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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:41:24 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:41:24 -0700 |
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diff --git a/13116-h/13116-h.htm b/13116-h/13116-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..006a8b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/13116-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10518 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 17, No. 97, January, 1876, by Various</title> + <style type="text/css"> + /*<![CDATA[*/ + + <!-- + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + p {text-align: justify;} + blockquote {text-align: justify;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center;} + h1 {margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em} + h2 {margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 2em} + h3 {margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em} + + pre {font-size: 0.7em;} + + hr {text-align: center; width: 50%;} + html>body hr {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;} + hr.full {width: 100%;} + html>body hr.full {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;} + hr.short {text-align: center; width: 20%;} + html>body hr.short {margin-right: 40%; margin-left: 40%; width: 20%;} + + .note {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + + span.pagenum {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 91%; font-size: 8pt;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; margin-bottom: 1em; + text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 1em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i6 {margin-left: 3em;} + .poem p.i8 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem p.i10 {margin-left: 5em;} + + .figure, .figcenter, .figright, .figleft + {padding: 1em; margin: 0; text-align: center;} + .figure img, .figcenter img, .figright img, .figleft img + {border: none;} + .figure p, .figcenter p, .figright p, .figleft p + {margin: 0; text-indent: 1em;} + .figcenter {margin: auto;} + .figright {float: right;} + .figleft {float: left;} + + .inline {border: none; vertical-align: middle;} + + .footnote {font-size: 0.9em; margin-right: 10%; margin-left: 10%;} + + .side {float:right; + font-size: 75%; + width: 25%; + padding-left:10px; + border-left: dashed thin; + margin-left: 10px; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; + font-weight: bold; + font-style: italic;} + + div.trans-note {border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; + margin: 3em 15%; padding: 1em; text-align: center;} + + .illustrations {margin: 0.5em 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + + .toc {margin: 0 10%; text-align: left; font-size: 0.9em;} + .toc p {margin: 0.5em 0;} + .toc p.i4 {margin-left: 2em;} + + p.author {text-align: right; margin-right: 5%;} + + a:link {color: blue; text-decoration: none;} + link {color: blue; text-decoration: none;} + a:visited {color: blue; text-decoration: none;} + a:hover {color: red;} + --> + + --> + /*]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13116 ***</div> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature +and Science, Vol. 17, No. 97, January, 1876, by Various, Edited by John +Foster Kirk</h1> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + <div class="trans-note"> + Transcriber's Note: The Table of Contents and the list of + illustrations were added by the transcriber. + </div> + <hr class="full" /> + + <h1>LIPPINCOTT'S MAGAZINE</h1> + + <h4>OF</h4> + + <h2>POPULAR LITERATURE AND SCIENCE.</h2> + + <h4>VOLUME XVII.</h4><br /> + <br /> + + <div class="figcenter"> + <img width="100" + src="images/1.jpg" + alt="Title Page Decoration" /> + </div><br /> + <br /> + + <h3>PHILADELPHIA:<br /> + J.B. LIPPINCOTT AND CO.</h3> + + <h4>1876</h4><br /> + <br /> + <hr /> + <br /> + <br /> + + + <h3>TABLE OF CONTENTS</h3> + + <div class="toc"> + <p><a href="#illustrations">ILLUSTRATIONS</a></p> + + <p>THE CENTURY: ITS FRUITS AND ITS FESTIVAL.</p> + + <p class="i4">I.--GENERAL PROGRESS. + <a href="#page9">9</a></p> + + <p>UP THE THAMES</p> + + <p class="i4">THIRD PAPER. by EDWARD C. BRUCE. + <a href="#page21">21</a></p> + + <p>LINES WRITTEN AT VENICE IN OCTOBER, 1865. by FRANCES + ANNE KEMBLE.<a href="#page35">35</a></p> + + <p>SKETCHES OF INDIA.</p> + + <p class="i4">I. <a href="#page37">37</a></p> + + <p>LADY ARTHUR EILDON'S DYING LETTER. by THE AUTHOR OF + "BLINDPITS." <a href="#page52">52</a></p> + + <p>THE HOUSE ON THE BEACH. by REBECCA HARDING DAVIS. + <a href="#page72">72</a></p> + + <p>A DEAD LOVE. by F.A. HILLARD. + <a href="#page80">80</a></p> + + <p>GENTILHOMME AND GENTLEMAN. by G. COLMACHE. + <a href="#page81">81</a></p> + + <p>SPECIAL PLEADING. by SIDNEY LANIER. + <a href="#page89">89</a></p> + + <p>THE ATONEMENT OF LEAM DUNDAS. by MRS. E. LYNN + LINTON.</p> + + <p class="i4">CHAPTER XVII. WHAT MUST COME. + <a href="#page90">90</a></p> + + <p class="i4">CHAPTER XVIII. RECKONING WITH LEAM. + <a href="#page93">93</a></p> + + <p class="i4">CHAPTER XIX. AT STEEL'S CORNER. + <a href="#page98">98</a></p> + + <p class="i4">CHAPTER XX. IN HER MOTHER'S PLACE. + <a href="#page104">104</a></p> + + <p>FAMISHING PORTUGAL. <a href="#page111">111</a></p> + + <p>AT THE OLD PLANTATION. by ROBERT WILSON.</p> + + <p class="i4">TWO PAPERS.--I. + <a href="#page118">118</a></p> + + <p>OUR MONTHLY GOSSIP.</p> + + <p class="i4">'76. by LATIENNE. + <a href="#page124">124</a></p> + + <p>THE KREUZESSCHULE. by J.W.F. + <a href="#page125">125</a></p> + + <p class="i4">OBER-AMMERGAU, Bavaria, Oct. 4, 1875.</p> + + <p>VARESE. by T.A.T. <a href="#page128">128</a></p> + + <p>A STATE GOVERNOR IN THE RÔLE OF ENOCH ARDEN + <a href="#page131">131</a></p> + + <p>THE PALATINE LIGHT. by M.H. + <a href="#page132">132</a></p> + + <p>NOTES. <a href="#page132">132</a></p> + + <p>LITERATURE OF THE DAY. <a href="#page134">134</a></p> + + <p><i>Books Received</i>. <a href="#page136">136</a></p> + </div> + <hr /> + <a name="illustrations" + id="illustrations"></a> + + <h4>ILLUSTRATIONS</h4> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig9">The CENTURY: ITS + FRUITS AND ITS FESTIVAL.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig21">HAMPTON COURT--WEST + FRONT.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig22">HAMPTON + COURT--LOOKING UP THE RIVER.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig23">ENTRANCE TO WOLSEY'S + HALL.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig24">MIDDLE QUADRANGLE, + HAMPTON COURT.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig25-1">ARCHWAY IN HAMPTON + COURT.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig25-2">WOLSEY.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig26-1">PORTICO LEADING TO + GARDENS.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig26-2">CENTRE + AVENUE.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig27-1">HAMPTON + COURT--GARDEN FRONT.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig27-2">GATE TO PRIVATE + GARDEN.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig28">BUSHY PARK.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig29">GARRICK'S + VILLA.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig30">RIVER SCENE, THAMES + DITTON.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig31">WOLSEY'S TOWER, + ESHER.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig32">CLAREMONT.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig33-1">CLIVE'S + MONUMENT.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig33-2">PRINCESS + CHARLOTTE.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig34-1">WALTON + CHURCH.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig34-2">KINGSTON + CHURCH.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig38">A DWELLING AT + MAZAGON.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig40">HINDU TEMPLE IN THE + BLACK TOWN, BOMBAY.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig42">JAIN TEMPLES AT + SUNAGHUR.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig44">THE VESTIBULE OF THE + GRAND SHAÎTYA OK KARLI.</a></p> + + <p class="illustrations"><a href="#fig46">SCULPTURED FIGURES IN + THE VESTIBULE OF THE GREAT SHAÎTYA OF KARLI.</a></p> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page9" + id="page9"></a>[pg 9]</span> + + <h1>LIPPINCOTT'S MAGAZINE</h1> + + <h3>OF</h3> + + <h2><i>POPULAR LITERATURE AND SCIENCE.</i></h2> + <hr class="short" /> + + <h4>January, 1876.</h4> + <hr class="short" /> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/9.jpg" + name="fig9" + id="fig9"><img width="100%" + src="images/9.jpg" + alt="THE CENTURY: ITS FRUITS AND ITS FESTIVAL." /></a> + </div> + + <h4>I.—GENERAL PROGRESS.</h4> + + <p>This of ours is a conceited century. In intense + self-consciousness it exceeds any of its late predecessors. Its + activity in externally directed thought is accompanied by an + almost corresponding use of introverted reflection. Its + inheritance, and the additions it has made, can make or will + make thereto, supply an ever-present theme. It delights to + stand back from its work, like the painter from his easel, to + scan the effect of each new touch—to note what has been + done and to measure what remains. It is a great living and + breathing entity, informed with the concrete life of three + generations of mankind the most alert and the most restless of + all that have existed. This sensation of exceptional endowments + is self-nourishing and ever-growing; and our little nook of + time is coming to view all the paths of the past, broad or + narrow, direct or interlacing, straight or obscure, as so many + roads laid out and graded for the one purpose of leading + straight to its gate. It sounds its own praises and celebrates + itself at all opportunities. But with all this there is a + wholesome recognition of responsibility. Nobility obliges, it + is prompt to confess, and to act accordingly. It sees flaws in + its <span class="pagenum"><a name="page10" + id="page10"></a>[pg 10]</span> regal diamonds, spots that + still sully on its ermine; and is not slow to address itself + to the duty of their removal.</p> + + <p>If the century understands itself, it may be said likewise + to understand the others better than they did themselves. It + collects their respective autobiographies and their mutual + criticisms. The real truths, half truths and delusions each has + added to the accumulating common stock it sifts and weighs, + mercilessly piling a dustheap beyond Mr. Boffin's wildest + dreams, and rescuing, on the other hand, from the old + wastebasket many discarded scraps of real but till now + unacknowledged value. Busy in gathering stores of its own, it + is able to find time for digesting those bequeathed to it, and + for executing both tasks with a good deal of care. It brings + skepticism to its aid in both, and subjects new and old + conclusions to almost equally close analysis. Each new pebble + it picks up upon the shore of the Newtonian ocean it holds up + square and askew to the light, and cross-examines color, + texture and form. Now and then, being but mortal after all, it + chuckles too hastily over a brilliant find, but the blunder is + not apt to wait long for correction. Just now it appears to be + overhauling its accounts in the item of science, taking stock + of its discoveries in that field, balancing bad against good, + and determining profit and loss. Some once-promising entries + have to undergo a black mark, while a few claims that were + despaired of come to the fore. This proceeding is only + preparatory, however, to a new departure on a bolder scale. + Scientific progress knows only partial checks. Its movement is + that of a force <i>en échelon</i>: one line may get into + trouble and recoil, while the others and the general front + continue to advance. Theory does not profess to be certainty. + It is only tentative, and subject necessarily to frequent + errors, for the elimination of which the severely skeptical + spirit of the laws to which it is now held furnishes the best + appliance. Modern science possesses an internal <i>vis + medicatrix</i> which prevents its suffering seriously from + excesses or irregularities. When it ventures to touch the + shield of the Unknowable, it is only with the butt of its + lance, and the inevitable overthrow is accepted with the least + modicum of humiliation.</p> + + <p>In that science which assumes to marshal all the others, + philosophic and judicial history, ours ought to be the foremost + age, if only because it has the aid of all the others. It does + more, however, than they can be said to have contemplated. It + widens the scope of history, and more precisely formalizes its + functions. It makes of the old chroniclers so many moral + statisticians, fully utilizing at the same time their services + as collectors of material facts. The deductions thus arrived at + it aims to test by the methods of the exact sciences. It + invites, in a certain degree, moral philosophy to don the + trammels of mathematics and decorate its shadowy shoulders with + the substantial yoke of the calculus. Such is the programme of + a school too young as yet to have matured its shape, but full + of vigor and confidence, and a very promising outgrowth from + the elder and more stately academy of abstract historical + inquiry and generalization. The latter has redeveloped and + freshened up for us the pictures of the ancient story-tellers, + and has furthermore had them, so to speak, engraved and + scattered among the people, until we have come to live in the + midst of their times and enjoy an intimate knowledge of the + actual condition of human polity and intelligence at any given + period. Through the long gallery or the thick portfolio thus + presented to our eye we may trace the common thread of motive + under the varying conditions of time and circumstance. This + thread able hands are aiding us to discover.</p> + + <p>To what segment of time shall we assign the name of + Nineteenth Century? In A.D. 1800 there was dispute as to which + was properly its first year, the question being settled in + favor of 1801. Having thus struck out the first of the eighteen + hundreds, we may take the liberty of similarly ostracizing the + last twenty-four or twenty-five, which are yet to come, and + start the nineteenth century as far back in the eighteenth. If + we look farther behind us, the centuries will be + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page11" + id="page11"></a>[pg 11]</span> found often to overlap in + this way. Coming events cast their shadows before, and the + morning twilight of the new age is refracted deeply into the + sky of the old one. Of no case can this be more truly said + than of that in point. Not only America, but Christendom, + may safely date the century's commencement about 1775 or + 1776. The narrowest isthmus between the mains of past and + present will cover those years.</p> + + <p>England and France were then both at the outset of a new + political era, sharply divided from that preceding. The amiable + and decorous Louis XVI., with his lovely consort, had just + ousted from Versailles the Du Barrys and the Maupeons. George + III., a sovereign similar in youth and respectability of + character, had a few years before in like manner improved the + tone of the English court, and, after the first flush of + welcome from his subjects, surprised and delighted to have an + Englishman and a gentleman once more upon the throne, was + getting over his early lessons in adversity from the birch of + Wilkes and Junius, and entering upon a second series from that + of Washington, all preparatory to the longest and most + brilliant reign in British annals. Frederick II. was an old + man, occupied with assuring to the power he had created the + position it now holds as the first in Europe. Clive, in the + House of Lords, was nursing a still younger bantling, now an + empire twice as populous as Europe was at that period. Under + the equally rugged hand of the young princess of Anhalt-Zerbst, + Russia was having her Mongolian epidermis indued with the + varnish Napoleon so signally failed to scrape off, and was for + the first time taking a place among the great powers of the + West. The curtain, in short, was in the act of rising on the + Europe of to-day. Anson had lately brought the Pacific to + light, and Cook was completing his work. The crust of Spanish + monopoly in the trade of four-fifths of the North and South + American coasts had been broken, and England was preparing to + replace it, at some points, by her own. This was, of itself, a + New World, geographical and commercial.</p> + + <p>Under Linnæus and Buffon, another world, wider still, + was unfolding its wonders and subjecting them to a + classification which has since been but little changed, vast as + have been the subsequent accessions of knowledge and + attainments in methods of interpretation. Before them, the + study of the organic creation can scarcely be said to have + existed. The inorganic was as little reduced to system, and in + its broadest aspect was not even looked at. Buffon's acute but + for the most part empiric speculations on the structure of the + globe were a step in advance; but the science of geology he did + not recognize, and left to be shaped a very little later by + Hutton. Priestley, Cavendish and Lavoisier were dissecting the + impalpable air and making the gaseous form of substances as + familiar and manageable as the solid. Hence true analytic + chemistry. Astronomy, an older science, had derived new + precision from the first observed transit of Venus, imperfect + as were the data obtained and the calculations made.</p> + + <p>Contemporaneous with this sudden apparition of new fields of + scientific discovery and enlargement of the old was an + intellectual movement of a more general character than that + necessarily involved in the progress of natural philosophy. The + French Encyclopædists took hold of social, moral and + juridical questions with an unsparing vigor that could not be + gainsaid. The art of criticism was simultaneously introduced, + perfected and applied. Many of the wrongs and follies that + paralyzed thought and industry were dragged to light. Hoary + absurdities that smothered law and gospel under the foul mass + of privilege and superstition, and made them a curse instead of + a blessing, shrank before the storm of ridicule and + denunciation. Those which did not at once succumb were placed + in a position of publicity and exposure in which they could not + long survive. The great upheaval of which the French Revolution + was a part was thus originated.</p> + + <p>Sounder political ideas were brought within reach of the + masses, till then not recipient, it may almost be said, of any + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page12" + id="page12"></a>[pg 12]</span> political ideas at all. + Statesmen and governments were similarly enlightened, Adam + Smith's declaration of commercial antedated by two years Mr. + Jefferson's of political independence. The atrocities of the + English criminal code, approaching those of Draco, were put + in process of correction, though, as usual in British + reforms, it took half a century to effect their complete + removal; a woman having been, if we recollect rightly, + hanged for a trifling theft in the last years of George IV. + This same slowness of that conservative but persevering + people is calculated to blind us to the operation among them + of deep-seated and active influences. Hardly till 1815 can + we discover in England any fervor, much less efficiency, in + the demand for an extension of popular rights and relaxation + of the grasp of privilege. Irish manufactures continued to + be distinctly and rigidly repelled from competition with + English by formal statute; Jewish and Catholic + disqualification was maintained; the game-laws and the + rotten-borough system, which conferred on the nobility and + gentry arbitrary power over the purse and person of the + commonalty, were determinedly upheld; counsel was only + nominally allowed to the defendant in criminal cases; + chancery withheld or plundered without resistance or appeal; + and there can be no doubt that life and property were better + protected by law in France at the fall of the First Napoleon + than in Great Britain. Nevertheless, the movement had begun + in the latter country forty years before. A generation had + passed since the battle of Culloden, and the island was at + length indissolubly and efficiently one. It shared fully in + the intellectual impulse of the day. Victorious in all its + latest struggles and freed from all sources of internal + danger, it might naturally have been expected to enter at + once on a career of improvement more marked than in the case + of its neighbors. It is not easy to assign reasons for + failure in this respect, unless we seek them in disgust at + the subsequent dismemberment and disturbance of the empire + by the fruits of popular agitations in America, Ireland and + France. The reaction due to such causes was probably + sufficient to defeat all liberal efforts. The leading + English writers of the Revolutionary period were strong + Tories. Such were Johnson, the Lake poets after their brief + swing to the opposite extreme, and Scott. All these except + the first belong as well to the time of successful reform, + and Johnson may be claimed by the eighteenth century; which + serves to illustrate the blight cast upon British literature + by the prolonged resistance of British statesmen to the + prevailing current—a resistance which took its keynote + from the dying recantation and protest of the Whig + Chatham.</p> + + <p>The opening of the epoch, then, was as marked in Great + Britain as elsewhere. Only in special fields she afterward fell + behind, and lost something like half the century. In others she + kept abreast, or even in advance.</p> + + <p>Criticism was not content to exercise its new powers and + apply its newly-framed laws exclusively in the investigation of + any branch of philosophy. It brought them to bear upon the + arts. The discovery of the buried cities of Campania aided in + attracting renewed attention to the art-stores of Italy, + ancient and modern. The principles of taste and beauty which + they illustrated were searchingly analyzed and carefully + explained. Painting and sculpture began slowly to emit their + rays through the eclipse of more than a century. The allied art + shared in this second and secondary renaissance. Haydn was in + full fruit, Mozart ripening, and Music watched, in the cradle + of Beethoven, her budding Shakespeare. A fourth Teuton was + studying the symphonies of the spheres; and within the first + five years of the century, while the "crowning mercy" of + Yorktown was maturing, a planet that had never before dawned on + the eye of man took its place with the ancient six, and "swam + into the ken" of Herschel.</p> + + <p>We have said enough to vindicate our assumed chronology and + justify our readjustment of the calendar. Europe may well be + invited to celebrate her own political, social and material + centennial in 1876, as truly as that of America. Her + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page13" + id="page13"></a>[pg 13]</span> intellectual revival + indisputably contributed, through Franklin, Laurens, the + Lees and others who were immediately within its influence, + to bring on the American movement; and her thought, in turn, + has since that juncture as certainly gravitated, in many of + its chief manifestations, toward that of the New World. Hers + is the jubilee not less than ours. The humblest cot on her + broad bosom is the brighter for '76. By no means the least + fortunate of the beneficiaries is Great Britain herself. + Contrast her present position as a government and a society + with what it was when Liberty Bell announced the + dismemberment of her empire. Her rank among the nations has + notably improved. The population of England, Scotland and + Wales was then estimated below eight and a half + millions—a numerical approximation, by the way, to the + three millions of the colonies not sufficiently considered + when we measure the stoutness of her struggle against them + with France and Holland combined. Of the continental powers, + the French numbered perhaps twenty-two millions, Spain + twelve, the Low Countries six, Germany thirty, Prussia + seven, and so on. From the ratio of one to nearly three, as + compared with France, she has, if we include pacified and + assimilated Ireland—an element now of strength instead + of weakness—advanced to an equality. She has equally + gained on the others, except Prussia, with its aggregation + of new provinces. She may, furthermore, in the event of an + internecine conflict with a combination, count upon the + unwillingness of America to see her annihilated; not the + least just of Tallyrand's observations expressing his + conviction that, though the two great Anglo-Saxon powers + might quarrel with each other, they would not push such a + dispute for the benefit of a third party. But, dismissing + the question of mere brute strength, Britain's sentiment of + pride is conciliated by the spectacle of an advance in the + numbers speaking her tongue from eleven or twelve to eighty + millions within the century, and that in considerable part + at the expense of other languages; millions of foreign + immigrants, parents or children, having abandoned their + vernacular in favor of hers.</p> + + <p>Let us now essay a light sketch of the stream at whose + source we have glanced. Light and superficial it must be, for + to attempt more were to confront the vast and many-sided theme + of modern civilization. The nineteenth century, the child of + history, has the stature of its progenitor. It would fill more + libraries. Conditions, forces, results,—all have been + multiplied. But a few centuries ago the world, as known and + studied, was a corner of the Levant, with its slender and + simple apparatus of life, social, political and industrial. + Later, its boundaries were extended over the remaining shores + of the same landlocked sea. Again a step, but not an expansion, + and it looked helplessly west upon the Atlantic: its ancient + domain of the East almost forgotten. Then that long gaze was + gratified, and Cathay was seen. With that came actual + expansion, which continued in both directions of the globe's + circuit until now. At length the world of thought, of inquiry + and of common interest is becoming coincident with the + sphere.</p> + + <p>In the direction of international politics progress during + the century has not kept pace with the advance in other walks. + We are accustomed to speak of Europe as forming a republic of + nations, but that cannot be said with much more truth than it + could have been in the middle of the sixteenth century. A sense + of the value to the peace of the continent of a balance of + power was then recognized; and the object was attained in some + measure as soon as the career of Charles V., which had + inculcated the lesson, admitted at his abdication of an + application of it. Treaties were then framed, as they have been + constantly since, for this purpose, and the observation of them + was perhaps as faithful. The passions of nations, like those of + men, furnish reason with its slowest and latest conquests. The + great wars of the French Revolution, and the short and sharp + ones which have, after an indispensable breathing-spell, + recently followed it, were as causeless and as defiant of the + compacts designed to prevent them as those of the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page14" + id="page14"></a>[pg 14]</span> Reformation period or of the + Thirty Years. They were so many confessions that an + efficient international code is one of the inventions for + which we must look to the future. It is something, + meanwhile, that, with the extinction of feudalism and the + concretion of the detached provinces with which it had + macadamized Christendom, the ceaseless fusillade of little + wars, which played like a lambent flame of mephitic gas over + the surface of each country, has come to an end. The petty + sovereignties which made up Germany, France and Italy have + been within a few generations absorbed into three + masses—so many police districts which have proved + tolerably effective in keeping the peace within the large + territories they cover. The nations, thus massing themselves + for exterior defence, and maintaining a healthy system of + graduated and distributed powers, original or conferred, for + the support of domestic order and activity, have cultivated + successfully the field of home politics.