flowing round me. If they -sometimes subdue, they must finally upbear me, for I seek the -Universal--and that must be the best. - -The Spirit, no doubt, leads in every movement of my time: if I seek the -How, I shall find it, as well as if I busied myself more with the Why. - -Whatever is, is right, if only men are steadily bent to make it so, by -comprehending and fulfilling its design. - -May not I have an office, too, in my hospitality and ready sympathy? If -I sometimes entertain guests who cannot pay with gold coin, with "fair -rose nobles," that is better than to lose the chance of entertaining -angels unawares. - -You, my three friends, are held in heart-honor, by me. You, especially, -Good-Sense, because where you do not go yourself, you do not object to -another's going, if he will. You are really liberal. You, Old Church, -are of use, by keeping unforgot the effigies of old religion, and -reviving the tone of pure Spenserian sentiment, which this time is apt -to stifle in its childish haste. But you are very faulty in censuring -and wishing to limit others by your own standard. You, Self-Poise, fill -a priestly office. Could but a larger intelligence of the vocations of -others, and a tender sympathy with their individual natures be added, -had you more of love, or more of apprehensive genius, (for either would -give you the needed expansion and delicacy) you would command my entire -reverence. As it is, I must at times deny and oppose you, and so must -others, for you tend, by your influence, to exclude us from our full, -free life. We must be content when you censure, and rejoiced when you -approve; always admonished to good by your whole being, and sometimes by -your judgment. And so I pass on to interest myself and others in the -memoir of the Scherin von Prevorst. - -Aside from Loewenstein, a town of Wirtemberg, on mountains whose highest -summit is more than eighteen hundred feet above the level of the sea, -lies in romantic seclusion, surrounded on all sides by woods and hills, -the hamlet of Prevorst. - -Its inhabitants number about four hundred and fifty, most of whom -support themselves by wood-cutting, and making charcoal, and collecting -wood seed. - -As is usual with those who live upon the mountains, these are a vigorous -race, and generally live to old age without sickness. Diseases that -infest the valley, such as ague, never touch them; but they are subject -in youth to attacks upon the nerves, which one would not expect in so -healthy a class. In a town situated near to, and like Prevorst, the -children were often attacked with a kind of St. Vitus's dance. They -would foresee when it would seize upon them, and, if in the field, would -hasten home to undergo the paroxysms there. From these they rose, as -from magnetic sleep, without memory of what had happened. - -Other symptoms show the inhabitants of this region very susceptible to -magnetic and sidereal influences. - -On this mountain, and indeed in the hamlet of Prevorst, was, in 1801, a -woman born, in whom a peculiar inner life discovered itself from early -childhood. Frederica Hauffe, whose father was gamekeeper of this -district of forest, was, as the position and solitude of her birthplace -made natural, brought up in the most simple manner. In the keen mountain -air and long winter cold, she was not softened by tenderness either as -to dress or bedding, but grew up lively and blooming; and while her -brothers and sisters, under the same circumstances, were subject to -rheumatic attacks, she remained free from them. On the other hand, her -peculiar tendency displayed itself in her dreams. If anything affected -her painfully, if her mind was excited by reproof, she had instructive -warning, or prophetic dreams. - -While yet quite young, her parents let her go, for the advantages of -instruction, to her grandfather, Johann Schmidgall, in Loewenstein. - -Here were discovered in her the sensibility to magnetic and ghostly -influences, which, the good Kerner assures us, her grandparents deeply -lamented, and did all in their power to repress. But, as it appears that -her grandfather, also, had seen a ghost, and there were evidently -legends in existence about the rooms in which the little Frederika saw -ghosts, and spots where the presence of human bones caused her sudden -shivering, we may be allowed to doubt whether indirect influence was not -more powerful than direct repression upon these subjects. - -There is the true German impartiality with regard to the scene of -appearance for these imposing visiters; sometimes it is "a room in the -Castle of Loewenstein, long disused," a la Radcliffe, sometimes "a -deserted kitchen." - -This "solemn, unhappy gift," brought no disturbance to the childish life -of the maiden, she enjoyed life with more vivacity than most of her -companions. The only trouble she had was the extreme irritability of the -optic nerve, which, though without inflammation of the eyes, sometimes -confined her to a solitary chamber. "This," says Dr. K. "was probably a -sign of the development of the spiritual in the fleshly eye." - -Sickness of her parents at last called her back to the lonely Prevorst, -where, by trouble and watching beside sick beds, her feelings were too -much excited, so that the faculty for prophetic dreams and the vision of -spirits increased upon her. - -From her seventeenth to her nineteenth year, when every outward relation -was pleasant for her, this inward life was not so active, and she was -distinguished from other girls of her circle only by the more -intellectual nature, which displayed itself chiefly in the eyes, and by -a greater liveliness which, however, never passed the bounds of grace -and propriety. - -She had none of the sentimentality so common at that age, and it can be -proved that she had never an attachment, nor was disappointed in love, -as has been groundlessly asserted. - -In her nineteenth year, she was by her family betrothed to Herr H. The -match was desirable on account of the excellence of the man, and the -sure provision it afforded for her comfort through life. - -But, whether from presentiment of the years of suffering that were -before her, or from other hidden feelings, of which we only know with -certainty that, if such there were, they were not occasioned by another -attachment, she sank into a dejection, inexplicable to her family; -passed whole days in weeping; scarcely slept for some weeks, and thus -the life of feeling which had been too powerful in her childhood was -called up anew in full force. - -On the day of her solemn betrothal, took place, also, the funeral of -T., the preacher of Oberstenfeld, a man of sixty and more years, whose -preaching, instruction, and character, (he was goodness itself,) had had -great influence upon her life. She followed the dear remains, with -others, to the church-yard. Her heart till then so heavy, was suddenly -relieved and calmed, as she stood beside the grave. She remained there -long, enjoying her new peace, and when she went away found herself -tranquil, but indifferent to all the concerns of this world. Here began -the period, not indeed as yet of sickness, but of her peculiar inward -life, which knew afterward no pause. - -Later, in somnambulic state, she spoke of this day in the following -verses. The deceased had often appeared to her as a shape of light, -protecting her from evil spirits. - -(These are little simple rhymes; they are not worth translating into -verse, though, in the original, they have a childish grace.) - - What was once so dark to me, - I see now clearly. - In that day - When I had given in marriage myself away, - - I stood quite immersed in thee, - Thou angel figure above thy grave mound. - Willingly would I have exchanged with thee, - Willingly given up to thee my earthly luck, - Which those around praised as the blessing of heaven. - - I prayed upon thy grave - For one blessing only, - That the wings of this angel - Might henceforward - On the hot path of life, - Waft around me the peace of heaven. - There standest thou, angel, now; my prayer was heard. - -She was, in consequence of her marriage, removed to Kuernbach, a place on -the borders of Wuertemberg and Baden. Its position is low, gloomy, shut -in by hills; opposite in all the influences of earth and atmosphere to -those of Prevorst and its vicinity. - -Those of electrical susceptibility are often made sick or well by change -of place. Papponi, (of whom Amoretti writes,) a man of such -susceptibility, was cured of convulsive attacks by change of place. -Penriet could find repose while in one part of Calabria, only by -wrapping himself in an oil-cloth mantle, thus, as it were, isolating -himself. That great sense of sidereal and imponderable influences, which -afterward manifested itself so clearly in the Seherin, probably made -this change of place very unfavorable to her. Later, it appeared, that -the lower she came down from the hills, the more she suffered from -spasms, but on the heights her tendency to the magnetic state was the -greatest. - -But also mental influences were hostile to her. Already withdrawn from -the outward life, she was placed, where, as consort and housekeeper to a -laboring man, the calls on her care and attention were incessant. She -was obliged hourly to forsake her inner home, to provide for an outer, -which did not correspond with it. - -She bore this seven months, though flying to solitude, whenever outward -relations permitted. But longer it was not possible to conceal the -inward verity by an outward action, "the body sank beneath the attempt, -and the spirit took refuge in the inner circle." - -One night she dreamed that she awoke and found the dead body of the -preacher T. by her side; that at the same time her father, and two -physicians were considering what should be done for her in a severe -sickness. She called out that "the dead friend would help her; she -needed no physician." Her husband, hearing her cry out in sleep, woke -her. - -This dream was presage of a fever, which seized her next morning. It -lasted fourteen days with great violence, and was succeeded by attacks -of convulsion and spasm. This was the beginning of that state of bodily -suffering and mental exaltation in which she passed the remaining seven -years of her life. - -She seems to have been very injudiciously treated in the first stages of -her illness. Bleeding was resorted to, as usual in cases of extreme -suffering where the nurses know not what else to do, and, as usual, the -momentary relief was paid for by an increased nervousness, and capacity -for suffering. - -Magnetic influences from other persons were of frequent use to her, but -they were applied without care as to what characters and constitutions -were brought into connexion with hers, and were probably in the end just -as injurious to her as the loss of blood. At last she became so weak, so -devoid of all power in herself, that her life seemed entirely dependent -on artificial means and the influence of other men. - -There is a singular story of a woman in the neighborhood, who visited -her once or twice, apparently from an instinct that she should injure -her, and afterwards, interfered in the same way, and with the same -results, in the treatment of her child. - -This demoniacal impulse and power, which were ascribed to the Canidias -of ancient superstition, may be seen subtly influencing the members of -every-day society. We see persons led, by an uneasy impulse, towards the -persons and the topics where they are sure they can irritate and annoy. -This is constantly observable among children, also in the closest -relations between grown up people who have not yet the government of -themselves, neither are governed by the better power. - -There is also an interesting story of a quack who treated her with -amulets, whose parallel may be found in the action of such persons in -common society. It is an expression of the power that a vulgar and -self-willed nature will attain over one delicate, poetical, but not yet -clear within itself; outwardly it yields to a power which it inwardly -disclaims. - -A touching little passage is related of a time in the first years, when -she seemed to be better, so much so as to receive an evening visit from -some female friends. They grew merry and began to dance; she remained -sad and thoughtful. When they stopped, she was in the attitude of -prayer. One of her intimates, observing this, began to laugh. This -affected her so much, that she became cold and rigid like a corpse. For -some time they did not hear her breathe, and, when she did, it was with -a rattling noise. They applied mustard poultices, and used foot and hand -baths; she was brought back to life, but to a state of great suffering. - -She recognized as her guardian spirit, who sometimes magnetized her or -removed from her neighborhood substances that were hurtful to her, her -grandmother; thus coinciding with the popular opinion that traits -reappear in the third generation. - -Now began still greater wonders; the second sight, numerous and various -visits from spirits and so forth. - -The following may be mentioned in connection with theories and -experiments current among ourselves. - -"A friend, who was often with her at this time, wrote to me (Kerner): -When I, with my finger, touch her _on the forehead between the -eyebrows_, she says each time something that bears upon the state of my -soul. Some of these sentences I record. - -"Keep thy soul so that thou mayst bear it in thy hands." - -"When thou comest into a world of bustle and folly, hold the Lord fast -in thy heart." - -"If any seek to veil from thee thy true feeling, pray to God for grace." - -"Permit not thyself to stifle the light that springs up within thyself." - -"Think often of the cross of Jesus; go forth and embrace it." - -"As the dove found a resting-place in Noah's ark, so wilt thou, also, -find a resting-place which God has appointed for thee." - -When she was put under the care of Kerner, she had been five years in -this state, and was reduced to such weakness, that she was, with -difficulty, sustained from hour to hour. - -He thought at first it would be best to take no notice of her magnetic -states and directions, and told her he should not, but should treat her -with regard to her bodily symptoms, as he would any other invalid. - -"At this time she fell every evening into magnetic sleep, and gave -orders about herself; to which, however, those round her no longer paid -attention. - -I was now called in. I had never seen this woman, but had heard many -false or perverted accounts of her condition. I must confess that I -shared the evil opinion of the world as to her illness; that I advised -to pay no attention to her magnetic situation, and the orders she gave -in it; in her spasms, to forbear the laying of hands upon her; to deny -her the support of persons of stronger nerves; in short, to do all -possible to draw her out of the magnetic state, and to treat her with -attention, but with absolutely none but the common medical means. - -These views were shared by my friend, Dr. Off, of Loewenstein, who -continued to treat her accordingly. But without good results. -Hemorrhage, spasms, night-sweats continued. Her gums were scorbutically -affected, and bled constantly; she lost all her teeth. Strengthening -remedies affected her like being drawn up from her bed by force; she -sank into a fear of all men, and a deadly weakness. Her death was to be -wished, but it came not. Her relations, in despair, not knowing -themselves what they could do with her, brought her, almost against my -will, to me at Weinsburg. - -She was brought hither an image of death, perfectly emaciated, unable to -raise herself. Every three or four minutes, a teaspoonful of nourishment -must be given her, else she fell into faintness or convulsion. Her -somnambulic situation alternated with fever, hemorrhage, and -night-sweats. Every evening, about seven o'clock, she fell into magnetic -sleep. She then spread out her arms, and found herself, from that -moment, in a clairvoyant state; but only when she brought them back upon -her breast, did she begin to speak. (Kerner mentions that her child, -too, slept with its hands and feet crossed.) In this state her eyes were -shut, her face calm and bright. As she fell asleep, the first night -after her arrival, she asked for me, but I bade them tell her that I -now, and in future, should speak to her only when awake. - -After she awoke, I went to her and declared, in brief and earnest terms, -that I should pay no attention to what she said in sleep, and that her -somnambulic state, which had lasted so long to the grief and trouble of -her family, must now come to an end. This declaration I accompanied by -an earnest appeal, designed to awaken a firm will in her to put down the -excessive activity of brain that disordered her whole system. -Afterwards, no address was made to her on any subject when in her -sleep-waking state. She was left to lie unheeded. I pursued a -homoeopathic treatment of her case. But the medicines constantly -produced effects opposite to what I expected. She now suffered less from -spasm and somnambulism, but with increasing marks of weakness and -decay. All seemed as if the end of her sufferings drew near. It was too -late for the means I wished to use. Affected so variously and powerfully -by magnetic means in the first years of her illness, she had now no life -more, so thoroughly was the force of her own organization exhausted, but -what she borrowed from others. In her now more infrequent magnetic -trance, she was always seeking the true means of her cure. It was -touching to see how, retiring within herself, she sought for help. The -physician who had aided her so little with his drugs, must often stand -abashed before this inner physician, perceiving it to be far better -skilled than himself." - -After some weeks forbearance, Kerner did ask her in her sleep what he -should do for her. She prescribed a magnetic treatment, which was found -of use. Afterwards, she described a machine, of which there is a drawing -in this book, which she wished to have made for her use; it was so, and -she derived benefit from it. She had indicated such a machine in the -early stages of her disease, but at that time no one attended to her. By -degrees she grew better under this treatment, and lived at Weinsberg, -nearly two years, though in a state of great weakness, and more in the -magnetic and clairvoyant than in the natural human state. - -How his acquaintance with her affected the physician, he thus expresses: - -"During those last months of her abode on the earth, there remained to -her only the life of a sylph. I have been interested to record, not a -journal of her sickness, but the mental phenomena of such an almost -disembodied life. Such may cast light on the period when also our Psyche -may unfold her wings, free from bodily bonds, and the hindrances of -space and time. I give facts; each reader may interpret them in his own -way. - -The manuals of animal magnetism and other writings have proposed many -theories by which to explain such. All these are known to me. I shall -make no reference to them, but only, by use of parallel facts here and -there, show that the phenomena of this case recall many in which there -is nothing marvellous, but which are manifestly grounded in our common -existence. Such apparitions cannot too frequently, if only for moments, -flash across that common existence, as electric lights from the higher -world. - -Frau H. was, previous to my magnetic treatment, in so deep a somnambulic -life, that she was, in fact, never rightly awake, even when she seemed -to be; or rather, let us say, she was at all times more awake than -others are; for it is strange to term sleep this state which is just -that of the clearest wakefulness. Better to say she was immersed in the -inward state. - -In this state and the consequent excitement of the nerves, she had -almost wholly lost organic force, and received it only by transmission -from those of stronger condition, principally from their eyes and the -ends of the fingers. The atmosphere and nerve communications of others, -said she, bring me the life which I need; they do not feel it; these -effusions on which I live, would flow from them and be lost, if my -nerves did not attract them; only in this way can I live. - -She often assured us that others did not suffer by loss of what they -imparted to her; but it cannot be denied that persons were weakened by -constant intercourse with her, suffered from contraction in the limbs, -trembling, &c. They were weakened also in the eyes and pit of the -stomach. From those related to her by blood, she could draw more benefit -than from others, and, when very weak, from them only; probably on -account of a natural affinity of temperament. She could not bear to have -around her nervous and sick persons; those from whom she could gain -nothing made her weaker. - -Even so it is remarked that flowers soon lose their beauty near the -sick, and suffer peculiarly under the contact or care of some persons. - -Other physicians, beside myself, can vouch that the presence of some -persons affected her as a pabulum vitae, while, if left with certain -others or alone, she was sure to grow weaker. - -From the air, too, she seemed to draw a peculiar ethereal nourishment of -the same sort; she could not remain without an open window in the -severest cold of winter.[1] - - [Footnote 1: Near us, this last winter, a person who suffered, and - finally died, from spasms like those of the Seherin, - also found relief from having the windows open, while - the cold occasioned great suffering to his attendants.] - -The spirit of things, about which we have no perception, was sensible to -her, and had influence on her; she showed this sense of the spirit of -metals, plants, animals, and men. Imponderable existences, such as the -various colors of the ray, showed distinct influences upon her. The -electric fluid was visible and sensible to her when it was not to us. -Yea! what is incredible! even the written words of men she could -discriminate by touch.