</p> + + <p>In that the change for the better is certainly vast. It is + difficult for Americans, whose acquaintance with European + history is usually derived from compends, to realize what an + incubus of complicated and conflicting privileges, restrictions + and forms has, within the century, been lifted from the + energies of the Old World. The sweeping reforms in French law + are but a small part of what has been done. All the neighbors + of France, from Derry to the Dardanelles, have shared in the + blessing. We may be assisted to an idea of it by turning to the + experience of our own country, whose condition in this regard + was so exceptionally good at the beginning of the period in + point. The constitutions of our States have been repeatedly + altered, and they are now very different in their details from + the old colonial charters, liberal and elastic as these for the + most part were. Yet American innovations are but child's play + to those of Europe, which has not reached the position we held + at the beginning, and has a great deal still to do. In France + the people are not trained to local self-government, but they + have an excellent police, and the rights of person and property + are well protected. In Italy, which has only within a few years + ceased to be a mere geographical expression, municipal rights + and the independence of the commune are on a stronger basis, + but the police is bad, though far better than when the + Peninsula was divided among half a dozen powers. Both have but + commenced arming themselves with the chief safeguard of + Germany, popular education. The great fact with them all is, + that, despite the drawbacks of external pressure and large + standing armies, they are at liberty to pursue the path of + domestic reform as far as they have light enough to perceive it + or purpose enough to require it.</p> + + <p>All this is an immense gain. It reflects itself in the + improved social condition of the people—a result, of + course, not wholly due to it. Crime, though the newspapers make + us familiar with more of it than formerly, has notably + diminished. The savage classes of the great capitals, populous + as some of the old kingdoms, are controlled like a menagerie by + its keepers. A residuum of the untamable will always exist, + inaccessible to education or "moral suasion," and amenable only + to force. This force seems sufficiently supplied by the baton + of the constable, and we may hope that even in volcanic Paris + an eruption of barricades will henceforth cease, unless simply + as a somewhat flamboyant expression of political sentiment, the + gamin throwing up paving-stones and omnibuses as the + independent British voter throws up his hat at the hustings. + But it will not do to expect too much from any ameliorating + cause or chain of causes. Race-characteristics cannot be + annihilated. Man is an animal, and the Parisian turbulent. The + Commune has done its worst probably, and the Internationale, + which threatened at one time to loom up as a modern + Vehmgericht, has subsided. Whatever may hereafter come of such + slumbering perils, the beneficent forces which so largely + repress and reduce them are none the less real.</p> + + <p>The marked advance of the masses in physical well-being is a + great—some would say the greatest—item in social + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page15" + id="page15"></a>[pg 15]</span> profit and loss. Food is + everywhere better in quality and more regular in supply. The + English record of the corn-market for six centuries shows a + remarkable alteration in favor of steadiness in price. The + uncertainties of the seasons are discounted or neutralized + by the average struck by increased variety of products and + multiplied sources of supply. Famines become infrequent. + That of 1847 in Ireland, bad as it was, would have been + worse a hundred years earlier. A given population is more + regularly and better fed than one-fifth of its number would + at that time have been. A city of four millions would then + have been an impossibility. Dress and lodging are better, + and relatively cheaper. Hygiene is more understood, + imperfect as is its application. Some diseases due to its + disregard have disappeared or been localized. As a result, + men have gained in weight and size and in length of + life.</p> + + <p>In the character of their recreations—a thing largely + governed by national idiosyncrasy—the masses have + advanced. And this we may say without losing sight of the + devastations of intemperance since the distillation of grain + was introduced, about a century and a half ago. With an + enhanced demand upon man's faculties civilization brings an + increased use of stimulants. There are many of these unknown to + former generations. In noting those which attack the health by + storm we are apt to overlook others which proceed more + stealthily by sap. Of these are coffee, tea, chocolate, the + rich spices and more substantial accessions to the modern + table, all stimulating and inviting to excess, but all, as + truly, nutritious and apt to take the place of other aliment, + thus adapting the measure of their use, as a rule, to the + demands of the system. The consumption of opium, the one + dissipation of the Chinese till now unadded to the three or + four of the Caucasian, is said to be extending. If so, a + <i>Counter-blast</i> to it from king or commonwealth will be as + ineffectual as against its allied narcotic. Prohibitory laws + will be even more unavailing than in the case of ardent + spirits. It will run its course—a short one, we + trust—and be followed or joined by new drugs contributed + by conscienceless trade.</p> + + <p>Intemperance—we use the word in its special but most + common signification—is debasing. Compensation, so far as + it goes, is found in the abandonment by those communities among + whom it is most rife of certain gross amusements, such as + cock-fighting and the prize-ring. Bull-and bear-baiting, too, + so prominent among the <i>deliciæ</i> of England's maiden + queen, have died out. Isolated Spain, fenced off by the + Pyrenees from the breeze of benevolence wafted from the + virtuous and bibulous North, still utilizes the Manchegan or + Estremaduran bull as a means of conferring "happy despatch" on + her superannuated horses and absorbing the surplus belligerence + of her "roughs." She seems, however, disposed to tire of this + feast of equine and taurine blood, and the last relic of the + arena will before many years follow its cognate brutalities. + For obvious reasons, bull-fighting can be the sport, + habitually, of but an infinitesimal fraction of the people. + They share with the other races of the Continent the simple + pleasures of dance and song. These enjoyments, as we go north + and are driven within doors from the pure and temperate air by + a more unfriendly climate, form an increasingly intimate + alliance with strong drink, until in the so-called gardens of + Germany Calliope and Gambrinus are inseparable friends. Farther + still toward the Pole the voice of the Muse gradually dies away + upon the sodden atmosphere; and she, having outlasted her + successive Southern associates, wine and beer, in turn gives + place to brandy pure and simple—a beverage itself + frost-proof and only suited to frost-proof men.</p> + + <p>The long nights and indoor days of the North are favorable + to another and more desirable trait of modern social + progress—education. The potency of such a meteorological + cause in making popular a taste for knowledge the instances of + Iceland, Scotland, Scandinavia and North Germany, to say + nothing of New England, leave us no room to doubt. It is, of + course, not the only cause. Ability to read and write is as + universal in China <span class="pagenum"><a name="page16" + id="page16"></a>[pg 16]</span> and Japan, as in the + countries we have named. In the case of the Orientals it + cannot be ascribed, either, wholly to that conviction of the + importance, as a conservative guarantee, of elevating the + popular mind and taste, which belongs to the enlightenment + of the day. Instinctive recognition of this need manifests + itself in a simultaneous move in the direction of universal + education at government expense throughout the two + continents. All the populations snatch up their satchels and + hurry to school. Athens revives the Academe and reinstates + the Olympic games under a literary avatar. Italy follows + suit. Hornbooks open and shut with a suggestive snap under + the pope's nose, and Young Rome calculates its future with + slate and pencil. Gaul, fresh from one year's term in the + severest of all schools, adversity, joins the procession, + close by John Bull, who, <i>more suo</i>, pauses first to + decide whether the youthful mind shall take its pap with the + spoon of orthodoxy or heterodoxy, or neither. With him the + question between Church schools and national schools is + complicated by one which is common to other + nations—whether attendance shall be compulsory or + voluntary only. The tendency is toward the former, which has + long been in practice in some of the States of the Union; + and it seems not unlikely that Christendom will, before many + years, revert, in this important matter, to the Spartan view + that children are the property of the state.</p> + + <p>Lavish beyond precedent are the provisions made by + governments and individuals everywhere for the promotion of + this great object. Private endowment of schools and colleges + was never before so frequent and liberal, and nothing so + quickly disarms the caution of the average taxpayer as an + appeal for common schools. From California eastward to Japan it + is honored along the whole line, the unanimous "Yea" being the + most eloquent and hopeful word the modern world emits. Of the + slumbering power that till recently lay hidden in coal and + water, and which has so incalculably multiplied the material + strength of man, much has been said; but we fail to appreciate + the unevoked fund of intellect upon which he has additionally + to draw. The highest expectation of results to be witnessed and + enjoyed by the approaching generations involves no postulate of + human perfectibility, It finds ample warrant in what has been + accomplished under our eyes. A century ago only Scotland and + two or three of the American colonies could be said to possess + a system of common schools. From those feeble and smouldering + sparks what a flame has spread! The space it has covered and + the fructifying light and warmth it has produced may in some + measure be gauged by the newspaper press and the vast bulk of + popularized information in book-form created since then. This + shows the increase in the numerical ratio of readers to the + aggregate of population.</p> + + <p>A difficulty exists in the provision of officers for this + great army of pupils. They cannot always be raised from the + ranks. The thoroughness of a teacher's knowledge is not + acquired by the requisite proportion. Normal schools demand + more and more attention. But here we arrive at a field of + detail that would lead us far beyond the limit of these + articles. We pass naturally from the subject of education to + what is, in the narrower but most generally accepted sense of + the word—mental training—- its leading object of + pursuit.</p> + + <p>If, in the broader and truer meaning of education—that + which assumes the impalpable part of man to be something more + than a sponge for facts—- the slender phalanx of <i>the + men who know</i> will ever remain, proportionally, a small + band, it is at least certain that in acquaintance with natural + phenomena and their relations the masses of the nineteenth + century stand out from their forefathers as eminent + philosophers. Our age may be almost said to have created rather + than extended science, so mighty is the bulk of what it has + added by the side of what it found.</p> + + <p>In mathematics, the branch which most nearly approaches pure + reason, least advance has been made. There was least room for + it. Newton, when, at quite a + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page17" + id="page17"></a>[pg 17]</span> mature period of his career, + Euclid was first brought to his attention, laid the book + down after a cursory glance with the remark that it was only + fit for children, its propositions being self-evident. Yet + to those truisms Newton added very little. His work lay in + their development and application. Laplace and Biot belong + to our own day; but their task, too, consisted in the + employment of old rules. The most effective tools of the + mathematician are framed from the Arab algebra and Napier's + logarithms. The science itself without application is, like + logic, a soul without a body.</p> + + <p>The field most fruitful under its application is that of + astronomy. Here, progress has been great. A measuring-rod has + been provided for the depths of space by the ascertainment of + the sun's distance within a three-hundredth part of that body's + diameter. The existence of a cosmic ether, a resisting medium, + has been established, and its retarding influence calculated. + Many of the nebulae have been reduced, and others proved to be + in a gaseous condition, like comets. The latter bodies have + been chained down to regular orbits, followed far beyond those + of the old planets, and brought into genealogical relations + with these through the links of bolides and asteroids. The + family circle of planets proper has been immensely increased, a + new visitant to the central fire appearing every few years or + even months. Newton connected the most distant points of the + universe by the one principle of gravitation: the spectroscope + unites them by identity of structure and composition. Improved + instruments have detected the parallax of a number of the fixed + stars, and traced motion in both solar and stellar systems as + units. Coming homeward from the distant heavens, the advances + of astronomy diminish as we near what may be called the old + planets and our pale companion the moon. The existence of a + lunar atmosphere and the habitability of Mars are still + debated; with, we believe, the odds against both. But the + star-gazers make their craft useful in a novel way when it + reaches the earth. Upon the precession of the equinoxes they + erect a fabric of retrograde chronology, and set a clock to + geologic time. Here Sir Isaac is brought to grief. His + excursions beyond the Deluge are proved blind guides. He + misleads us among the ages as sadly as Archbishop Usher. The + profoundest of laymen and the most learned of clerics are + equally at sea in locating creation. That successive phases of + animate existence were rising and fading with the oscillations + of the earth's inclination to its orbit never occurred to him + to whom "all was light." To probe the stars was to him a + simpler process than to anatomize the globe upon which he + stood.</p> + + <p>This is the less remarkable when we reflect what a hard + fight geology has had. A generation after Newton's death + fossils were referred for their origin to a certain "plastic + power" in Nature—mere idle whittlings of bone that had + never known an outfit of flesh and blood. Then came a long and + motley procession of cosmogonies, every speculator, from John + Wesley down to Pye Smith, insisting warmly on what seemed good + in his own eyes. The last stand was made on the antiquity of + man, and it is only a dozen years since the ablest of + British—perhaps since Cuvier of modern—geologists, + Sir Charles Lyell, yielded to the preponderance of evidence, + and confessed that the era of man's appearance on earth had + been made too recent. A few determined skirmishers still linger + behind the line of retreat, like Ney at the bridge of Kowno, + and fire some fruitless shots at the advancing enemy. This is + well. Tribulation and opposition are good for any creed, + scientific or other. It weeds out the weak ones and strengthens + those that are to stand.</p> + + <p>The mapping out of extinct faunas and floras and assigning + pedigree to existing species are by no means the whole province + of geologists. Productive industry owes to them a vast saving + of time and cost in searching for useful minerals. They + distinguish the same strata in widely separated districts by + means of the characteristic fossils, and are thus enabled to + guide the miner. A geological survey of its territory is one of + the first cares of an enlightened government, and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page18" + id="page18"></a>[pg 18]</span> a geologist is the one + scientific official the leading States of the Union agree in + maintaining. The science has moved forward steadily from its + original office of studying buried deposits and classifying + extinct organisms, until the hard and fast line between + fossil and recent has disappeared, the continuous action of + ordinary causes in past and present been established, and an + unbroken domain assigned to the laws of the visible + creation. Deep-sea soundings have extended inquiry, slight + enough as yet, to that immensely preponderant portion of the + globe's crust that is covered by water. Penetrating the + ocean is like penetrating the rocks, inasmuch as it + introduces us to some of the same primal forms of life; but + it presents them in an active and sentient state. Neptune's + ravished secrets vindicate the Neptunists, while Pluto is + relegated to the abode assigned him by classic myths, where + he and his comrade, Vulcan, keep their furnaces alight and + project their slag and smoke through many a roaring + chimney.</p> + + <p>Upon (as beneath) the deep, science is erecting for itself + new homes. It tracks the wandering wind, and moves at ease, + calmly as a surveyor with chain and compass, through the eddies + of the cyclone. It maps for the sailor the currents, aerial and + subaqueous, of each spot on the unmarked main, and sends him + warning far ahead of the tempest. It divides with the + thermometer the mass of brine into horizontal zones, and + assigns to each its special population.</p> + + <p>A hundred years ago, only the surface of the land was + studied, and but a small part of that. All beneath its surface + was a mystery, and the lore of the sea was untouched. Now, + knowledge has penetrated to the central fire, and of the sea it + can be no longer said that man's "control stops with its + shores." The pathway of his messenger from continent to + continent he has laid deep in its chalky ooze, while over it + silt silently, flake by flake, as they have been falling since + æons before his creation, the induviæ of the + earliest creatures.</p> + + <p>And this his messenger at the bottom of the sea is back in + its old home. First hidden in the electron cast up by the waves + of the Baltic, it was left there, uncomprehended and barren, + till our century. During all that time it was calling from the + clouds to man's dazzled eye and deafened ear. It pervaded the + air he breathed, the ground he trod and the frame which + constituted him. It bore his will from brain to hand, and + guarded his life, through the (so-called) spontaneously acting + muscles of the thorax, during the half or third of his life + during which his will slumbered. At length its call was + hearkened to intelligently. Franklin made it articulate. Its + twin Champollions came in Volta and Galvani. Its few first + translated words have, under a host of elucidators, swelled to + volumes. They link into one language the dialects of light, + motion and heat. The indurated turpentine of the Pomeranian + beach speaks the tongue of the farthest star.</p> + + <p>The sciences, like the nations and like bees, as they grow + too large for their hive are perpetually swarming and + colonizing. Not that colonization is followed, as in the case + of the similitude, by independence. Their mutual bonds become + closer and closer. But convenience and (so to speak) comfort + require the nominal separation. So electricity sets up for + itself; and chemistry, the metropolis, swells into other + offshoots. So numerous and so great are these that the old + alchemists, unlimited range through the material, immaterial + and supernatural as they claimed for their art, would rub their + eyes, bleared over blowpipe and alembic, at sight of its + present riches. The half-hewn block handed down by these + worthies—not by any means</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Like that great Dawn which baffled Angelo</p> + + <p>Left shapeless, grander for its mystery,</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>but blurred and scratched all over with childish and + unmeaning scrawls—has been wholly transformed. Chemistry + no longer assumes to read our future, but it does a great deal + to brighten our present. Laboring to supply the wants and + enhance the pleasures and security of daily life, it makes + excursions with a sure foot in the opposite direction of + abstruse problems <span class="pagenum"><a name="page19" + id="page19"></a>[pg 19]</span> in natural philosophy. It + analyzes all substances, determines their relations, and + tries to guide the artisan in utilizing its acquisitions for + the general good. To enumerate these, or to give the merest + sketch of chemical progress within the century, would fill + many pages. It has enriched and invigorated all the arts by + supplying new material and new processes. Illuminating gas, + photography, the anæsthetics, the artificial + fertilizers, quinine, etc. are a few of its more familiarly + known contributions. It has aided medical jurisprudence, and + so far checked crime. Besides enlarging the pharmacopoeia, + it has promoted sanitary reform in many ways, notably by + ascertaining the media of contagion in disease and providing + for their detection and removal. Its triumphs are so closely + interwoven with the appliances of common life that we are + prone to lose sight of them. From the aniline dye that + beautifies a picture or a dress, to the explosive that lifts + a reef or mines the Alps for a highway, the gradations are + infinite and multiform.</p> + + <p>Heavy as is the draft of the material sciences upon the + thought and energy of the century, it has not monopolized them. + No trifling resources have been left for mere abstract + investigation. If meta-physics stands, despite the labors of + Stewart, Hamilton, Hegel, Comte, very much where it did when + Socrates ran amuck among the casuistical Quixotes of his day, + and left the philosophic tilters of Greece, the knights-errant + in search of the supreme good, in the same plight with the + chivalry of Spain after Cervantes, the science of mind, and + particularly mental pathology, has made some steps forward on + crutches furnished by the medical profession. The treatment of + insanity is on a more rational and efficient footing. The + statistician collects, and invites the moral philosopher to + collate, the records of crime. The naturalist studies the life + of the lower animals, and gives the <i>coup de grace</i> to the + uncompromising distinction drawn by human conceit between + instinct and intelligence.</p> + + <p>In the walks of comparative philology much has been + accomplished. Sanskrit has been exhumed. Aryan and Semitic + roots are traced back to an almost synchronous antiquity. The + decipherment of the Egyptian inscriptions seems to bring us + into communication with a still more remote form of language. + More recent periods derive new light from the Etruscan tombs + and the Assyrian bricks. Linguists deem themselves in sight of + something better than the "bow-wow" theory, and are no longer + content to let the calf, the lamb and the child bleat in one + and the same vocabulary of labials, and with no other rudiments + than "ma" and "pa" "speed the soft intercourse from pole to + pole." As yet, that part of mankind which knows not its right + hand from its left is the only one possessed of a worldwide + lingo. The flux that is to weld all tongues into one, and + produce a common language like a common unit of weight, measure + and coinage, remains to be discovered. A Chinese pig, + transplanted to an Anglo-Saxon stye, has no difficulty in + instituting immediate converse with his new friend, but the + gentleman who travels in Europe needs to carry an assortment of + dialects for use on opposite sides of the same rivulet or the + same hill. However, as the French franc has been adopted by + four other nations, and the French litre and mètre by a + greater number, one and the same mail and postage made to serve + Europe and America, and passports been abolished, we may + venture to picture to ourselves the time when the German shall + consent to clear his throat, the Frenchman his nose, the + Spaniard his tonsils and the Englishman the tip of his + tongue—when all shall become as little children and be + mutually comprehensible. Commerce at present is doing more than + the philosophers to that end. While the countrymen of Wilhelm + von Humboldt and Max Müller persist in burying their + laboriously heaped treasures under a load of black-letter type + and words and sentences the most fearfully and wonderfully + made, the skipper scatters English words with English calico + and American clocks among all the isles. A picturesque fringe + of pigeon English decorates the coasts of Africa, Asia and + Oceanica. It might be <span class="pagenum"><a name="page20" + id="page20"></a>[pg 20]</span> deeper, and doubtless will + be, for our mother-tongue will very certainly be supreme in + the world of trade for at least a couple of centuries to + come. If we were only half as sure of its being adopted by + France as by Fiji!</p> + + <p>If almighty steam and sail must remain unequal to this task, + wondrous indeed are their other potencies. They have contracted + the globe like a dried apple, only in a far greater degree. In + 1776 three years was the usual allotment of the grand tour. + Beginning at London, it extended to Naples and occasionally + Madrid. It often left out Vienna, and more frequently Berlin. + In the same period you may now put a girdle round the earth + ninefold thick. You may, given the means and the faculties, set + up business establishments at San Francisco, Yokohama, + Shanghai, Canton, Calcutta, Bombay, Alexandria, Rome, Paris, + London and New York, and visit each once a quarter. The goods + to supply them may travel, however bulky, on the same ship and + nearly the same train in point of speed with yourself. Nowhere + farther than a few weeks from home in person, nowhere are you + more remote verbally than a few hours. The Red Sea opens to + your footsteps, as it did to those of Moses; and the lightning + that bears your words cleaves the pathway of Alexander and the + New World for which he wept.</p> + + <p>It is really hard to mention these innovations on the old + ways, so vast and so sudden, without degenerating into rhetoric + or bombast. The spread-eagle style comes naturally to an epoch + that soars on quick new wing above all the others. We have it + in all shapes—- equally startling and true in figures of + arithmetic or figures of speech. Any school-boy can tell you, + if you give him the dimensions of the Great Pyramid and state + thirty-three thousand pounds one foot high in a minute as the + conventional horse-power, how many hours it would take a + pony-team picked out of the hundreds of thousands of + steam-engines on the two continents to raise it. He will reduce + to the same prosaic but eloquent form a number of like problems + illustrative of the command obtained over some of the forces of + Nature, and their employment in multiplying and economizing + manual strength and dexterity and stimulating ingenuity. When + we come to contemplate the whole edifice of modern production, + it seems to simplify itself into one new motor applied to the + old mechanical powers, which may perhaps in turn be condensed + into one—the inclined plane. This helps to the impression + that the structure is not only sure to be enlarged, as we see + it enlarging day by day, but to grow into novel and more + striking aspects. Additional motors will probably be + discovered, or some we already possess in embryo may be + developed into greater availability. These, operating on an + ever-growing stock of material, will convince our era that it + is but introductory to a more magnificent and not far distant + future.</p> + + <p>Magnificent the century is justified in styling its work. + What matter could do for mind and steam for the hand it has + done. But is there any gain in the eye and intellect which + perceive, and the hand which fixes, beauty and truth? Is there + any addition to the simple lines, as few and rudimental as the + mechanical powers, which embody proportion and harmony, or in + the fibres of emotion, as scant but as infinite in their range + of tone as the strings of the primeval harp, which ask and + respond to no motor but the touch of genius? Have we surpassed + the old song, the old story, the old picture, the old + temple?</p> + + <p>Such questions must be answered in the negative. The age, + recognizing perforce the inherent capabilities of the race as a + constant quantity, contents itself so far with endeavoring to + adapt and reproduce, or at most imitate, such manifestations of + the artistic sense as it finds excellent in the past. The day + for originality may come ere long, and nothing can be lost in + striving for it, but a capacity for the beautiful at first hand + cannot come without an appreciation of it at second hand. With + the number of cultivated minds so vastly increased as compared + with any previous period, the greater variety of objects and + conditions presented to them, the multiplicity of races + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page21" + id="page21"></a>[pg 21]</span> to which they belong, and + consequently of distinct race-characteristics imbedded in + them and brought into play, and the impulse communicated by + greater general activity, the expectation is allowably + sanguine that the nineteenth century will plant an art as + well as an industry of its own. Wealth, culture and peace + seldom fail to win this final crown. They are busily + gathering together the jewels of the past, endless in + diversity of charm. Museum, gallery, library swell as never + before. The earth is not mined for iron and coal alone. + Statue, vase and gem are disentombed. Pictures are rescued + from the grime of years and neglect. All are copied by sun + or hand, and sent in more or less elaboration into hall or + cottage. In literature our possessions could scarce be more + complete, and they are even more universally distributed. + The nations compete with each other in adding to this + equipment for a new revival, which seems, on the surface, to + have more in its favor than had that of the + cinque-cento.</p> + + <h2>UP THE THAMES</h2> + + <h4>THIRD PAPER.</h4> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/21.jpg" + name="fig21" + id="fig21"><img width="100%" + src="images/21.jpg" + alt="HAMPTON COURT--WEST FRONT." /></a>HAMPTON + COURT—WEST FRONT. + </div> + + <p>Today our movement shall be up the Thames by rail, starting + on the south side of the river to reach an objective point on + the north bank. So crooked is the stream, and so much more + crooked are the different systems of railways, with their + competing branches crossing each other and making the most + audacious inroads on each other's territory, that the direction + in which we are traveling at any given moment, or the station + from which we start, is a very poor index to the quarter for + which we are bound. The railways, to say nothing of the river, + that wanders at its own sweet will, as water commonly does in a + country offering it no obstructions, are quite defiant of their + geographical names. The Great Western runs north, west and + south-east; the South-western strikes + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page22" + id="page22"></a>[pg 22]</span> south, south-east and + north-west; while the Chatham and Dover distributes itself + over most of the region south-east of London, closing its + circuit by a line along the coast of the Channel that + completes a triangle. We can go almost anywhere by any road. + It is necessary, however, in this as in other mundane + proceedings, to make a selection. We must have a will before + we find a way. Let our way, then, be to Waterloo Station on + the Southwestern rail.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/22.jpg" + name="fig22" + id="fig22"><img width="100%" + src="images/22.jpg" + alt="HAMPTON COURT--LOOKING UP THE RIVER." /> + </a>HAMPTON COURT—LOOKING UP THE RIVER. + </div> + + <p>Half an hour's run lands us at Hampton Court, with a number + of fellow-passengers to keep us company if we want them, and in + fact whether we want them or not. Those who travel into or out + of a city of four millions must lay their account with being + ever in a crowd. Our consolation is, that in the city the crowd + is so constant and so wholly strange to us as to defeat its + effect, and create the feeling of solitude we have so often + been told of; while outside of it, at the parks and + show-places, the amplitude of space, density and variety of + plantations, and multiplicity of carefully designed turns, + nooks and retreats, are such that retirement of a more genuine + character is within easy reach. The crowd, we know, is about + us, but it does not elbow us, and we need hardly see it. The + current of humanity, springing from one or a dozen trains or + steamboats, dribbles away, soon after leaving its parent + source, into a multitude of little divergent channels, like + irrigating water, and covers the surface without + interference.</p> + + <p>It would be a curious statistical inquiry how many visitors + Hampton Court has lost since the Cartoons were removed in 1865 + to the South Kensington Museum. Actually, of course, the whole + number has increased, is increasing, and is not going to be + diminished. The query is, How many more there would be now were + those eminent bits of pasteboard—slit up for the guidance + of piece-work at a Flemish loom, tossed after the weavers had + done with them into a lumber-room, then after a century's + neglect disinterred by the taste of Rubens and Charles I., + brought to England, their poor frayed and faded fragments glued + together and made the chief decoration of a royal + palace—still in the place assigned them by the + munificence and judgment of Charles? For our part—and we + may speak for most Americans—when we heard, thought or + read of Hampton Court, we thought of the Cartoons. Engravings + of them were plenty—much more so than of the palace + itself. Numbers of domestic connoisseurs know Raphael + principally as the painter of the Cartoons.</p> + + <p>A few who have not heard of them have heard of Wolsey. The + pursy old cardinal furnishes the surviving one of the two main + props of Hampton's glory. An oddly-assorted pair, + indeed—the delicate Italian painter, without a thought + outside of his art, and the bluff English placeman, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page23" + id="page23"></a>[pg 23]</span> avid of nothing but honors + and wealth. And the association of either of them with the + spot is comparatively so slight. Wolsey held the ground for + a few years, only by lease, built a mere fraction of the + present edifice, and disappeared from the scene within half + a generation. What it boasts, or boasted, of the other + belongs to the least noted of his works—half a dozen + sketches meant for stuff-patterns, and never intended to be + preserved as pictures. Pictures they are, nevertheless, and + all the more valuable and surprising as manifesting such + easy command of hand and faculty, such a matter-of-course + employment of the utmost resources of art on a production + designed to have no continuing existence except as finished, + rendered and given to the world by a "base mechanical," with + no sense of art at all.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/23.jpg" + name="fig23" + id="fig23"><img width="100%" + src="images/23.jpg" + alt="ENTRANCE TO WOLSEY'S HALL." /></a>ENTRANCE TO + WOLSEY'S HALL. + </div> + + <p>Royalty, and the great generally, availed themselves of + their opportunities to select the finest locations and stake + out the best claims along these shores. Of elevation there is + small choice, a level surface prevailing. What there is has + been generally availed of for park or palace, with manifest + advantage to the landscape. The curves of the river are + similarly utilized. Kew and Hampton occupy peninsulas so + formed. The latter, with Bushy Park, an appendage, fills a + water-washed triangle of some two miles on each side. The + southern angle is opposite Thames Ditton, a noted resort for + brethren of the angle, with an ancient inn as popular, though + not as stylish and costly, as the Star and Garter at Richmond. + The town and palace of Hampton lie about halfway up the western + side of the demesne. The view up and down the river from + Hampton Bridge is one of the crack spectacles of the + neighborhood. Satisfied with it, we pass through the principal + street, with the Green in view to our left and Bushy Park + beyond it, to the main entrance. This is part of the original + palace as built by the cardinal. It leads into the first court. + This, with the second or Middle Quadrangle, may all be ascribed + to him, with some changes made by Henry VIII. and Christopher + Wren. The colonnade of coupled Ionic pillars which runs across + it on the south or right-hand side as you enter was designed by + Wren. It is out of keeping with its Gothic surroundings. + Standing beneath it, you see on the opposite side of the square + Wolsey's Hall. It looks <span class="pagenum"><a name="page24" + id="page24"></a>[pg 24]</span> like a church. The towers on + either side of the gateway between the courts bear some + relics of the old faith in the shape of terra-cotta + medallions, portraits of the Roman emperors. These + decorations were a present to the cardinal from Leo X. The + oriel windows by their side bear contributions in a + different taste from Henry VIII. They are the escutcheons of + that monarch. The two popes, English and Italian, are well + met. Our engravings give a good idea of the style of these + parts of the edifice. The first or outer square is somewhat + larger than the middle one, which is a hundred and + thirty-three feet across from north to south, and ninety-one + in the opposite direction, or in a line with the longest + side of the whole palace.</p> + + <p>A stairway beneath the arch leads to the great hall, one + hundred and six feet by forty. This having been well furbished + recently, its aspect is probably little inferior in splendor to + that which it wore in its first days. The open-timber roof, gay + banners, stained windows and groups of armor bring mediaeval + magnificence very freshly before us. The ciphers and arms of + Henry and his wife, Jane Seymour, are emblazoned on one of the + windows, indicating the date of 1536 or 1537. Below them were + graciously left Wolsey's imprint—his arms, with a + cardinal's hat on each side, and the inscription, "The Lord + Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal legat de Latere, archbishop of Yorke + and chancellor of Englande." The tapestry of the hall + illustrates sundry passages in the life of Abraham. A Flemish + pupil of Raphael is credited with their execution or + design.</p> + + <p>This hall witnessed, certainly in the reign of George I., + and according to tradition in that of Elizabeth, the mimic + reproduction of the great drama with which it is associated. It + is even said that Shakespeare took part here in his own play, + <i>King Henry VIII., or the Fall of Wolsey</i>. In 1558 the + hall was resplendent with one thousand lamps, Philip and Mary + holding their Christmas feast. The princess Elizabeth was a + guest. The next morning she was compliant or politic enough to + hear matins in the queen's closet.</p> + + <p>The Withdrawing Room opens from the hall. It is remarkable + for its carved and illuminated ceiling of oak. Over the chimney + is a portrait of Wolsey in profile on wood, not the least + interesting of a long list of pictures which are a leading + attraction of the place. These are assembled, with few + exceptions, in the third quadrangle, built in 1690. Into this + we next pass. It takes the place of three of the five original + courts, said to have been fully equal to the two which + remain.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/24.jpg" + name="fig24" + id="fig24"><img width="100%" + src="images/24.jpg" + alt="MIDDLE QUADRANGLE, HAMPTON COURT." /></a>MIDDLE + QUADRANGLE, HAMPTON COURT. + </div> + + <p>The modern or Eastern Quadrangle + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page25" + id="page25"></a>[pg 25]</span> is a hundred and ten by a + hundred and seventeen feet. It is encircled by a colonnade + like that in the middle square, and has nothing remarkable, + architecturally, about it. In the public rooms that surround + us there are, according to the catalogue, over a thousand + pictures. Leonardo da Vinci, Paul Veronese, Titian, Giulio + Romano, Murillo and a host of lesser names of the Italian + and Spanish schools, with still more of the Flemish, are + represented. To most visitors, who may see elsewhere finer + works by these masters, the chief attraction of the walls is + the series of original portraits by Holbein, Vandyck, Lely + and Kneller. The two full-lengths of Charles I. by Vandyck, + on foot and on horseback, both widely known by engravings, + are the gems of this department, as a Vandyck will always be + of any group of portraits.</p> + + <div class="figright" + style="width:60%;"> + <a href="images/25-1.jpg" + name="fig25-1" + id="fig25-1"><img width="100%" + src="images/25-1.jpg" + alt="ARCHWAY IN HAMPTON COURT." /></a>ARCHWAY IN + HAMPTON COURT. + </div> + + <p>Days may be profitably and delightfully spent in studying + this fine collection. The first men and women of England for + three centuries handed down to us by the first artists she + could command form a spectacle in which Americans can take a + sort of home interest. Nearly all date before 1776, and we have + a rightful share in them. Each head and each picture is a + study. We have art and history together. Familiar as we may be + with the events with which the persons represented are + associated, it is impossible to gaze upon their lineaments, set + in the accessories of their day by the ablest hands guided by + eyes that saw below the surface, and not feel that we have new + readings of British annals.</p> + + <div class="figright" + style="width:50%;"> + <a href="images/25-2.jpg" + name="fig25-2" + id="fig25-2"><img width="100%" + src="images/25-2.jpg" + alt="WOLSEY." /></a>WOLSEY. + </div> + + <p>Among the most ancient heads is a medallion of Henry VII. by + Torregiano, the peppery and gifted Florentine who executed the + marvelous chapel in Westminster Abbey and broke the nose of + Michael Angelo. English art—or rather art in + England—may be said to date from him. He could not create + a school of artists in the island—the material did not + exist—but the few productions he left there stood out so + sharply from anything <span class="pagenum"><a name="page26" + id="page26"></a>[pg 26]</span> around them that the + possessors of the wealth that was then beginning to + accumulate employed it in drawing from the Continent + additional treasures from the newly-found world of beauty. + The riches of England have grown apace, and her collectors + have used them liberally, if not always wisely, until her + galleries, in time, have come to be sought by the + connoisseurs, and even the artists, of the Continent.</p> + + <div class="figleft" + style="width:70%;"> + <a href="images/26-1.jpg" + name="fig26-1" + id="fig26-1"><img width="100%" + src="images/26-1.jpg" + alt="PORTICO LEADING TO GARDENS." /></a>PORTICO + LEADING TO GARDENS. + </div> + + <p>The last picture-gallery we traverse is the only one at + Hampton Court specially built for its purpose; and it is empty. + This is the room erected by Sir Christopher Wren for the + reception of the Cartoons. It leads us to the corridor that + opens on the garden-front. We leave behind us, in addition to + the state apartments, a great many others which are peopled by + other inhabitants than the big spiders, said to be found + nowhere else, known as cardinals. The old palace is not kept + wholly for show, but is made useful in the political economy of + the kingdom by furnishing a retreat to impecunious members of + the oligarchy. Certain families of distressed aristocrats are + harbored here—clearly a more wholesome arrangement than + letting them take their chance in the world and bring discredit + on their class.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/26-2.jpg" + name="fig26-2" + id="fig26-2"><img width="100%" + src="images/26-2.jpg" + alt="CENTRE AVENUE." /></a>CENTRE AVENUE. + </div> + + <p>Emerging on the great gardens, forty four acres in extent, + we find ourselves on broad walks laid out with mathematical + regularity, and edged by noble masses of yew, holly, + horse-chestnut, etc. almost as rectangular and circular. We are + here struck with the great advantage derived in landscape + gardening from the rich variety of large evergreens possible in + the climate of Britain. The holly, unknown as an outdoor plant + in this country north of Philadelphia, is at home in the north + of Scotland, eighteen degrees nearer the pole. We are more + fortunate with the Conifers, many of the finest of which family + are perfectly hardy here. But we miss the deodar cedar, the + redwood and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page27" + id="page27"></a>[pg 27]</span> Washingtonia of California, + and the cedar of Lebanon. These, unless perhaps the last, + cannot be depended on much north of the latitude of the + <i>Magnolia grandiflora.</i> They thrive all over England, + with others almost as beautiful, and as delicate north of + the Delaware. Of the laurel tribe, also hardy in England, + our Northern States have but a few weakly representatives. + So with the Rhododendra.</p> + + <div class="figright" + style="width:70%;"> + <a href="images/27-1.jpg" + name="fig27-1" + id="fig27-1"><img width="100%" + src="images/27-1.jpg" + alt="HAMPTON COURT—GARDEN FRONT." /></a>HAMPTON + COURT—GARDEN FRONT. + </div> + + <p>When, tired of even so charming a scene of arboreal luxury, + we knock at the Flower-Pot gate to the left of the palace, and + are admitted into the private garden, we make the acquaintance + of another stately stranger we have had the honor at home of + meeting only under glass. This is the great vine, ninety years + or a hundred old, of the Black Hamburg variety. It does not + cover as much space as the Carolina Scuppernong—the + native variety that so surprised and delighted Raleigh's + Roanoke Island settlers in 1585—often does. But its + bunches, sometimes two or three thousand in number, are much + larger than the Scuppernong's little clumps of two or three. + They weigh something like a pound each, and are thought worthy + of being reserved for Victoria's dessert. Her own family vine + has burgeoned so broadly that three thousand pounds of grapes + would not be a particularly large dish for a Christmas dinner + for the united Guelphs.</p> + + <div class="figright" + style="width:60%;"> + <a href="images/27-2.jpg" + name="fig27-2" + id="fig27-2"><img width="100%" + src="images/27-2.jpg" + alt="GATE TO PRIVATE GARDEN." /></a>GATE TO PRIVATE + GARDEN. + </div> + + <p>We must not forget the Labyrinth, "a mighty maze, but not + without a plan," that has bewildered generations of young and + old children since the time of its creator, William of Orange. + It is a feature of the Dutch style of landscape gardening + imprinted by him upon the Hampton grounds. He failed to + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page28" + id="page28"></a>[pg 28]</span> impress a like stamp upon + that chaos of queer, shapeless and contradictory means to + beneficent ends, the British constitution.</p> + + <p>Hampton Court, notwithstanding the naming of the third + quadrangle the Fountain Court, and the prominence given to a + fountain in the design of the principal grounds, is not rich in + waterworks. Nature has done a good deal for it in that way, the + Thames embracing it on two sides and the lowness of the flat + site placing water within easy reach everywhere. This + superabundance of the element did not content the magnificent + Wolsey. He was a man of great ideas, and to secure a head for + his jets he sought an elevated spring at Combe Wood, more than + two miles distant. To bring this supply he laid altogether not + less than eight miles of leaden pipe weighing twenty-four + pounds to the foot, and passing under the bed of the Thames. + Reduced to our currency of to-day, these conduits must have + cost nearly half a million of dollars. They do their work yet, + the gnawing tooth of old <i>Edax rerum</i> not having + penetrated far below the surface of the earth. Better hydraulic + results would now be attained at a considerably reduced cost by + a steam-engine and stand-pipe. At the beginning of the + sixteenth century this motor was not even in embryo, unless we + accept the story of Blasco de Garay's steamer that manoeuvred + under the eye of Charles V. as fruitlessly as Fitch's and + Fulton's before Napoleon. Coal, its dusky pabulum, was also + practically a stranger on the upper Thames. The ancient + fire-dogs that were wont to bear blazing billets hold their + places in the older part of the palace.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/28.jpg" + name="fig28" + id="fig28"><img width="100%" + src="images/28.jpg" + alt="BUSHY PARK." /></a>BUSHY PARK. + </div> + + <p>Crossing the Kingston road, which runs across the peninsula + and skirts the northern boundary of Hampton Park, we get into + its continuation, Bushy Park. This is larger than the chief + enclosure, but less pretentious. We cease to be oppressed by + the palace and its excess of the artificial. The great avenues + of horse-chestnut, five in number, and running parallel with a + length of rather more than a mile and an aggregate breadth of + nearly two hundred yards, are formal enough in design, but the + mass of foliage gives them the effect of a wood. They lead + nowhere in particular, and are flanked by glades and copses in + which the genuinely rural prevails. Cottages gleam through the + trees. The lowing of kine, the tinkling of the sheep-bell, the + gabble of poultry, lead you away from thoughts of prince and + city. Deer domesticated here since long before the introduction + of the turkey or the guinea-hen bear themselves with as quiet + ease and freedom from fear as though they were the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page29" + id="page29"></a>[pg 29]</span> lords of the manor and held + the black-letter title-deeds for the delicious stretch of + sward over which they troop. Less stately, but scarce more + shy, indigenes are the hares, lineal descendants of those + which gave sport to Oliver Cromwell. When that grim Puritan + succeeded to the lordship of the saintly cardinal, he was + fain, when the Dutch, Scotch and Irish indulged him with a + brief chance to doff his buff coat, to take relaxation in + coursing. We loiter by the margin of the ponds he dug in the + hare-warren, and which were presented as nuisances by the + grand jury in 1662. The complaint was that by turning the + water of the "New River" into them the said Oliver had made + the road from Hampton Wick boggy and unsafe. Another + misdemeanor of the deceased was at the same time and in like + manner denounced. This was the stopping up of the pathway + through the warren. The palings were abated, and the path is + open to all nineteenth-century comers, as it probably will + be to those of the twentieth, this being a land of + precedent, averse to change. We may stride triumphantly + across the location of the Cromwellian barricades, and not + the less so, perhaps, for certain other barricades which he + helped to erect in the path of privilege.</p> + + <p>Directing our steps to the left, or westward, we again reach + the river at the town of Hampton. It is possessed of pretty + water-views, but of little else of note except the memory and + the house of Garrick. Hither the great actor, after positively + his last night on the stage, retired, and settled the long + contest for his favor between the Muses of Tragedy and Comedy + by inexorably turning his back on both. He did not cease to be + the delight of polished society, thanks to his geniality and to + literary and conversational powers capable of making him the + intimate of Johnson and Reynolds. More fortunate in his + temperament and temper than his modern successor, Macready, he + never fretted that his profession made him a vagabond by act of + Parliament, or that his adoption of it in place of the law had + prevented his becoming, by virtue of the same formal and + supreme stamp, the equal of the Sampson Brasses plentiful in + his day as in ours among their betters of that honorable + vocation. His self-respect was of tougher if not sounder grain. + "Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow," was the motto + supplied him by his friend and neighbor, Pope, but obeyed long + before he saw it in the poetic form.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/29.jpg" + name="fig29" + id="fig29"><img width="100%" + src="images/29.jpg" + alt="GARRICK'S VILLA." /></a>GARRICK'S VILLA. + </div> + + <p>Garrick's house is separated from its bit of "grounds," + which run down to the water's edge, by the highway. It + communicates with them by a tunnel, suggested by Johnson. It + was not a very novel suggestion, but the excavation deserves + notice as probably the one engineering achievement of old Ursus + major. We may fancy the Titan of the pen and the tea-table, in + his snuffy habit as he lived and as photographed by Boswell, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page30" + id="page30"></a>[pg 30]</span> Mrs. Thrale, Fanny Burney, + and their epitomizer Macaulay, diving under the turnpike and + emerging among the osiers and water-rats to offer his + orisons at the shrine of Shakespeare. For, in the fashion of + the day, Garrick erected a little brick "temple," and placed + therein a statue of the man it was the study of his life to + interpret. The temple is there yet. The statue, a fine one + by Roubillac, now adorns the hall of the British Museum, a + much better place for it. Garrick, and not Shakespeare, is + the <i>genius loci</i>.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/30.jpg" + name="fig30" + id="fig30"><img width="100%" + src="images/30.jpg" + alt="RIVER SCENE, THAMES DITTON." /></a>RIVER SCENE, + THAMES DITTON. + </div> + + <p>This is but one, if the most striking, of a long row of + villas that overlook the river, each with its + comfortable-looking and rotund trees and trim plat in front, + with sometimes a summer-house snuggling down to the ripples. + These riverside colonies, thrown out so rapidly by the + metropolis, have no colonial look. We cannot associate the idea + of a new settlement with rich turf, graveled walks and large + trees devoid of the gaunt and forlorn look suggestive of their + fellows' having been hewn away from their side. The houses have + some of the pertness, rawness and obtrusiveness of youth, but + it is not the youth of the backwoods.</p> + + <p>Bob and sinker are in their glory hereabouts. Fishing-rods + in the season and good weather form an established part of the + scenery. From the banks of the stream, from the islands and + from box-like boats called punts in the middle of the water, + their slender arches project. It becomes a source of + speculation how the breed of fish is kept up. Seth Green has + never operated on the Thames. Were he to take it under his + wing, a sum in the single rule of three points to the + conclusion that all London would take its seat under these + willows and extract ample sustenance from the invisible herds. + If perch and dace can hold their own against the existing + pressure and escape extinction, how would they multiply with + the fostering aid of the spawning-box! We are not deep in the + mysteries of the angle, but we believe English waters do not + boast the catfish. They ought to acquire him. He is almost as + hard to extirpate as the perch, would be quite at home in these + sluggish pools under the lily-pads, and would harmonize + admirably with the eel in the pies and other gross preparations + which delight the British palate. He hath, moreover, a John + Bull-like air in his broad and burly shape, his smooth and + unscaly superficies and the <i>noli-me-tangere</i> character of + his dorsal fin. Pity he was unknown to Izaak Walton!</p> + + <p>At this particular point the piscatory effect is intensified + by the dam just above Hampton Bridge. Two parts of a river are + especially fine for fishing. One is the part above the dam, and + the other the part below. These two divisions may be said, + indeed, in a large sense to cover all the Thames. Moulsey Lock, + while favorable to fish and fishermen, is unfavorable to dry + land. Yet there is said <span class="pagenum"><a name="page31" + id="page31"></a>[pg 31]</span> to be no malaria. Hampton + Court has proved a wholesome residence to every occupant + save its founder.</p> + + <div class="figright" + style="width:70%;"> + <a href="images/31.jpg" + name="fig31" + id="fig31"><img width="100%" + src="images/31.jpg" + alt="WOLSEY'S TOWER, ESHER." /></a>WOLSEY'S TOWER, + ESHER. + </div> + + <p>The angler's capital is Thames Ditton, and his capitol the + Swan Inn. Ditton is, like many other pretty English villages, + little and old. It is mentioned in <i>Domesday Boke</i> as + belonging to the bishop of Bayeux in Normandy, famous for the + historic piece of tapestry. Wadard, a gentleman with a Saxon + name, held it of him, probably for the quit—rent of an + annual eel-pie, although the consideration is not stated. The + clergy were, by reason of their frequent meagre days and + seasons, great consumers of fish. The phosphorescent character + of that diet may have contributed, if we accept certain modern + theories of animal chemistry as connected in some as yet + unexplained way with psychology, to the intellectual + predominance of that class of the population in the Middle + Ages. That occasional fasting, whether voluntary and systematic + as in the cloisters, or involuntary and altogether the reverse + of systematic in Grub street, helps to clear the wits, with or + without the aid of phosphorus, is a fixed fact. The stomach is + apt to be a stumbling-block to the brain. We are not prone to + associate prolonged and productive mental effort with a fair + round belly with fat capon lined. It was not the jolly clerics + we read of in song, but the lean ascetic brethren who were + numerous enough to balance them, that garnered for us the + treasures of ancient literature and kept the mind of + Christendom alive, if only in a state of suspended animation. + It was something that they prevented the mace of chivalry from + utterly braining humankind.