[2] - - [Footnote 2: Facts of the same kind are asserted of late among - ourselves, and believed, though "incredible."] - -These experiments are detailed under their several heads in the book. - -From her eyes flowed a peculiar spiritual light which impressed even -those who saw her for a very short time. She was in each relation more -spirit than human. - -Should we compare her with anything human, we would say she was as one -detained at the moment of dissolution, betwixt life and death; and who -is better able to discern the affairs of the world that lies before, -than that behind him. - -She was often in situations when one who had, like her, the power of -discerning spirits, would have seen her own free from the body, which at -all times enveloped it only as a light veil. She saw herself often out -of the body; saw herself double. She would say, "I seem out of myself, -hover above my body, and think of it as something apart from myself. But -it is not a pleasant feeling, because I still sympathize with my body. -If only my soul were bound more firmly to the nerve-spirit, it might be -bound more closely with the nerves themselves; but the bond of my -nerve-spirit is always becoming looser." - -She makes a distinction between spirit as the pure intelligence; soul, -the ideal of this individual man; and nerve-spirit, the dynamic of his -temporal existence. - -Of this feeling of double identity, an invalid, now wasting under -nervous disease, often speaks to me. He has it when he first awakes from -sleep. Blake, the painter, whose life was almost as much a series of -trances as that of our Seherin, in his designs of the Resurrection, -represents spirits as rising from, or hovering over, their bodies in the -same way. - -Often she seemed quite freed from her body, and to have no more sense of -its weight. - -As to artificial culture, or dressing, (dressur,) Frau H. had nothing of -it. She had learned no foreign tongue, neither history, nor geography, -nor natural philosophy, nor any other of those branches now imparted to -those of her sex in their schools. The Bible and hymn-book were, -especially in the long years of her sickness, her only reading: her -moral character was throughout blameless; she was pious without -fanaticism. Even her long suffering, and the peculiar manner of it, she -recognized as the grace of God; as she expresses in the following -verses: - - Great God! how great is thy goodness, - To me thou hast given faith and love, - Holding me firm in the distress of my sufferings. - - In the darkness of my sorrow, - I was so far led away, - As to beg for peace in speedy death. - - But then came to me the mighty strong faith; - Hope came; and came eternal love; - They shut my earthly eyelids. - When, O bliss! - - Dead lies my bodily frame, - But in the inmost mind a light burns up, - Such as none knows in the waking life. - Is it a light? no! but a sun of grace! - -Often in the sense of her sufferings, while in the magnetic trance, she -made prayers in verse, of which this is one: - - Father, hear me! - Hear my prayer and supplication. - Father, I implore thee, - Let not thy child perish! - Look on my anguish, my tears. - - Shed hope into my heart, and still its longing, - Father, on thee I call; have pity! - Take something from me, the sick one, the poor one. - - Father, I leave thee not, - Though sickness and pain consume me. - If I the spring's light, - See only through the mist of tears, - Father, I leave thee not. - -These verses lose their merit of a touching simplicity in an unrhymed -translation; but they will serve to show the habitual temper of her -mind. - -"As I was a maker of verses," continues Dr. Kerner, "it was easy to say, -Frau H. derived this talent from my magnetic influence; but she made -these little verses before she came under my care." Not without deep -significance was Apollo distinguished as being at once the God of poesy, -of prophecy, and the medical art. Sleep-waking develops the powers of -seeing, healing, and poesy. How nobly the ancients understood the inner -life; how fully is it indicated in their mysteries? - -I know a peasant maiden, who cannot write, but who, in the magnetic -state, speaks in measured verse. - -Galen was indebted to his nightly dreams for a part of his medical -knowledge. - -The calumnies spread about Frau H. were many and gross; this she well -knew. As one day she heard so many of these as to be much affected by -them, we thought she would express her feelings that night in the -magnetic sleep, but she only said "they can affect my body, but not my -spirit." Her mind, raised above such assaults by the consciousness of -innocence, maintained its tranquillity and dwelt solely on spiritual -matters. - -Once in her sleep-waking she wrote thus: - - When the world declares of me - Such cruel ill in calumny, - And to your ears it finds a way, - Do you believe it, yea or nay? - -I answered: - - To us thou seemest true and pure, - Let others view it as they will; - We have our assurance still - If our own sight can make us sure. - -People of all kinds, to my great trouble, were always pressing to see -her. If we refused them access to the sick room, they avenged -themselves by the invention of all kinds of falsehoods. - -She met all with an equal friendliness, even when it cost her bodily -pain, and those who defamed her, she often defended. There came to her -both good and bad men. She felt the evil in men clearly, but would not -censure; lifted up a stone to cast at no sinner, but was rather likely -to awake, in the faulty beings she suffered near her, faith in a -spiritual life which might make them better. - -Years before she was brought to me, the earth, with its atmosphere, and -all that is about and upon it, human beings not excepted, was no more -for her. She needed, not only a magnetizer, not only a love, an -earnestness, an insight, such as scarce lies within the capacity of any -man, but also what no mortal could bestow upon her, another heaven, -other means of nourishment, other air than that of this earth. She -belonged to the world of spirits, living here herself, as more than half -spirit. She belonged to the state after death, into which she had -advanced more than half way. - -It is possible she might have been brought back to an adaptation for -this world in the second or third year of her malady; but, in the fifth, -no mode of treatment could have effected this. But by care she was aided -to a greater harmony and clearness of the inward life; she enjoyed at -Weinsberg, as she after said, the richest and happiest days of this -life, and to us her abode here remains a point of light. - -As to her outward form, we have already said it seemed but a thin veil -about her spirit. She was little, her features of an oriental cast, her -eye had the penetrating look of a seer's eye, which was set off by the -shade of long dark eyelashes. She was a light flower that only lived on -rays. - -Eschenmayer writes thus of her in his "Mysteries." - -"Her natural state was a mild, friendly earnestness, always disposed to -prayer and devotion; her eye had a highly spiritual expression, and -remained, notwithstanding her great sufferings, always bright and clear. -Her look was penetrating, would quickly change in the conversation, seem -to give forth sparks, and remain fixed on some one place,--this was a -token that some strange apparition fettered it,--then would she resume -the conversation. When I first saw her, she was in a situation which -showed that her bodily life could not long endure, and that recovery to -the common natural state was quite impossible. Without visible -derangement of the functions, her life seemed only a wick glimmering in -the socket. She was, as Kerner truly describes her, like one arrested in -the act of dying and detained in the body by magnetic influences. Spirit -and soul seemed often divided, and the spirit to have taken up its abode -in other regions, while the soul was yet bound to the body." - -I have given these extracts as being happily expressive of the relation -between the physician and the clairvoyant, also of her character. - -It seems to have been one of singular gentleness, and grateful piety, -simple and pure, but not at all one from which we should expect -extraordinary development of brain in any way; yet the excitement of her -temperament from climate, scenery, the influence of traditions which -evidently flowed round her, and a great constitutional impressibility -did develop in her brain the germs both of poetic creation and science. - -I say poetic creation, for, to my mind, the ghosts she saw were -projections of herself into objective reality. The Hades she imagines is -based in fact, for it is one of souls, who, having neglected their -opportunities for better life, find themselves left forlorn, helpless, -seeking aid from beings still ignorant and prejudiced, perhaps much -below themselves in natural powers. Having forfeited their chance of -direct access to God, they seek mediation from the prayers of men. But -in the coloring and dress[3] of these ghosts, as also in their manner -and mode of speech, there is a great deal which seems merely -fanciful--local and peculiar. - - [Footnote 3: The women ghosts all wear veils, put on the way admired - by the Italian poets, of whom, however, she could know - nothing.] - -To me, these interviews represent only prophecies of her mind; yet, -considered in this way, they are, if not ghostly, spiritual facts of -high beauty, and which cast light on the state of the soul after its -separation from the body. Her gentle patience with them, her steady -reference to a higher cause, her pure joy, when they became white in the -light of happiness obtained through aspiration, are worthy of a more -than half enfranchised angel. - -As to the stories of mental correspondence and visits to those still -engaged in this world, such as are told of her presentiment of her -father's death, and connexion with him in the last moments, these are -probably pure facts. Those who have sufficient strength of affection to -be easily disengaged from external impressions and habits, and who dare -trust their mental impulses are familiar with such. - -Her invention of a language seems a simply natural motion of the mind -when left to itself. The language we habitually use is so broken, and so -hackneyed by ages of conventional use, that, in all deep states of -being, we crave one simple and primitive in its stead. Most persons make -one more or less clear from looks, tones, and symbols:--this woman, in -the long leisure of her loneliness, and a mind bent upon itself, -attempted to compose one of letters and words. I look upon it as no gift -from without, but a growth from her own mind. - -Her invention of a machine, of which she made a drawing, her power of -drawing correctly her life-circle, and sun-circle, and the mathematical -feeling she had of her existence, in correspondent sections of the two, -are also valuable as mental facts. These figures describe her history -and exemplify the position of mathematics toward the world of creative -thought. - -Every fact of mental existence ought to be capable of similar -demonstration. I attach no especial importance to her circles:--we all -live in such; all who observe themselves have the same sense of -exactness and harmony in the revolutions of their destiny. But few -attend to what is simple and invariable in the motions of their minds, -and still fewer seek out means clearly to express them to others. - -Goethe has taken up these facts in his Wanderjahre, where he speaks of -his Macaria; also, one of these persons who are compensated for bodily -infirmity by a more concentrated and acute state of mind, and consequent -accesses of wisdom, as being bound to a star. When she was engaged by a -sense of these larger revolutions, she seemed to those near her on the -earth, to be sick; when she was, in fact, lower, but better adapted to -the details and variations of an earthly life, these said she was well. -Macaria knew the sun and life circles, also, the lives of spirit and -soul, as did the forester's daughter of Prevorst. - -Her power of making little verses was one of her least gifts. Many -excitable persons possess this talent at versification, as all may -possess it. It is merely that a certain exaltation of feeling raises the -mode of expression with it, in the same way as song differs from speech. -Verses of this sort do not necessarily demand the high faculties that -constitute the poet,--the creative powers. Many verses, good ones, are -personal or national merely. Ballads, hymns, love-lyrics, have often no -claim differing from those of common prose speech, to the title of -poems, except a greater keenness and terseness of expression. - -The verses of this Seherin are of the simplest character, the natural -garb for the sighs or aspirations of a lonely heart. She uses the -shortest words, the commonest rhymes, and the verses move us by their -nature and truth alone. - -The most interesting of these facts to me, are her impressions from -minerals and plants. Her impressions coincide with many ancient -superstitions. - -The hazel woke her immediately and gave her more power, therefore the -witch with her hazel wand, probably found herself superior to those -around her. We may also mention, in reference to witchcraft, that Dr. K. -asserts that, in certain moods of mind, she had no weight, but was -upborne upon water, like cork, thus confirming the propriety, and -justice of our forefathers' ordeal for witchcraft! - -The laurel produced on her the highest magnetic effect, therefore the -Sibyls had good reasons for wearing it on their brows. - -"The laurel had on her, as on most sleep-wakers, a distinguished -magnetic effect. We thus see why the priestess at Delphi, previous to -uttering her oracles, shook a laurel tree, and then seated herself on a -tripod covered with laurel boughs. In the temple of Aesculapius, and -others, the laurel was used to excite sleep and dream." - -From grapes she declared impressions, which corresponded with those -caused by the wines made from them. Many kinds were given her, one after -the other, by the person who raised them, and who gives a certificate as -to the accuracy of her impressions, and his belief that she could not -have derived them from any cause, but that of the touch. - -She prescribed vegetable substances to be used in her machine, (as a -kind of vapor bath,) and with good results to herself. - -She enjoyed contact with minerals, deriving from those she liked a sense -of concentrated life. Her impressions of the precious stones, -corresponded with many superstitions of the ancients, which led to the -preference of certain gems for amulets, on which they had engraved -talismanic figures. - -The ancients, in addition to their sense of the qualities that -distinguish the diamond above all gems, venerated it as a talisman -against wild beasts, poison, and evil spirits, thus expressing the -natural influence of what is so enduring, bright, and pure. Townshend, -speaking of the effect of gems on one of his sleep-wakers, said, she -loved the diamond so much that she would lean her forehead towards it, -whenever it was brought near her. - -It is observable that these sleep-wakers, in their prescriptions, -resemble the ancient sages, who culled only simples for the sick. But if -they have this fine sense, also, for the qualities of animal and mineral -substances, there is no reason why they should not turn bane to -antidote, and prescribe at least homeopathic doses of poison, to restore -the diseased to health. - -The Seherin ascribed different states to the right and left sides of -every body, even of the lady moon. The left is most impressible. Query: -Is this the reason why the left hand has been, by the custom of nations, -so almost disused, because the heart is on the left side? - -She also saw different sights in the left from the right eye. In the -left, the bodily state of the person; in the right, his real or destined -self, how often unknown to himself, almost always obscured or perverted -by his present ignorance or mistake. She had also the gift of second -sight. She saw the coffins of those about to die. She saw in mirrors, -cups of water; in soap-bubbles, the coming future. - -We are here reminded of many beautiful superstitions and legends; of the -secret pool in which the daring may, at mid-moon of night, read the -future; of the magic globe, on whose pure surface Britomart sees her -future love, whom she must seek, arrayed in knightly armor, through a -difficult and hostile world. - - A looking-glass, right wondrously aguized, - Whose virtues through the wyde world soon were solemnized. - It vertue had to show in perfect sight, - Whatever thing was in the world contayned, - Betwixt the lowest earth and hevens hight; - So that it to the looker appertayned, - Whatever foe had wrought, or friend had fayned, - Herein discovered was, ne ought mote pas, - Ne ought in secret from the same remayned; - Forthy it round and hollow shaped was, - Like to the world itselfe, and seemed a World of Glas. - - _Faerie Queene, Book III_. - -Such mirrors had Cornelius Agrippa and other wizards. The soap-bubble is -such a globe; only one had need of second sight or double sight to see -the pictures on so transitory a mirror. Perhaps it is some vague -expectation of such wonders, that makes us so fond of blowing them in -childish years. But, perhaps, it is rather as a prelude to the -occupation of our lives, blowing bubbles where all things may be seen, -that, "to the looker appertain," if we can keep them long enough or look -quick enough. - -In short, were this biography of no other value, it would be most -interesting as showing how the floating belief of nations, always no -doubt shadowing forth in its imperfect fashion the poetic facts with -their scientific exposition, is found to grow up anew in a simple, but -high-wrought nature. - -The fashioning spirit, working upwards from the clod to man, proffers as -its last, highest essay, the brain of man. In the lowest zoophyte it -aimed at this; some faint rudiments may there be discerned: but only in -man has it perfected that immense galvanic battery that can be loaded -from above, below, and around;--that engine, not only of perception, but -of conception and consecutive thought,--whose right hand is memory, -whose life is idea, the crown of nature, the platform from which spirit -takes-wing. - -Yet, as gradation is the beautiful secret of nature, and the fashioning -spirit, which loves to develop and transcend, loves no less to moderate, -to modulate, and harmonize, it did not mean by thus drawing man onward -to the next state of existence, to destroy his fitness for this. It did -not mean to destroy his sympathies with the mineral, vegetable, and -animal realms, of whose components he is in great part composed; which -were the preface to his being, of whom he is to take count, whom he -should govern as a reasoning head of a perfectly arranged body. He was -meant to be the historian, the philosopher, the poet, the king of this -world, no less than the prophet of the next. - -These functions should be in equipoise, and when they are not, when we -see excess either on the natural (so called as distinguished from the -spiritual,) or the spiritual side, we feel that the law is transgressed. -And, if it be the greatest sorrow to see brain merged in body, to see a -man more hands or feet than head, so that we feel he might, with -propriety, be on all fours again, or even crawl like the serpent; it is -also sad to see the brain, too much excited on some one side, which we -call madness, or even unduly and prematurely, so as to destroy in its -bloom, the common human existence of the person, as in the case before -us, and others of the poetical and prophetical existence. - -We would rather minds should foresee less and see more surely, that -death should ensue by gentler gradation, and the brain be the governor -and interpreter, rather than the destroyer, of the animal life. But, in -cases like this, where the animal life is prematurely broken up, and the -brain prematurely exercised, we may as well learn what we can from it, -and believe that the glimpses thus caught, if not as precious as the -full view, are bright with the same light, and open to the same scene. - -There is a family character about all the German ghosts. We find the -same features in these stories as in those related by Jung Stilling and -others. They bear the same character as the pictures by the old masters, -of a deep and simple piety. She stands before as, this piety, in a full, -high-necked robe, a simple, hausfrauish cap, a clear, straightforward -blue eye. These are no terrible, gloomy ghosts with Spanish mantle or -Italian dagger. We feel quite at home with them, and sure of their good -faith. - -To the Seherin, they were a real society, constantly inspiring good -thoughts. The reference to them in these verses, written in her journal -shortly before her death, is affecting, and shows her deep sense of -their reality. She must have felt that she had been a true friend to -them, by refusing always, as she did, requests she thought wrong, and -referring them to a Saviour. - - Farewell, my friends, - All farewell, - God bless you for your love-- - Bless you for your goodness. - All farewell! - - And you, how shall I name you? - Who have so saddened me, - I will name you also--Friends; - You have been discipline to me. - Farewell! farewell! - - Farewell! you my dear ones, - Soon will you know[4] - How hard have been my sufferings - In the Pilgrim land. - Farewell! - - Let it not grieve you, - That my woes find an end; - Farewell, dear ones, - Till the second meeting; - Farewell! Farewell! - - [Footnote 4: The physician thought she here referred to the - examination of her body that would take place after - her death. The brain was found to be sound, though - there were marks of great disease elsewhere.] - -In this journal her thoughts dwell much upon those natural ties which -she was not permitted to enjoy. She thought much of her children, and -often fancied she had saw the one who had died, growing in the spirit -land. Any allusion to them called a sweet smile on her face when in her -trance. - -Other interesting poems are records of these often beautiful visions, -especially of that preceding her own death; the address to her -life-circle, the thought of which is truly great, (this was translated -in the Dublin Magazine,) and descriptions of her earthly state as an -imprisonment. The story of her life, though stained like others, by -partialities, and prejudices, which were not justly distinguished from -what was altogether true and fair, is a poem of so pure a music; -presents such gentle and holy images, that we sympathize fully in the -love and gratitude Kerner and his friends felt towards her, as the -friend of their best life. She was a St. Theresa in her way. - -His address to her, with which his volume closes, may thus be translated -in homely guise. In the original it has no merit, except as uttering his -affectionate and reverent feeling towards his patient, the peasant -girl,--"the sick one, the poor one." But we like to see how, from the -mouths of babes and sucklings, praise may be so perfected as to command -this reverence from the learned and worldly-wise. - - Farewell; the debt I owe thee - Ever in heart I bear; - My soul sees, since I know thee, - The spirit depths so clear. - - Whether in light or shade, - Thy soul now dwelling hath; - Be, if my faith should fade, - The guide upon my path. - - Livest thou in mutual power, - With spirits blest and bright, - O be, in death's dark hour, - My help to heaven's light. - - Upon thy grave is growing, - The plant by thee beloved,[5] - St. Johns-wort golden glowing, - Like St. John's thoughts of love. - - Witness of sacred sorrow, - Whene'er thou meet'st my eye, - O flower, from thee I borrow, - Thoughts for eternity. - - Farewell! the woes of earth - No more my soul affright; - Who knows their temporal birth - Can easy bear their weight. - - [Footnote 5: She received great benefit from decoctions of this herb, - and often prescribed it to others.] - -I do confess this is a paraphrase, not a translation, also, that in the -other extracts, I have taken liberties with the original for the sake -of condensation, and clearness. What I have written must be received as -a slight and conversational account, of the work. - -Two or three other remarks, I had forgotten, may come in here. - -The glances at the spirit-world have none of that large or universal -significance, none of that value from philosophical analogy, that is -felt in any picture by Swedenborg, or Dante, of permanent relations. The -mind of the forester's daughter was exalted and rapidly developed; still -the wild cherry tree bore no orange; she was not transformed into a -philosophic or poetic organization. - -Yet many of her untaught notions remind of other seers of a larger -scope. She, too, receives this life as one link in a long chain; and -thinks that immediately after death, the meaning of the past life will -appear to us as one word. - -She tends to a belief in the aromal state, and in successive existences -on this earth; for behind persons she often saw another being, whether -their form in the state before or after this, I know not; behind a woman -a man, equipped for fight, and so forth. Her perception of character, -even in cases of those whom she saw only as they passed her window, was -correct. - -Kerner aims many a leaden sarcasm at those who despise his credulity. He -speaks of those sages as men whose brain is a glass table, incapable of -receiving the electric spark, and who will not believe, because, in -their mental isolation, they are incapable of feeling these facts. - -Certainly, I think he would be dull, who could see no meaning or beauty -in the history of the forester's daughter of Prevorst. She lived but -nine-and-twenty years, yet, in that time, had traversed a larger portion -of the field of thought than all her race before, in their many and long -lives. - -Of the abuses to which all these magical implements are prone, I have an -instance, since leaving Milwaukie, in the journal of a man equally -sincere, but not equally inspired, led from Germany hither by signs and -wonders, as a commissioned agent of Providence, who, indeed, has -arranged every detail of his life with a minuteness far beyond the -promised care of the sparrow. He props himself by spiritual aid from a -maiden now in this country, who was once an attendant on the Seeress, -and who seems to have caught from her the contagion of trance, but not -its revelations. - - - - -Do not blame me that I have written so much about Germany and Hades, -while you were looking for news of the West. Here, on the pier, I see -disembarking the Germans, the Norwegians, the Swedes, the Swiss. Who -knows how much of old legendary lore, of modern wonder, they have -already planted amid the Wisconsin forests? Soon, soon their tales of -the origin of things, and the Providence which rules them, will be so -mingled with those of the Indian, that the very oak trees will not know -them apart,--will not know whether itself be a Runic, a Druid, or a -Winnebago oak. - -Some seeds of all growths that have ever been known in this world -might, no doubt, already be found in these Western wilds, if we had the -power to call them to life. - -I saw, in the newspaper, that the American Tract Society boasted of -their agents' having exchanged, at a Western cabin door, tracts for the -Devil on Two Sticks, and then burnt that more entertaining than edifying -volume. No wonder, though, they study it there. Could one but have the -gift of reading the dreams dreamed by men of such various birth, various -history, various mind, it would afford much more extensive amusement -than did the chambers of one Spanish city! - -Could I but have flown at night through such mental experiences, instead -of being shut up in my little bedroom at the Milwaukie boarding house, -this chapter would have been worth reading. As it is, let us hasten to a -close. - -Had I been rich in money, I might have built a house, or set up in -business, during my fortnight's stay at Milwaukie, matters move on there -at so rapid a rate. But, being only rich in curiosity, I was obliged to -walk the streets and pick up what I could in casual intercourse. When I -left the street, indeed, and walked on the bluffs, or sat beside the -lake in their shadow, my mind was rich in dreams congenial to the scene, -some time to be realized, though not by me. - -A boat was left, keel up, half on the sand, half in the water, swaying -with each swell of the lake. It gave a picturesque grace to that part of -the shore, as the only image of inaction--only object of a pensive -character to be seen. Near this I sat, to dream my dreams and watch the -colors of the Jake, changing hourly, till the sun sank. These hours -yielded impulses, wove webs, such as life will not again afford. - -Returning to the boarding house, which was also a boarding school, we -were sure to be greeted by gay laughter. - -This school was conducted by two girls of nineteen and seventeen years; -their pupils were nearly as old as themselves; the relation seemed very -pleasant between them. The only superiority--that of superior -knowledge--was sufficient to maintain authority--all the authority that -was needed to keep daily life in good order. - -In the West, people are not respected merely because they are old in -years; people there have not time to keep up appearances in that way; -when they cease to have a real advantage in wisdom, knowledge, or -enterprise, they must stand back, and let those who are oldest in -character "go ahead," however few years they may count. There are no -banks of established respectability in which to bury the talent there; -no napkin of precedent in which to wrap it. What cannot be made to pass -current, is not esteemed coin of the realm. - -To the windows of this house, where the daughter of a famous "Indian -fighter," i.e. fighter against the Indians, was learning French and the -piano, came wild, tawny figures, offering for sale their baskets of -berries. The boys now, instead of brandishing the tomahawk, tame their -hands to pick raspberries. - -Here the evenings were much lightened by the gay chat of one of the -party, who, with the excellent practical sense of mature experience, and -the kindest heart, united a naivete and innocence such as I never saw in -any other who had walked so long life's tangled path. Like a child, she -was everywhere at home, and like a child, received and bestowed -entertainment from all places, all persons. I thanked her for making me -laugh, as did the sick and poor, whom she was sure to find out in her -briefest sojourn in any place, for more substantial aid. Happy are those -who never grieve, and so often aid and enliven their fellow men! - -This scene, however, I was not sorry to exchange for the much celebrated -beauties of the Island of Mackinaw. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - -MACKINAW. - -Late at night we reached this island, so famous for its beauty, and to -which I proposed a visit of some length. It was the last week in August, -when a large representation from the Chippewa and Ottowa tribes are here -to receive their annual payments from the American government. As their -habits make travelling easy and inexpensive to them, neither being -obliged to wait for steamboats, or write to see whether hotels are full, -they come hither by thousands, and those thousands in families, secure -of accommodation on the beach, and food from the lake, to make a long -holiday out of the occasion. There were near two thousand encamped on -the island already, and more arriving every day. - -As our boat came in, the captain had some rockets let off. This greatly -excited the Indians, and their yells and wild cries resounded along the -shore. Except for the momentary flash of the rockets, it was perfectly -dark, and my sensations as I walked with a stranger to a strange hotel, -through the midst of these shrieking savages, and heard the pants and -snorts of the departing steamer, which carried away all my companions, -were somewhat of the dismal sort; though it was pleasant, too, in the -way that everything strange is; everything that breaks in upon the -routine that so easily incrusts us. - -I had reason to expect a room to myself at the hotel, but found none, -and was obliged to take up my rest in the common parlor and eating-room, -a circumstance which ensured my being an early riser. - -With the first rosy streak, I was out among my Indian neighbors, whose -lodges honey-combed the beautiful beach, that curved away in long, fair -outline on either side the house. They were already on the alert, the -children creeping out from beneath the blanket door of the lodge; the -women pounding corn in their rude mortars, the young men playing on -their pipes. I had been much amused, when the strain proper to the -Winnebago courting flute was played to me on another instrument, at any -one fancying it a melody; but now, when I heard the notes in their true -tone and time, I thought it not unworthy comparison, in its graceful -sequence, and the light flourish, at the close, with the sweetest -bird-songs; and this, like the bird-song, is only practised to allure a -mate. The Indian, become a citizen and a husband, no more thinks of -playing the flute than one of the "settled down" members of our society -would of choosing the "purple light of love" as dye-stuff for a surtout. - -Mackinaw has been fully described by able pens, and I can only add my -tribute to the exceeding beauty of the spot and its position. It is -charming to be on an island so small that you can sail round it in an -afternoon, yet large enough to admit of long secluded walks through its -gentle groves. You can go round it in your boat; or, on foot, you can -tread its narrow beach, resting, at times, beneath the lofty walls of -stone, richly wooded, which rise from it in various architectural forms. -In this stone, caves are continually forming, from the action of the -atmosphere; one of these is quite deep, and with a fragment left at its -mouth, wreathed with little creeping plants, that looks, as you sit -within, like a ruined pillar. - -[Illustration: ARCHED ROCK FROM THE WATER] - -The arched rock surprised me, much as I had heard of it, from the -perfection of the arch. It is perfect whether you look up through it -from the lake, or down through it to the transparent waters. We both -ascended and descended, no very easy matter, the steep and crumbling -path, and rested at the summit, beneath the trees, and at the foot upon -the cool mossy stones beside the lapsing wave. Nature has carefully -decorated all this architecture with shrubs that take root within the -crevices, and small creeping vines. These natural rains may vie for -beautiful effect with the remains of European grandeur, and have, -beside, a charm as of a playful mood in nature. - -The sugar-loaf rock is a fragment in the same kind as the pine rock we -saw in Illinois. It has the same air of a helmet, as seen from an -eminence at the side, which you descend by a long and steep path. The -rock itself may be ascended by the bold and agile. Halfway up is a -niche, to which those, who are neither, can climb by a ladder. A very -handsome young officer and lady who were with us did so, and then, -facing round, stood there side by side, looking in the niche, if not -like saints or angels wrought by pious hands in stone, as romantically, -if not as holily, worthy the gazer's eye. - -The woods which adorn the central ridge of the island are very full in -foliage, and, in August, showed the tender green and pliant leaf of June -elsewhere. They are rich in beautiful mosses and the wild raspberry. - -From Fort Holmes, the old fort, we had the most commanding view of the -lake and straits, opposite shores, and fair islets. Mackinaw, itself, is -best seen from the water. Its peculiar shape is supposed to have been -the origin of its name, Michilimackinac, which means the Great Turtle. -One person whom I saw, wished to establish another etymology, which he -fancied to be more refined; but, I doubt not, this is the true one, both -because the shape might suggest such a name, and that the existence of -an island in this commanding position, which did so, would seem a -significant fact to the Indians. For Henry gives the details of peculiar -worship paid to the Great Turtle, and the oracles received from this -extraordinary Apollo of the Indian Delphos. - -It is crowned most picturesquely, by the white fort, with its gay flag. -From this, on one side, stretches the town. How pleasing a sight, after -the raw, crude, staring assemblage of houses, everywhere else to be met -in this country, an old French town, mellow in its coloring, and with -the harmonious effect of a slow growth, which assimilates, naturally, -with objects round it. The people in its streets, Indian, French, -half-breeds, and others, walked with a leisure step, as of those who -live a life of taste and inclination, rather than of the hard press of -business, as in American towns elsewhere. - -On the other side, along the fair, curving beach, below the white houses -scattered on the declivity, clustered the Indian lodges, with their -amber brown matting, so soft, and bright of hue, in the late afternoon -sun. The first afternoon I was there, looking down from a near height, I -felt that I never wished to see a more fascinating picture. It was an -hour of the deepest serenity; bright blue and gold, rich shadows. Every -moment the sunlight fell more mellow. The Indians were grouped and -scattered among the lodges; the women preparing food, in the kettle or -frying-pan, over the many small fires; the children, half-naked, wild as -little goblins, were playing both in and out of the water. Here and -there lounged a young girl, with a baby at her back, whose bright eyes -glanced, as if born into a world of courage and of joy, instead of -ignominious servitude and slow decay. Some girls were cutting wood, a -little way from me, talking and laughing, in the low musical tone, so -charming in the Indian women. Many bark canoes were upturned upon the -beach, and, by that light, of almost the same amber as the lodges. -Others, coming in, their square sails set, and with almost arrowy speed, -though heavily laden with dusky forms, and all the apparatus of their -household. Here and there a sail-boat glided by, with a different, but -scarce less pleasing motion. - -It was a scene of ideal loveliness, and these wild forms adorned it, as -looking so at home in it. All seemed happy, and they were happy that -day, for they had no firewater to madden them, as it was Sunday, and the -shops were shut. - -From my window, at the boarding house, my eye was constantly attracted -by these picturesque groups. I was never tired of seeing the canoes come -in, and the new arrivals set up their temporary dwellings. The women ran -to set up the tent-poles, and spread the mats on the ground. The men -brought the chests, kettles, &c.; the mats were then laid on the -outside, the cedar boughs strewed on the ground, the blanket hung up for -a door, and all was completed in less than twenty minutes. Then they -began to prepare the night meal, and to learn of their neighbors the -news of the day. - -The habit of preparing food out of doors, gave all the gipsy charm and -variety to their conduct. Continually I wanted Sir. Walter Scott to have -been there. If such romantic sketches were suggested to him, by the -sight of a few gipsies, not a group near one of these fires but would -have furnished him material for a separate canvass. I was so taken up -with the spirit of the scene, that I could not follow out the stories -suggested by these weather-beaten, sullen, but eloquent figures. - -They talked a great deal, and with much variety of gesture, so that I -often had a good guess at the meaning of their discourse. I saw that, -whatever the Indian may be among the whites, he is anything but -taciturn with his own people. And he often would declaim, or narrate at -length, as indeed it is obvious, that these tribes possess great power -that way, if only from the fables taken from their stores, by Mr. -Schoolcraft. - -I liked very much to walk or sit among them. With the women I held much -communication by signs. They are almost invariably coarse and ugly, with -the exception of their eyes, with a peculiarly awkward gait, and forms -bent by burthens. This gait, so different from the steady and noble step -of the men, marks the inferior position they occupy. I had heard much -eloquent contradiction of this. Mrs. Schoolcraft had maintained to a -friend, that they were in fact as nearly on a par with their husbands as -the white woman with hers. "Although," said she, "on account of -inevitable causes, the Indian woman is subjected to many hardships of a -peculiar nature, yet her position, compared with that of the man, is -higher and freer than that of the white woman. Why will people look only -on one side? They either exalt the Red man into a Demigod or degrade him -into a beast. They say that he compels his wife to do all the drudgery, -while he does nothing but hunt and amuse himself; forgetting that, upon -his activity and power of endurance as a hunter, depends the support of -his family; that this is labor of the most fatiguing kind, and that it -is absolutely necessary that he should keep his frame unbent by burdens -and unworn by toil, that he may be able to obtain the means of -subsistence. I have witnessed scenes of conjugal and parental love in -the Indian's wigwam from which I have often, often thought the educated -white man, proud of his superior civilization, might learn an useful -lesson. When he returns from hunting, worn out with fatigue, having -tasted nothing since dawn, his wife, if she is a good wife, will take -off his moccasons and replace them with dry ones, and will prepare his -game for their repast, while his children will climb upon him, and he -will caress them with all the tenderness of a woman; and in the evening -the Indian wigwam is the scene of the purest domestic pleasures. The -father will relate for the amusement of the wife, and for the -instruction of the children, all the events of the day's hunt, while -they will treasure up every word that falls, and thus learn the theory -of the art, whose practice is to be the occupation of their lives. - -Mrs. Grant speaks thus of the position of woman amid the Mohawk Indians: - -"Lady Mary Montague says, that the court of Vienna was the paradise of -old women, and that there is no other place in the world where a woman -past fifty excites the least interest. Had her travels extended to the -interior of North America, she would have seen another instance of this -inversion of the common mode of thinking. Here a woman never was of -consequence, till she had a son old enough to fight the battles of his -country. From that date she held a superior rank in society; was allowed -to live at ease, and even called to consultations on national affairs. -In savage and warlike countries, the reign of beauty is very short, and -its influence comparatively limited. The girls in childhood had a very -pleasing appearance; but excepting their fine hair, eyes, and teeth, -every external grace was soon banished by perpetual drudgery, carrying -burdens too heavy to be borne, and other slavish employments considered -beneath the dignity of the men. These walked before erect and graceful, -decked with ornaments which set off to advantage the symmetry of their -well-formed persons, while the poor women followed, meanly attired, bent -under the weight of the children and utensils, which they carried -everywhere with them, and disfigured and degraded by ceaseless toils. -They were very early married, for a Mohawk had no other servant but his -wife, and, whenever he commenced hunter, it was requisite he should have -some one to carry his load, cook his kettle, make his moccasons, and, -above all, produce the young warriors who were to succeed him in the -honors of the chase and of the tomahawk. Wherever man is a mere hunter, -woman is a mere slave. It is domestic intercourse that softens man, and -elevates woman; and of that there can be but little, where the -employments and amusements are not in common; the ancient Caledonians -honored the fair; but then it is to be observed, they were fair -huntresses, and moved in the light of their beauty to the hill of roes; -and the culinary toils were entirely left to the rougher sex. When the -young warrior made his appearance, it softened the cares of his mother, -who well knew that, when he grew up, every deficiency in tenderness to -his wife would be made up in superabundant duty and affection to her. If -it were possible to carry filial veneration to excess, it was done here; -for all other charities were absorbed in it. I wonder this system of -depressing the sex in their early years, to exalt them when all their -juvenile attractions were flown, and when mind alone can distinguish -them, has not occurred to our modern reformers. The Mohawks took good -care not to admit their women to share their prerogatives, till they -approved themselves good wives and mothers." - -The observations of women upon the position of woman are always more -valuable than those of men; but, of these two, Mrs. Grant's seems much -nearer the truth than Mrs. Schoolcraft's, because, though her -opportunities for observation did not bring her so close, she looked -more at both sides to find the truth. - -Carver, in his travels among the Winnebagoes, describes two queens, one -nominally so, like Queen Victoria; the other invested with a genuine -royalty, springing from her own conduct. - -In the great town of the Winnebagoes, he found a queen presiding over -the tribe, instead of a sachem. He adds, that, in some tribes, the -descent is given to the female line in preference to the male, that is, -a sister's son will succeed to the authority, rather than a brother's -son. - -The position of this Winnebago queen, reminded me forcibly of Queen -Victoria's. - -"She sat in the council, but only asked a few questions, or gave some -trifling directions in matters relative to the state, for women are -never allowed to sit in their councils, except they happen to be -invested with the supreme authority, and then it is not customary for -them to make any formal speeches, as the chiefs do. She was a very -ancient woman, small in stature, and not much distinguished by her -dress from several young women that attended her. These, her attendants, -seemed greatly pleased whenever I showed any tokens of respect to their -queen, especially when I saluted her, which I frequently did to acquire -her favor." - -The other was a woman, who being taken captive, found means to kill her -captor, and make her escape, and the tribe were so struck with -admiration at the courage and calmness she displayed on the occasion, as -to make her chieftainess in her own right. - -Notwithstanding the homage paid to women, and the consequence allowed -her in some cases, it is impossible to look upon the Indian women, -without feeling that they _do_ occupy a lower place than women among the -nations of European civilization. The habits of drudgery expressed in -their form and gesture, the soft and wild but melancholy expression of -their eye, reminded me of the tribe mentioned by Mackenzie, where the -women destroy their female children, whenever they have a good -opportunity; and of the eloquent reproaches addressed by the Paraguay -woman to her mother, that she had not, in the same way, saved her from -the anguish and weariness of her lot. - -More weariness than anguish, no doubt, falls to the lot of most of these -women. They inherit submission, and the minds of the generality -accommodate themselves more or less to any posture. Perhaps they suffer -less than their white sisters, who have more aspiration and refinement, -with little power of self-sustenance. But their place is certainly -lower, and their share of the human inheritance less. - -Their decorum