</p> + + <p>The Thames is hereabouts joined from the south by a somewhat + exceptional style of river, characterized by Milton as "the + sullen Mole, that runneth underneath," and by Pope, in dutiful + imitation, as "the sullen Mole that hides his diving flood." + Both poets play on the word. In our judgment, Milton's line is + the better, since moles do not dive and have no flood—two + false figures in one line from the precise and finical Pope! + Thomson contributes the epithet of "silent," which will do well + enough as far as it goes, though devoid even of the average + force of Jamie. But, as we have intimated, it is a queer river. + Pouring into the Thames by several mouths that deviate over + quite a delta, its channel two or three miles above is + destitute in dry seasons of water. Its current disappears under + an elevation called White Hill, and does not come again to + light for almost two miles, resembling therein several streams + in the United States, notably Lost River in North-eastern + Virginia, which has a subterranean course of the same character + and about the same length, but has not yet found its Milton or + Pope, far superior as it is to its English cousin in natural + beauty.</p> + + <p>For this defect art and association amply atone. On the + southern side of the Mole, not far from the underground portion + of its course—"the Swallow" as it is called—stand + the charming and storied seats of Esher and Claremont.</p> + + <p>Esher was an ancient residence of the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page32" + id="page32"></a>[pg 32]</span> bishops of Winchester. Wolsey + made it for a time his retreat after being ousted from + Hampton Court. A retreat it was to him in every sense. He + dismissed his servants and all state, and cultivated the + deepest despondency. His inexorable master, however, looked + down on him, from his ravished towers hard by, unmoved, and, + as the sequel in a few years proved, unsatisfied in his + greed. Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, was called upon for a + contribution. He loyally surrendered to the king the whole + estate of Esher, a splendid mansion with all appurtenances + and a park a mile in diameter. Henry annexed Esher to + Hampton Court, and continued his research for new subjects + of spoliation. His daughter Mary gave Esher back to the see + of Winchester. Elizabeth bought it and bestowed it on Lord + Howard of Effingham, who well earned it by his services + against the Armada. Of the families who subsequently owned + the place, the Pelhams are the most noted. Now it has passed + from their hands. That which has alone been preserved of the + palace of Wolsey is an embattled gatehouse that looks into + the sluggish Mole, and joins it mayhap in musing over "the + days that we have seen."</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/32.jpg" + name="fig32" + id="fig32"><img width="100%" + src="images/32.jpg" + alt="CLAREMONT." /></a>CLAREMONT. + </div> + + <p>Claremont, its next neighbor, unites, with equal or greater + charms of landscape, in preaching the old story of the + decadence of the great. Lord Clive, the Indian conqueror and + speculator, built the house from the designs of Capability + Browne at a cost of over a hundred thousand pounds. His + dwelling and his monument remain to represent Clive. After him, + two or three occupants removed, came Leopold of Belgium, with + his bride, the Princess Charlotte, pet and hope of the British + nation. Their stay was more transient still—a year only, + when death dissipated their dream and cleared the way to the + throne for Victoria. Leopold continued to hold the property, + and it became a generation later the asylum of Louis Philippe. + To an ordinary mind the miseries of any one condemned to make + this lovely spot his home are not apt to present themselves as + the acme of despair. A sensation of relief and lulling repose + would be more reasonably expected, especially after so stormy a + career as that of Louis. The change from restless and + capricious Paris to dewy shades and luxurious halls in the + heart of changeless and impregnable England ought, on common + principles, to have promoted the content and prolonged the life + of the old king. Possibly it did, but if so, the French had not + many months' escape from a second Orleans regency, for the + exile's experience of Claremont was brief. We may wander over + his lawns, and reshape to ourselves his reveries. Then + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page33" + id="page33"></a>[pg 33]</span> we may forget the man who + lost an empire as we look up at the cenotaph of him who + conquered one. Both brought grist to Miller Bull, the + fortunate and practical-minded owner of such vast + water-privileges. His water-power seems proof against all + floods, while the corn of all nations must come to his door. + Standing under these drooping elms, by this lazy stream, we + hear none of the clatter of the great mill, and we cease to + dream of affixing a period to its noiseless and effective + work.</p> + + <div class="figright" + style="width:60%;"> + <a href="images/33-1.jpg" + name="fig33-1" + id="fig33-1"><img width="100%" + src="images/33-1.jpg" + alt="CLIVE'S MONUMENT." /></a>CLIVE'S MONUMENT. + </div> + + <p>If we are not tired of parks for today, five minutes by rail + will carry us west to Oatlands Park, with its appended, and + more or less dependent, village of Walton-upon-Thames. But a + surfeit even of English country-houses and their pleasances is + a possible thing; and nowhere are they more abundant than + within an hour's walk of our present locality. So, taking + Ashley Park, Burwood Park, Pains Hill and many others, as well + as the Coway Stakes—said by one school of antiquarians to + have been planted in the Thames by Cæsar, and by another to be + the relics of a fish-weir—Walton Church and Bradshaw's + house, for granted, we shall turn to the east and finish the + purlieus of Hampton with a glance at the old Saxon town of + Kingston-on-Thames. Probably an ardent Kingstonian would + indignantly disown the impression our three words are apt to + give of the place. It is a rapidly—growing town, and + "Egbert, the first king of all England," who held a council at + "Kyningestun, famosa ilia locus," in 838, would be at a loss to + find his way through its streets could he revisit it. It has + the population of a Saxon county. Viewed from the massive + bridge, with the church-tower rising above an expanse of + sightly buildings, it possesses the least possible resemblance + to the cluster of wattled huts that may be presumed to have + sheltered Egbert and his peers.</p> + + <div class="figright" + style="width:50%;"> + <a href="images/33-2.jpg" + name="fig33-2" + id="fig33-2"><img width="100%" + src="images/33-2.jpg" + alt="PRINCESS CHARLOTTE." /></a>PRINCESS CHARLOTTE. + </div> + + <p>A more solid memento of the Saxons is preserved in the + King's Stone. This has been of late years set up in the centre + of the town, surrounded with an iron railing, and made visible + to all comers, skeptical or otherwise. Tradition credits it + with having been that upon which the kings of Wessex were + crowned, as those of Scotland down to Longshanks, and after him + the English, were on the red sandstone palladium of Scone. From + the list of ante-Norman monarchs said to have received the + sceptre upon it <span class="pagenum"><a name="page34" + id="page34"></a>[pg 34]</span> the poetically inclined + visitor will select for chief interest Edwy, whose + coronation was celebrated in great state in his seventeenth + year. How he fell in love with and married secretly his + cousin Elgiva; how Saint Dunstan and his equally saintly + though not regularly beatified ally, Odo, archbishop of + Canterbury, indignant at a step taken against their + fulminations and protests, and jealous of the fair queen, + tore her from his arms, burnt with hot iron the bloom out of + her cheeks, and finally put her to death with the most cruel + tortures; and how her broken-hearted boy-lord, dethroned and + hunted, died before reaching twenty,—is a standing + dish of the pathetic. Unfortunately, the story, handed down + to us with much detail, appears to be true. We must not + accept it, however, as an average illustration of life in + that age of England. The five hundred years before the + Conquest do not equal, in the bloody character of their + annals, the like period succeeding it. Barbarous enough the + Anglo-Saxons were, but wanton cruelty does not seem to have + been one of their traits. To produce it some access of + religious fury was usually requisite. It was on the church + doors that the skins of their Danish invaders were + nailed.</p> + + <div class="figleft" + style="width:70%;"> + <a href="images/34-1.jpg" + name="fig34-1" + id="fig34-1"><img width="100%" + src="images/34-1.jpg" + alt="WALTON CHURCH." /></a>WALTON CHURCH. + </div> + + <div class="figleft" + style="width:60%;"> + <a href="images/34-2.jpg" + name="fig34-2" + id="fig34-2"><img width="100%" + src="images/34-2.jpg" + alt="KINGSTON CHURCH." /></a>KINGSTON CHURCH. + </div> + + <p>Kingston has no more Dunstans. Alexandra would be perfectly + safe in its market-place. The rosy maidens who pervade its + streets need not envy her cheeks, and the saints and + archbishops who are to officiate at her husband's induction as + head of the Anglican Church have their anxieties at present + directed to wholly <span class="pagenum"><a name="page35" + id="page35"></a>[pg 35]</span> different quarters. They have + foes within and foes without, but none in the palace.</p> + + <p>Kingston bids fair to revert, after a sort, to the + metropolitan position it boasted once, but has lost for nine + centuries. The capital is coming to it, and will cover the four + remaining miles within a decade or two at the existing rate of + progress. Kingston may be assigned to the suburbs already. It + is much nearer London, in point of time, than Union Square in + New York to the City Hall. A slip of country not yet endowed + with trottoirs and gas-lamps intervenes. Call this park, as you + do the square miles of such territory already deep within the + metropolis.</p> + + <p>London's jurisdiction, as marked by the Boundary Stone, + extends much farther up the river than we have as yet gone. Nor + are the swans her only vicegerents. The myrmidons of Inspector + Bucket, foot and horse, supplement those natatory + representatives. So do the municipalities encroach upon and + overspread the country, as it is eminently proper they should, + seeing that to the charters so long ago exacted, and so long + and so jealously guarded, by the towns, so much of the liberty + enjoyed by English-speaking peoples is due. Large cities may be + under some circumstances, according to an often-quoted saying, + plague-spots on the body politic, but their growth has + generally been commensurate with that of knowledge and order, + and indicative of anything but a diseased condition of the + national organism.</p> + + <p>But here we are, under the shadow of the departed Nine Elms + and of the official palace of the Odos, deep enough in Lunnon + to satisfy the proudest Cockney, in less time than we have + taken in getting off that last commonplace on political + economy. Adam Smith and Jefferson never undertook to meditate + at thirty-five miles an hour.</p> + + <p class="author">EDWARD C. + BRUCE.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page36" + id="page36"></a>[pg 36]</span> + + <h2>LINES WRITTEN AT VENICE IN OCTOBER, 1865.</h2> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep, Venice, sleep! the evening gun resounds</p> + + <p class="i2">Over the waves that rock thee on their + breast:</p> + + <p>The bugle blare to kennel calls the hounds</p> + + <p class="i2">Who sleepless watch thy waking and thy + rest.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep till the night-stars do the day-star meet,</p> + + <p class="i2">And shuddering echoes o'er the water + run,</p> + + <p>Rippling through every glass-green, wavering + street</p> + + <p class="i2">The stern good-morrow of thy guardian + Hun.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Still do thy stones, O Venice! bid rejoice,</p> + + <p class="i2">With their old majesty, the gazer's + eye,</p> + + <p>In their consummate grace uttering a voice,</p> + + <p class="i2">From every line, of blended harmony.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Still glows the splendor of the wondrous dreams</p> + + <p class="i2">Vouchsafed thy painters o'er each sacred + shrine,</p> + + <p>And from the radiant visions downward streams</p> + + <p class="i2">In visible light an influence divine.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Still through thy golden day and silver night</p> + + <p class="i2">Sings his soft jargon the gay + gondolier,</p> + + <p>And o'er thy floors of liquid malachite</p> + + <p class="i2">Slide the black-hooded barks to mystery + dear.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Like Spanish beauty in its sable veil,</p> + + <p class="i2">They rustle sideling through the watery + way,</p> + + <p>The wild, monotonous cry with which they hail</p> + + <p class="i2">Each other's passing dying far away.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>As each steel prow grazes the island strands</p> + + <p class="i2">Still ring the sweet Venetian voices + clear,</p> + + <p>And wondering wanderers from far, free lands</p> + + <p class="i2">Entranced look round, enchanted listen + here.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>From the far lands of liberty they come—</p> + + <p class="i2">England's proud children and her younger + race;</p> + + <p>Those who possess the Past's most noble home,</p> + + <p class="i2">And those who claim the Future's + boundless space.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Pitying they stand. For thee who would not weep?</p> + + <p class="i2">Well it beseems these men to weep for + thee,</p> + + <p>Whose flags (as erst they own) control the deep,</p> + + <p class="i2">Whose conquering sails o'ershadow every + sea.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Yet not in pity only, but in hope,</p> + + <p class="i2">Spring the hot tears the brave for thee + may shed:</p> + + <p>Thy chain shall prove but a sand-woven rope;</p> + + <p class="i2">But sleep thou still: the sky is not yet + red.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep till the mighty helmsman of the world,</p> + + <p class="i2">By the Almighty set at Fortune's + wheel,</p> + + <p>Steers toward thy freedom, and, once more + unfurled,</p> + + <p class="i2">The banner of St. Mark the sun shall + feel.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Then wake, then rise, then hurl away thy yoke,</p> + + <p class="i2">Then dye with crimson that pale + livery,</p> + + <p>Whose ghastly white has been the jailer's cloak</p> + + <p class="i2">For years flung o'er thy shame and + misery!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Rise with a shout that down thy Giants' Stair</p> + + <p class="i2">Shall thy old giants bring with + thundering tread—</p> + + <p>The blind crusader standing stony there,</p> + + <p class="i2">And him, the latest of thy mighty + dead.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Whose patriot heart broke at the Austrian's + foot,</p> + + <p class="i2">Whose ashes under the black marble + lie,</p> + + <p>From whose dry dust, stirred by the voice, shall + shoot</p> + + <p class="i2">The glorious growth of living + liberty.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="author">FRANCES ANNE KEMBLE.</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page37" + id="page37"></a>[pg 37]</span> + + <h2>SKETCHES OF INDIA.</h2> + + <h4>I.</h4> + + <p>"Come," says my Hindu friend, "let us do Bombay."</p> + + <p>The name of my Hindu friend is Bhima Gandharva. At the same + time, his name is <i>not</i> Bhima Gandharva. But—for + what is life worth if one may not have one's little + riddle?—in respect that he is <i>not</i> so named let him + be so called, for thus will a pretty contradiction be + accomplished, thus shall I secure at once his privacy and his + publicity, and reveal and conceal him in a breath.</p> + + <p>It is eight o'clock in the morning. We have met—Bhima + Gandharva and I—in "The Fort." The Fort is to Bombay much + as the Levee, with its adjacent quarters, is to New Orleans; + only it is—one may say <i>Hibernice</i>—a great + deal more so. It is on the inner or harbor side of the island + of Bombay. Instead of the low-banked Mississippi, the waters of + a tranquil and charming haven smile welcome out yonder from + between wooded island-peaks. Here Bombay has its + counting-houses, its warehouses, its exchange, its "Cotton + Green," its docks. But not its dwellings. This part of the Fort + where we have met is, one may say, only inhabited for six hours + in the day—from ten in the morning until four in the + afternoon. At the former hour Bombay is to be found here + engaged at trade: at the latter it rushes back into the various + quarters outside the Fort which go to make up this many-citied + city. So that at this particular hour of eight in the morning + one must expect to find little here that is alive, except + either a philosopher, a stranger, a policeman or a rat.</p> + + <p>"Well, then," I said as Bhima Gandharva finished + communicating this information to me, "we are all here."</p> + + <p>"How?"</p> + + <p>"There stand you, a philosopher; here I, a stranger; yonder, + the policeman; and, heavens and earth! what a rat!" I + accompanied this exclamation by shooing a big musky fellow from + behind a bale of cotton whither I had just seen him run.</p> + + <p>Bhima Gandharva smiled in a large, tranquil way he has, + which is like an Indian plain full of ripe corn. "I find it + curious," he said, "to compare the process which goes on here + in the daily humdrum of trade about this place with that which + one would see if one were far up yonder at the northward, in + the appalling solitudes of the mountains, where trade has never + been and will never be. Have you visited the Himalaya?"</p> + + <p>I shook my head.</p> + + <p>"Among those prodigious planes of snow," continued the + Hindu, "which when level nevertheless frighten you as if they + were horizontal precipices, and which when perpendicular + nevertheless lull you with a smooth deadly half-sense of + confusion as to whether you should refer your ideas of space to + the slope or the plain, there reigns at this moment a quietude + more profound than the Fort's. But presently, as the sun beats + with more fervor, rivulets begin to trickle from exposed + points; these grow to cataracts and roar down the precipices; + masses of undermined snow plunge into the abysses; the great + winds of the Himalaya rise and howl, and every silence of the + morning becomes a noise at noon. A little longer, and the sun + again decreases; the cataracts draw their heads back into the + ice as tortoises into their shells; the winds creep into their + hollows, and the snows rest. So here. At ten the tumult of + trade will begin: at four it will quickly freeze again into + stillness. One might even carry this parallelism into more + fanciful extremes. For, as the vapors which lie on the Himalaya + in the form of snow have in time come from all parts of the + earth, so the tide of men that will presently pour in here is + made up of people from the four quarters of the globe. The + Hindu, the African, the Arabian, the Chinese, the Tartar, the + European, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page38" + id="page38"></a>[pg 38]</span> the American, the Parsee, + will in a little while be trading or working here."</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/38.jpg" + name="fig38" + id="fig38"><img width="100%" + src="images/38.jpg" + alt="A DWELLING AT MAZAGON." /></a>A DWELLING AT + MAZAGON. + </div> + + <p>"What a complete <i>bouleversement</i>," I said, seating + myself on a bale of cotton and looking toward the fleets of + steamers and vessels collected off the great cotton-presses + awaiting their cargoes, "this particular scene effects in the + mind of a traveler just from America! India has been to me, as + the average American, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page39" + id="page39"></a>[pg 39]</span> a dream of terraced ghauts, + of banyans and bungalows, of Taj Mahals and tigers, of + sacred rivers and subterranean temples, and—and that + sort of thing. I come here and land in a big cotton-yard. I + ask myself, 'Have I left Jonesville—dear + Jonesville!—on the other side of the world, in order + to sit on an antipodal cotton-bale?'"</p> + + <p>"There is some more of India," said Bhima Gandharva gently. + "Let us look at it a little."</p> + + <p>One may construct a good-enough outline map of this + wonderful land in one's mind by referring its main features to + the first letter of the alphabet. Take a capital A; turn it up + side down; imagine that the inverted triangle forming the lower + half of the letter is the Deccan, the left side representing + the Western Ghauts, the right side representing the Eastern + Ghauts, and the cross-stroke standing for the Vindhya + Mountains; imagine further that a line from right to left + across the upper ends of the letter, trending upward as it is + drawn, represents the Himalaya, and that enclosed between them + and the Vindhyas is Hindustan proper. Behind—i.e. to the + north of—the centre of this last line rises the Indus, + flowing first north-westward through the Vale of Cashmere, then + cutting sharply to the south and flowing by the way of the + Punjab and Scinde to where it empties at Kurrachee. Near the + same spot where the Indus originates rises also the + Brahmaputra, but the latter empties its waters far from the + former, flowing first south-eastward, then cutting southward + and emptying into the Gulf of Bengal. Fixing, now, in the mind + the sacred Ganges and Jumna, coming down out of the Gangetic + and Jumnatic peaks in a general south-easterly direction, + uniting at Allahabad and emptying into the Bay of Bengal, and + the Nerbudda River flowing over from the east to the west, + along the southern bases of the Vindhyas, until it empties at + the important city of Brooch, a short distance north of Bombay, + one will have thus located a number of convenient points and + lines sufficient for general references.</p> + + <p>This A of ours is a very capital A indeed, being some + nineteen hundred miles in length and fifteen hundred in width. + Lying on the western edge of this peninsula is Bombay Island. + It is crossed by the line of 19° north latitude, and is, + roughly speaking, halfway between the Punjab on the north and + Ceylon on the south. Its shape is that of a lobster, with his + claws extended southward and his body trending a little to the + west of north. The larger island of Salsette lies immediately + north, and the two, connected by a causeway, enclose the noble + harbor of Bombay. Salsette approaches near to the mainland at + its northern end, and is connected with it by the railway + structure. These causeways act as break-waters and complete the + protection of the port. The outer claw, next to the Indian + Ocean, of the lobster-shaped Bombay Island is the famous + Malabar Hill; the inner claw is the promontory of Calaba; in + the curved space between the two is the body of shallow water + known as the Back Bay, along whose strand so many strange + things are done daily. As one turns into the harbor around the + promontory of Calaba—which is one of the European + quarters of the manifold city of Bombay, and is occupied by + magnificent residences and flower-gardens—one finds just + north of it the great docks and commercial establishments of + the Fort; then an enormous esplanade farther north; across + which, a distance of about a mile, going still northward, is + the great Indian city called Black Town, with its motley + peoples and strange bazars; and still farther north is the + Portuguese quarter, known as Mazagon.</p> + + <p>As we crossed the great esplanade to the north of the + Fort—Bhima Gandharva and I—and strolled along the + noisy streets, I began to withdraw my complaint. It was not + like Jonesville. It was not like any one place or thing, but + like a hundred, and all the hundred <i>outré</i> to the + last degree. Hindu beggars, so dirty that they seemed to have + returned to dust before death; three fakirs, armed with + round-bladed daggers with which they were wounding themselves + apparently in the most reckless manner, so as to send streams + of blood flowing to the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page40" + id="page40"></a>[pg 40]</span> ground, and redly tattooing + the ashes with which their naked bodies were covered; + Parsees with their long noses curving over their moustaches, + clothed in white, sending one's thoughts back to Ormuz, to + Persia, to Zoroaster, to fire-worship and to the strangeness + of the fate which drove them out of Persia more + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page41" + id="page41"></a>[pg 41]</span> than a thousand years ago, + and which has turned them into the most industrious traders + and most influential citizens of a land in which they are + still exiles; Chinese, Afghans—the Highlanders of the + East—Arabs, Africans, Mahrattas, Malays, Persians, + Portuguese half-bloods; men that called upon Mohammed, men + that called upon Confucius, upon Krishna, upon Christ, upon + Gotama the Buddha, upon Rama and Sita, upon Brahma, upon + Zoroaster; strange carriages shaded by red domes that + compressed a whole dream of the East in small, and drawn by + humped oxen, alternating with palanquins, with stylish + turnouts of the latest mode, with cavaliers upon Arabian + horses; half-naked workmen, crouched in uncomfortable + workshops and ornamenting sandal-wood boxes; dusky + curb-stone shopkeepers, rushing at me with strenuous + offerings of their wares; lines of low shop-counters along + the street, backed by houses rising in many stories, whose + black pillared verandahs were curiously carved and painted: + cries, chafferings, bickerings, Mussulman prayers, Arab + oaths extending from "Praise God that you exist" to "Praise + God <i>although</i> you exist;"—all these things + appealed to the confused senses.</p> + + <p>The tall spire of a Hindu temple revealed itself.</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/40.jpg" + name="fig40" + id="fig40"><img width="100%" + src="images/40.jpg" + alt="HINDU TEMPLE IN THE BLACK TOWN, BOMBAY." /> + </a>HINDU TEMPLE IN THE BLACK TOWN, BOMBAY. + </div> + + <p>"It seems to me," I said to Bhima Gandharva, "that your + steeples—as we would call them in + Jonesville—represent, in a sort of way, your cardinal + doctrine: they seem to be composed of a multitude of little + steeples, all like the big one, just as you might figure your + Supreme Being in the act of absorbing a large number of the + faithful who had just arrived from the dismal existence below. + And then, again, your steeple looks as if it might be the + central figure of your theistic scheme, surrounded by the three + hundred millions of your lesser deities. How do you get on, + Bhima Gandharva, with so many claims on your worshiping + faculties? I should think you would be well lost in such a + jungle of gods?"</p> + + <p>"My friend," said Bhima Gandharva, "a short time ago a play + was performed in this city which purported to be a translation + into the Mahratta language of the <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> which + Shakespeare wrote. It was indeed a very great departure from + that miraculous work, which I know well, but among its many + deviations from the original was one which for the mournful and + yet humorous truth of it was really worthy of the Master. + Somehow, the translator had managed to get a modern Englishman + into the play, who, every time that one of my countrymen + happened to be found in leg-reach, would give him a lusty kick + and cry out 'Damn fool!' Why is the whole world like this + Englishman?