and delicacy are striking, and show that when these are -native to the mind, no habits of life make any difference. Their whole -gesture is timid, yet self-possessed. They used to crowd round me, to -inspect little things I had to show them, but never press near; on the -contrary, would reprove and keep off the children. Anything they took -from my hand, was held with care, then shut or folded, and returned with -an air of lady-like precision. They would not stare, however curious -they might be, but cast sidelong glances. - -A locket that I wore, was an object of untiring interest; they seemed to -regard it as a talisman. My little sun-shade was still more fascinating -to them; apparently they had never before seen one. For an umbrella they -entertain profound regard, probably looking upon it as the most -luxurious superfluity a person can possess, and therefore a badge of -great wealth. I used to see an old squaw, whose sullied skin and coarse, -tanned locks, told that she had braved sun and storm, without a doubt or -care, for sixty years at the least, sitting gravely at the door of her -lodge, with an old green umbrella over her head, happy for hours -together in the dignified shade. For her happiness pomp came not, as it -so often does, too late; she received it with grateful enjoyment. - -One day, as I was seated on one of the canoes, a woman came and sat -beside me, with her baby in its cradle set up at her feet. She asked me -by a gesture, to let her take my sun-shade, and then to show her how to -open it. Then she put it into her baby's hand, and held it over its -head, looking at me the while with a sweet, mischievous laugh, as much -as to say, "you carry a thing that is only fit for a baby;" her -pantomime was very pretty. She, like the other women, had a glance, and -shy, sweet expression in the eye; the men have a steady gaze. - -That noblest and loveliest of modern Preux, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who -came through Buffalo to Detroit and Mackinaw, with Brant, and was -adopted into the Bear tribe by the name of Eghnidal, was struck, in the -same way, by the delicacy of manners in the women. He says, -"Notwithstanding the life they lead, which would make most women rough -and masculine, they are as soft, meek and modest, as the best brought up -girls in England. Somewhat coquettish too! Imagine the manners of Mimi -in a poor _squaw_, that has been carrying packs in the woods all her -life." - -McKenney mentions that the young wife, during the short bloom of her -beauty, is an object of homage and tenderness to her husband. One Indian -woman, the Flying Pigeon, a beautiful, an excellent woman, of whom he -gives some particulars, is an instance of the power uncommon characters -will always exert of breaking down the barriers custom has erected round -them. She captivated by her charms, and inspired with reverence for her -character, her husband and son. The simple praise with which the husband -indicates the religion, the judgment, and the generosity he saw in her, -are as satisfying as Count Zinzendorf's more labored eulogium on his -"noble consort." The conduct of her son, when, many years after her -death, he saw her picture at Washington, is unspeakably affecting. -Catlin gives anecdotes of the grief of a chief for the loss of a -daughter, and the princely gifts he offers in exchange for her portrait, -worthy not merely of European, but of Troubadour sentiment. It is also -evident that, as Mrs. Schoolcraft says, the women have great power at -home. It can never be otherwise, men being dependent upon them for the -comfort of their lives. Just, so among ourselves, wives who are neither -esteemed nor loved by their husbands, have great power over their -conduct by the friction of every day, and over the formation of their -opinions by the daily opportunities so close a relation affords, of -perverting testimony and instilling doubts. But these sentiments should -not come in brief flashes, but burn as a steady flame, then there would -be more women worthy to inspire them. This power is good for nothing, -unless the woman be wise to use it aright. Has the Indian, has the white -woman, as noble a feeling of life and its uses, as religious a -self-respect, as worthy a field of thought and action, as man? If not, -the white woman, the Indian woman, occupies an inferior position to that -of man. It is not so much a question of power, as of privilege. - -The men of these subjugated tribes, now accustomed to drunkenness and -every way degraded, bear but a faint impress of the lost grandeur of the -race. They are no longer strong, tall, or finely proportioned. Yet as -you see them stealing along a height, or striding boldly forward, they -remind you of what _was_ majestic in the red man. - -On the shores of lake Superior, it is said, if you visit them at -home, you may still see a remnant of the noble blood. The -Pillagers--(Pilleurs)--a band celebrated by the old travellers, are: -still existant there. - - "Still some, 'the eagles of their tribe,' may rush." - -I have spoken of the hatred felt by the white man for the Indian: with -white women it seems to amount to disgust, to loathing. How I could -endure the dirt, the peculiar smell of the Indians, and their dwellings, -was a great marvel in the eyes of my lady acquaintance; indeed, I wonder -why they did not quite give me up, as they certainly looked on me with -great distaste for it. "Get you gone, you Indian dog," was the felt, if -not the breathed, expression towards the hapless owners of the soil. All -their claims, all their sorrows quite forgot, in abhorrence of their -dirt, their tawny skins, and the vices the whites have taught them. - -A person who had seen them during great part of a life, expressed his -prejudices to me with such violence, that I was no longer surprised that -the Indian children threw sticks at him, as he passed. A lady said, "do -what you will for them, they will be ungrateful. The savage cannot be -washed out of them. Bring up an Indian child and see if you can attach -it to you." The next moment, she expressed, in the presence of one of -those children whom she was bringing up, loathing at the odor left by -one of her people, and one of the most respected, as he passed through -the room. When the child is grown she will consider it basely ungrateful -not to love her, as it certainly will not; and this will be cited as an -instance of the impossibility of attaching the Indian. - -Whether the Indian could, by any efforts of love and intelligence from -the white man, have been civilized and made a valuable ingredient in the -new state, I will not say; but this we are sure of; the French -Catholics, at least, did not harm them, nor disturb their minds merely -to corrupt them. The French they loved. But the stern Presbyterian, with -his dogmas and his task-work, the city circle and the college, with -their niggard concessions and unfeeling stare, have never tried the -experiment. It has not been tried. Our people and our government have -sinned alike against the first-born of the soil, and if they are the -fated agents of a new era, they have done nothing--have invoked no god -to keep them sinless while they do the hest of fate. - -Worst of all, when they invoke the holy power only to mask their -iniquity; when the felon trader, who, all the week, has been besotting -and degrading the Indian with rum mixed with red pepper, and damaged -tobacco, kneels with him on Sunday before a common altar, to tell the -rosary which recalls the thought of him crucified for love of suffering -men, and to listen to sermons in praise of "purity"!! - -My savage friends, cries the old fat priest, you must, above all things, -aim at _purity_. - -Oh, my heart swelled when I saw them in a Christian church. Better their -own dog-feasts and bloody rites than such mockery of that other faith. - -"The dog," said an Indian, "was once a spirit; he has fallen for his -sin, and was given by the Great Spirit, in this shape, to man, as his -most intelligent companion. Therefore we sacrifice it in highest honor -to our friends in this world,--to our protecting geniuses in another." - -There was religion in that thought. The white man sacrifices his own -brother, and to Mammon, yet he turns in loathing from the dog-feast. - -"You say," said the Indian of the South to the missionary, "that -Christianity is pleasing to God. How can that be?--Those men at Savannah -are Christians." - -Yes! slave-drivers and Indian traders are called Christians, and the -Indian is to be deemed less like the Son of Mary than they! Wonderful is -the deceit of man's heart! - -I have not, on seeing something of them in their own haunts, found -reason to change the sentiments expressed in the following lines, when a -deputation of the Sacs and Foxes visited Boston in 1837, and were, by -one person at least, received in a dignified and courteous manner. - - - GOVERNOR EVERETT RECEIVING THE INDIAN CHIEFS, - - NOVEMBER, 1837. - - Who says that Poesy is on the wane, - And that the Muses tune their lyres in vain? - 'Mid all the treasures of romantic story, - When thought was fresh and fancy in her glory, - Has ever Art found out a richer theme, - More dark a shadow, or more soft a gleam, - Than fall upon the scene, sketched carelessly, - In the newspaper column of to-day? - - American romance is somewhat stale. - Talk of the hatchet, and the faces pale, - Wampum and calumets and forests dreary, - Once so attractive, now begins to weary. - Uncas and Magawisca please us still, - Unreal, yet idealized with skill; - But every poetaster scribbling witling, - From the majestic oak his stylus whittling, - Has helped to tire us, and to make us fear - The monotone in which so much we hear - Of "stoics of the wood," and "men without a tear." - - Yet Nature, ever buoyant, ever young, - If let alone, will sing as erst she sung; - The course of circumstance gives back again - The Picturesque, erewhile pursued in vain; - Shows us the fount of Romance is not wasted-- - The lights and shades of contrast not exhausted. - - Shorn of his strength, the Samson now must sue - For fragments from the feast his fathers gave, - The Indian dare not claim what is his due, - But as a boon his heritage must crave; - His stately form shall soon be seen no more - Through all his father's land, th' Atlantic shore, - Beneath the sun, to _us_ so kind, _they_ melt, - More heavily each day our rule is felt; - The tale is old,--we do as mortals must: - Might makes right here, but God and Time are just. - - So near the drama hastens to its close, - On this last scene awhile your eyes repose; - The polished Greek and Scythian meet again, - The ancient life is lived by modern men-- - The savage through our busy cities walks,-- - He in his untouched grandeur silent stalks. - Unmoved by all our gaieties and shows, - Wonder nor shame can touch him as he goes; - He gazes on the marvels we have wrought, - But knows the models from whence all was brought; - In God's first temples he has stood so oft, - And listened to the natural organ loft-- - Has watched the eagle's flight, the muttering thunder heard, - Art cannot move him to a wondering word; - Perhaps he sees that all this luxury - Brings less food to the mind than to the eye; - Perhaps a simple sentiment has brought - More to him than your arts had ever taught. - What are the petty triumphs _Art_ has given, - To eyes familiar with the naked heaven? - - All has been seen--dock, railroad, and canal, - Fort, market, bridge, college, and arsenal, - Asylum, hospital, and cotton mill, - The theatre, the lighthouse, and the jail. - The Braves each novelty, reflecting, saw, - And now and then growled out the earnest _yaw_. - And now the time is come, 'tis understood, - When, having seen and thought so much, a _talk_ may do some good. - - A well-dressed mob have thronged the sight to greet, - And motley figures throng the spacious street; - Majestical and calm through all they stride, - Wearing the blanket with a monarch's pride; - The gazers stare and shrug, but can't deny - Their noble forms and blameless symmetry. - If the Great Spirit their morale has slighted, - And wigwam smoke their mental culture blighted, - Yet the physique, at least, perfection reaches, - In wilds where neither Combe nor Spursheim teaches; - Where whispering trees invite man to the chase, - And bounding deer allure him to the race. - - Would thou hadst seen it! That dark, stately band, - Whose ancestors enjoyed all this fair land, - Whence they, by force or fraud, were made to flee, - Are brought, the white man's victory to see. - Can kind emotions in their proud hearts glow, - As through these realms, now decked by Art, they go? - The church, the school, the railroad and the mart-- - Can these a pleasure to their minds impart? - All once was theirs--earth, ocean, forest, sky-- - How can they joy in what now meets the eye? - Not yet Religion has unlocked the soul, - Nor Each has learned to glory in the Whole! - - Must they not think, so strange and sad their lot, - That they by the Great Spirit are forgot? - From the far border to which they are driven, - They might look up in trust to the clear heaven; - But _here_--what tales doth every object tell - Where Massasoit sleeps--where Philip fell! - - We take our turn, and the Philosopher - Sees through the clouds a hand which cannot err, - An unimproving race, with all their graces - And all their vices, must resign their places; - And Human Culture rolls its onward flood - Over the broad plains steeped in Indian blood. - Such thoughts, steady our faith; yet there will rise - Some natural tears into the calmest eyes-- - Which gaze where forest princes haughty go, - Made for a gaping crowd a raree show. - - But _this_ a scene seems where, in courtesy, - The pale face with the forest prince could vie, - For One presided, who, for tact and grace, - In any age had held an honored place,-- - In Beauty's own dear day, had shone a polished Phidian vase! - - Oft have I listened to his accents bland, - And owned the magic of his silvery voice, - In all the graces which life's arts demand, - Delighted by the justness of his choice. - Not his the stream of lavish, fervid thought,-- - The rhetoric by passion's magic wrought; - Not his the massive style, the lion port, - Which with the granite class of mind assort; - But, in a range of excellence his own, - With all the charms to soft persuasion known, - Amid our busy people we admire him--"elegant and lone." - - He scarce needs words, so exquisite the skill - Which modulates the tones to do his will, - That the mere sound enough would charm the ear, - And lap in its Elysium all who hear. - The intellectual paleness of his cheek, - The heavy eyelids and slow, tranquil smile, - The well cut lips from which the graces speak, - Fit him alike to win or to beguile; - Then those words so well chosen, fit, though few, - Their linked sweetness as our thoughts pursue, - We deem them spoken pearls, or radiant diamond dew. - - And never yet did I admire the power - Which makes so lustrous every threadbare theme-- - Which won for Lafayette one other hour, - And e'en on July Fourth could cast a gleam-- - As now, when I behold him play the host, - With all the dignity which red men boast-- - With all the courtesy the whites have lost;-- - Assume the very hue of savage mind, - Yet in rude accents show the thought refined:-- - Assume the naivete of infant age, - And in such prattle seem still more a sage; - The golden mean with tact unerring seized, - A courtly critic shone, a simple savage pleased; - The stoic of the woods his skill confessed, - As all the Father answered in his breast, - To the sure mark the silver arrow sped, - The man without a tear a tear has shed; - And thou hadst wept, hadst thou been there, to see - How true one sentiment must ever be, - In court or camp, the city or the wild, - To rouse the Father's heart, you need but name his Child. - - 'Twas a fair scene--and acted well by all; - So here's a health to Indian braves so tall-- - Our Governor and Boston people all! - -I will copy the admirable speech of Governor Everett on that occasion, -as I think it the happiest attempt ever made to meet the Indian in his -own way, and catch the tone of his mind. It was said, in the -newspapers, that Keokuck did actually shed tears when addressed as a -father. If he did not with his eyes, he well might in his heart. - - -EVERETT'S SPEECH. - -Chiefs and warriors of the Sauks and Foxes, you are welcome to our hall -of council. - -Brothers! you have come a long way from home to visit your white -brethren; we rejoice to take you by the hand. - -Brothers! we have heard the names of your chiefs and warriors; our -brothers, who have travelled into the West, have told us a great deal of -the Sauks and Foxes; we rejoice to see you with our own eyes, and take -you by the hand. - -Brothers! we are called the Massachusetts. This is the name of the red -men that once lived here. Their wigwams filled yonder field; their -council fire was kindled on this spot. They were of the same great race -as the Sauks and Misquakuiks. - -Brothers! when our fathers came over the great waters, they were a small -band. The red man stood upon the rock by the seaside, and saw our -fathers. He might have pushed them into the water and drowned them. But -he stretched out his arm to our fathers and said, "Welcome, white men!" -Our fathers were hungry, and the red men gave them corn and venison. Our -fathers were cold, and the red man wrapped them up in his blanket. We -are now numerous and powerful, but we remember the kindness of the red -man to our fathers. Brothers, you are welcome; we are glad to see you. - -Brothers! our faces are pale, and your faces are dark; but our hearts -are alike. The Great Spirit has made his children of different colors, -but he loves them all. - -Brothers! you dwell between the Mississippi and the Missouri. They are -mighty rivers. They have one branch far East in the Alleghanies, and the -other far West in the Rocky Mountains; but they flow together at last -into one great stream, and run down together into the sea. In like -manner, the red man dwells in the West, and the white man in the East, -by the great waters; but they are all one branch, one family; it has -many branches and one head. - -Brothers! as you entered our council house, you beheld the image of our -great Father Washington. It is a cold stone--it cannot speak. But he was -the friend of the red man, and bad his children live in peace with their -red brethren. He is gone to the world of spirits. But his words have -made a very deep print in our hearts, like the step of a strong buffalo -on the soft clay of the prairie. - -Brother! I perceive your little son between your knees. God preserve his -life, my brother. He grows up before you like the tender sapling by the -side of the mighty oak. May the oak and the sapling flourish a long time -together. And when the mighty oak is fallen to the ground, may the young -tree fill its place in the forest, and spread out its branches over the -tribe like the parent trunk. - -Brothers! I make you a short talk, and again bid you welcome to our -council hall. - -Not often have they been addressed with such intelligence and tact. The -few who have not approached them with sordid rapacity, but from love to -them, as men, and souls to be redeemed, have most frequently been -persons intellectually too narrow, too straightly bound in sects or -opinions, to throw themselves into the character or position of the -Indians, or impart to them anything they can make available. The Christ -shown them by these missionaries, is to them but a new and more powerful -Manito; the signs of the new religion, but the fetiches that have aided -the conquerors. - -Here I will copy some remarks made by a discerning observer, on the -methods used by the missionaries, and their natural results. - -"Mr. ---- and myself had a very interesting conversation, upon the -subject of the Indians, their character, capabilities, &c. After ten -years' experience among them, he was forced to acknowledge, that the -results of the missionary efforts had produced nothing calculated to -encourage. He thought that there was an intrinsic disability in them, to -rise above, or go beyond the sphere in which they had so long moved. He -said, that even those Indians who had been converted, and who had -adopted the habits of civilization, were very little improved in their -real character; they were as selfish, as deceitful, and as indolent, as -those who were still heathens. They had repaid the kindnesses of the -missionaries with the basest ingratitude, killing their cattle and -swine, and robbing them of their harvests, which they wantonly -destroyed. He had abandoned the idea of effecting any general good to -the Indians. He had conscientious scruples, as to promoting an -enterprise so hopeless, as that of missions among the Indians, by -sending accounts to the east, that might induce philanthropic -individuals to contribute to their support. In fact, the whole -experience of his intercourse with them, seemed to have convinced him of -the irremediable degradation of the race. Their fortitude under -suffering, he considered the result of physical and mental -insensibility; their courage, a mere animal excitement, which they found -it necessary to inflame, before daring to meet a foe. They have no -constancy of purpose; and are, in fact, but little superior to the -brutes, in point of moral development. It is not astonishing, that one -looking upon the Indian character, from Mr. ----'s point of view, should -entertain such sentiments. The object of his intercourse with them was, -to make them apprehend the mysteries of a theology, which, to the most -enlightened, is an abstruse, metaphysical study; and it is not singular -they should prefer their pagan superstitions, which address themselves -more directly to the senses. Failing in the attempt to christianize, -before civilizing them, he inferred, that, in the intrinsic degradation -of their faculties, the obstacle was to be found." - -Thus the missionary vainly attempts, by once or twice holding up the -cross, to turn deer and tigers into lambs; vainly attempts to convince -the red man that a heavenly mandate takes from him his broad lands. He -bows his head, but does not at heart acquiesce. He cannot. It is not -true; and if it were, the descent of blood through the same channels, -for centuries, had formed habits of thought not so easily to be -disturbed. - -Amalgamation would afford the only true and profound means of -civilization. But nature seems, like all else, to declare, that this -race is fated to perish. Those of mixed blood fade early, and are not -generally a fine race. They lose what is best in either type, rather -than enhance the value of each, by mingling. There are exceptions, one -or two such I know of, but this, it is said, is the general rule. - -A traveller observes, that the white settlers, who live in the woods, -soon become sallow, lanky, and dejected; the atmosphere of the trees -does not agree with Caucasian lungs; and it is, perhaps, in part, an -instinct of this, which causes the hatred of the new settlers towards -trees. The Indian breathed the atmosphere of the forests freely; he -loved their shade. As they are effaced from the land, he fleets too; a -part of the same manifestation, which cannot linger behind its proper -era. - -The Chippewas have lately petitioned the