—upon what does it found its opinion that the + Hindu is a fool? Is it upon our religion? Listen! I will recite + you some matters out of our scriptures: Once upon a time Arjuna + stood in his chariot betwixt his army and the army of his foes. + These foes were his kinsmen. Krishna—even that great god + Krishna—moved by pity for Arjuna, had voluntarily placed + himself in Arjuna's chariot and made himself the charioteer + thereof. Then—so saith Sanjaya—in order to + encourage him, the ardent old ancestor of the Kurus blew his + conch-shell, sounding loud as the roar of a lion. Then on a + sudden trumpets, cymbals, drums and horns were sounded. That + noise grew to an uproar. And, standing on a huge car drawn by + white horses, the slayer of Madhu and the son of Pandu blew + their celestial trumpets. Krishna blew his horn called + Panchajanya; the Despiser of Wealth blew his horn called the + Gift of the Gods; he of dreadful deeds and wolfish entrails + blew a great trumpet called Paundra; King Yudishthira, the son + of Kunti, blew the Eternal Victory; Nakula and Sahadeva blew + the Sweet-toned and the Blooming-with-Jewels. The king of + Kashi, renowned for the excellence of his bow, and Shikandin in + his huge chariot, Dhrishtyadumna, and Virata, and Satyaki, + unconquered by his foes, and Drupada and the sons of Drupadi + all together, and the strong-armed son of Subhadrá, each + severally blew their trumpets. That noise lacerated the hearts + of the sons of Dhartarashtra, and uproar resounded both through + heaven and earth. Now when Arjuna beheld + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page42" + id="page42"></a>[pg 42]</span> the Dhartarashtras drawn up, + and that the flying of arrows had commenced, he raised his + bow, and then addressed these words to Krishna:</p> + + <p>"'Now that I have beheld this kindred standing here near + together for the purpose of fighting, my limbs give way and my + face is bloodless, and tremor is produced throughout my body, + and my hair stands on end. My bow Gandiva + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page43" + id="page43"></a>[pg 43]</span> slips from my hand, and my + skin burns. Nor am I able to remain upright, and my mind is + as it were whirling round. Nor do I perceive anything better + even when I shall have slain these relations in battle, I + seek not victory, Krishna, nor a kingdom, nor pleasures. + What should we do with a kingdom, Govinda? What with + enjoyments, or with life itself? Those very men on whose + account we might desire a kingdom, enjoyments or pleasures + are assembled for battle. Teachers, fathers, and even sons, + and grandfathers, uncles, fathers-in-law, grandsons, + brothers-in-law, with connections also,—these I would + not wish to slay, though I were slain myself, O Killer of + Madhu! not even for the sake of the sovereignty of the + triple world—how much less for that of this earth! + When we had killed the Dhartarashtras, what pleasure should + we have, O thou who art prayed to by mortals? How could we + be happy after killing our own kindred, O Slayer of Madhu? + Even if they whose reason is obscured by covetousness do not + perceive the crime committed in destroying their own tribe, + should we not know how to recoil from such a sin? In the + destruction of a tribe the eternal institutions of the tribe + are destroyed. These laws being destroyed, lawlessness + prevails. From the existence of lawlessness the women of the + tribe become corrupted; and when the women are corrupted, O + son of Vrishni! confusion of caste takes place. Confusion of + caste is a gate to hell. Alas! we have determined to commit + a great crime, since from the desire of sovereignty and + pleasures we are prepared to slay our own kin. Better were + it for me if the Dhartarashtras, being armed, would slay me, + harmless and unresisting in the fight.'</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/42.jpg" + name="fig42" + id="fig42"><img width="100%" + src="images/42.jpg" + alt="JAIN TEMPLES AT SUNAGHUR." /></a>JAIN TEMPLES AT + SUNAGHUR. + </div> + + <p>"Having thus spoken in the midst of the battle, Arjuna, + whose heart was troubled with grief, let fall his bow and arrow + and sat down on the bench of the chariot."</p> + + <p>"Well," I asked after a short pause, during which the Hindu + kept his eyes fixed in contemplation on the spire of the + temple, "what did Krishna have to say to that?"</p> + + <p>"He instructed Arjuna, and said many wise things. I will + tell you some of them, here and there, as they are scattered + through the holy <i>Bhagavad-Gitá</i>: Then between the + two armies, Krishna, smiling, addressed these words to him, + thus downcast:</p> + + <p>"'Thou hast grieved for those who need not be grieved for, + yet thou utterest words of wisdom. The wise grieve not for dead + or living. But never at any period did I or thou or these kings + of men not exist, nor shall any of us at any time henceforward + cease to exist. There is no existence for what does not exist, + nor is there any non-existence for what exists.... These finite + bodies have been said to belong to an eternal, indestructible + and infinite spirit.... He who believes that this spirit can + kill, and he who thinks that it can be killed—both of + these are mistaken. It neither kills nor is killed. It is born, + and it does not die.... Unborn, changeless, eternal both as to + future and past time, it is not slain when the body is + killed.... As the soul in this body undergoes the changes of + childhood, prime and age, so it obtains a new body + hereafter.... As a man abandons worn-out clothes and take other + new ones, so does the soul quit worn-out bodies and enter other + new ones. Weapons cannot cleave it, fire cannot burn it, nor + can water wet it, nor can wind dry it. It is impenetrable, + incombustible, incapable of moistening and of drying. It is + constant; it can go everywhere; it is firm, immovable and + eternal. And even if thou deem it born with the body and dying + with the body, still, O great-armed one! thou art not right to + grieve for it. For to everything generated death is certain: to + everything dead regeneration is certain.... One looks on the + soul as a miracle; another speaks of it as a miracle; another + hears of it as a miracle; but even when he has heard of it, not + one comprehends it.... When a man's heart is disposed in + accordance with his roaming senses, it snatches away his + spiritual knowledge as the wind does a ship on the waves.... He + who does not practice devotion has neither intelligence nor + reflection. And <span class="pagenum"><a name="page44" + id="page44"></a>[pg 44]</span> he who does not practice + reflection has no calm. How can a man without calm obtain + happiness? The self-governed man is awake in that which is + night to all other beings: that in which other beings are + awake is night to the self-governed. He into whom all + desires enter in the same manner as rivers enter the ocean, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page45" + id="page45"></a>[pg 45]</span> which is always full, yet + does not change its bed, can obtain tranquillity.... Love or + hate exists toward the object of each sense. One should not + fall into the power of these two passions, for they are + one's adversaries.... Know that passion is hostile to man in + this world. As fire is surrounded by smoke, and a mirror by + rust, and a child by the womb, so is this universe + surrounded by passion.... They say that the senses are + great. The heart is greater than the senses. But the + intellect is greater than the heart, and passion is greater + than the intellect....</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/44.jpg" + name="fig44" + id="fig44"><img width="100%" + src="images/44.jpg" + alt="THE VESTIBULE OF THE GRAND SHAÎTYA OK KARLI." /> + </a>THE VESTIBULE OF THE GRAND SHAÎTYA OK KARLI. + </div> + + <p>"'I and thou, O Arjuna! have passed through many + transmigrations. I know all these. Thou dost not know them.... + For whenever there is a relaxation of duty, O son of Bharata! + and an increase of impiety, I then reproduce myself for the + protection of the good and the destruction of evil-doers. I am + produced in every age for the purpose of establishing duty.... + Some sacrifice the sense of hearing and the other senses in the + fire of restraint. Others, by abstaining from food, sacrifice + life in their life. (But) the sacrifice of spiritual knowledge + is better than a material sacrifice.... By this knowledge thou + wilt recognize all things whatever in thyself, and then in me. + He who possesses faith acquires spiritual knowledge. He who is + devoid of faith and of doubtful mind perishes. The man of + doubtful mind enjoys neither this world nor the other, nor + final beatitude. Therefore, sever this doubt which exists in + thy heart, and springs from ignorance, with thy sword of + knowledge: turn to devotion and arise, O son of Bharata!...</p> + + <p>"'Learn my superior nature, O hero! by means of which this + world is sustained. I am the cause of the production and + dissolution of the whole universe. There exists no other thing + superior to me. On me are all the worlds suspended, as numbers + of pearls on a string. I am the savor of waters, and the + principle of light in the moon and sun, the mystic syllable + <i>Om</i> in the Vedas, the sound in the ether, the essence of + man in men, the sweet smell in the earth; and I am the + brightness in flame, the vitality in all beings, and the power + of mortification in ascetics. Know, O son of Prithá! + that I am the eternal seed of all things which exist. I am the + intellect of those who have intellect: I am the strength of the + strong.... And know that all dispositions, whether good, bad or + indifferent, proceed also from me. I do not exist in them, but + they in me.... I am dear to the spiritually wise beyond + possessions, and he is dear to me. A great-minded man who is + convinced that <i>Vasudevu</i> (Krishna) <i>is everything</i> + is difficult to find.... If one worships any inferior personage + with faith, I make his faith constant. Gifted with such faith, + he seeks the propitiation of this personage, and from him + receives the pleasant objects of his desires, which (however) + were sent by me alone. But the reward of these little-minded + men is finite. They who sacrifice to the gods go to the gods: + they who worship me come to me. I am the immolation. I am the + whole sacrificial rite. I am the libation to ancestors. I am + the drug. I am the incantation. I am the fire. I am the + incense. I am the father, the mother, the sustainer, the + grandfather of this universe—the path, the supporter, the + master, the witness, the habitation, the refuge, the friend, + the origin, the dissolution, the place, the receptacle, the + inexhaustible seed. I heat. I withhold and give the rain. I am + ambrosia and death, the existing and the non-existing. Even + those who devoutly worship other gods with the gift of faith + worship me, but only improperly. I am the same to all beings. I + have neither foe nor friend. I am the beginning and the middle + and the end of existing things. Among bodies I am the beaming + sun. Among senses I am the heart. Among waters I am the ocean. + Among mountains I am Himalaya. Among trees I am the banyan; + among men, the king; among weapons, the thunderbolt; among + things which count, time; among animals, the lion; among + purifiers, the wind. I am Death who seizes all: I am the birth + of those who are to be. I am Fame, Fortune, Speech, Memory, + Meditation, Perseverance and Patience among feminine words. I + am the game of dice among things which + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page46" + id="page46"></a>[pg 46]</span> deceive: I am splendor among + things which are shining. Among tamers I am the rod; among + means of victory I am polity; among mysteries I am silence, + the knowledge of the wise....</p> + + <p>"'They who know me to be the God of this universe, the God + of gods and the God of worship—they who know me to be the + God of this universe, the God of gods and the God of + worship—yea, they <span class="pagenum"><a name="page47" + id="page47"></a>[pg 47]</span> who know me to be these + things in the hour of death, they know me indeed.'"</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/46.jpg" + name="fig46" + id="fig46"><img width="100%" + src="images/46.jpg" + alt="SCULPTURED FIGURES IN THE VESTIBULE OF THE GREAT SHAÎTYA OF KARLI." /> + </a>SCULPTURED FIGURES IN THE VESTIBULE OF THE GREAT + SHAÎTYA OF KARLI. + </div> + + <p>When my friend finished these words there did not seem to be + anything particular left in heaven or earth to talk about. At + any rate, there was a dead pause for several minutes. Finally, + I asked—and I protest that in contrast with the large + matters wherof Bhima Gandharva had discoursed my voice (which + is American and slightly nasal) sounded like nothing in the + world so much as the squeak of a sick rat—"When were + these things written?"</p> + + <p>"At least nineteen hundred and seventy-five years ago, we + feel sure. How much earlier we do not know."</p> + + <p>We now directed our course toward the hospital for sick and + disabled animals which has been established here in the most + crowded portion of Black Town by that singular sect called the + Jains, and which is only one of a number of such institutions + to be found in the large cities of India. This sect is now + important more by influence than by numbers in India, many of + the richest merchants of the great Indian cities being among + its adherents, though by the last census of British India there + appears to be but a little over nine millions of Jains and + Buddhists together, out of the one hundred and ninety millions + of Hindus in British India. The tenets of the Jains are too + complicated for description here, but it may be said that much + doubt exists as to whether it is an old religion of which + Brahmanism and Buddhism are varieties, or whether it is itself + a variety of Buddhism. Indeed, it does not seem well settled + whether the pure Jain doctrine was atheistical or theistical. + At any rate, it is sufficiently differentiated from Brahmanism + by its opposite notion of castes, and from Buddhism by its + cultus of nakedness, which the Buddhists abhor. The Jains are + split into two sects—the <i>Digambaras</i>, or nude + Jains, and the <i>Svetambaras</i>, or clothed Jains, which + latter sect seem to be Buddhists, who, besides the Tirthankars + (i.e. mortals who have acquired the rank of gods by devout + lives, in whom all the Jains believe), worship also the various + divinities of the Vishnu system. The Jains themselves declare + this system to date from a period ten thousand years before + Christ, and they practically support this traditional antiquity + by persistently regarding and treating the Buddhists as + heretics from their system. At any event, their religion is an + old one. They seem to be the gymnosophists, or naked + philosophers, described by Clitarchos as living in India at the + time of the expedition of Alexander, and their history crops + out in various accounts—that of Clement of Alexandria, + then of the Chinese Fu-Hian in the fourth and fifth centuries, + and of the celebrated Chinese Hiouen-Tsang in the seventh + century, at which last period they appear to have been the + prevailing sect in India, and to have increased in favor until + in the twelfth century the Rajpoots, who had become converts to + Jainism, were schismatized into Brahmanism and deprived the + naked philosophers of their prestige.</p> + + <p>The great distinguishing feature of the Jains is the extreme + to which they push the characteristic tenderness felt by the + Hindus for animals of all descriptions. Jaina is, distinctly, + <i>the purified</i>. The priests eat no animal food; indeed, + they are said not to eat at all after noon, lest the insects + then abounding should fly into their mouths and be crushed + unwittingly. They go with a piece of muslin bound over their + mouths, in order to avoid the same catastrophe, and carry a + soft brush wherewith to remove carefully from any spot upon + which they are about to sit such insects as might be killed + thereby.</p> + + <p>"Ah, how my countryman Bergh would luxuriate in this scene!" + I said as we stood looking upon the various dumb exhibitions of + so many phases of sickness, of decrepitude and of + mishap—quaint, grotesque, yet pathetic withal—in + the precincts of the Jain hospital. Here were quadrupeds and + bipeds, feathered creatures and hairy creatures, large animals + and small, shy and tame, friendly and predatory—horses, + horned cattle, rats, cats, dogs, jackals, crows, chickens; what + not. An attendant was tenderly bandaging the blinking lids of a + sore-eyed duck: another was feeding a blind crow, who, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page48" + id="page48"></a>[pg 48]</span> it must be confessed, looked + here very much like some fat member of the New York Ring + cunningly availing himself of the more toothsome rations in + the sick ward of the penitentiary. My friend pointed out to + me a heron with a wooden leg. "Suppose a gnat should break + his shoulder-blade," I said, "would they put his wing in a + sling?"</p> + + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/48.jpg" + name="fig48" + id="fig48"><img width="100%" + src="images/48.jpg" + alt="INTERIOR OF THE GREAT SHAÎTYA OF KARLI." /> + </a>INTERIOR OF THE GREAT SHAÎTYA OF KARLI. + </div> + + <p>Bhima Gandharva looked me full in + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page49" + id="page49"></a>[pg 49]</span> the face, and, smiling + gently, said, "They would if they could."</p> + + <p>The Jains are considered to have been the architects <i>par + excellence</i> of India, and there are many monuments, in all + styles, of their skill in this kind. The strange statues of the + Tirthankars in the gorge called the Ourwhaï of Gwalior + were (until injured by the "march of improvement") among the + most notable of the forms of rock-cutting. These vary in size + from statuettes of a foot in height to colossal figures of + sixty feet, and nothing can be more striking than these great + forms, hewn from the solid rock, represented entirely nude, + with their impassive countenances, which remind every traveler + of the Sphinx, their grotesque ears hanging down to their + shoulders, and their heads, about which plays a ring of + serpents for a halo, or out of which grows the mystical + three-branched <i>Kalpa Vrich</i>, or Tree of Knowledge.</p> + + <p>The sacred hill of Sunaghur, lying a few miles to the south + of Gwalior, is one of the Meccas of the Jains, and is covered + with temples in many styles, which display the fertility of + their architectural invention: there are over eighty of these + structures in all.</p> + + <p>"And now," said Bhima Gandharva next day, "while you are + thinking upon temples, and wondering if the Hindus have all + been fools, you should complete your collection of mental + materials by adding to the sight you have had of a Hindu temple + proper, and to the description you have had of Jain temples + proper, a sight of those marvelous subterranean works of the + Buddhists proper which remain to us. We might select our + examples of these either at Ellora or at Ajunta (which are on + the mainland a short distance to the north-east of Bombay), the + latter of which contains the most complete series of purely + Buddhistic caves known in the country; or, indeed, we could + find Buddhistic caves just yonder on Salsette. But let us go + and see Karli at once: it is the largest <i>shaîtya</i> + (or cave-temple) in India."</p> + + <p>Accordingly, we took railway at Bombay, sped along the isle, + over the bridge to the island of Salsette, along Salsette to + Tannah, then over the bridge which connects Salsette with the + mainland, across the narrow head of Bombay harbor, and so on to + the station at Khandalla, about halfway between Bombay and + Poonah, where we disembarked. The caves of Karli are situated + but a few miles from Khandalla, and in a short time we were + standing in front of a talus at the foot of a sloping hill + whose summit was probably five to six hundred feet high. A + flight of steps cut in the hillside led up to a ledge running + out from an escarpment which was something above sixty feet + high before giving off into the slope of the mountain. From the + narrow and picturesque valley a flight of steps cut in the + hillside led up to the platform. We could not see the + façade of the shaîtya on account of the concealing + boscage of trees. On ascending the steps, however, and passing + a small square Brahmanic chapel, where we paid a trifling fee + to the priests who reside there for the purpose of protecting + the place, the entire front of the excavation revealed itself, + and with every moment of gazing grew in strangeness and solemn + mystery.</p> + + <p>The shaîtya is hewn in the solid rock of the mountain. + Just to the left of the entrance stands a heavy pillar + (<i>Silasthamba</i>) completely detached from the temple, with + a capital upon whose top stand four lions back to back. On this + pillar is an inscription in Pali, which has been deciphered, + and which is now considered to fix the date of the excavation + conclusively at not later than the second century before the + Christian era. The eye took in at first only the vague + confusion of windows and pillars cut in the rock. It is + supposed that originally a music-gallery stood here in front, + consisting of a balcony supported out from the two octagonal + pillars, and probably roofed or having a second balcony above. + But the woodwork is now gone. One soon felt one's attention + becoming concentrated, however, upon a great arched window cut + in the form of a horseshoe, through which one could look down + what was very much like the nave of a church running straight + back into the depths of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page50" + id="page50"></a>[pg 50]</span> the hill. Certainly, at + first, as one passes into the strange vestibule which + intervenes still between the front and the interior of the + shaîtya, one does not think at all—one only + <i>feels</i> the dim sense of mildness raying out from the + great faces of the elephants, and of mysterious far-awayness + conveyed by the bizarre postures of the sculptured figures + on the walls.</p> + + <p>Entering the interior, a central nave stretches back between + two lines of pillars, each of whose capitals supports upon its + abacus two kneeling elephants: upon each elephant are seated + two figures, most of which are male and female pairs. The nave + extends eighty-one feet three inches back, the whole length of + the temple being one hundred and two feet three inches. There + are fifteen pillars on each side the nave, which thus enclose + between themselves and the wall two side-aisles, each about + half the width of the nave, the latter being twenty-five feet + and seven inches in width, while the whole width from wall to + wall is forty-five feet and seven inches. At the rear, in a + sort of apse, are seven plain octagonal pillars—the other + thirty are sculptured. Just in front of these seven pillars is + the <i>Daghaba</i>—a domed structure covered by a wooden + parasol. The Daghaba is the reliquary in which or under which + some relic of Gotama Buddha is enshrined. The roof of the + shaîtya is vaulted, and ribs of teak-wood—which + could serve no possible architectural purpose—reveal + themselves, strangely enough, running down the sides.</p> + + <p>As I took in all these details, pacing round the dark + aisles, and finally resuming my stand near the entrance, from + which I perceived the aisles, dark between the close pillars + and the wall, while the light streamed through the great + horseshoe window full upon the Daghaba at the other end, I + exclaimed to Bhima Gandharva, "Why, it is the very copy of a + Gothic church—the aisles, the nave, the vaulted roof, and + all—and yet you tell me it was excavated two thousand + years ago!"</p> + + <p>"The resemblance has struck every traveler," he replied. + "And, strange to say, all the Buddhist cave-temples are + designed upon the same general plan. There is always the + organ-loft, as you see there; always the three doors, the + largest one opening on the nave, the smaller ones each on its + side-aisle; always the window throwing its light directly on + the Daghaba at the other end; always, in short, the general + arrangement of the choir of a Gothic round or polygonal apse + cathedral. It is supposed that the devotees were confined to + the front part of the temple, and that the great window through + which the light comes was hidden from view, both outside by the + music-galleries and screens, and inside through the disposition + of the worshipers in front. The gloom of the interior was thus + available to the priests for the production of effects which + may be imagined."</p> + + <p>Emerging from the temple, we saw the Buddhist monastery + (<i>Vihara</i>), which is a series of halls and cells rising + one above the other in stories connected by flights of steps, + all hewn in the face of the hill at the side of the temple. We + sat down on a fragment of rock near a stream of water with + which a spring in the hillside fills a little pool at the + entrance of the Vihara. "Tell me something of Gotama Buddha," I + said. "Recite some of his deliverances, O Bhima + Gandharva!—you who know everything."</p> + + <p>"I will recite to you from the <i>Sutta Nipata</i>, which is + supposed by many pundits of Ceylon to contain several of the + oldest examples of the Pali language. It professes to give the + conversation of Buddha, who died five hundred and forty-three + years before Christ lived on earth; and these utterances are + believed by scholars to have been brought together at least + more than two hundred years before the Christian era. The + <i>Mahámangala Sutta</i>, of the <i>Nipata Sutta</i>, + says, for example: 'Thus it was heard by me. At a certain time + Bhagavá (Gotama Buddha) lived at Sávatthi in + Jetavana, in the garden of Anáthupindika. Then, the + night being far advanced, a certain god, endowed with a radiant + color illuminating Jetavana completely, came to where + Bhagavá was, [and] making obeisance to him, stood on one + side. And, standing on one + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page51" + id="page51"></a>[pg 51]</span> side, the god addressed + Bhagavá in [these] verses:</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"1. Many gods and men, longing after what is good, have + considered many things as blessings. Tell us what is the + greatest blessing.</p> + + <p>"2. Buddha said: Not serving fools, but serving the wise, + and honoring those worthy of being honored: this is the + greatest blessing.</p> + + <p>"3. The living in a fit country, meritorious deeds done + in a former existence, the righteous establishment of one's + self: this is the greatest blessing.</p> + + <p>"4. Extensive knowledge and science, well-regulated + discipline and well-spoken speech: this is the greatest + blessing.</p> + + <p>"5. The helping of father and mother, the cherishing of + child and wife, and the following of a lawful calling: this + is the greatest blessing.</p> + + <p>"6. The giving alms, a religious life, aid rendered to + relatives, blameless acts: this is the greatest + blessing.</p> + + <p>"7. The abstaining from sins and the avoiding them, the + eschewing of intoxicating drink, diligence in good deeds: + this is the greatest blessing.</p> + + <p>"8. Reverence and humility, contentment and gratefulness, + the hearing of the law in the right time: this is the + greatest blessing.</p> + + <p>"9. Patience and mild speech, the association with those + who have subdued their passions, the holding of religious + discourse in the right time: this is the greatest + blessing.</p> + + <p>"10. Temperance and charity, the discernment of holy + truth, the perception of Nibbána: this is the + greatest blessing.</p> + + <p>"11. The mind of any one unshaken by the ways of the + world, exemption from sorrow, freedom from passion, and + security: this is the greatest blessing.</p> + + <p>"12. Those who having done these things become invincible + on all sides, attain happiness on all sides: this is the + greatest blessing."</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>"At another time also Gotama Buddha was discoursing on + caste. You know that the Hindus are divided into the Brahmans, + or the priestly caste, which is the highest; next the + Kshatriyas, or the warrior and statesman caste; next the + Vaishyas, or the herdsman and farmer caste; lastly, the Sudras, + or the menial caste. Now, once upon a time the two youths + Vásettha and Bháradvaja had a discussion as to + what constitutes a Brahman. Thus, Vásettha and + Bháradvaja went to the place where Bhagavá was, + and having approached him were well pleased with him; and + having finished a pleasing and complimentary conversation, they + sat down on one side. Vásettha, who sat down on one + side, addressed Buddha in verse: ...</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"3. O Gotama! we have a controversy regarding [the + distinctions of] birth. Thus know, O wise one! the point of + difference between us: Bháradvaja says that a + Brahman is such by reason of his birth.</p> + + <p>"4. But I affirm that he is such by reason of his + conduct....</p> + + <p>"7. Bhagavá replied: ...</p> + + <p>"53. I call him alone a Brahman who is fearless, eminent, + heroic, a great sage, a conqueror, freed from + attachments—one who has bathed in the waters of + wisdom, and is a Buddha.</p> + + <p>"54. I call him alone a Brahman who knows his former + abode, who sees both heaven and hell, and has reached the + extinction of births.