state of Michigan, that they -may be admitted as citizens; but this would be vain, unless they could -be admitted, as brothers, to the heart of the white man. And while the -latter feels that conviction of superiority, which enabled our Wisconsin -friend to throw away the gun, and send the Indian to fetch it, he had -need to be very good, and very wise, not to abuse his position. But the -white man, as yet, is a half-tamed pirate, and avails himself, as much -as ever, of the maxim, "Might makes right." All that civilization does -for the generality, is to cover up this with a veil of subtle evasions -and chicane, and here and there to rouse the individual mind to appeal -to heaven against it. - -I have no hope of liberalizing the missionary, of humanizing the sharks -of trade, of infusing the conscientious drop into the flinty bosom of -policy, of saving the Indian from immediate degradation, and speedy -death. The, whole sermon may be preached from the text, "Needs be that -offences must come, yet we them by whom they come." Yet, ere they -depart, I wish there might be some masterly attempt to reproduce, in art -or literature, what is proper to them, a kind of beauty and grandeur, -which few of the every-day crowd have hearts to feel, yet which ought to -leave in the world its monuments, to inspire the thought of genius -through all ages. Nothing in this kind has been done masterly; since it -was Clevengers's ambition, 'tis pity he had not opportunity to try fully -his powers. We hope some other mind may be bent upon it, ere too late. - -At present the only lively impress of their passage through the world is -to be found in such books as Catlin's and some stories told by the old -travellers, of which I purpose a brief account. - -First, let me give another brief tale of the power exerted by the white -man over the savage in a trying case, but, in this case, it was -righteous, was moral power. - -"We were looking over McKenney's trip to the Lakes, and, on observing -the picture of Key-way-no-wut, or the Going Cloud, Mr. B. observed "Ah, -that is the fellow I came near having a fight with," and he detailed at -length the circumstances. This Indian was a very desperate character, -and whom all the Leech lake band stood in fear of. He would shoot down -any Indian who offended him, without the least hesitation, and had -become quite the bully of that part of the tribe. The trader at Leech -lake warned Mr. B. to beware of him, and said that he once, when he (the -trader) refused to give up to him his stock of wild rice, went and got -his gun and tomahawk, and shook the tomahawk over his head, saying -"_Now_, give me your wild rice." The trader complied with his exaction, -but not so did Mr. B. in the adventure which I am about to relate. -Key-way-no-wut came frequently to him with furs, wishing him to give for -them cotton cloth, sugar, flour, &c. Mr. B. explained to him that he -could not trade for furs, as he was sent there as a teacher, and that it -would be like putting his hand into the fire to do so, as the traders -would inform against him, and he would be sent out of the country. At -the same time, he _gave_ him the articles which he wished. -Key-way-no-wut found this a very convenient way of getting what he -wanted, and followed up this sort of game, until, at last, it became -insupportable. One day the Indian brought a very large otter skin, and -said "I want to get for this ten pounds of sugar, and some flour and -cloth," adding, "I am not like other Indians, _I_ want to pay for what I -get. Mr. B. found that he must either be robbed of all he had by -submitting to these exactions, or take a stand at once. He thought, -however, he would try to avoid a scrape, and told his customer he had -not so much sugar to spare. "Give me then," said he, "what you can -spare," and Mr. B. thinking to make him back out, told him he would give -him five pounds of sugar for his skin. "Take it," said the Indian. He -left the skin, telling Mr. B. to take good care of it. Mr. B. took it at -once to the trader's store, and related the circumstance, congratulating -himself that he had got rid of the Indian's exactions. But, in about a -month, Key-way-no-wut appeared bringing some dirty Indian sugar, and -said "I have brought back the sugar that I borrowed of you, and I want -my otter skin back." Mr. B. told him, "I _bought_ an otter skin of you, -but if you will return the other articles you have got for it, perhaps I -can get it for you." "Where is the skin?" said he very quickly, "what -have you done with it?" Mr. B. replied it was in the trader's store, -where he (the Indian) could not get it. At this information he was -furious, laid his hands on his knife and tomahawk, and commanded Mr. B. -to bring it at once. Mr. B. found this was the crisis, where he must -take a stand or be "rode over rough shod" by this man; his wife, who was -present was much alarmed, and begged he would get the skin for the -Indian, but he told her that "either he or the Indian would soon be -master of his house, and if she was afraid to see it decided which was -to be so, she had better retire." He turned to Key-way-no-wut, and -addressed him in a stern voice as follows: "I will _not_ give you the -skin. How often have you come to my house, and I have shared with you -what I had. I gave you tobacco when you were well, and medicine when you -were sick, and you never went away from my wigwam with your hands -empty. And this is the way you return my treatment to you. I had thought -you were a man and a chief, but you are not, you are nothing but an old -woman. Leave this house, and never enter it again." Mr. B. said he -expected the Indian would attempt his life when he said this, but that -he had placed himself in a position so that he could defend himself, and -he looked straight into the Indian's eye, and like other wild beasts he -quailed before the glance of mental and moral courage. He calmed down at -once, and soon began to make apologies. Mr. B. then told him kindly, but -firmly, that, if he wished to walk in the same path with him, he must -walk as straight as the crack on the floor before them; adding that he -would not walk with anybody who would jostle him by walking so crooked -as he had done. He was perfectly tamed, and Mr. B. said he never had any -more trouble with him." - -The conviction here livingly enforced of the superiority on the side of -the white man, was thus expressed by the Indian orator at Mackinaw while -we were there. After the customary compliments about sun, dew, &c., -"This," said he, "is the difference between the white and the red man; -the white man looks to the future and paves the way for posterity." This -is a statement uncommonly refined for an Indian; but one of the -gentlemen present, who understood the Chippeway, vouched for it as a -literal rendering of his phrases; and he did indeed touch the vital -point of difference. But the Indian, if he understands, cannot make use -of his intelligence. The fate of his people is against it, and Pontiac -and Philip have no more chance, than Julian in the times of old. - -Now that I am engaged on this subject, let me give some notices of -writings upon it, read either at Mackinaw or since my return. - -Mrs. Jameson made such good use of her brief visit to these regions, as -leaves great cause to regret she did not stay longer and go farther; -also, that she did not make more use of her acquaintance with, indeed, -adoption by, the Johnson family. Mr. Johnson seems to have been almost -the only white man who knew how to regard with due intelligence and -nobleness, his connexion with the race. Neither French or English, of -any powers of sympathy, or poetical apprehension, have lived among the -Indians without high feelings of enjoyment. Perhaps no luxury has been -greater, than that experienced by the persons, who, sent either by trade -or war, during the last century, into these majestic regions, found -guides and shelter amid the children of the soil, and recognized in a -form so new and of such varied, yet simple, charms, the tie of -brotherhood. - -But these, even Sir William Johnston, whose life, surrounded by the -Indians in his castle on the Mohawk, is described with such vivacity by -Mrs. Grant, have been men better fitted to enjoy and adapt themselves to -this life, than to observe and record it. The very faculties that made -it so easy for them to live in the present moment, were likely to unfit -them for keeping its chronicle. Men, whose life is full and instinctive, -care little for the pen. But the father of Mrs. Schoolcraft seems to -have taken pleasure in observation and comparison, and to have imparted -the same tastes to his children. They have enough of European culture to -have a standard, by which to judge their native habits and inherited -lore. - -By the premature death of Mrs. Schoolcraft was lost a mine of poesy, to -which few had access, and from which Mrs. Jameson would have known how -to coin a series of medals for the history of this ancient people. We -might have known in clear outline, as now we shall not, the growths of -religion and philosophy, under the influences of this climate and -scenery, from such suggestions as nature and the teachings of the inward -mind presented. - -Now we can only gather that they had their own theory of the history of -this globe; had perceived a gap in its genesis, and tried to fill it up -by the intervention of some secondary power, with moral sympathies. They -have observed the action of fire and water upon this earth; also that -the dynasty of animals has yielded to that of man. With these animals -they have profound sympathy, and are always trying to restore to them -their lost honors. On the rattlesnake, the beaver, and the bear, they -seem to look with a mixture of sympathy and veneration, as on their -fellow settlers in these realms. There is something that appeals -powerfully to the imagination in the ceremonies they observe, even in -case of destroying one of these animals. I will say more of this -by-and-by. - -The dog they cherish as having been once a spirit of high intelligence; -and now in its fallen, and imprisoned state, given to man as his -special companion. He is therefore to them a sacrifice of peculiar -worth: whether to a guardian spirit or a human friend. Yet nothing would -be a greater violation than giving the remains of a sacrificial feast to -the dogs, or even suffering them to touch the bones. - -Similar inconsistences may be observed in the treatment of the dog by -the white man. He is the most cherished companion in the familiar walks -of many men; his virtues form the theme of poetry and history; the -nobler races present grand traits, and are treated with proportionate -respect. Yet the epithets dog and hound, are there set apart to express -the uttermost contempt. - -Goethe, who abhorred dogs, has selected that animal for the embodiment -of the modern devil, who, in earlier times, chose rather the form of the -serpent. - -There is, indeed, something that peculiarly breaks in on the harmony of -nature, in the bark of the dog, and that does not at all correspond with -the softness and sagacity observable in his eye. The baying the moon, I -have been inclined to set down as an unfavorable indication; but, since -Fourier has found out that the moon is dead, and "no better than -carrion;" and the Greeks have designated her as Hecate, the deity of -suicide and witchcraft, the dogs are perhaps in the right. - -They have among them the legend of the carbuncle, so famous in oriental -mythos. Adair states that they believe this fabulous gem may be found on -the spot where the rattlesnake has been destroyed. - -If they have not the archetypal man, they have the archetypal animal, -"the grandfather of all beavers;" to them, who do not know the elephant, -this is the symbol of wisdom, as the rattlesnake and bear of power. - -I will insert here a little tale about the bear, which has not before -appeared in print, as representing their human way of looking on these -animals, even when engaged in their pursuit. To me such stories give a -fine sense of the lively perceptions and exercise of fancy, enjoyed by -them in their lives of woodcraft: - - -MUCKWA, OR THE BEAR. - -A young Indian, who lived a great while ago, when he was quite young -killed a bear; and the tribe from that circumstance called him Muckwa. -As he grew up he became an expert hunter, and his favorite game was the -bear, many of which he killed. One day he started off to a river far -remote from the lodges of his tribe, and where berries and grapes were -very plenty, in pursuit of bears. He hunted all day but found nothing; -and just at night he came to some lodges which he thought to be those of -some of his tribe. He approached the largest of them, lifted the curtain -at its entrance, and went in, when he perceived the inmates to be bears, -who were seated around the fire smoking. He said nothing, but seated -himself also and smoked the pipe which they offered him, in silence. An -old grey bear, who was the chief, ordered supper to be brought for him, -and after he had eaten it, addressed him as follows: "My son, I am glad -to see you come among us in a friendly manner. You have been a great -hunter, and all the she-bears of our tribe tremble when they hear your -name. But cease to trouble us, and come and live with me; we have a very -pleasant life, living upon the fruits of the earth; and in the winter, -instead of being obliged to hunt and travel through the deep snow, we -sleep soundly until the sun unchains the streams, and makes the tender -buds put forth for our subsistence. I will give you my daughter for a -wife, and we will live happily together." Muckwa was inclined to accept -the old bear's offer; but when he saw the daughter, who came and took -off his wet moccasons, and gave him dry ones, he thought that he had -never seen any Indian woman so beautiful. He accepted the offer of the -chief of the bears, and lived with his wife very happily for some time. -He had by her two sons, one of whom was like an Indian, and the other -like a bear. When the bear-child was oppressed with heat, his mother -would take him into the deep cool caves, while the Indian-child would -shiver with cold, and cry after her in vain. As the autumn advanced, the -bears began to go out in search of acorns, and then the she-bear said to -Muckwa, "Stay at home here and watch our house, while I go to gather -some nuts." She departed and was gone for some days with her people. -By-and-by Muckwa became tired of staying at home, and thought that he -would go off to a distance and resume his favorite bear-hunting. He -accordingly started off, and at last came to a grove of lofty oaks, -which were full of large acorns. He found signs of bear, and soon espied -a fat she-bear on the top of a tree. He shot at her with a good aim, and -she fell, pierced by his unerring arrow. He went up to her, and found -it was his sister-in-law, who reproached him with his cruelty, and told -him to return to his own people. Muckwa returned quietly home, and -pretended not to have left his lodge. However, the old chief understood, -and was disposed to kill him in revenge; but his wife found means to -avert her father's anger. The winter season now coming on, Muckwa -prepared to accompany his wife into winter quarters; they selected a -large tamarack tree, which was hollow, and lived there comfortably until -a party of hunters discovered their retreat. The she-bear told Muckwa to -remain quietly in the tree, and that she would decoy off the hunters. -She came out of the hollow, jumped from a bough of the tree, and escaped -unharmed, although the hunters shot after her. Some time after, she -returned to the tree, and told Muckwa that he had better go back to his -own people. "Since you have lived among us," said she, "we have nothing -but ill-fortune; you have killed my sister; and now your friends have -followed your footsteps to our retreats to kill us. The Indian and the -bear cannot live in the same lodge, for the Master of Life has appointed -for them different habitations." So Muckwa returned with his son to his -own people; but he never after would shoot a she-bear, for fear that he -should kill his wife." - -I admire this story for the _savoir faire_, the nonchalance, the Vivian -Greyism of Indian life. It is also a poetical expression of the sorrows -of unequal relations; those in which the Master of Life was not -consulted. Is it not pathetic; the picture of the mother carrying off -the child that was like herself into the deep, cool caves, while the -other, shivering with cold, cried after her in vain? The moral, too, of -Muckwa's return to the bear lodges, thinking to hide his sin by silence, -while it was at once discerned by those connected with him, is fine. - -We have a nursery tale, of which children never weary, of a little boy -visiting a bear house and holding intercourse with them on terms as free -as Muckwa did. So, perhaps, the child of Norman-Saxon blood, no less -than the Indian, finds some pulse of the Orson in his veins. - -As they loved to draw the lower forms of nature up to them, divining -their histories, and imitating their ways, in their wild dances and -paintings; even so did they love to look upward and people the -atmosphere that enfolds the earth, with fairies and manitoes. The -sister, obliged to leave her brother on the earth, bids him look up at -evening, and he will see her painting her face in the west. - -All places, distinguished in any way by nature, aroused the feelings of -worship, which, however ignorant, are always elevating. See as instances -in this kind, the stories of Nanabojou, and the Winnebago Prince, at the -falls of St. Anthony. - -As with the Greeks, beautiful legends grow up which express the aspects -of various localities. From the distant sand-banks in the lakes, -glittering in the sun, come stories of enchantresses combing, on the -shore, the long golden hair of a beautiful daughter. The Lorelei of the -Rhine, with her syren song, and the sad events that follow, is found on -the lonely rocks of Lake Superior. - -The story to which I now refer, may be found in a book called Life on -the Lakes, or, a Trip to the Pictured Rocks. There are two which purport -to be Indian tales; one is simply a romantic narrative, connected with a -spot at Mackinaw, called Robinson's Folly. This, no less than the other, -was unknown to those persons I saw on the island; but as they seem -entirely beyond the powers of the person who writes them down, and the -other one has the profound and original meaning of Greek tragedy, I -believe they must be genuine legends. - -The one I admire is the story of a young warrior, who goes to keep, on -these lonely rocks, the fast which is to secure him vision of his -tutelary spirit. There the loneliness is broken by the voice of sweet -music from the water. The Indian knows well that to break the fast, -which is the crisis of his life, by turning his attention from seeking -the Great Spirit, to any lower object, will deprive him through life of -heavenly protection, probably call down the severest punishment. - -But the temptation is too strong for him; like the victims of the -Lorelei, he looks, like them beholds a maiden of unearthly beauty, to -him the harbinger of earthly wo. - -The development of his fate, that succeeds; of love, of heart-break, of -terrible revenge, which back upon itself recoils, may vie with anything -I have ever known of stern tragedy, is altogether unlike any other form, -and with all the peculiar expression we see lurking in the Indian eye. -The demon is not frightful and fantastic, like those that haunt the -German forest; but terribly human, as if of full manhood, reared in the -shadow of the black forests. An Indian sarcasm vibrates through it, -which, with Indian fortitude, defies the inevitable torture. - -The Indian is steady to that simple creed, which forms the basis of all -this mythology; that there is a God, and a life beyond this; a right and -wrong which each man can see, betwixt which each man should choose; that -good brings with it its reward and vice its punishment. Their moral -code, if not refined as that of civilized nations, is clear and noble in -the stress laid upon truth and fidelity. And all unprejudiced observers -bear testimony that the Indians, until broken from their old anchorage -by intercourse with the whites, who offer them, instead, a religion of -which they furnish neither interpretation nor example, were singularly -virtuous, if virtue be allowed to consist in a man's acting up to his -own ideas of right. - -Old Adair, who lived forty years among the Indians; not these tribes, -indeed, but the southern Indians; does great justice to their religious -aspiration. He is persuaded that they are Jews, and his main object is -to identify their manifold ritual, and customs connected with it, with -that of the Jews. His narrative contains much that is worthless, and is -written in the most tedious manner of the folios. But his devotion to -the records of ancient Jewry, has really given him power to discern -congenial traits elsewhere, and for the sake of what he has expressed of -the noble side of Indian character, we pardon him our having to wade -through so many imbecilities. - -An infidel; he says, is, in their language, "one who has shaken hands -with the accursed speech;" a religious man, "one who has shaken hands -with the beloved speech." If this be a correct definition, we could wish -Adair more religious. - -He gives a fine account of their methods of purification. These show a -deep reliance on the sustaining Spirit. By fasting and prayer they make -ready for all important decisions and actions. Even for the war path, on -which he is likely to endure such privations, the brave prepares by a -solemn fast. His reliance is on the spirit in which he goes forth. - -We may contrast with the opinion of the missionary, as given on a former -page, the testimony of one, who knew them as Adair did, to their heroism -under torture. - -He gives several stories, illustrative both of their courage, fortitude, -and resource in time of peril, of which I will cite only the two first. - -"The Shawano Indians took a Muskohge warrior, known by the name of "Old -Scrany;" they bastinadoed him in the usual manner, and condemned him to -the fiery torture. He underwent a great deal, without showing any -concern; his countenance and behavior were as if he suffered not the -least pain, and was formed beyond the common laws of nature. He told -them, with a bold voice, that he was a very noted warrior, and gained -most of his martial preferments at the expense of their nation, and was -desirous of showing them in the act of dying that he was still as much -their superior, as when he headed his gallant countrymen against them. -That, although he had fallen into their hands, in forfeiting the -protection of the divine power, by some impurity or other, yet he had -still so much virtue remaining, as would enable him to punish himself -more exquisitely than all their despicable, ignorant crowd could -possibly do, if they gave him liberty by untying him, and would hand to -him one of the red hot gun-barrels out of the fire. The proposal, and -his method of address, appeared so exceedingly bold and uncommon, that -his request was granted. Then he suddenly seized one end of the red hot -barrel, and, brandishing it from side to side, he found his way through -the armed and surprised multitude, and leaped down a prodigious steep -and high bank into a branch of the river, dived through it, ran over a -small island, passed the other branch amidst a shower of bullets, and, -though numbers of his eager enemies were in close pursuit of him, he got -to a bramble swamp, and in that naked, mangled condition, reached his -own country. He proved a sharp thorn in their side afterwards, to the -day of his death. - -The Shawano also captivated a warrior of the Anantooiah, and put him to -the stake, according to their usual cruel solemnities. Having -unconcernedly suffered much sharp torture, he told them with scorn, they -did not know how to punish a noted enemy, therefore he was willing to -teach them, and would confirm the truth of his assertion, if they -allowed him the opportunity. Accordingly he requested of them a pipe and -some tobacco, which was given him; as soon as he lighted it, he sat -down, naked as he was, on the women's burning torches, that were within -his circle, and continued smoking his pipe without the least -discomposure. On this a head warrior leaped up, and said they had seen, -plain enough, that he was a warrior, and not afraid of dying; nor should -he have died, but that he was both spoiled by the fire, and devoted to -it by their laws; however, though he was a very dangerous enemy, and his -nation a treacherous people, it should appear they paid a regard to -bravery, even in one, who was marked over the body with war streaks at -the cost of many lives of their beloved kindred. And then, by way of -favor, he, with his friendly tomahawk, put an end to all his pains: -though this merciful but bloody instrument was ready some minutes before -it gave the blow, yet, I was assured, the spectators could not perceive -the sufferer to change, either his posture, or his steady, erect -countenance in the least." - -Some stories as fine, but longer, follow. In reference to which Adair -says, "The intrepid behavior of these red stoics, their surprising -contempt of and indifference to life or death, instead of lessening, -helps to confirm our belief of that supernatural power, which supported -the great number of primitive martyrs, who sealed the Christian faith -with their blood. The Indians have as much belief and expectation of a -future state, as the greater part of the Israelites seem to have. But -the Christians of the first centuries, may justly be said to exceed even -the most heroic American Indians, for they bore the bitterest -persecution with steady patience, in imitation of their divine leader -Messiah, in full confidence of divine support and of a glorious -recompense of reward; and, instead of even wishing for revenge on their -cruel enemies and malicious tormentors, (which is the chief principle -that actuates the Indians,) they not only forgave them, but, in the -midst of their tortures, earnestly prayed for them, with composed -countenances, sincere love, and unabated fervor. And not only men of -different conditions, but the delicate women and children suffered with -constancy, and died praying for their tormentors: the Indian women and -children, and their young men untrained to war, are incapable of -displaying the like patience and magnanimity." - -Thus impartially looks the old trader. I meant to have inserted other -passages, that of the encampment at Yowanne, and the horse race to which -he challenged them, to show how well he could convey in his garrulous -fashion the whole presence of Indian life. That of Yowanne, especially, -takes my fancy much, by its wild and subtle air, and the old-nurse -fashion in which every look and gesture is detailed. His enjoyment, too, -at outwitting the Indians in their own fashion is contagious. There is a -fine history of a young man driven by a presentiment to run upon his -death. But I find, to copy these stories, as they stand, would half fill -this little book, and compression would spoil them, so I must wait some -other occasion. - -The story, later, of giving an Indian liquid fire to swallow, I give at -full length, to show how a kind-hearted man and one well disposed -towards them, can treat them, and view his barbarity as a joke. It is -not then so much wonder, if the trader, with this same feeling that they -may be treated, (as however brutes should not be,) brutally, mixes red -pepper and damaged tobacco with the rum, intending in their fever to -fleece them of all they possess. - -Like Murray and Henry, he has his great Indian chief, who represents -what the people should be, as Pericles and Phocion what the Greek people -should be. If we are entitled to judge by its best fruits of the -goodness of the tree, Adair's Red Shoes, and Henry's Wawatam, should -make us respect the first possessors of our country, and doubt whether -we are in all ways worthy to fill their place. Of the whole tone of -character, judgment may be formed by what is said of the death of Red -Shoes. - -"This chief, by his several transcendent qualities had arrived at the -highest pitch of the red glory.... - -He was murdered, for the sake of a French reward by one of his own -countrymen. He had the misfortune to be taken very sick on the road, and -to lodge apart from the camp, according to their custom. A Judas, -tempted by the high reward of the French for killing him, officiously -pretended to take great care of him. While Red Shoes kept his face -toward him, the barbarian had such feelings of awe and pity that he had -not power to perpetrate his wicked design; but when he turned his back, -then gave the fatal shot. In this manner fell this valuable brave man, -by hands that would have trembled to attack him on an equality." - -Adair, with all his sympathy for the Indian, mixes quite unconsciously -some white man's views of the most decided sort. For instance, he -recommends that the tribes be stimulated as much as possible to war -with each other, that they may the more easily and completely be kept -under the dominion of the whites, and he gives the following record of -brutality as quite a jocose and adroit procedure. - -"I told him; on his importuning me further, that I had a full bottle of -the water of _ane hoome_, "bitter ears," meaning long pepper, of which -he was ignorant. We were of opinion that his eager thirst for liquor, as -well as his ignorance of the burning quality of the pepper, would induce -the bacchanal to try it. He accordingly applauded my generous -disposition, and said his heart had all along told him I would not act -beneath the character I bore among his country people. The bottle was -brought, I laid it on the table, and then told him, as he was spitting -very much, (a general custom among the Indians when they are eager for -anything,) if I drank it all at one sitting it would cause me to spit in -earnest, as I used it only when I ate, and then very moderately; but -though I loved it, if his heart was very poor for it, I should be -silent, and not the least grudge him for pleasing his mouth. He said, -'your heart is honest, indeed; I thank you, for it is good to my heart, -and makes it greatly to rejoice.' Without any further ceremony he seized -the bottle, uncorked it, and swallowed a large quantity of the burning -liquid, till he was nearly strangled. He gasped for a considerable time, -and as soon as he recovered his breath, he said _Hah_, and soon after -kept stroking his throat with his right hand. When the violence of this -burning draught was pretty well over, he began to flourish away in -praise of the strength of the liquor and bounty of the giver. He then -went to his companion and held the liquor to his mouth according to -custom, till he took several hearty swallows. This Indian seemed rather -more sensible of its fiery quality than the other, for it suffocated him -for a considerable time; but as soon as he recovered his breath, he -tumbled about the floor like a drunken person. In this manner they -finished the whole bottle, into which two others had been decanted. The -burning liquor so highly inflamed their bodies, that one of the -Choctaws, to cool his inward parts, drank water till he almost burst; -the other, rather than bear the ridicule of the people, and the inward -fire that distracted him, drowned himself the second night after in a -broad and shallow clay hole.... - -There was an incident similar, which happened among the Cherokees. When -all the liquor was expended the Indians went home, leading with them, at -my request, those that were drunk. One, however, soon came back, and -earnestly importuned me for more Nawahti, which signifies both physic -and spirituous liquor. They, as they are now become great liars, suspect -all others of being infected with their own disposition and principles. -The more I excused myself, the more anxious he grew, so as to become -offensive. I then told him I had only one quarter of a bottle of strong -physic, which sick people might drink in small quantities, for the cure -of inward pains: and, laying it down before him, I declared I did not on -any account choose to part with it, but as his speech had become very -long and troublesome, he might do just as his heart directed him -concerning it. He took it up, saying, his heart was very poor for -physic, but he would cure it, and make it quite straight. The bottle -contained three gills of strong spirits of turpentine, which, in a short -time he drank off. Such a quantity would have demolished me or any white -person. The Indians, in general, are either capable of suffering -exquisite pain longer than we are, or of showing more constancy and -composure in their torments. The troublesome visiter soon tumbled down -and foamed prodigiously. I then sent for some of his relations to carry -him home. They came; I told them he drank greedily, and too much of the -physic. They said, it was his usual custom, when the red people bought -the English physic. They gave him a decoction of proper herbs and roots, -the next day sweated him, repeated the former draught, and he got well. -As these turpentine spirits did not inebriate him, but only inflamed his -intestines, he well remembered the burning quality of my favorite -physic, and cautioned the rest from ever teasing me for any physic I had -concealed in any sort of bottles for my own use; otherwise they might be -sure it would spoil them like the eating of fire." - -We are pleased to note that the same white man, who so resolutely -resisted the encroachments of Key-way-no-wut, devised a more humane -expedient in a similar dilemma. - -"Mr. B. told me that, when he first went into the Indian country, they -got the taste of his peppermint, and, after that, colics prevailed among -them to an alarming extent, till Mrs. B. made a strong decoction of -flagroot, and gave them in place of their favorite medicine. This -effected, as might be supposed, a radical cure." - -I am inclined to recommend Adair to the patient reader, if such may be -found in these United States, with the assurance that, if he will have -tolerance for its intolerable prolixity and dryness, he will find, on -rising from the book, that he has partaken of an infusion of real Indian -bitters, such as may not be drawn from any of the more attractive -memoirs on the same subject. - -Another book of interest, from its fidelity and candid spirit, though -written without vivacity, and by a person neither of large mind nor -prepared for various inquiry, is Carver's Travels, "for three years -throughout the interior parts of America, for more than five thousand -miles." - -He set out from Boston in "June, 1786, and proceeded, by way of Albany -and Niagara, to Michilimackinac, a fort situated between the Lakes Huron -and Michigan, and distant from Boston 1300 miles." - -It is interesting to follow his footsteps in these localities, though -they be not bold footsteps. - -He mentions the town of the Sacs, on the Wisconsin, as the largest and -best built he saw, "composed of ninety houses, each large enough for -several families. These are built of hewn plank, neatly jointed, and -covered with bark so compactly as to keep out the most penetrating -rains. Before the doors are placed comfortable sheds, in which the -inhabitants sit, when the weather will permit, and smoke their pipes. -The streets are regular and spacious. In their plantations, which lie -adjacent to their houses, and which are neatly laid out, they raise -great quantities of Indian corn, beans and melons." - -Such settlements compare very well with those which were found on the -Mohawk. It was of such that the poor Indian was thinking, whom our host -saw gazing on the shore of Nomabbin lake. - -He mentions the rise and fall of the lake-waters, by a tide of three -feet, once in seven years,--a phenomenon not yet accounted for. - -His view of the Indian character is truly impartial. He did not see it -so fully drawn out by circumstances as Henry did, (of whose narrative we -shall presently speak,) but we come to similar results from the two -witnesses. They are in every feature Romans, as described by Carver, and -patriotism their leading impulse. He deserves the more credit for the -justice he is able to do them, that he had undergone the terrors of -death at their hands, when present at the surrender of one of the forts, -and had seen them in that mood which they express by drinking the blood -and eating the hearts of their enemies, yet is able to understand the -position of their minds, and allow for their notions of duty. - -No selfish views, says he, influence their advice, or obstruct their -consultations. - -Let me mention here the use they make of their vapor baths. "When about -to decide on some important measure, they go into them, thus cleansing -the skin and carrying off any peccant humors, so that the body may, as -little as possible, impede the mind by any ill conditions." - -They prepare the bath for one another when any arrangement is to be -made between families, on the opposite principle to the whites, who make -them drunk before bargaining with them. The bath serves them instead of -a cup of coffee, to stimulate the thinking powers. - -He mentions other instances of their kind of delicacy, which, if -different from ours, was, perhaps, more rigidly observed. - -Lovers never spoke of love till the daylight was quite gone. - -"If an Indian goes to visit any particular person in a family, he -mentions for whom his visit is intended, and the rest of the family, -immediately retiring to the other end of the hut or tent, are careful -not to come near enough to interrupt them during the whole of the -conversation." - -In cases of divorce, which was easily obtained, the advantage rested -with the woman. The reason given is indeed contemptuous toward her, but -a chivalric direction is given to the contempt. - -"The children of the Indians are always distinguished by the name of the -mother, and, if a woman marries several husbands, and has issue by each -of them, they are called after her. The reason they give for this is, -that, 'as their offspring are indebted to the father for the soul, the -invisible part of their essence, and to the mother for their corporeal -and apparent part, it is most rational that they should be distinguished -by the name of the latter, from whom they indubitably derive their -present being.'" - -This is precisely the division of functions made by Ovid, as the father -sees Hercules perishing on the funeral pyre. - - "Nec nisi materna Vulcanum parte potentem - Sentiet. Aeternum est a me quod traxit et expers - Atque immune necis, nullaqe domabile flamma." - -He is not enough acquainted with natural history to make valuable -observations. He mentions, however, as did my friend, the Indian girl, -that those splendid flowers, the Wickapee and the root of the -Wake-Robin, afford valuable medicines. Here, as in the case of the -Lobelia, nature has blazoned her drug in higher colors than did ever -quack doctor. - -He observes some points of resemblance between the Indians and Tartars, -but they are trivial, and not well considered. He mentions that the -Tartars have the same custom, with some of these tribes, of shaving all -the head except a tuft on the crown. Catlin says this is intended, to -afford a convenient means by which to take away the scalp; for they -consider it a great disgrace to have the foeman neglect this, as if he -considered the conquest, of which the scalp is the certificate, no -addition to his honors. - -"The Tartars," he says, "had a similar custom of sacrificing the dog; -and among the Kamschatkans was a dance resembling the dog-dance of our -Indians." - -My friend, who joined me at Mackinaw, happened, on the homeward journey, -to see a little Chinese girl, who had been sent over by one of the -missions, and observed that, in features, complexion, and gesture, she -was a counterpart to the little Indian girls she had just seen playing -about on the lake shore. - -The parentage of these tribes is still an interesting subject of -speculation, though, if they be not created for this region, they have -become so assimilated to it as to retain little trace of any other. To -me it seems most probable, that a peculiar race was bestowed on each -region, as the lion on one latitude and the white bear on another. As -man has two natures--one, like that of the plants and animals, adapted -to the uses and enjoyments of this planet, another, which presages and -demands a higher sphere--he is constantly breaking bounds, in proportion -as the mental gets the better of the mere instinctive existence. As yet, -he loses in harmony of being what he gains in height and extension; the -civilized man is a larger mind, but a more imperfect nature than the -savage. - -It is pleasant to meet, on the borders of these two states, one of those -persons who combines some of the good qualities of both; not, as so many -of these adventurers do, the rapaciousness and cunning of the white, -with the narrowness and ferocity of the savage, but the sentiment and -thoughtfulness of the one, with the boldness, personal resource, and -fortitude of the other. - -Such a person was Alexander Henry, who left Quebec in 1760, for Mackinaw -and the Sault St. Marie, and remained in those regions, of which he has -given us a most lively account, sixteen years. - -His visit to Mackinaw was premature; the Indians were far from -satisfied; they hated their new masters. From the first, the omens were -threatening, and before many months passed, the discontent ended in the -seizing of the fort at Mackinaw and massacre of its garrison; on which -occasion Henry's life was saved by a fine act of Indian chivalry. - -Wawatam, a distinguished chief, had found himself drawn, by strong -affinity, to the English stranger. He had adopted him as a brother, in -the Indian mode. When he found that his tribe had determined on the -slaughter of the whites, he obtained permission to take Henry away with -him, if he could. But not being able to prevail on him, as he could not -assign the true reasons, he went away deeply saddened, but not without -obtaining a promise that his brother should not be injured. The reason -he was obliged to go, was, that his tribe felt his affections were so -engaged, that his self-command could not be depended on to keep their -secret. Their promise was not carefully observed, and, in consequence of -the baseness of a French Canadian in whose house Henry took -refuge,--baseness such as has not, even by their foes, been recorded of -any Indian, his life was placed in great hazard. But Wawatam returned in -time to save him. The scene in which he appears, accompanied by his -wife--who seems to have gone hand in hand with him in this matter--lays -down all his best things in a heap, in the middle of the hall, as a -ransom for the captive, and his little, quiet speech, are as good as the -Iliad. They have the same simplicity, the same lively force and -tenderness. - -Henry goes away with his adopted brother, and lives for some time among -the tribe. The details of this life are truly interesting. One time he -is lost for several days while on the chase. The description of these -weary, groping days, the aspect of natural objects and of the feelings -thus inspired, and the mental change after a good night's sleep, form a -little episode worthy the epic muse. He stripped off the entire bark of -a tree for a coverlet in the snow-storm, going to sleep with "the most -distracted thoughts in the world, while the wolves around seemed to know -the distress to which he was reduced;" but he waked in the morning -another man, clear-headed, able to think out the way to safety. - -When living in the lodge, he says: "At one time much scarcity of food -prevailed. We were often twenty-four hours without eating; and when in -the morning we had no victuals for the day before us, the custom was to -black our faces with grease and charcoal, and exhibit, through -resignation, a temper as cheerful as in the midst of plenty." This wise -and dignified proceeding reminds one of a charming expression of what is -best in French character, as described by Rigolette, in the Mysteries of -Paris, of the household of Pere Cretu and Ramnonette. - -He bears witness to much virtue among them. Their superstitions, as -described by him, seem childlike and touching. He gives with much humor, -traits that show their sympathy with the lower animals, such as I have -mentioned. He speaks of them as, on the whole, taciturn, because their -range of topics is so limited, and seems to have seen nothing of their -talent for narration. Catlin, on the contrary, describes them as lively -and garrulous, and says, that their apparent taciturnity among the -whites is owing to their being surprised at what they see, and -unwilling, from pride, to show that they are so, as well as that they -have little to communicate on their side, that they think will be -valuable. - -After peace was restored, and Henry lived long at Mackinaw and the Sault -St. Marie, as a trader, the traits of his biography and intercourse with -the Indians, are told in the same bold and lively style. I wish I had -room for many extracts, as the book is rare. - -He made a journey one winter on snow shoes, to Prairie du Chien, which -is of romantic interest as displaying his character. His companions -could not travel nearly so fast as he did, and detained him on the way. -Provisions fell short; soon they were ready to perish of starvation. -Apprehending this, on a long journey, in the depth of winter, broken by -no hospitable station, Henry had secreted some chocolate. When he saw -his companions ready to lie down and die, he would heat water, boil in -it a square of this, and give them. By the heat of the water and the -fancy of nourishment, they would be revived, and induced to proceed a -little further. At last they saw antlers sticking up from the ice, and -found the body of an elk, which had sunk in and been frozen there, and -thus preserved to save their lives. On this "and excellent soup" made -from bones they found they were sustained to their journey's end; thus -furnishing, says Henry, one other confirmation of the truth, that -"despair was not made for man;" this expression, and his calm -consideration for the Canadian women that was willing to betray him to -death, denote the two sides of a fine character. - -He gives an interesting account of the tribe called "The Weepers," on -account of the rites with which they interrupt their feasts in honor of -their friends. - -He gives this humorous