</p> + + <p>"55. What is called 'name' or 'tribe' in the world arises + from usage only. It is adopted here and there by common + consent.</p> + + <p>"56. It comes from long and uninterrupted usage, and from + the false belief of the ignorant. Hence the ignorant assert + that a Brahman is such from birth.</p> + + <p>"57. One is not a Brahman nor a non-Brahman by birth: by + his conduct alone is he a Brahman, and by his conduct alone + is he a non-Brahman,</p> + + <p>"58. By his conduct he is a husbandman, an artisan, a + merchant, a servant;</p> + + <p>"59. By his conduct he is a thief, a warrior, a + sacrificer, a king....</p> + + <p>"62. One is a Brahman from penance, charity, observance + of the moral precepts and the subjugation of the passions. + Such is the best kind of Brahmanism."</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>"That would pass for very good republican doctrine in + Jonesville," I said. "What a pity you have all so backslidden + from your orthodoxies here in India, Bhima Gandharva! In my + native land there is a region where many orange trees grow. + Sometimes, when a tree is too heavily fertilized, it suddenly + shoots out in great luxuriance, and looks as if it were going + to make oranges enough for the whole world, so to speak. But + somehow, no fruit comes: it proves to be all wood and no + oranges, and presently the whole tree changes and gets sick and + good for nothing. It is a disease which the natives call 'the + dieback.' Now, it seems to me that when you old Aryans came + from—from—well, from wherever you <i>did</i> come + from—you branched out at first into a superb magnificence + of religions and sentiments and imaginations and other boscage. + But it looks now as if you were really bad off with the + dieback."</p> + + <p>It was, however, impossible to perceive that Bhima + Gandharva's smile was like anything other than the same plain + full of ripe corn.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page52" + id="page52"></a>[pg 52]</span> + + <h2>LADY ARTHUR EILDON'S DYING LETTER.</h2> + + <h4>I.</h4> + + <p>Lady Arthur Eildon was a widow: she was a remarkable woman, + and her husband, Lord Arthur Eildon, had been a remarkable man. + He was a brother of the duke of Eildon, and was very remarkable + in his day for his love of horses and dogs. But this passion + did not lead him into any evil ways: he was a thoroughly + upright, genial man, with a frank word for every one, and was + of course a general favorite. "He'll just come in and crack + away as if he was ane o' oorsels," was a remark often made + concerning him by the people on his estates; for he had estates + which had been left to him by an uncle, and which, with the + portion that fell to him as a younger son, yielded him an ample + revenue, so that he had no need to do anything.</p> + + <p>What talents he might have developed in the army or navy, or + even in the Church, no one knows, for he never did anything in + this world except enjoy himself; which was entirely natural to + him, and not the hard work it is to many people who try it. He + was in Parliament for a number of years, but contented himself + with giving his vote. He did not distinguish himself. He was + not an able or intellectual man: people said he would never set + the Thames on fire, which was true; but if an open heart and + hand and a frank tongue are desirable things, these he had. As + he took in food, and it nourished him without further + intervention on his part, so he took in enjoyment and gave it + out to the people round him with equal unconsciousness. Let it + not be said that such a man as this is of no value in a world + like ours: he is at once an anodyne and a stimulant of the + healthiest and most innocent kind.</p> + + <p>As was meet, he first saw the lady who was to be his wife in + the hunting-field. She was Miss Garscube of Garscube, an only + child and an heiress. She was a fast young lady when as yet + fastness was a rare development:—a harbinger of the fast + period, the one swallow that presages summer, but does not make + it—and as such much in the mouths of the public.</p> + + <p>Miss Garscube was said to be clever—she was certainly + eccentric—and she was no beauty, but community of tastes + in the matter of horses and dogs drew her and Lord Arthur + together.</p> + + <p>On one of the choicest of October days, when she was + following the hounds, and her horse had taken the fences like a + creature with wings, he came to one which he also flew over, + but fell on the other side, throwing off his rider—on + soft grass, luckily. But almost before an exclamation of alarm + could leave the mouths of the hunters behind, Miss Garscube was + on her feet and in the saddle, and her horse away again, as if + both had been ignorant of the little mishap that had occurred. + Lord Arthur was immediately behind, and witnessed this bit of + presence of mind and pluck with unfeigned admiration: it won + his heart completely; and on her part she enjoyed the + genuineness of his homage as she had never enjoyed anything + before, and from that day things went on and prospered between + them.</p> + + <p>People who knew both parties regretted this, and shook their + heads over it, prophesying that no good could come of it. Miss + Garscube's will had never been crossed in her life, and she was + a "clever" woman: Lord Arthur would not submit to her + domineering ways, and she would wince under and be ashamed of + his want of intellect. All this was foretold and thoroughly + believed by people having the most perfect confidence in their + own judgment, so that Lord Arthur and his wife ought to have + been, in the very nature of things, a most wretched pair. But, + as it turned out, no happier couple existed in Great Britain. + Their qualities must have been complementary, for they + dovetailed into each <span class="pagenum"><a name="page53" + id="page53"></a>[pg 53]</span> other as few people do; and + the wise persons who had predicted the contrary were + entirely thrown out in their calculations—a fact which + they speedily forgot; nor did it diminish their faith in + their own wisdom, as, indeed, how could one slight mistake + stand against an array of instances in which their + predictions had been verified to the letter?</p> + + <p>Lord Arthur might not have the intellect which fixes the + attention of a nation, but he had plenty for his own + fireside—at least, his wife never discovered any want of + it—and as for her strong will, they had only one strong + will between them, so that there could be no collision. Being + thus thoroughly attached and thoroughly happy, what could occur + to break up this happiness? A terrible thing came to pass. + Having had perfect health up to middle life, an acutely painful + disease seized Lord Arthur, and after tormenting him for more + than a year it changed his face and sent him away.</p> + + <p>There is nothing more striking than the calmness and dignity + with which people will meet death—even people from whom + this could not have been expected. No one who did not know it + would have guessed how Lord Arthur was suffering, and he never + spoke of it, least of all to his wife; while she, acutely aware + of it and vibrating with sympathy, never spoke of it to him; + and they were happy as those are who know that they are + drinking the last drops of earthly happiness. He died with his + wife's hand in his grasp: she gave the face—dead, but + with the appearance of life not vanished from it—one + long, passionate kiss, and left him, nor ever looked on it + again.</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur secluded herself for some weeks in her own room, + seeing no one but the servants who attended her; and when she + came forth it was found that her eccentricity had taken a + curious turn: she steadily ignored the death of her husband, + acting always as if he had gone on a journey and might at any + moment return, but never naming him unless it was absolutely + necessary. She found comfort in this simulated delusion no + doubt, just as a child enjoys a fairy-tale, knowing perfectly + well all the time that it is not true. People in her own sphere + said her mind was touched: the common people about her affirmed + without hesitation that she was "daft." She rode no more, but + she kept all the horses and dogs as usual. She cultivated a + taste she had for antiquities; she wrote poetry—- ballad + poetry—which people who were considered judges thought + well of; and flinging these and other things into the awful + chasm that had been made in her life, she tried her best to + fill it up. She set herself to consider the poor man's case, + and made experiments and gave advice which confirmed her poorer + brethren in their opinion that she was daft; but as her hand + was always very wide open, and they pitied her sorrow, she was + much loved, although they laughed at her zeal in preserving old + ruins and her wrath if an old stone was moved, and told, and + firmly believed, that she wrote and posted letters to Lord + Arthur. What was perhaps more to the purpose of filling the + chasm than any of these things, Lady Arthur adopted a daughter, + an orphan child of a cousin of her own, who came to her two + years after her husband's death, a little girl of nine.</p> + + <h4>II.</h4> + + <p>Alice Garscube's education was not of the stereotyped kind. + When she came to Garscube Hall, Lady Arthur wrote to the + head-master of a normal school asking if he knew of a healthy, + sagacious, good-tempered, clever girl who had a thorough + knowledge of the elementary branches of education and a natural + taste for teaching. Mr. Boyton, the head-master, replied that + he knew of such a person whom he could entirely recommend, + having all the qualities mentioned; but when he found that it + was not a teacher for a village school that her ladyship + wanted, but for her own relation, he wrote to say that he + doubted the party he had in view would hardly be suitable: her + father, who had been dead for some years, was a workingman, and + her mother, who had died quite recently, supported herself by + keeping a little shop, and she herself was in appearance and + manner scarcely <span class="pagenum"><a name="page54" + id="page54"></a>[pg 54]</span> enough of the lady for such a + situation. Now, Lady Arthur, though a firm believer in birth + and race, and by habit and prejudice an aristocrat and a + Tory, was, we know, eccentric by nature, and Nature will + always assert itself. She wrote to Mr. Boyton that if the + girl he recommended was all he said, she was a lady inside, + and they would leave the outside to shift for itself. Her + ladyship had considered the matter. She could get decayed + gentlewomen and clergymen and officers' daughters by the + dozen, but she did not want a girl with a sickly knowledge + of everything, and very sickly ideas of her own merits and + place and work in the world: she wanted a girl of natural + sagacity, who from her cradle had known that she came into + the world to do something, and had learned how to do it.</p> + + <p>Miss Adamson, the normal-school young lady recommended, + wrote thus to Lady Arthur:</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"MADAM: I am very much tempted to take the situation you + offer me. If I were teacher of a village school, as I had + intended, when my work in the school was over I should have + had my time to myself; and I wish to stipulate that when + the hours of teaching Miss Garscube are over I may have the + same privilege. If you engage me, I think, so far as I know + myself, you will not be disappointed.</p> + + <p>"I am," etc. etc.</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>To which Lady Arthur:</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"So far as I can judge, you are the very thing I want. + Come, and we shall not disagree about terms," etc. etc.</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>Thus it came about that Miss Garscube was unusually lucky in + the matter of her education and Miss Adamson in her engagement. + Although eccentric to the pitch of getting credit for being + daft, Lady Arthur had a strong vein of masculine sense, which + in all essential things kept her in the right path. Miss + Adamson and she suited each other thoroughly, and the education + of the two ladies and the child may be said to have gone on + simultaneously. Miss Adamson had an absorbing pursuit: she was + an embryo artist, and she roused a kindred taste in her pupil; + so that, instead of carrying on her work in solitude, as she + had expected to do, she had the intense pleasure of sympathy + and companionship. Lady Arthur often paid them long visits in + their studio; she herself sketched a little, but she had never + excelled in any single pursuit except horsemanship, and that + she had given up at her husband's death, as she had given up + keeping much company or going often into society.</p> + + <p>In this quiet, unexciting, regular life Lady Arthur's + antiquarian tastes grew on her, and she went on writing poetry, + the quantity of which was more remarkable than the quality, + although here and there in the mass of ore there was an + occasional sparkle from fine gold (there are few voluminous + writers in which this accident does not occur). She + superintended excavations, and made prizes of old dust and + stones and coins and jewelry (or what was called ancient + jewelry: it looked ancient enough, but more like rusty iron to + the untrained eye than jewelry) and cooking utensils supposed + to have been used by some noble savages or other. Of these and + such like she had a museum, and she visited old monuments and + cairns and Roman camps and Druidical remains and old castles, + and all old things, with increasing interest. There were a + number of places near or remote to which she was in the habit + of making periodical pilgrimages—places probably dear to + her from whim or association or natural beauty or antiquity. + When she fixed a time for such an excursion, no weather changed + her purpose: it might pour rain or deep snow might be on the + ground: she only put four horses to her carriage instead of + two, and went on her way. She was generally accompanied in + these expeditions by her two young friends, who got into the + spirit of the thing and enjoyed them amazingly. They were in + the habit of driving to some farm-house, where they left the + carriage and on foot ascended the hill they had come to call + on, most probably a hill with the marks of a Roman camp on + it—there are many such in the south of + Scotland—hills called "the rings" by the people, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page55" + id="page55"></a>[pg 55]</span> from the way in which the + entrenchments circle round them like rings.</p> + + <p>Dear to Lady Arthur's heart was such a place as this. Even + when the ground was covered with snow or ice she would ascend + with the help of a stick or umbrella, a faint adumbration of + the Alpine Club when as yet the Alpine Club lurked in the + future and had given no hint of its existence. On the top of + such a hill she would eat luncheon, thinking of the dust of + legions beneath her foot, and drink wine to the memory of the + immortals. The coachman and the footman who toiled up the hill + bearing the luncheon-basket, and slipping back two steps for + every one they took forward, had by no means the same respect + for the immortal heroes. The coachman was an old servant, and + had a great regard for Lady Arthur both as his mistress and as + a lady of rank, besides being accustomed to and familiar with + her whims, and knowing, as he said, "the best and the warst o' + her;" but the footman was a new acquisition and young, and he + had not the wisdom to see at all times the duty of giving honor + to whom honor is due, nor yet had he the spirit of the born + flunkey; and his intercourse with the nobility, unfortunately, + had not impressed him with any other idea than that they were + mortals like himself; so he remarked to his fellow-servant, + "Od! ye wad think, if she likes to eat her lunch amang snawy + slush, she might get enough of it at the fut o' the hill, + without gaun to the tap."</p> + + <p>"Weel, I'll no deny," said the older man, "but what it's + daftlike, but if it is her leddyship's pleasure, it's nae + business o' oors."</p> + + <p>"Pleasure!" said the youth: "if she ca's this pleasure, her + friends should see about shutting her up: it's time."</p> + + <p>"She says the Romans once lived here," said John.</p> + + <p>"If they did," Thomas said, "I daur say <i>they</i> had mair + sinse than sit down to eat their dinner in the middle o' snaw + if they had a house to tak it in."</p> + + <p>"Her leddyship does na' tak the cauld easy," said John.</p> + + <p>"She has the constitution o' a horse," Thomas remarked.</p> + + <p>"Man," said John, "that shows a' that ye ken about horses: + there's no a mair delicate beast on the face o' the earth than + the horse. They tell me a' the horses in London hae the + influenza the now."</p> + + <p>"Weel, it'll be our turn next," said Thomas, "if we dinna + tak something warm."</p> + + <p>When luncheon was over her ladyship as often as not ordered + her servants to take the carriage round by the turnpike-road to + a given point, where she arranged to meet it, while she herself + struck right over the hills as the crow flies, crossing the + burns on her way in the same manner as the Israelites crossed + the Red Sea, only the water did not stand up on each side and + leave dry ground for her to tread on; but she ignored the water + altogether, and walked straight through. The young ladies, + knowing this, took an extra supply of stockings and shoes with + them, but Lady Arthur despised such effeminate ways and drove + home in the footgear she set out in. She was a woman of robust + health, and having grown stout and elderly and red-faced, when + out on the tramp and divested of externals she might very well + have been taken for the eccentric landlady of a roadside inn or + the mistress of a luncheon-bar; and probably her young footman + did not think she answered to her own name at all.</p> + + <p>There is a divinity that doth hedge a king, but it is the + king's wisdom to keep the hedge close and well trimmed and + allow no gaps: if there are gaps, people see through them and + the illusion is destroyed. Lady Arthur was not a heroine to her + footman; and when she traversed the snow-slush and walked right + through the burns, he merely endorsed the received opinion that + she wanted "twopence of the shilling." If she had been a poor + woman and compelled to take such a journey in such weather, + people would have felt sorry for her, and have been ready to + subscribe to help her to a more comfortable mode of traveling; + but in Lady Arthur's case of course there was nothing to be + done but to wonder at her eccentricity.</p> + + <p>But her ladyship knew what she was + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page56" + id="page56"></a>[pg 56]</span> about. The sleep as well as + the food of the laboring man is sweet, and if nobility likes + to labor, it will partake of the poor man's blessing. The + party arrived back among the luxurious appointments of + Garscube Hall (which were apt to pall on them at times) + legitimately and bodily <i>tired</i>, and that in itself was + a sensation worth working for. They had braved difficulty + and discomfort, and not for a nonsensical and fruitless end, + either: it can never be fruitless or nonsensical to get face + to face with Nature in any of her moods. The ice-locked + streams, the driven snow, the sleep of vegetation, a burst + of sunshine over the snow, the sough of the winter wind, + Earth waiting to feel the breath of spring on her face to + waken up in youth and beauty again, like the sleeping + princess at the touch of the young prince,—all these + are things richly to be enjoyed, especially by strong, + healthy people: let chilly and shivering mortals sing about + cozy fires and drawn curtains if they like. Besides, Miss + Adamson had the eye of an artist, upon which nothing, be it + what it may, is thrown away.</p> + + <p>But an expedition to a hill with "rings" undertaken on a + long midsummer day looked fully more enjoyable to the common + mind: John, and even the footman approved of that, and another + individual, who had become a frequent visitor at the hall, + approved of it very highly indeed, and joined such a party as + often as he could.</p> + + <p>This was George Eildon, the only son of a brother of the + late Lord Arthur.</p> + + <p>Now comes the tug—well, not of war, certainly, but, to + change the figure—now comes the cloud no bigger than a + man's hand which is to obscure the quiet sunshine of the + regular and exemplary life of these three ladies.</p> + + <p>Having been eight years at Garscube Hall, as a matter of + necessity and in the ordinary course of Nature, Alice Garscube + had grown up to womanhood. With accustomed eccentricity, Lady + Arthur entirely ignored this. As for bringing her "out," as the + phrase is, she had no intention of it, considering that one of + the follies of life: Lady Arthur was always a law to herself. + Alice was a shy, amiable girl, who loved her guardian fervently + (her ladyship had the knack of gaining love, and also of + gaining the opposite in pretty decisive measure), and was + entirely swayed by her; indeed, it never occurred to her to + have a will of her own, for her nature was peculiarly sweet and + guileless.</p> + + <h4>III.</h4> + + <p>Lady Arthur thought George Eildon a good-natured, rattling + lad, with very little head. This was precisely the general + estimate that had been formed of her late husband, and people + who had known both thought George the very fac-simile of his + uncle Arthur. If her ladyship had been aware of this, it would + have made her very indignant: she had thought her husband + perfect while living, and thought of him as very much more than + perfect now that he lived only in her memory. But she made + George very welcome as often as he came: she liked to have him + in the house, and she simply never thought of Alice and him in + connection with each other. She always had a feeling of pity + for George.</p> + + <p>"You know," she would say to Miss Adamson and + Alice—"you know, George was of consequence for the first + ten years of his life: it was thought that his uncle the duke + might never marry, and he was the heir; but when the duke + married late in life and had two sons, George was extinguished, + poor fellow! and it was hard, I allow."</p> + + <p>"It is not pleasant to be a poor gentleman," said Miss + Adamson.</p> + + <p>"It is not only not pleasant," said Lady Arthur, "but it is + a false position, which is very trying, and what few men can + fill to advantage. If George had great abilities, it might be + different, with his connection, but I doubt he is doomed to be + always as poor as a church mouse."</p> + + <p>"He may get on in his profession perhaps," said Alice, + sharing in Lady Arthur's pity for him. (George Eildon had been + an attaché to some foreign embassy.)</p> + + <p>"Never," said Lady Arthur decisively. "Besides, it is a + profession that is out of date now. Men don't go wilily to work + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page57" + id="page57"></a>[pg 57]</span> in these days; but if they + did, the notion of poor George, who could not keep a secret + or tell a lie with easy grace if it were to save his + life—the notion of making him a diplomatist is very + absurd. No doubt statesmen are better without original + ideas—their business is to pick out the practical + ideas of other men and work them well—but George wants + ability, poor fellow! They ought to have put him into the + Church: he reads well, he could have read other men's + sermons very effectively, and the duke has some good livings + in his gift."</p> + + <p>Now, Miss Adamson had been brought up a Presbyterian of the + Presbyterians, and among people to whom "the paper" was + abhorrent: to read a sermon was a sin—to read another + man's sermon was a sin of double-dyed blackness. However, + either her opinions were being corrupted or enlightened, either + she was growing lax in principle or she was learning the lesson + of toleration, for she allowed the remarks of Lady Arthur to + pass unnoticed, so that that lady did not need to advance the + well-known opinion and practice of Sir Roger de Coverley to + prop her own.</p> + + <p>Miss Adamson merely said, "Do you not underrate Mr. Eildon's + abilities?"</p> + + <p>"I think not. If he had abilities, he would have been + showing them by this time. But of course I don't blame him: few + of the Eildons have been men of mark—none in recent times + except Lord Arthur—but they have all been respectable + men, whose lives would stand inspection; and George is the + equal of any of them in that respect. As a clergyman he would + have set a good example."</p> + + <p>Hearing a person always pitied and spoken slightingly of + does not predispose any one to fall in love with that person. + Miss Garscube's feelings of this nature still lay very closely + folded up in the bud, and the early spring did not come at this + time to develop them in the shape of George Eildon; but Mr. + Eildon was sufficiently foolish and indiscreet to fall in love + with her. Miss Adamson was the only one of the three ladies + cognizant of this state of affairs, but as her creed was that + no one had any right to make or meddle in a thing of this kind, + she saw as if she saw not, though very much interested. She saw + that Miss Garscube was as innocent of the knowledge that she + had made a conquest as it was possible to be, and she felt + surprised that Lady Arthur's sight was not sharper. But Lady + Arthur was—or at least had been—a woman of the + world, and the idea of a penniless man allowing himself to fall + in love seriously with a penniless girl in actual life could + not find admission into her mind: if she had been writing a + ballad it would have been different; indeed, if you had only + known Lady Arthur through her poetry, you might have believed + her to be a very, romantic, sentimental, unworldly person, for + she really was all that—on paper.</p> + + <p>Mr. Eildon was very frequently in the studio where Miss + Adamson and her pupil worked, and he was always ready to + accompany them in their excursions, and, Lady Arthur said, + "really made himself very useful."</p> + + <p>It has been said that John and Thomas both approved of her + ladyship's summer expeditions in search of the picturesque, or + whatever else she might take it into her head to look for; and + when she issued orders for a day among the hills in a certain + month of August, which had been a specially fine month in point + of weather, every one was pleased. But John and Thomas found it + nearly as hard work climbing with the luncheon-basket in the + heat of the midsummer sun as it was when they climbed to the + same elevation in midwinter; only they did not slip back so + fast, nor did they feel that they were art and part in a + "daftlike" thing.</p> + + <p>"Here," said Lady Arthur, raising her glass to her + lips—"here is to the memory of the Romans, on whose dust + we are resting."</p> + + <p>"Amen!" said Mr. Eildon; "but I am afraid you don't find + their dust a very soft resting-place: they were always a hard + people, the Romans."</p> + + <p>"They were a people I admire," said Lady Arthur. "If they + had not been called away by bad news from home, if they had + been able to stay, our civilization might have been a much + older thing <span class="pagenum"><a name="page58" + id="page58"></a>[pg 58]</span> than it is.—What do + <i>you</i> think, John?" she said, addressing her faithful + servitor. "Less than a thousand years ago all that stretch + of country that we see so richly cultivated and studded with + cozy farm-houses was brushwood and swamp, with a handful of + savage inhabitants living in wigwams and dressing in + skins."</p> + + <p>"It may be so," said John—"no doubt yer leddyship kens + best—but I have this to say: if they were savages they + had the makin' o' men in them. Naebody'll gar me believe that + the stock yer leddyship and me cam o' was na a capital gude + stock."</p> + + <p>"All right, John," said Mr. Eildon, "if you include me."</p> + + <p>"It was a long time to take, surely," said Alice—"a + thousand years to bring the country from brushwood and swamp to + corn and burns confined to their beds,"</p> + + <p>"Nature is never in a hurry, Alice," replied Lady + Arthur.</p> + + <p>"But she is always busy in a wonderfully quiet way," said + Miss Adamson. "Whenever man begins to work he makes a noise, + but no one hears the corn grow or the leaves burst their + sheaths: even the clouds move with noiseless grace."</p> + + <p>"The clouds are what no one can understand yet, I suppose," + said Mr. Eildon, "but they don't always look as if butter + wouldn't melt in their mouths, as they are doing to-day. What + do you say to thunder?"</p> + + <p>"That is an exception: Nature does all her best work + quietly."</p> + + <p>"So does man," remarked George Eildon.