notice of a chief, called "The Great Road." - -"The chief, to whose kindly reception we were so much indebted, was of a -complexion rather darker than that of the Indians in general. His -appearance was greatly injured by the condition of his hair, and this -was the result of an extraordinary superstition. - -"The Indians universally fix upon a particular object as sacred to -themselves--as the giver of prosperity and as their preserver from evil. -The choice is determined either by a dream or some strong predilection -of fancy, and usually falls upon an animal, part of an animal, or -something else which is to be met with by land, or by water; but the -Great Road had made choice of his hair, placing, like Samson, all his -safety in this portion of his proper substance! His hair was the -fountain of all his happiness; it was his strength and his weapon--his -spear and his shield. It preserved him in battle, directed him in the -chase, watched over him in the march, and gave length of days to his -wives and children. Hair, of a quality like this, was not to be profaned -by the touch of human hands. I was assured that it never had been cut -nor combed from his childhood upward, and that when any part of it fell -from his head, he treasured that part with, care; meanwhile, it did not -escape all care, even while growing on the head, but was in the -especial charge of a spirit, who dressed it while the owner slept. The -spirit's style of hair-dressing was peculiar, the hair being matted into -ropes, which spread in all directions." - -I insert the following account of a visit from some Indians to him at -Mackinaw, with a design to frighten him, and one to Carver, for the same -purpose, as very descriptive of Indian manners: - -"At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Chippeways came to my house, about -sixty in number, and headed by Mina-va-va-na, their chief. They walked -in single file, each with his tomahawk in one hand, and scalping knife -in the other. Their bodies were naked, from the waist upwards, except in -a few examples, where blankets were thrown loosely over the shoulders. -Their faces were painted with charcoal, worked up with grease; their -bodies with white clay in patterns of various fancies. Some had feathers -thrust through their noses, and their heads decorated with the same. It -is unnecessary to dwell on the sensations with which I beheld the -approach of this uncouth, if not frightful, assemblage." - -"Looking out, I saw about twenty naked young Indians, the most perfect -in their shape, and by far the handsomest I had ever seen, coming -towards me, and dancing as they approached to the music of their drums. -At every ten or twelve yards they halted, and set up their yells and -cries. - -When they reached my tent I asked them to come in, which, without -deigning to make me any answer, they did. As I observed they were -painted red and black, as they are when they go against an enemy, and -perceived that some parts of the war-dance were intermixed with their -other movements, I doubted not but they were set on by the hostile chief -who refused my salutation. I therefore determined to sell my life as -dearly as possible. To this purpose I received them sitting on my chest, -with my gun and pistols beside me; and ordered my men to keep a watchful -eye on them, and be also on their guard. - -The Indians being entered, they continued their dance alternately, -singing at the same time of their heroic exploits, and the superiority -of their race over every other people. To enforce their language, though -it was uncommonly nervous and expressive, and such as would of itself -have carried terror to the firmest heart; at the end of every period -they struck their war-clubs against the poles of my tent with such -violence, that I expected every moment it would have tumbled upon us. As -each of them in dancing round passed by me, they placed their right -hands over their eyes, and coming close to me, looked me steadily in the -face, which I could not construe into a token of friendship. My men gave -themselves up for lost; and I acknowledge for my own part, that I never -found my apprehensions more tumultuous on any occasion." - -He mollified them, however, in the end by presents. - -It is pity that Lord Edward Fitzgerald did not leave a detailed account -of his journey through the wilderness, where he was pilot of an unknown -course for twenty days, as Murray and Henry have of theirs. There is -nothing more interesting than to see the civilized man thus thrown -wholly on himself and his manhood, and _not_ found at fault. - -McKenney and Hall's book upon the Indians is a valuable work. The -portraits of the chiefs alone would make a history, and they are -beautifully colored. - -Most of the anecdotes may be found again in Drake's Book of the Indians; -which will afford a useful magazine to their future historian. - -I shall, however, cite a few of them, as especially interesting to -myself. - -Of Guess, the inventor of the Cherokee alphabet, it was observable in -the picture, and observed in the text, that his face had an oriental -cast. The same, we may recall, was said of that of the Seeress of -Prevorst, and the circumstance presents pleasing analogies. Intellect -dawning through features still simple and national, presents very -different apparitions from the "expressive" and "historical" faces of a -broken and cultured race, where there is always more to divine than to -see. - -Of the picture of the Flying Pigeon, the beautiful and excellent woman -mentioned above, a keen observer said, "If you cover the forehead, you -would think the face that of a Madonna, but the forehead is still -savage; the perceptive faculties look so sharp, and the forehead not -moulded like a European forehead." This is very true; in her the moral -nature was most developed, and the effect of a higher growth upon her -face is entirely different from that upon Guess. - -His eye is inturned, while the proper Indian eye gazes steadily, as if -on a distant object. That is half the romance of it, that it makes you -think of dark and distant places in the forest. - -Guess always preferred inventing his implements to receiving them from -others: and, when considered as mad by his tribe, while bent on the -invention of his alphabet, contented himself with teaching it to his -little daughter; an unimpeachable witness. - -Red Jacket's face, too, is much more intellectual than almost any other. -But, in becoming so, it loses nothing of the peculiar Indian stamp, but -only carries these traits to their perfection. Irony, discernment, -resolution, and a deep smouldering fire, that disdains to flicker where -it cannot blaze, may there be read. Nothing can better represent the -sort of unfeelingness the whites have towards the Indians, than their -conduct towards his remains. He had steadily opposed the introduction of -white religion, or manners, among the Indians. He believed that for them -to break down the barriers was to perish. On many occasions he had -expressed this with all the force of his eloquence. He told the -preachers, "if the Great Spirit had meant your religion for the red man, -he would have given it to them. What they (the missionaries) tell us, we -do not understand; and the light they ask for us, makes the straight and -plain path trod by our fathers dark and dreary." - -When he died, he charged his people to inter him themselves. "Dig my -grave, yourselves, and let not the white man pursue me there." In -defiance of this last solemn request, and the invariable tenor of his -life, the missionaries seized the body and performed their service over -it, amid the sullen indignation of his people, at what, under the -circumstances, was sacrilege. - -Of Indian religion a fine specimen is given in the conduct of one of the -war chiefs, who, on an important occasion, made a vow to the sun of -entire renunciation in case he should be crowned with success. When he -was so, he first went through a fast, and sacrificial dance, involving -great personal torment, and lasting several days; then, distributing all -his property, even his lodges, and mats, among the tribe, he and his -family took up their lodging upon the bare ground, beneath the bare sky. - -The devotion of the Stylites and the hair-cloth saints, is in act, -though not in motive, less noble, because this great chief proposed to -go on in common life, where he had lived as a prince--a beggar. - -The memoir by Corn Plant of his early days is beautiful. - -Very fine anecdotes are told of two of the Western chiefs, father and -son, who had the wisdom to see the true policy toward the whites, and -steadily to adhere to it. - -A murder having taken place in the jurisdiction of the father, he -delivered himself up, with those suspected, to imprisonment. One of his -companions chafed bitterly under confinement. He told the chief, if they -ever got out, he would kill him, and did so. The son, then a boy, came -in his rage and sorrow, to this Indian, and insulted him in every way. -The squaw, angry at this, urged her husband "to kill the boy at once." -But he only replied with "the joy of the valiant," "He will be a great -Brave," and then delivered himself up to atone for his victim, and met -his death with the noblest Roman composure. - -This boy became rather a great chief than a great brave, and the -anecdotes about him are of signal beauty and significance. - -There is a fine story of an old mother, who gave herself to death -instead of her son. The son, at the time, accepted the sacrifice, -seeing, with Indian coolness, that it was better she should give up her -few solitary and useless days, than he a young existence full of -promise. But he could not abide by this view, and after suffering awhile -all the anguish of remorse, he put himself solemnly to death in the -presence of the tribe, as the only atonement he could make. His young -wife stood by, with her child in her arms, commanding her emotions, as -he desired, for, no doubt, it seemed to her also, a sacred duty. - -But the finest story of all is that of Petalesharro, in whose tribe at -the time, and not many years since, the custom of offering human -sacrifices still subsisted. The fire was kindled, the victim, a young -female captive, bound to the stake, the tribe assembled round. The young -brave darted through them, snatched the girl from her peril, placed her -upon his horse, and both had vanished before the astonished spectators -had thought to interpose. - -He placed the girl in her distant home, and then returned. Such is the -might of right, when joined with courage, that none ventured a word of -resentment or question. His father, struck by truth, endeavored, and -with success, to abolish the barbarous custom in the tribe. On a later -occasion, Petalesharro again offered his life, if required, but it was -not. - -This young warrior visiting Washington, a medal was presented him in -honor of these acts. His reply deserves sculpture: "When I did it, I -knew not that it was good. I did it in ignorance. This medal makes me -know that it was good." - -The recorder, through his playful expressions of horror at a declaration -so surprising to the civilized Good, shows himself sensible to the grand -simplicity of heroic impulse it denotes. Were we, too, so good, as to -need a medal to show us that we are! - -The half-breed and half-civilized chiefs, however handsome, look vulgar -beside the pure blood. They have the dignity of neither race. - -The death of Oseola, (as described by Catlin,) presents a fine picture -in the stern, warlike kind, taking leave with kindness, as a private -friend, of the American officers; but, as a foe in national regards, he -raised himself in his dying bed, and painted his face with the tokens of -eternal enmity. - -The historian of the Indians should be one of their own race, as able to -sympathize with them, and possessing a mind as enlarged and cultivated -as John Ross, and with his eye turned to the greatness of the past, -rather than the scanty promise of the future. Hearing of the wampum -belts, supposed to have been sent to our tribes by Montezuma, on the -invasion of the Spaniard, we feel that an Indian who could glean -traditions familiarly from the old men, might collect much that we could -interpret. - -Still, any clear outline, even of a portion of their past, is not to be -hoped, and we shall be well contented if we can have a collection of -genuine fragments, that will indicate as clearly their life, as a -horse's head from the Parthenon the genius of Greece. - -Such, to me, are the stories I have cited above. And even European -sketches of this greatness, distant and imperfect though they be, yet -convey the truth, if made in a sympathizing spirit. Adair's Red Shoes, -Murray's old man, Catlin's noble Mandan chief, Henry's Wa-wa-tam, with -what we know of Philip, Pontiac, Tecumseh and Red Jacket, would suffice -to give the ages a glimpse at what was great in Indian life and Indian -character. - -We hope, too, there will be a national institute, containing all the -remains of the Indians,--all that has been preserved by official -intercourse at Washington, Catlin's collection, and a picture gallery as -complete as can be made, with a collection of skulls from all parts of -the country. To this should be joined the scanty library that exists on -the subject. - -I have not mentioned Mackenzie's Travels. He is an accurate observer, -but sparing in his records, because his attention was wholly bent on his -own objects. This circumstance gives a heroic charm to his scanty and -simple narrative. Let what will happen, or who will go back, he cannot; -he must find the sea, along those frozen rivers, through those starving -countries, among tribes of stinted men, whose habitual interjection was -"edui, it is hard, uttered in a querulous tone," distrusted by his -followers, deserted by his guides, on, on he goes, till he sees the -sea, cold, lowering, its strand bristling with foes; but he does see it. - -His few observations, especially on the tribes who lived on fish, and -held them in such superstitious observance, give a lively notion of the -scene. - -A little pamphlet has lately been published, giving an account of the -massacre at Chicago, which I wish much I had seen while there, as it -would have imparted an interest to spots otherwise barren. It is written -with animation, and in an excellent style, telling just what we want to -hear, and no more. The traits given of Indian generosity are as -characteristic as those of Indian cruelty. A lady, who was saved by a -friendly chief holding her under the waters of the lake, while the balls -were whizzing around, received also, in the heat of the conflict, a -reviving draught from a squaw, who saw she was exhausted; and, as she -lay down, a mat was hung up between her and the scene of butchery, so -that she was protected from the sight, though she could not be from -sounds, full of horror. - -I have not wished to write sentimentally about the Indians, however -moved by the thought of their wrongs and speedy extinction. I know that -the Europeans who took possession of this country, felt themselves -justified by their superior civilization and religious ideas. Had they -been truly civilized or Christianized, the conflicts which sprang from -the collision of the two races, might have been avoided; but this cannot -be expected in movements made by masses of men. The mass has never yet -been humanized, though the age may develop a human thought. - -Since those conflicts and differences did arise, the hatred which -sprang, from terror and suffering, on the European side, has naturally -warped the whites still farther from justice. - -The Indian, brandishing the scalps of his friends and wife, drinking -their blood and eating their hearts, is by him viewed as a fiend, -though, at a distant day, he will no doubt be considered as having acted -the Roman or Carthaginian part of heroic and patriotic self-defence, -according to the standard of right and motives prescribed by his -religious faith and education. Looked at by his own standard, he is -virtuous when he most injures his enemy, and the white, if he be really -the superior in enlargement of thought, ought to cast aside his -inherited prejudices enough to see this,--to look on him in pity and -brotherly goodwill, and do all he can to mitigate the doom of those who -survive his past injuries. - -In McKenney's book, is proposed a project for organizing the Indians -under a patriarchal government, but it does not look feasible, even on -paper. Could their own intelligent men be left to act unimpeded in their -behalf, they would do far better for them than the white thinker, with -all his general knowledge. But we dare not hope the designs of such will -not always be frustrated by the same barbarous selfishness they were in -Georgia. There was a chance of seeing what might have been done, now -lost forever. - -Yet let every man look to himself how far this blood shall be required -at his hands. Let the missionary, instead of preaching to the Indian, -preach to the trader who ruins him, of the dreadful account which will -be demanded of the followers of Cain, in a sphere where the accents of -purity and love come on the ear more decisively than in ours. Let every -legislator take the subject to heart, and if he cannot undo the effects -of past sin, try for that clear view and right sense that may save us -from sinning still more deeply. And let every man and every woman, in -their private dealings with the subjugated race, avoid all share in -embittering, by insult or unfeeling prejudice, the captivity of Israel. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - -SAULT ST. MARIE. - -Nine days I passed alone at Mackinaw, except for occasional visits from -kind and agreeable residents at the fort, and Mr. and Mrs. A. Mr. A., -long engaged in the fur-trade, is gratefully remembered by many -travellers. From Mrs. A., also, I received kind attentions, paid in the -vivacious and graceful manner of her nation. - -The society at the boarding house entertained, being of a kind entirely -new to me. There were many traders from the remote stations, such as La -Pointe, Arbre Croche,--men who had become half wild and wholly rude, by -living in the wild; but good-humored, observing, and with a store of -knowledge to impart, of the kind proper to their place. - -There were two little girls here, that were pleasant companions for me. -One gay, frank, impetuous, but sweet and winning. She was an American, -fair, and with bright brown hair. The other, a little French Canadian, -used to join me in my walks, silently take my hand, and sit at my feet -when I stopped in beautiful places. She seemed to understand without a -word; and I never shall forget her little figure, with its light, but -pensive motion, and her delicate, grave features, with the pale, clear -complexion and soft eye. She was motherless, and much left alone by her -father and brothers, who were boatmen. The two little girls were as -pretty representatives of Allegro and Penseroso, as one would wish to -see. - -I had been wishing that a boat would come in to take me to the Sault St. -Marie, and several times started to the window at night in hopes that -the pant and dusky-red light crossing the waters belonged to such an -one; but they were always boats for Chicago or Buffalo, till, on the -28th of August, Allegro, who shared my plans and wishes, rushed in to -tell me that the General Scott had come, and, in this little steamer, -accordingly, I set off the next morning. - -I was the only lady, and attended in the cabin by a Dutch girl and an -Indian woman. They both spoke English fluently, and entertained me much -by accounts of their different experiences. - -The Dutch girl told me of a dance among the common people at Amsterdam, -called the shepherd's dance. The two leaders are dressed as shepherd and -shepherdess; they invent to the music all kinds of movements, -descriptive of things that may happen in the field, and the rest were -obliged to follow. I have never heard of any dance which gave such free -play to the fancy as this. French dances merely describe the polite -movements of society; Spanish and Neapolitan, love; the beautiful -Mazurkas, &c., are warlike or expressive of wild scenery. But in this -one is great room both for fun and fancy. - -The Indian was married, when young, by her parents, to a man she did not -love. He became dissipated, and did not maintain her. She left him. -taking with her their child; for whom and herself she earns a -subsistence by going as chambermaid in these boats. Now and then, she -said, her husband called on her, and asked if he might live with her -again; but she always answered, no. Here she was far freer than she -would have been in civilized life. - -I was pleased by the nonchalance of this woman, and the perfectly -national manner she had preserved after so many years of contact with -all kinds of people. The two women, when I left the boat, made me -presents of Indian work, such as travellers value, and the manner of the -two was characteristic of their different nations. The Indian brought me -hers, when I was alone, looked bashfully down when she gave it, and made -an almost sentimental little speech. The Dutch girl brought hers in -public, and, bridling her short chin with a self-complacent air, -observed she had _bought_ it for me. But the feeling of affectionate -regard was the same in the minds of both. - -Island after island we passed, all fairly shaped and clustering -friendly, but with little variety of vegetation. - -In the afternoon the weather became foggy, and we could not proceed -after dark. That was as dull an evening as ever fell. - -The next morning the fog still lay heavy, but the captain took me out in -his boat on an exploring expedition, and we found the remains of the -old English fort on Point St. Joseph's. All around was so wholly -unmarked by anything but stress of wind and weather, the shores of these -islands and their woods so like one another, wild and lonely, but -nowhere rich and majestic, that there was some charm in the remains of -the garden, the remains even of chimneys and a pier. They gave feature -to the scene. - -Here I gathered many flowers, but they were the same as at Mackinaw. - -The captain, though he had been on this trip hundreds of times, had -never seen this spot, and never would, but for this fog, and his desire -to entertain me. He presented a striking instance how men, for the sake -of getting a living, forget to live. It is just the same in the most -romantic as the most dull and vulgar places. Men get the harness on so -fast, that they can never shake it off unless they guard against this -danger from the very first. In Chicago, how many men, who never found -time to see the prairies or learn anything unconnected with the business -of the day, or about the country they were living in! - -So this captain, a man of strong sense and good eyesight, rarely found -time to go off the track or look about him on it. He lamented, too, that -there had been no call which induced him to develop his powers of -expression, so that he might communicate what he had seen, for the -enjoyment or instruction of others. - -This is a common fault among the active men, the truly living, who could -tell what life is. It should not be so. Literature should not be left to -the mere literati--eloquence to the mere orator. Every Caesar should be -able to write his own commentary. We want a more equal, more thorough, -more harmonious development, and there is nothing to hinder from it the -men of this country, except their own supineness, or sordid views. - -When the weather did clear, our course up the river was delightful. Long -stretched before us the island of St. Joseph's, with its fair woods of -sugar maple. A gentleman on board, who belongs to the Fort at the Sault, -said their pastime was to come in the season of making sugar, and pass -some time on this island,--the days at work, and the evening in dancing -and other amusements. - -I wished to extract here Henry's account of this, for it was just the -same sixty years ago as now, but have already occupied too much room -with extracts. Work of this kind done in the open air, where everything -is temporary, and every utensil prepared on the spot, gives life a truly -festive air. At such times, there is labor and no care--energy with -gaiety, gaiety of the heart. - -I think with the same pleasure of the Italian vintage, the Scotch -harvest-home, with its evening dance in the barn, the Russian -cabbage-feast even, and our huskings and hop-gatherings--the -hop-gatherings where the groups of men and girls are pulling down and -filling baskets with the gay festoons, present as graceful pictures as -the Italian vintage. - -I should also like to insert Henry's descriptions of the method of -catching trout and white fish, the delicacies of this region, for the -same reason as I want his account of the Gens de Terre, the savages -among savages, and his tales, dramatic, if not true, of cannibalism. - -I have no less grieved to omit Carver's account of the devotion of a -Winnebago prince at the Falls of St. Anthony, which he describes with a -simplicity and intelligence, that are very pleasing. - -I take the more pleasure in both Carver and Henry's power of -appreciating what is good in the Indian character, that both had run the -greatest risk of losing their lives during their intercourse with the -Indians, and had seen them in their utmost exasperation, with all its -revolting circumstances. - -I wish I had a thread long enough to string on it all these beads that -take my fancy; but, as I have not, I can only refer the reader to the -books themselves, which may be found in the library of Harvard College, -if not elsewhere. - -How pleasant is the course along a new river, the sight of new shores; -like a life, would but life flow as fast, and upbear us with as full a -stream. I hoped we should come in sight of the rapids by daylight; but -the beautiful sunset was quite gone, and only a young moon trembling -over the scene, when we came within hearing of them. - -I sat up long to hear them merely. It was a thoughtful hour. These two -days, the 29th and 30th August, are memorable in my life; the latter is -the birthday of a near friend. I pass them alone, approaching Lake -Superior; but I shall not enter into that truly wild and free region; -shall not have the canoe voyage, whose daily adventure, with the -camping out at night beneath the stars, would have given an interlude -of such value to my existence. I shall not see the Pictured Rocks, their -chapels and urns. It did not depend on me; it never has, whether such -things shall be done or not. - -My friends! may they see, and do, and be more, especially those who have -before them a greater number of birthdays, and of a more healthy and -unfettered existence: - - TO EDITH, ON HER BIRTHDAY. - - If the same star our fates together bind, - Why are we thus divided, mind from mind? - If the same law one grief to both impart, - How could'st thou grieve a trusting mother's heart? - - Our aspiration seeks a common aim, - Why were we tempered of such differing frame? - --But 'tis too late to turn this wrong to right; - Too cold, too damp, too deep, has fallen the night. - - And yet, the angel of my life replies, - Upon that night a Morning Star shall rise, - Fairer than that which ruled the temporal birth, - Undimmed by vapors of the dreamy earth; - - It says, that, where a heart thy claim denies, - Genius shall read its secret ere it flies; - The earthly form may vanish from thy side, - Pure love will make thee still the spirit's bride. - - And thou, ungentle, yet much loving child, - Whose heart still shows the "untamed haggard wild," - A heart which justly makes the highest claim, - Too easily is checked by transient blame; - - Ere such an orb can ascertain its sphere, - The ordeal must be various and severe; - My prayers attend thee, though the feet may fly, - I hear thy music in the silent, sky. - -I should like, however, to hear some notes of earthly music to-night. By -the faint moonshine I can hardly see the banks; how they look I have no -guess, except that there are trees, and, now and then, a light lets me -know there are homes with their various interests. I should like to hear -some strains of the flute from beneath those trees, just to break the -sound of the rapids. - - When no gentle eyebeam charms; - No fond hope the bosom warms: - Of thinking the lone mind is tired-- - Nought seems bright to be desired; - - Music, be thy sails unfurled, - Bear me to thy better world; - O'er a cold and weltering sea, - Blow thy breezes warm and free; - - By sad sighs they ne'er were chilled, - By sceptic spell were never stilled; - Take me to that far-offshore, - Where lovers meet to part no more; - There doubt, and fear and sin are o'er, - The star of love shall set no more. - -With the first light of dawn I was up and out, and then was glad I had -not seen all the night before; it came upon me with such power in its -dewy freshness. O! they are beautiful indeed, these rapids! The grace is -so much more obvious than the power. I went up through the old Chippeway -burying ground to their head, and sat down on a large stone to look. A -little way off was one of the home lodges, unlike in shape to the -temporary ones at Mackinaw, but these have been described by Mrs. -Jameson. Women, too, I saw coming home from the woods, stooping under -great loads of cedar boughs, that were strapped upon their backs. But in -many European countries women carry great loads, even of wood, upon -their backs. I used to hear the girls singing and laughing as they were -cutting down boughs at Mackinaw; this part of their employment, though -laborious, gives them the pleasure of being a great deal in the free -woods. - -I had ordered a canoe to take me down the rapids, and presently I saw it -coming, with the two Indian canoe-men in pink calico shirts, moving it -about with their long poles, with a grace and dexterity worthy fairy -land. Now and then they cast the scoop-net; all looked just as I had -fancied, only far prettier. - -When they came to me, they spread a mat in the middle of the canoe; I -sat down, and in less than four minutes we had descended the rapids, a -distance of more than three quarters of a mile. I was somewhat -disappointed in this being no more of an exploit than I found it. Having -heard such expressions used as of "darting," or, "shooting down," these -rapids, I had fancied there was a wall of rock somewhere, where descent -would somehow be accomplished, and that there would come some one gasp -of terror and delight, some sensation entirely new to me; but I found -myself in smooth water, before I had time to feel anything but the -buoyant pleasure of being carried so lightly through this surf amid the -breakers. Now and then the Indians spoke to one another in a vehement -jabber, which, however, had no tone that expressed other than pleasant -excitement. It is, no doubt, an act of wonderful dexterity to steer amid -these jagged rocks, when one rude touch would tear a hole in the birch -canoe; but these men are evidently so used to doing it, and so adroit, -that the silliest person could not feel afraid. I should like to have -come down twenty times, that I might have had leisure to realize the -pleasure. But the fog which had detained us on the way, shortened the -boat's stay at the Sault, and I wanted my time to walk about. - -While coming down the rapids, the Indians caught a white-fish for my -breakfast; and certainly it was the best of breakfasts. The white-fish I -found quite another thing caught on this spot, and cooked immediately, -from what I had found it at Chicago or Mackinaw. Before, I had had the -bad taste to prefer the trout, despite the solemn and eloquent -remonstrances of the Habitues, to whom the superiority of white fish -seemed a cardinal point of faith. - -I am here reminded that I have omitted that indispensable part of a -travelling journal, the account of what we found to eat. I cannot hope -to make up, by one bold stroke, all my omissions of daily record; but -that I may show myself not destitute of the common feelings of humanity, -I will observe that he whose affections turn in summer towards -vegetables, should not come to this region, till the subject of diet be -better understood; that of fruit, too, there is little yet, even at the -best hotel tables; that the prairie chickens require no praise from me, -and that the trout and white-fish are worthy the transparency of the -lake waters. - -In this brief mention I by no means mean to give myself an air of -superiority to the subject. If a dinner in the Illinois woods, on dry -bread and drier meat, with water from the stream that flowed hard by, -pleased me best of all, yet at one time, when living at a house where -nothing was prepared for the table fit to touch, and even the bread -could not be partaken of without a headach in consequence, I learnt to -understand and sympathize with the anxious tone in which fathers of -families, about to take their innocent children into some scene of wild -beauty, ask first of all, "Is there a good table?" I shall ask just so -in future. Only those whom the Powers have furnished small travelling -cases of ambrosia, can take exercise all day, and be happy without even -bread morning or night. - -Our voyage back was all pleasure. It was the fairest day. I saw the -river, the islands, the clouds to the greatest advantage. - -On board was an old man, an Illinois farmer, whom I found a most -agreeable companion. He had just been with his son, and eleven other -young men, on an exploring expedition to the shores of lake Superior. He -was the only old man of the party, but he had enjoyed, most of any, the -journey. He had been the counsellor and playmate, too, of the young -ones. He was one of those parents,--why so rare?--who understand and -live a new life in that of their children, instead of wasting time and -young happiness in trying to make them conform to an object and standard -of their own. The character and history of each child may be a new and -poetic experience to the parent, if he will let it. Our farmer was -domestic, judicious, solid; the son, inventive, enterprising, -superficial, full of follies, full of resources, always liable to -failure, sure to rise above it. The father conformed to, and learnt -from, a character he could not change, and won the sweet from the -bitter. - -His account of his life at home, and of his late adventures among the -Indians, was very amusing, but I want talent to write it down. I have -not heard the slang of these people intimately enough. There is a good -book about Indiana, called the New Purchase, written by a person who -knows the people of the country well enough to describe them in their -own way. It is not witty, but penetrating, valuable for its practical -wisdom and good-humored fun. - -[Illustration: MACKINAW BEACH] - -There were many sportsman stories told, too, by those from Illinois and -Wisconsin. I do not retain any of these well enough, nor any that I -heard earlier, to write them down, though they always interested me from -bringing wild, natural scenes before the mind. It is pleasant for the -sportsman to be in countries so alive with game; yet it is so plenty -that one would think shooting pigeons or grouse would seem more like -slaughter, than the excitement of skill to a good sportsman. Hunting -the deer is full of adventure, and needs only a Scrope to describe it to -invest the western woods with _historic_ associations. - -How pleasant it was to sit and hear rough men tell pieces out of their -own common lives, in place of the frippery talk of some fine circle with -its conventional sentiment, and timid, second-hand criticism. Free blew -the wind, and boldly flowed the stream, named for Mary mother mild. - -A fine thunder shower came on in the afternoon. It cleared at sunset, -just as we came in sight of beautiful Mackinaw, over which a rainbow -bent in promise of peace. - -I have always wondered, in reading travels, at the childish joy -travellers felt at meeting people they knew, and their sense of -loneliness when they did not, in places where there was everything new -to occupy the attention. So childish, I thought, always to be longing -for the new in the old, and the old in the new. Yet just such sadness I -felt, when I looked on the island, glittering in the sunset, canopied by -the rainbow, and thought no friend would welcome me there; just such -childish joy I felt, to see unexpectedly on the landing, the face of one -whom I called friend. - -The remaining two or three days were delightfully spent, in walking or -boating, or sitting at the window to see the Indians go. This was not -quite so pleasant as their coming in, though accomplished with the same -rapidity; a family not taking half an hour to prepare for departure, and -the departing canoe a beautiful object. But they left behind, on all the -shore, the blemishes of their stay--old rags, dried boughs, fragments -of food, the marks of their fires. Nature likes to cover up and gloss -over spots and scars, but it would take her some time to restore that -beach to the state it was in before they came. - -S. and I had a mind for a canoe excursion, and we asked one of the -traders to engage us two good Indians, that would not only take us out, -but be sure and bring us back, as we could not hold converse with them. -Two others offered their aid, beside the chief's son, a fine looking -youth of about sixteen, richly dressed in blue broadcloth, scarlet sash -and leggins, with a scarf of brighter red than the rest, tied around his -head, its ends falling gracefully on one shoulder. They thought it, -apparently, fine amusement to be attending two white women; they carried -us into the path of the steamboat, which was going out, and paddled with -all their force,--rather too fast, indeed, for there was something of a -swell on the lake, and they sometimes threw water into the canoe. -However, it flew over the waves, light as a sea-gull. They would say, -"Pull away," and "Ver' warm," and, after these words, would laugh gaily. -They enjoyed the hour, I believe, as much as we. - -The house where we lived belonged to the widow of a French trader, an -Indian by birth, and wearing the dress of her country. She spoke French -fluently, and was very ladylike in her manners. She is a great character -among them. They were all the time coming to pay her homage, or to get -her aid and advice; for she is, I am told, a shrewd woman of business. -My companion carried about her sketch-book with her, and the Indians -were interested when they saw her using her pencil, though less so than -about the sun-shade. This lady of the tribe wanted to borrow the -sketches of the beach, with its lodges and wild groups, "to show to the -_savages_," she said. - -Of the practical ability of the Indian women, a good specimen is given -by McKenney, in an amusing story of one who went to Washington, and -acted her part there in the "first circles," with a tact and sustained -dissimulation worthy of Cagliostro. She seemed to have a thorough love -of intrigue for its own sake, and much dramatic talent. Like the chiefs -of her nation, when on an expedition among the foe, whether for revenge -or profit, no impulses of vanity or wayside seductions had power to turn -her aside from carrying out her plan as she had originally projected it. - -Although I have little to tell, I feel that I have learnt a great deal -of the Indians, from observing them even in this broken and degraded -condition. There is a language of eye and motion which cannot be put -into words, and which teaches what words never can. I feel acquainted -with the soul of this race; I read its nobler thought in their defaced -figures. There _was_ a greatness, unique and precious, which he who does -not feel will never duly appreciate the majesty of nature in this -American continent. - -I have mentioned that the Indian orator, who addressed the agents on -this occasion, said, the difference between the white man and the red -man is this: "the white man no sooner came here, than he thought of -preparing the way for his posterity; the red man never thought of this." -I was assured this was exactly his phrase; and it defines the true -difference. We get the better because we do - - "Look before and after." - -But, from the same cause, we - - "Pine for what is not." - -The red man, when happy, was thoroughly happy; when good, was simply -good. He needed the medal, to let him know that he _was_ good. - -These evenings we were happy, looking over the old-fashioned garden, -over the beach, over the waters and pretty island opposite, beneath the -growing moon; we did not stay to see it full at Mackinaw. At two -o'clock, one night, or rather morning, the Great Western came snorting -in, and we must go; and Mackinaw, and all the north-west summer, is now -to me no more than picture and dream;-- - - "A dream within a dream." - -These last days at Mackinaw have been pleasanter than the "lonesome" -nine, for I have recovered the companion with whom I set out from the -East, one who sees all, prizes all, enjoys much, interrupts never. - -At Detroit we stopped for half a day. This place is famous in our -history, and the unjust anger at its surrender is still expressed by -almost every one who passes there. I had always shared the common -feeling on this subject; for the indignation at a disgrace to our arms -that seemed so unnecessary, has been handed down from father to child, -and few of us have taken the pains to ascertain where the blame lay. But -now, upon the spot, having read all the testimony, I felt convinced that -it should rest solely with the government, which, by neglecting to -sustain General Hull, as he had a right to expect they would, compelled -him to take this step, or sacrifice many lives, and of the defenceless -inhabitants, not of soldiers, to the cruelty of a savage foe, for the -sake of his reputation. - -I am a woman, and unlearned in such affairs; but, to a person with -common sense and good eyesight, it is clear, when viewing the location, -that, under the circumstances, he had no prospect of successful defence, -and that to attempt it would have been an act of vanity, not valor. - -I feel that I am not biased in this judgment by my personal relations, -for I have always heard both sides, and, though my feelings had been -moved by the picture of the old man sitting down, in the midst of his -children, to a retired and despoiled old age, after a life of honor and -happy intercourse with the public, yet tranquil, always secure that -justice must be done at last, I supposed, like others, that he deceived -himself, and deserved to pay the penalty for failure to the -responsibility he had undertaken. Now on the spot, I change, and believe -the country at large must, ere long, change from this opinion. And I -wish to add my testimony, however trifling its weight, before it be -drowned in the voice of general assent, that I may do some justice to -the feelings which possessed me here and now. - -A noble boat, the Wisconsin, was to be launched this afternoon, the -whole town was out in many-colored array, the band playing. Our boat -swept round to a good position, and all was ready but--the Wisconsin, -which could not be made to stir. This was quite a disappointment. It -would have been an imposing sight. - -In the boat many signs admonished that we were floating eastward. A -shabbily dressed phrenologist laid his hand on every head which would -bend, with half-conceited, half-sheepish expression, to the trial of his -skill. Knots of people gathered here and there to discuss points of -theology. A bereaved lover was seeking religious consolation -in--Butler's Analogy, which he had purchased for that purpose. However, -he did not turn over many pages before his attention was drawn aside by -the gay glances of certain damsels that came on board at Detroit, and, -though Butler might afterwards be seen sticking from his pocket, it had -not weight to impede him from many a feat of lightness and liveliness. I -doubt if it went with him from the boat. Some there were, even, -discussing the doctrines of Fourier. It seemed pity they were not going -to, rather than from, the rich and free country where it would be so -much easier, than with us, to try the great experiment of voluntary -association, and show, beyond a doubt, that "an ounce of prevention is -worth a pound of cure," a maxim of the "wisdom of nations," which has -proved of little practical efficacy as yet. - -Better to stop before landing at Buffalo, while I have yet the advantage -over some of my readers. - - * * * * * - - - - - THE BOOK TO THE READER - - WHO OPENS, AS AMERICAN READERS OFTEN DO, AT THE END, - WITH DOGGEREL SUBMISSION. - - To see your cousin in her country home, - If at the time of blackberries you come, - "Welcome, my friends," she cries with ready glee, - "The fruit is ripened, and the paths are free. - But, madam, you will tear that handsome gown; - The little boy be sure to tumble down; - And, in the thickets where they ripen best, - The matted ivy, too, its bower has drest. - And then, the thorns your hands are sure to rend, - Unless with heavy gloves you will defend; - Amid most thorns the sweetest roses blow, - Amid most thorns the sweetest berries grow." - - If, undeterred, you to the fields must go, - You tear your dresses and you scratch your hands; - But, in the places where the berries grow, - A sweeter fruit the ready sense commands, - Of wild, gay feelings, fancies springing sweet-- - Of bird-like pleasures, fluttering and fleet. - - Another year, you cannot go yourself, - To win the berries from the thickets wild, - And housewife skill, instead, has filled the shelf - With blackberry jam, "by best receipts compiled,-- - Not made with country sugar, for too strong - The flavors that to maple juice belong; - But foreign sugar, nicely mixed 'to suit - The taste,' spoils not the fragrance of the fruit." - - "'Tis pretty good," half-tasting, you reply, - "I scarce should know it from fresh blackberry. - But the best pleasure such a fruit can yield, - Is to be gathered in the open field; - If only as an article of food, - Cherry or crab-apple are quite as good; - And, for occasions of festivity, - West India sweetmeats you had better buy." - - Thus, such a dish of homely sweets as these - In neither way may chance the taste to please. - - Yet try a little with the evening-bread; - Bring a good needle for the spool of thread; - Take fact with fiction, silver with the lead, - And, at the mint, you can get gold instead; - In fine, read me, even as you would be read. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Summer on the Lakes, in 1843, by S.M. 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