</p> + + <p>"Well, I dare say you are right, after all," said Miss + Adamson, who was sketching. "I wish I could paint in the + glitter on the blade of that reaping-machine down in the haugh + there: see, it gleams every time the sun's rays hit it. It is + curious how Nature makes the most of everything to heighten her + picture, and yet never makes her bright points too + plentiful."</p> + + <p>Just at that moment the sun's rays seized a small pane of + glass in the roof of a house two or three miles off down the + valley, and it shot out light and sparkles that dazzled the eye + to look at.</p> + + <p>"That is a fine effect," cried Alice: "it looks like the eye + of an archangel kindling up,"</p> + + <p>"What a flight of fancy, Alice!" Lady Arthur said. "That + reaping-machine does its work very well, but it will be a long + time before it gathers a crust of poetry about it: stopping to + clear a stone out of its way is different from a lad and a lass + on the harvest-rig, the one stopping to take a thorn out of the + finger of the other."</p> + + <p>"There are so many wonderful things," said Alice, "that one + gets always lost among them. How the clouds float is wonderful, + and that with the same earth below and the same heaven above, + the heather should be purple, and the corn yellow, and the + ferns green, is wonderful; but not so wonderful, I think, as + that a man by the touch of genius should have made every one + interested in a field-laborer taking a thorn out of the hand of + another field-laborer. Catch your poet, and he'll soon make the + machine interesting."</p> + + <p>"Get a thorn into your finger, Alice," said George Eildon, + "and I'll take it out if it is so interesting."</p> + + <p>"You could not make it interesting," said she.</p> + + <p>"Just try," he said.</p> + + <p>"But trying won't do. You know as well as I that there are + things no trying will ever do. I am trying to paint, for + instance, and in time I shall copy pretty well, but I shall + never do more."</p> + + <p>"Hush, hush!" said Miss Adamson. "I'm often enough in + despair myself, and hearing you say that makes me worse. I + rebel at having got just so much brain and no more; but I + suppose," she said with a sigh, "if we make the best of what we + have, it's all right, and if we had well-balanced minds we + should be contented."</p> + + <p>"Would you like to stay here longer among the hills and the + sheep?" said Lady Arthur. "I have just remembered that I want + silks for my embroidery, and I have time to go to town: I can + catch the afternoon train. Do any of you care to go?"</p> + + <p>"It is good to be here," said Mr. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page59" + id="page59"></a>[pg 59]</span> Eildon, "but as we can't stay + always, we may as well go now. I suppose."</p> + + <p>And John, accustomed to sudden orders, hurried off to get + his horses put to the carriage.</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur, upon the whole, approved of railways, but did + not use them much except upon occasion; and it was only by + taking the train she could reach town and be home for dinner on + this day.</p> + + <p>They reached the station in time, and no more. Mr. Eildon + ran and got tickets, and John was ordered to be at the station + nearest Garscube Hall to meet them when they returned.</p> + + <p>Embroidery, being an art which high-born dames have + practiced from the earliest ages, was an employment that had + always found favor in the sight of Lady Arthur, and to which + she turned when she wanted change of occupation. She took a + very short time to select her materials, and they were back and + seated in the railway carriage fully ten minutes before the + train started. They beguiled the time by looking about the + station: it was rather a different scene from that where they + had been in the fore part of the day.</p> + + <p>"There's surely a mistake," said Mr. Eildon, pointing to a + large picture hanging on the wall of three sewing-machines + worked by three ladies, the one in the middle being Queen + Elizabeth in her ruff, the one on the right Queen Victoria in + her widow's cap: the princess of Wales was very busy at the + third. "Is not that what is called an anachronism, Miss + Adamson? Are not sewing-machines a recent invention? There were + none in Elizabeth's time, I think?"</p> + + <p>"There are people," said Lady Arthur, "who have neither + common sense nor a sense of the ridiculous."</p> + + <p>"But they have a sense of what will pay," answered her + nephew. "That appeals to the heart of the nation—that is, + to the masculine heart. If Queen Bess had been handling a + lancet, and Queen Vic pounding in a mortar with a pestle, + assisted by her daughter-in-law, the case would have been + different; but they are at useful womanly work, and the + machines will sell. They have fixed themselves in our memories + already: that's the object the advertiser had when he pressed + the passion of loyalty into his service."</p> + + <p>"How will the strong-minded Tudor lady like to see herself + revived in that fashion, if she can see it?" asked Miss + Garscube.</p> + + <p>"She'll like it well, judging by myself," said George: + "that's true fame. I should be content to sit cross-legged on a + board, stitching pulpit-robes, in a picture, if I were sure it + would be hung up three hundred years after this at all the + balloon-stations and have the then Miss Garscubes making + remarks about me."</p> + + <p>"They might not make very complimentary remarks, perhaps," + said Alice.</p> + + <p>"If they thought of me at all I should be satisfied," said + he.</p> + + <p>"Couldn't you invent an iron bed, then?" said Miss Adamson, + looking at a representation of these articles hanging alongside + the three royal ladies. "Perhaps they'll last three hundred + years, and if you could bind yourself up with the idea of sweet + repose—"</p> + + <p>"They won't last three hundred years," said Lady + Arthur—"cheap and nasty, new-fangled things!"</p> + + <p>"They maybe cheap and nasty," said George, "but new-fangled + they are not: they must be some thousands of years old. I am + afraid, my dear aunt, you don't read your Bible."</p> + + <p>"Don't drag the Bible in among your nonsense. What has it to + do with iron beds?" said Lady Arthur.</p> + + <p>"If you look into Deuteronomy, third chapter and eleventh + verse," said he "you'll find that Og, king of Bashar used an + iron bed. It is probably in existence yet, and it must be quite + old enough to make it worth your while to look after it: + perhaps Mr. Cook would personally conduct you, or if not I + should be glad to be your escort."</p> + + <p>"Thank you," she said: "when I go in search of Og's bed I'll + take you with me."</p> + + <p>"You could not do better: I have the scent of a sleuth-hound + for antiquities."</p> + + <p>As they were speaking a man came and hung up beside the + queens and the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page60" + id="page60"></a>[pg 60]</span> iron beds a big white board + on which were printed in large black letters the words, "My + Mother and I"—nothing more.</p> + + <p>"What <i>can</i> the meaning of that be?" asked Lady + Arthur.</p> + + <p>"To make you ask the meaning of it," said Mr. Eildon. "I who + am skilled in these matters have no doubt that it is the herald + of some soothing syrup for the human race under the trials of + teething." He was standing at the carriage-door till the train + would start, and he stood aside to let a young lady and a boy + in deep mourning enter. The pair were hardly seated when the + girl's eye fell on the great white board and its announcement. + She bent her head and hid her face in her handkerchief: it was + not difficult to guess that she had very recently parted with + her mother for ever, and the words on the board were more than + she could stand unmoved.</p> + + <p>Miss Adamson too had been thinking of her mother, the + hard-working woman who had toiled in her little shop to support + her sickly husband and educate her daughter—the kindly + patient face, the hands that had never spared themselves, the + footsteps that had plodded so incessantly to and fro. The all + that had been gone so long came back to her, and she felt + almost the pang of first separation, when it seemed as if the + end of her life had been extinguished and the motive-power for + work had gone. But she carried her mother in her heart: with + her it was still "my mother and I."</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur did not think of her mother: she had lost her + early, and besides, her thoughts and feelings had been all + absorbed by her husband.</p> + + <p>Alice Garscube had never known her mother, and as she looked + gravely at the girl who was crying behind her handkerchief, she + envied her—she had known her mother.</p> + + <p>As for Mr. Eildon, he had none but bright and happy thoughts + connected with his mother. It was true, she was a widow, but + she was a kind and stately lady, round whom her family moved as + round a sun and centre, giving light and heat and all good + cheer; he could afford to joke about "my mother and I."</p> + + <p>What a vast deal of varied emotion these words must have + stirred in the multitudes of travelers coming and going in all + directions!</p> + + <p>In jumping into the carriage when the last bell rang, Mr. + Eildon missed his footing and fell back, with no greater + injury, fortunately, than grazing the skin, of his hand.</p> + + <p>"Is it much hurt?" Lady Arthur asked.</p> + + <p>He held it up and said, "'Who ran to help me when I + fell?'"</p> + + <p>"The guard," said Miss Garscube.</p> + + <p>"'Who kissed the place to make it well?'" he continued.</p> + + <p>"You might have been killed," said Miss Adamson.</p> + + <p>"That would not have been a pretty story to tell," he said. + "I shall need to wait till I get home for the means of cure: + 'my mother and I' will manage it. You're not of a pitiful + nature, Miss Garscube."</p> + + <p>"I keep my pity for a pitiful occasion," she said.</p> + + <p>"If you had grazed your hand, I would have applied the + prescribed cure."</p> + + <p>"Well, but I'm very glad I have not grazed my hand,"</p> + + <p>"So am I," he said.</p> + + <p>"Let me see it," she said. He held it out. "Would something + not need to be done for it?" she asked.</p> + + <p>"Yes. Is it interesting—as interesting as the + thorn?"</p> + + <p>"It is nothing," said Lady Arthur: "a little lukewarm water + is all that it needs;" and she thought, "That lad will never do + anything either for himself or to add to the prestige of the + family. I hope his cousins have more ability."</p> + + <h4>IV.</h4> + + <p>But what these cousins were to turn out no one knew. They + had that rank which gives a man what is equivalent to a start + of half a lifetime over his fellows, and they promised well; + but they were only boys as yet, and Nature puts forth many a + choice blossom and bud that never comes to maturity, or, + meeting with blight or canker on the way, turns out poor fruit. + The eldest, a lad in his teens, was traveling on the Continent + with a tutor: the second, a boy who had + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page61" + id="page61"></a>[pg 61]</span> been always delicate, was at + home on account of his health. George Eildon was intimate + with both, and loved them with a love as true as that he + bore to Alice Garscube: it never occurred to him that they + had come into the world to keep him out of his inheritance. + He would have laughed at such an idea. Many people would + have said that he was laughing on the wrong side of his + mouth: the worldly never can understand the unworldly.</p> + + <p>Mr. Eildon gave Miss Garscube credit for being at least as + unworldly as himself: he believed thoroughly in her + genuineness, her fresh, unspotted nature; and, the wish being + very strong, he believed that she had a kindness for him.</p> + + <p>When he and his hand got home he found it quite able to + write her a letter, or rather not so much a letter as a burst + of enthusiastic aspiration, asking her to marry him.</p> + + <p>She was startled; and never having decided on anything in + her life, she carried this letter direct to Lady Arthur.</p> + + <p>"Here's a thing," she said, "that I don't know what to think + of."</p> + + <p>"What kind of thing, Alice?"</p> + + <p>"A letter."</p> + + <p>"Who is it from?"</p> + + <p>"Mr. Eildon."</p> + + <p>"Indeed! I should not think a letter from him would be a + complicated affair or difficult to understand."</p> + + <p>"Neither is it: perhaps you would read it?"</p> + + <p>"Certainly, if you wish it." When she had read the document + she said, "Well I never gave George credit for much wisdom, but + I did not think he was foolish enough for a thing like this; + and I never suspected it. Are you in love too?" and Lady Arthur + laughed heartily: it seemed to strike her in a comic light.</p> + + <p>"No. I never thought of it or of him either," Alice said, + feeling queer and uncomfortable.</p> + + <p>"Then that simplifies matters. I always thought George's + only chance in life was to marry a wealthy woman, and how many + good, accomplished women there are, positively made of money, + who would give anything to marry into our family!"</p> + + <p>"Are there?" said Alice.</p> + + <p>"To be sure there are. Only the other day I read in a + newspaper that people are all so rich now money is no + distinction: rank is, however. You can't make a lawyer or a + shipowner or an ironmaster into a peer of several hundred + years' descent."</p> + + <p>"No, you can't," said Alice; "but Mr. Eildon is not a peer, + you know."</p> + + <p>"No, but he is the grandson of one duke and the nephew of + another; and if he could work for it he might have a peerage of + his own, or if he had great wealth he would probably get one. + For my own part, I don't count much on rank or wealth" (she + believed this), "but they are privileges people have no right + to throw away."</p> + + <p>"Not even if they don't care for them?" asked Alice,</p> + + <p>"No: whatever you have it is your duty to care for and make + the best of."</p> + + <p>"Then, what am I to say to Mr. Eildon?"</p> + + <p>"Tell him it is absurd; and whatever you say, put it + strongly, that there may be no more of it. Why, he must know + that you would be beggars."</p> + + <p>Acting up to her instructions, Alice wrote thus to Mr. + Eildon:</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"DEAR MR. EILDON: Your letter surprised me. Lady Arthur + says it is absurd; besides, I don't care for you a bit. I + don't mean that I dislike you, for I don't dislike any one. + We wonder you could be so foolish, and Lady Arthur says + there must be no more of it; and she is right. I hope you + will forget all about this, and believe me to be your true + friend,</p> + + <p>"ALICE GARSCUBE.</p> + + <p>"P.S. Lady Arthur says you haven't got anything to live + on; but if you had all the wealth in the world, it wouldn't + make any difference.</p> + + <p>"A. G."</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>This note fell into George Eildon's mind like molten lead + dropped on living flesh. "She is not what I took her to be," he + said to himself, "or she never could have written that, even at + Lady Arthur's suggestion; and Lady Arthur ought to have known + better."</p> + + <p>And she certainly ought to have known + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page62" + id="page62"></a>[pg 62]</span> better; yet he might have + found some excuse for Alice if he had allowed himself to + think, but he did not: he only felt, and felt very + keenly.</p> + + <p>In saying that Mr. Eildon and Miss Garscube were penniless, + the remark is not to be taken literally, for he had an income + of fifteen hundred pounds, and she had five hundred a year of + her own; but in the eyes of people moving in ducal circles + matrimony on two thousand pounds seems as improvident a step as + that of the Irishman who marries when he has accumulated + sixpence appears to ordinary beings.</p> + + <p>Mr. Eildon spent six weeks at a shooting-box belonging to + his uncle the duke, after which he went to London, where he got + a post under government—a place which was by no means a + sinecure, but where there was plenty of work not over-paid. + Before leaving he called for a few minutes at Garscube Hall to + say good-bye, and that was all they saw of him.</p> + + <p>Alice missed him: a very good thing, of which she had been + as unconscious as she was of the atmosphere, had been withdrawn + from her life. George's letter had nailed him to her memory: + she thought of him very often, and that is a dangerous thing + for a young lady to do if she means to keep herself entirely + fancy free. She wondered if his work was very hard work, and if + he was shut in an office all day; she did not think he was made + for that; it seemed as unnatural as putting a bird into a cage. + She made some remark of this kind to Lady Arthur, who laughed + and said, "Oh, George won't kill himself with hard work." From + that time forth Alice was shy of speaking of him to his aunt. + But she had kept his letter, and indulged herself with a + reading of it occasionally; and every time she read it she + seemed to understand it better. It was a mystery to her how she + had been so intensely stupid as not to understand it at first. + And when she found a copy of her own answer to it among her + papers—one she had thrown aside on account of a big + blot—she wondered if it was possible she had sent such a + thing, and tears of shame and regret stood in her eyes. "How + frightfully blind I was!" she said to herself. But there was no + help for it: the thing was done, and could not be undone. She + had grown in wisdom since then, but most people reach wisdom + through ignorance and folly.</p> + + <p>In these circumstances she found Miss Adamson a very + valuable friend. Miss Adamson had never shared Lady Arthur's + low estimate of Mr. Eildon: she liked his sweet, unworldly + nature, and she had a regard for him as having aims both lower + and higher than a "career." That he should love Miss Garscube + seemed to her natural and good, and that happiness might be + possible even to a duke's grandson on such a pittance as two + thousand pounds a year was an article of her belief: she pitied + people who go through life sacrificing the substance for the + shadow. Yes, Miss Garscube could speak of Mr. Eildon to her + friend and teacher, and be sure of some remark that gave her + comfort.</p> + + <h4>V.</h4> + + <p>A year sped round again, and they heard of Mr. Eildon being + in Scotland at the shooting, and as he was not very far off, + they expected to see him any time. But it was getting to the + end of September, and he had paid no visit, when one day, as + the ladies were sitting at luncheon, he came in, looking very + white and agitated. They were all startled: Miss Garscube grew + white also, and felt herself trembling. Lady Arthur rose + hurriedly and said, "What is it, George? what's the + matter?"</p> + + <p>"A strange thing has happened," he said. "I only heard of it + a few minutes ago: a man rode after me with the telegram. My + cousin George—Lord Eildon—has fallen down a + crevasse in the Alps and been killed. Only a week ago I parted + with him full of life and spirit, and I loved him as if he had + been my brother;" and he bent his head to hide tears.</p> + + <p>They were all silent for some moments: then in a low voice + Lady Arthur said, "I am sorry for his father."</p> + + <p>"I am sorry for them all," George said. "It is terrible;" + then after a little he said, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page63" + id="page63"></a>[pg 63]</span> "You'll excuse my leaving + you: I am going to Eildon at once: I may be of some service + to them. I don't know how Frank will be able to bear + this."</p> + + <p>After he had gone away Alice felt how thoroughly she was + nothing to him now: there had been no sign in his manner that + he had ever thought of her at all, more than of any other + ordinary acquaintance. If he had only looked to her for the + least sympathy! But he had not. "If he only knew how well I + understand him now!" she thought.</p> + + <p>"It is a dreadful accident," said Lady Arthur, "and I am + sorry for the duke and duchess." She said this in a calm way. + It had always been her opinion that Lord Arthur's relations had + never seen the magnitude of <i>her</i> loss, and this feeling + lowered the temperature of her sympathy, as a wind blowing over + ice cools the atmosphere. "I think George's grief very + genuine," she continued: "at the same time he can't but see + that there is only that delicate lad's life, that has been + hanging so long by a hair, between him and the title."</p> + + <p>"Lady Arthur!" exclaimed Alice in warm tones.</p> + + <p>"I know, my dear, you are thinking me very unfeeling, but I + am not: I am only a good deal older than you. George's position + to-day is very different from what it was a year ago. If he + were to write to you again, I would advise another kind of + answer."</p> + + <p>"He'll never write again," said Alice in a tone which struck + the ear of Lady Arthur, so that when the young girl left the + room she turned to Miss Adamson and said, "Do you think she + really cares about him?"</p> + + <p>"She has not made me her confidante," that lady answered, + "but my own opinion is that she does care a good deal for Mr. + Eildon."</p> + + <p>"Do you really think so?" exclaimed Lady Arthur. "She said + she did not at the time, and I thought then, and think still, + that it would not signify much to George whom he married; and + you know he would be so much the better for money. But if he is + to be his uncle's successor, that alters the case entirely. + I'll go to Eildon myself, and bring him back with me."</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur went to Eildon and mingled her tears with those + of the stricken parents, whose grief might have moved a very + much harder heart than hers. But they did not see the state of + their only remaining son as Lady Arthur and others saw it; for, + while it was commonly thought that he would hardly reach + maturity, they were sanguine enough to believe that he was + outgrowing the delicacy of his childhood.</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur asked George to return with her to Garscube + Hall, but he said he could not possibly do so. Then she said + she had told Miss Adamson and Alice that she would bring him + with her, and they would be disappointed.</p> + + <p>"Tell them," he said, "that I have very little time to + spare, and I must spend it with Frank, when I am sure they will + excuse me."</p> + + <p>They excused him, but they were not the less disappointed, + all the three ladies; indeed, they were so much disappointed + that they did not speak of the thing to each other, as people + chatter over and thereby evaporate a trifling defeat of + hopes.</p> + + <p>Mr. Eildon left his cousin only to visit his mother and + sisters for a day, and then returned to London; from which it + appeared that he was not excessively anxious to visit Garscube + Hall.</p> + + <p>But everything there went on as usual. The ladies painted, + they went excursions, they wrote ballads; still, there was a + sense of something being amiss—the heart of their lives + seemed dull in its beat.</p> + + <p>The more Lady Arthur thought of having sent away such a + matrimonial prize from her house, the more she was chagrined; + the more Miss Garscube tried not to think of Mr. Eildon, the + more her thoughts would run upon him; and even Miss Adamson, + who had nothing to regret or reproach herself with, could not + help being influenced by the change of atmosphere.</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur's thoughts issued in the resolution to re-enter + society once more; which resolution she imparted to Miss + Adamson in the first instance by saying + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page64" + id="page64"></a>[pg 64]</span> that she meant to go to + London next season.</p> + + <p>"Then our plan of life here will be quite broken up," said + Miss A.</p> + + <p>"Yes, for a time."</p> + + <p>"I thought you disliked society?"</p> + + <p>"I don't much like it: it is on account of Alice I am going. + I may just as well tell you: I want to bring her and George + together again if possible."</p> + + <p>"Will she go if she knows that is your end?"</p> + + <p>"She need not know."</p> + + <p>"It is not a very dignified course," Miss Adamson said.</p> + + <p>"No, and if it were an ordinary case I should not think of + it."</p> + + <p>"But you think him a very ordinary man?"</p> + + <p>"A duke is different. Consider what an amount of influence + Alice would have, and how well she would use it; and he may + marry a vain, frivolous, senseless woman, incapable of a good + action. Indeed, most likely, for such people are sure to hunt + him."</p> + + <p>"I would not join in the hunt," said Miss Adamson. "If he is + the man you suppose him to be, the wound his self-love got will + have killed his love; and if he is the man I think, no hunters + will make him their prey. A small man would know instantly why + you went to London, and enjoy his triumph."</p> + + <p>"I don't think George would: he is too simple; but if I did + not think it a positive duty, I would not go. However, we shall + see: I don't think of going before the middle of January."</p> + + <p>Positive duties can be like the animals that change color + with what they feed on.</p> + + <h4>VI.</h4> + + <p>When the middle of January came, Lady Arthur, who had never + had an illness in her life, was measuring her strength in a + hand-to-hand struggle with fever. The water was blamed, the + drainage was blamed, various things were blamed. Whether it + came in the water or out of the drains, gastric fever had + arrived at Garscube Hall: the gardener took it, his daughter + took it, also Thomas the footman, and others of the + inhabitants, as well as Lady Arthur. The doctor of the place + came and lived In the house; besides that, two of the chief + medical men from town paid almost daily visits. Bottles of the + water supplied to the hall were sent to eminent chemists for + analysis: the drainage was thoroughly examined, and men were + set to make it as perfect and innocuous as it is in the nature + of drainage to be.</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur wished Miss Adamson and Alice to leave the place + for a time, but they would not do so: neither of them was + afraid, and they stayed and nursed her ladyship well, relieving + each other as it was necessary.</p> + + <p>At one point of her illness Lady Arthur said to Miss + Adamson, who was alone with her, "Well, I never counted on + this. Our family have all had a trick of living to extreme old + age, never dying till they could not help it; but it will be + grand to get away so soon."</p> + + <p>Miss Adamson looked at her. "Yes," she said, "it's a poor + thing, life, after the glory of it is gone, and I have always + had an intense curiosity to see what is beyond. I never could + see the sense of making a great ado to keep people alive after + they are fifty. Don't look surprised. How are the rest of the + people that are ill?" She often asked for them, and expressed + great satisfaction when told they were recovering. "It will be + all right," she said, "if I am the only death in the place; but + there is one thing I want you to do. Send off a telegram to + George Eildon and tell him I want to see him immediately: a + dying person can say what a living one can't, and I'll make it + all right between Alice and him before I go."</p> + + <p>Miss Adamson despatched the telegram to Mr. Eildon, knowing + that she could not refuse to do Lady Arthur's bidding at such a + time, although her feeling was against it. The answer came: Mr. + Eildon had just sailed for Australia.</p> + + <p>When Lady Arthur heard this she said, "I'll write to him." + When she had finished writing she said, "You'll send this to + him whenever you get his address. I wish we could have sent it + off at once, for it will be provoking if I don't die, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page65" + id="page65"></a>[pg 65]</span> after all; and I positively + begin to feel as if that were not going to be my luck at + this time."</p> + + <p>Although she spoke in this way, Miss Adamson knew it was not + from foolish irreverence. She recovered, and all who had had + the fever recovered, which was remarkable, for in other places + it had been very fatal.</p> + + <p>With Lady Arthur's returning strength things at the hall + wore into their old channels again. When it was considered safe + many visits of congratulation were paid, and among others who + came were George Eildon's mother and some of his sisters. They + were constantly having letters from George: he had gone off + very suddenly, and it was not certain when he might return.</p> + + <p>Alice heard of George Eildon with interest, but not with the + vital interest she had felt in him for a time: that had worn + away. She had done her best to this end by keeping herself + always occupied, and many things had happened in the interval; + besides, she had grown a woman, with all the good sense and + right feeling belonging to womanhood, and she would have been + ashamed to cherish a love for one who had entirely forgotten + her. She dismissed her childish letter, which had given her so + much vexation, from her memory, feeling sure that George Eildon + had also forgotten it long ago. She did not know of the letter + Lady Arthur had written when she believed herself to be dying, + and it was well she did not.</p> + + <h4>VII.</h4> + + <p>Every one who watched the sun rise on New Year's morning, + 1875, will bear witness to the beauty of the sight. Snow had + been lying all over the country for some time, and a fortnight + of frost had made it hard and dry and crisp. The streams must + have felt very queer when they were dropping off into the + mesmeric trance, and found themselves stopped in the very act + of running, their supple limbs growing stiff and heavy and + their voices dying in their throats, till they were thrown into + a deep sleep, and a strange white, still, glassy beauty stole + over them by the magic power of frost. The sun got up rather + late, no doubt—between eight and nine + o'clock—probably saying to himself, "These people think I + have lost my power—that the Ice King has it all his own + way. I'll let them see: I'll make his glory pale before + mine."</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur was standing at her window when she saw him look + over the shoulder of a hill and throw a brilliant deep gold + light all over the land covered with snow as with a garment, + and every minute crystal glittered as if multitudes of little + eyes had suddenly opened and were gleaming and winking under + his gaze. To say that the bosom of Mother Earth was crusted + with diamonds is to give the impression of dullness unless each + diamond could be endowed with life and emotion. Then he threw + out shaft after shaft of color—scarlet and crimson and + blue and amber and green—which gleamed along the heavens, + kindling the cold white snow below them into a passion of + beauty: the colors floated and changed form, and mingled and + died away. Then the sun drew his thick winter clouds about him, + disappeared, and was no more seen that day. He had vindicated + his majesty.</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur thought it was going to be a bright winter day, + and at breakfast she proposed a drive to Cockhoolet Castle, an + old place within driving distance to which she paid periodical + visits: they would take luncheon on the battlements and see all + over the country, which must be looking grand in its bridal + attire.</p> + + <p>John was called in and asked if he did not think it was + going to be a fine day. He glanced through the windows at the + dark, suspicious-looking clouds and said, "Weel, my leddy, I'll + no uphaud it." This was the answer of a courtier and an oracle, + not to mention a Scotchman. It did not contradict Lady Arthur, + it did not commit himself, and it was cautious.</p> + + <p>"I think it will be a fine day of its kind," said the lady, + "and we'll drive to Cockhoolet. Have the carriage ready at + ten."</p> + + <p>"If we dinna wun a' the gate, we can but turn again," John + thought as he retired to execute his + orders.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page66" + id="page66"></a>[pg 66]</span> + + <p>"It is not looking so well as it did in the morning," said + Miss Adamson as they entered the carriage, "but if we have an + adventure we shall be the better for it."</p> + + <p>"We shall have no such luck," said Lady Arthur: "what ever + happens out of the usual way now? There used to be glorious + snowstorms long ago, but the winters have lost their rigor, and + there are no such long summer days now as there were when I was + young. Neither persons nor things have that spirit in them they + used to have;" and she smiled, catching in thought the fact + that to the young the world is still as fresh and fair as it + has appeared to all the successive generations it has carried + on its surface.</p> + + <p>"This is a wiselike expedition," said Thomas to John.</p> + + <p>"Ay," said John, "I'm mista'en if this is no a day that'll + be heard tell o' yet;" and they mounted to their respective + places and started.</p> + + <p>The sky was very grim and the wind had been gradually + rising. The three ladies sat each in her corner, saying little, + and feeling that this drive was certainly a means to an end, + and not an end in itself. Their pace had not been very quick + from the first, but it became gradually slower, and the hard + dry snow was drifting past the windows in clouds. At last they + came to a stand altogether, and John appeared at the window + like a white column and said, "My leddy, we'll hae to stop + here."</p> + + <p>"Stop! why?"</p> + + <p>"Because it's impossible to wun ony farrer."</p> + + <p>"Nonsense! There's no such word as impossible."</p> + + <p>"The beasts might maybe get through, but they wad leave the + carriage ahint them."</p> + + <p>"Let me out to look about," said Lady Arthur.</p> + + <p>"Ye had better bide where ye are," said John: "there's + naething to be seen, and ye wad but get yersel' a' snaw. We + might try to gang back the road we cam."</p> + + <p>"Decidedly not," said Lady Arthur, whose spirits were rising + to the occasion: "we can't be far from Cockhoolet here?"</p> + + <p>"Between twa and three mile," said John dryly.</p> + + <p>"We'll get out and walk," said her ladyship, looking at the + other ladies.</p> + + <p>"Wi' the wind in yer teeth, and sinking up to yer cuits at + every step? Ye wad either be blawn ower the muir like a + feather, or planted amang the snaw like Lot's wife. I might + maybe force my way through, but I canna leave the horses," said + John.</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur was fully more concerned for her horses than + herself: she said, "Take out the horses and go to Cockhoolet: + leave them to rest and feed, and tell Mr. Ormiston to send for + us. We'll sit here very comfortably till you come back: it + won't take you long. Thomas will go too, but give us in the + luncheon-basket first."</p> + + <p>The men, being refreshed from the basket, set off with the + horses, leaving the ladies getting rapidly snowed up in the + carriage. As the wind rose almost to a gale, Lady Arthur + remarked "that it was at least better to be stuck firm among + the snow than to be blown away."</p> + + <p>It is a grand thing to suffer in a great cause, but if you + suffer merely because you have done a "daftlike" thing, the + satisfaction is not the same.</p> + + <p>The snow sifted into the carriage at the minutest crevice + like fine dust, and, melting, became cold, clammy and + uncomfortable. To be set down in a glass case on a moor without + shelter in the height of a snowstorm has only one + recommendation: it is an uncommon situation, a novel + experience. The ladies—at least Lady Arthur—must, + one would think, have felt foolish, but it is a chief + qualification in a leader that he never acknowledges that he is + in the wrong: if he once does that, his prestige is gone.</p> + + <p>The first hour of isolation wore away pretty well, owing to + the novelty of the the position; the second also, being devoted + to luncheon; the third dragged a good deal; but when it came to + the fourth; with light beginning to fail and no word of rescue, + matters looked serious. The cold was becoming intense—a + chill, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page67" + id="page67"></a>[pg 67]</span> damp cold that struck every + living thing through and through. What could be keeping the + men? Had they lost their way, or what could possibly have + happened?</p> + + <p>"This is something like an adventure," said Lady Arthur + cheerily.</p> + + <p>"It might pass for one," said Miss Adamson, "if we could see + our way out of it. I wonder if we shall have to sit here all + night?"</p> + + <p>"If we do," said Lady Arthur, "we can have no hope of wild + beasts scenting us out or of being attacked by banditti."</p> + + <p>"Nor of any enamored gentleman coming to the rescue," said + Miss Adamson: "it will end tamely enough. I remember reading a + story of travel among savages, in which at the close of the + monthly instalment the travelers were left buried alive except + their heads, which were above ground, but set on fire. That was + a very striking situation, yet it all came right; so there is + hope for us, I think."</p> + + <p>"Oh, don't make me laugh," said Alice: "I really can't + laugh, I am so stiff with cold."</p> + + <p>"It's a fine discipline to our patience to sit here," said + Lady Arthur. "If I had thought we should have to wait so long, + I would have tried what I could do while it was light."</p> + + <h4>VIII.</h4> + + <p>At length they heard a movement among the snow, and voices, + and immediately a light appeared at the window, shining through + the snow-blind, which was swept down by an arm and the + carriage-door opened.</p> + + <p>"Are you all safe?" were the first words they heard.</p> + + <p>"In the name of wonder, George, how are you here? Where are + John and Thomas?" cried Lady Arthur.</p> + + <p>"I'll tell you all about it after," said George Eildon: "the + thing is to get you out of this scrape. I have a farm-cart and + pair, and two men to help me: you must just put up with + roughing it a little."</p> + + <p>"Oh, I am so thankful!" said Alice.</p> + + <p>The ladies were assisted out of the carriage into the cart, + and settled among plenty of straw and rugs and shawls, with + their backs to the blast. Mr. Eildon shut the door of the + carriage, which was left to its fate, and then got in and sat + at the feet of the ladies. Mr. Ormiston's servant mounted the + trace-horse and Thomas sat on the front of the cart, and the + cavalcade started to toil through the snow.</p> + + <p>"Do tell us, George, how you are here. I thought it was only + heroes of romance that turned up when their services were + desperately needed."</p> + + <p>"There have been a good many heroes of romance to-day," said + Mr. Eildon. "The railways have been blocked in all directions; + three trains with about six hundred passengers have been + brought to a stand at the Drumhead Station near this; many of + the people have been half frozen and sick and fainting. I was + in the train going south, and very anxious to get on, but it + was impossible. I got to Cockhoolet with a number of exhausted + travelers just as your man arrived, and we came off as soon as + we could to look for you. You have stood the thing much better + than many of my fellow-travelers."</p> + + <p>"Indeed!" said Lady Arthur, "and have all the poor people + got housed?"</p> + + <p>"Most of them are at the station-house and various + farm-houses. Mr. Forester, Mr. Ormiston's son-in-law, started + to bring up the last of them just as I started for you."</p> + + <p>"Well, I must say I have enjoyed it," Lady Arthur said, "but + how are we to get home to-night?"</p> + + <p>"You'll not get home to-night: you'll have to stay at + Cockhoolet, and be glad if you can get home to-morrow."</p> + + <p>"And where have you come from, and where are you going to?" + she asked.</p> + + <p>"I came from London—I have only been a week home from + Australia—and I am on my way to Eildon. But here we + are."</p> + + <p>And the hospitable doors of Cockhoolet were thrown wide, + sending out a glow of light to welcome the belated + travelers.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Ormiston and her daughter, Mrs. Forester—who with + her husband was on a visit at Cockhoolet—received them + and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page68" + id="page68"></a>[pg 68]</span> took them to rooms where + fires made what seemed tropical heat compared with the + atmosphere in the glass case on the moor.</p> + + <p>Miss Garscube was able for nothing but to go to bed, and + Miss Adamson stayed with her in the room called Queen Mary's, + being the room that unfortunate lady occupied when she visited + Cockhoolet.</p> + + <p>On this night the castle must have thought old times had + come back again, there was such a large and miscellaneous + company beneath its roof. But where were the knights in armor, + the courtiers in velvet and satin, the boars' heads, the + venison pasties, the wassail-bowls? Where were the stately + dames in stiff brocade, the shaven priests, the fool in motley, + the vassals, the yeomen in hodden gray and broad blue bonnet? + Not there, certainly.</p> + + <p>No doubt, Lady Arthur Eildon was a direct descendant of one + of "the queen's Maries," but in her rusty black gown, her old + black bonnet set awry on her head, her red face, her stout + figure, made stouter by a sealskin jacket, you could not at a + glance see the connection. The house of Eildon was pretty + closely connected with the house of Stuart, but George Eildon + in his tweed suit, waterproof and wideawake looked neither + royal nor romantic. We may be almost sure that there was a fool + or fools in the company, but they did not wear motley. In + short, as yet it is difficult to connect the idea of romance + with railway rugs, waterproofs, India-rubbers and wide-awakes + and the steam of tea and coffee: three hundred years hence + perhaps it may be possible. Who knows? But for all that, + romances go on, we may be sure, whether people are clad in + velvet or hodden gray.</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur was framing a romance—a romance which had + as much of the purely worldly in it as a romance can hold. She + found that George was on his way to see his cousin, Lord + Eildon, who within two days had had a severe access of illness. + It seemed to her a matter of certainty that George would be + duke of Eildon some day. If she had only had the capacity to + have despatched that letter she had written when she believed + she was dying, after him to Australia! Could she send it to him + yet? She hesitated: she could hardly bring herself to + compromise the dignity of Alice, and her own. She had a short + talk with him before they separated for the night.</p> + + <p>"I think you should go home by railway to-morrow," he said. + "It is blowing fresh now, and the trains will all be running + to-morrow. I am sorry I have to go by the first in the morning, + so I shall probably not see you then,"</p> + + <p>"I don't know," she said: "it is a question if Alice will be + able to travel at all to-morrow."</p> + + <p>"She is not ill, is she?" he said. "It is only a little + fatigue from exposure that ails her, isn't it?"</p> + + <p>"But it may have bad consequences," said Lady Arthur: "one + never can tell;" and she spoke in an injured way, for George's + tones were not encouraging. "And John, my coachman—I + haven't seen him—he ought to have been at hand at least: + if I could depend on any one, I thought it was him."</p> + + <p>"Why, he was overcome in the drift to-day: your other man + had to leave him behind and ride forward for help. It was + digging him out of the snow that kept us so long in getting to + you. He has been in bed ever since, but he is getting round + quite well."</p> + + <p>"I ought to have known that sooner," she said.</p> + + <p>"I did not want to alarm you unnecessarily."</p> + + <p>"I must go and see him;" and she held out her hand to say + good-night. "But you'll come to Garscube Hall soon: I shall be + anxious to hear what you think of Frank. When will you + come?"</p> + + <p>"I'll write," he said.</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur felt that opportunity was slipping from her, and + she grew desperate. "Speaking of writing," she said, "I wrote + to you when I had the fever last year and thought I was dying: + would you like to see that letter?"</p> + + <p>"No," he said: "I prefer you living."</p> + + <p>"Have you no curiosity? People can say things dying that + they couldn't say living, + perhaps."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page69" + id="page69"></a>[pg 69]</span> + + <p>"Well, they have no business to do so," he said. "It is + taking an unfair advantage, which a generous nature never does; + besides, it is more solemn to live than die."</p> + + <p>"Then you don't want the letter?"</p> + + <p>"Oh yes, if you like."</p> + + <p>"Very well: I'll think of it. Can you show me the way to + John's place of refuge?"</p> + + <p>They found John sitting up in bed, and Mrs, Ormiston + ministering to him: the remains of a fowl were on a plate + beside him, and he was lifting a glass of something comfortable + to his lips.</p> + + <p>"I never knew of this, John," said his mistress, "till just + a few minutes ago. This is sad."</p> + + <p>"Weel, it doesna look very sad," said John, eying the plate + and the glass. "Yer leddyship and me hae gang mony a daftlike + road, but I think we fairly catched it the day."</p> + + <p>"I don't know how we can be grateful enough to you, Mrs. + Ormiston," said Lady Arthur, turning to their hostess.</p> + + <p>"Well, you know we could hardly be so churlish as to shut + our doors on storm-stayed travelers: we are very glad that we + had it in our power to help them a little."</p> + + <p>"It's by ordinar' gude quarters," said John: "I've railly + enjoyed that hen. Is 't no time yer leddyship was in yer bed, + after siccan a day's wark?"</p> + + <p>"We'll take the hint, John," said Lady Arthur; and in a + little while longer most of Mr. Ormiston's unexpected guests + had lost sight of the day's adventure in sleep.</p> + + <h4>IX.</h4> + + <p>By dawn of the winter's morning all the company, the railway + pilgrims, were astir again—not to visit a shrine, or + attend a tournament, or to go hunting or hawking, or to engage + in a foray or rieving expedition, as guests of former days at + the castle may have done, but quietly to make their way to the + station as the different trains came up, the fresh wind having + done more to clear the way than the army of men that had been + set to work with pickaxe and shovel. But although the railways + and the tweeds and the India-rubbers were modern, the castle + and the snow and the hospitality were all very + old-fashioned—the snow as old as that lying round the + North Pole, and as unadulterated; the hospitality old as when + Eve entertained Raphael in Eden, and as true, blessing those + that give and those that take.</p> + + <p>Mr. Eildon left with the first party that went to the + station; Lady Arthur and the young ladies went away at midday; + John was left to take care of himself and his carriage till + both should be more fit for traveling.</p> + + <p>Of the three ladies, Alice had suffered most from the severe + cold, and it was some time before she entirely recovered from + the effects of it. Lady Arthur convinced herself that it was + not merely the effects of cold she was suffering from, and + talked the case over with Miss Adamson, but that lady stoutly + rejected Lady Arthur's idea. "Miss Garscube has got over that + long ago, and so has Mr. Eildon," she said dryly. "Alice has + far more sense than to nurse a feeling for a man evidently + indifferent to her." These two ladies had exchanged opinions + exactly. George Eildon had only called once, and on a day when + they were all from home: he had written several times to his + aunt regarding Lord Eildon's health, and Lady Arthur had + written to him and had told him her anxiety about the health of + Alice. He expressed sympathy and concern, as his mother might + have done, but Lady Arthur would not allow herself to see that + the case was desperate.</p> + + <p>She had a note from her sister-in-law, Lady George, who said + "that she had just been at Eildon, and in her opinion Frank was + going, but his parents either can't or won't see this, or + George either. It is a sad case—so young a man and with + such prospects—but the world abounds in sad things," + etc., etc. But sad as the world is, it is shrewd with a wisdom + of its own, and it hardly believed in the grief of Lady George + for an event which would place her own son in a position of + honor and affluence. But many a time George Eildon recoiled + from the people who did not conceal their opinion that he might + not be broken-hearted <span class="pagenum"><a name="page70" + id="page70"></a>[pg 70]</span> at the death of his cousin. + There is nothing that true, honorable, unworldly natures + shrink from more than having low, unworthy feelings and + motives attributed to them.</p> + + <h4>X.</h4> + + <p>Lady Arthur Eildon made up her mind. "I am supposed," she + said to herself, "to be eccentric: why not get the good of such + a character?" She enclosed her dying letter to her nephew, + which was nothing less than an appeal to him on behalf of + Alice, assuring him of her belief that Alice bitterly regretted + the answer she had given his letter, and that if she had it to + do over again it would be very different. When Lady Arthur did + this she felt that she was not doing as she would be done by, + but the stake was too great not to try a last throw for it. In + an accompanying note she said, "I believe that the statements + in this letter still hold true. I blamed myself afterward for + having influenced Alice when she wrote to you, and now I have + absolved my conscience." (Lady Arthur put it thus, but she + hardly succeeded in making herself believe it was a case of + conscience: she was too sharp-witted. It is self-complacent + stupidity that is morally small.) "If this letter is of no + interest to you, I am sure I am trusting it to honorable + hands."</p> + + <p>She got an answer immediately. "I thank you," Mr. Eildon + said, "for your letters, ancient and modern: they are both in + the fire, and so far as I am concerned shall be as if they had + never been."</p> + + <p>It was in vain, then, all in vain, that she had humbled + herself before George Eildon. Not only had her scheme failed, + but her pride suffered, as your finger suffers when the point + of it is shut by accident in the hinge of a door. The pain was + terrible. She forgot her conscience, how she had dealt + treacherously—for her good, as she believed, but still + treacherously—with Alice Garscube: she forgot everything + but her own pain, and those about her thought that decidedly + she was very eccentric at this time. She snubbed her people, + she gave orders and countermanded them, so that her servants + did not know what to do or leave undone, and they shook their + heads among themselves and remarked that the moon was at the + full.</p> + + <p>But of course the moon waned, and things calmed down a + little. In the next note she received from her sister-in-law, + among other items of news she was told that her nephew meant to + visit her shortly—"Probably," said his mother, "this + week, but I think it will only be a call. He says Lord Eildon + is rather better, which has put us all in good spirits," + etc.</p> + + <p>Now, Lady Arthur did not wish to see George Eildon at this + time—not that she could not keep a perfect and dignified + composure in any circumstances, but her pride was still in the + hinge of the door—and she went from home every day. Three + days she had business in town: the other days she drove to call + on people living in the next county. As she did not care for + going about alone, she took Miss Adamson always with her, but + Alice only once or twice: she was hardly able for extra fatigue + every day. But Miss Garscube was recovering health and spirits, + and looks also, and when Lady Arthur left her behind she + thought, "Well, if George calls to-day, he'll see that he is + not a necessary of life at least." She felt very grateful that + it was so, and had no objections that George should see it.</p> + + <p>He did see it, for he called that day, but he had not the + least feeling of mortification: he was unfeignedly glad to see + Alice looking so well, and he had never, he thought, seen her + look better. After they had spoken in the most quiet and + friendly way for a little she said, "And how is your cousin, + Lord Eildon?"</p> + + <p>"Nearly well: his constitution seems at last fairly to have + taken a turn in the right direction. The doctors say that not + only is he likely to live as long as any of us, but that the + probability is he will be a robust man yet."</p> + + <p>"Oh, I am glad of it—I am heartily glad of it!"</p> + + <p>"Why are you so very glad?"</p> + + <p>"Because you are: it has made you very happy—you look + so."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page71" + id="page71"></a>[pg 71]</span> + + <p>"I am excessively happy because you believe I am happy. Many + people don't: many people think I am disappointed. My own + mother thinks so, and yet she is a good woman. People will + believe that you wish the death of your dearest friend if he + stands between you and material good. It is horrible, and I + have been courted and worshiped as the rising sun;" and he + laughed. "One can afford to laugh at it now, but it was very + sickening at the time. I can afford anything, Alice: I believe + I can even afford to marry, if you'll marry a hard-working man + instead of a duke."</p> + + <p>"Oh, George," she said, "I have been so ashamed of that + letter I wrote."</p> + + <p>"It was a wicked little letter," he said, "but I suppose it + was the truth at the time: say it is not true now."</p> + + <p>"It is not true now," she repeated, "but I have not loved + you very dearly all the time; and if you had married I should + have been very happy if you had been happy. But oh," she said, + and her eyes filled with tears, "this is far better."</p> + + <p>"You love me now?"</p> + + <p>"Unutterably."</p> + + <p>"I have loved you all the time, all the time. I should not + have been happy if I had heard of your marriage."</p> + + <p>"Then how were you so cold and distant the day we stuck on + the moor?"</p> + + <p>"Because it was excessively cold weather: I was not going to + warm myself up to be frozen again. I have never been in + delicate health, but I can't stand heats and chills."</p> + + <p>"I do believe you are not a bit wiser than I am. I hear the + carriage: that's Lady Arthur come back. How surprised she will + be!"</p> + + <p>"I am not so sure of that," George said. "I'll go and meet + her."</p> + + <p>When he appeared Lady Arthur shook hands tranquilly and + said, "How do you do?"</p> + + <p>"Very well," he said. "I have been testing the value of + certain documents you sent me, and find they are worth their + weight in gold."</p> + + <p>She looked in his face.</p> + + <p>"Alice is mine," he said, "and we are going to Bashan for + our wedding-tour. If you'll seize the opportunity of our + escort, you may hunt up Og's bed."</p> + + <p>"Thank you," she said: "I fear I should be <i>de + trop</i>."</p> + + <p>"Not a bit; but even if you were a great nuisance, we are in + the humor to put up with anything."</p> + + <p>"I'll think of it. I have never traveled in the character of + a nuisance yet—at least, so far as I know—and it + would be a new sensation: that is a great inducement."</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur rushed to Miss Adamson's room with the news, and + the two ladies had first a cry and then a laugh over it. "Alice + will be duchess yet," said Lady Arthur: "that boy's life has + hung so long by a thread that he must be prepared to go, and he + would be far better away from the cares and trials of this + world, I am sure;" which might be the truth, but it was hard to + grudge the boy his life.</p> + + <p>Lady Arthur was in brilliant spirits at dinner that evening. + "I suppose you are going to live on love," she said.</p> + + <p>"I am going to work for my living," said George.</p> + + <p>"Very right," she said; "but, although I got better last + year, I can't live for ever, and when I'm gone Alice will have + the Garscube estates: I have always intended it."</p> + + <p>"Madam," said George, "do you not know that the great + lexicographer has said in one of his admirable works, 'Let no + man suffer his felicity to depend upon the death of his + aunt'?"</p> + + <p>It is said that whenever a Liberal ministry comes in Mr. + Eildon will be offered the governorship of one of the colonies. + Lady Arthur may yet live to be astonished by his "career," and + at least she is not likely to regret her dying letter.</p> + + <p class="author">THE AUTHOR OF + "BLINDPITS."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page72" + id="page72"></a>[pg 72]</span> + + <h2>THE HOUSE ON THE BEACH.</h2> + + <p>"What is that black mass yonder, far up the beach, just at + the edge of the breakers?"</p> + + <p>The fisherman to whom we put the question drew in his + squid-line, hand over hand, without turning his head, having + given the same answer for half a dozen years to summer + tourists: "Wreck. Steamer. Creole."</p> + + <p>"Were there many lives lost?"</p> + + <p>"It's likely. This is the worst bit of coast in the country, + The Creole was a three-decker," looking at it reflectively, + "Lot of good timber there."</p> + + <p>As we turned our field-glasses to the black lump hunched out + of the water, like a great sea-monster creeping up on the sand, + we saw still farther up the coast a small house perched on a + headland, with a flag flying in the gray mist, and pointed it + out to the Jerseyman, who nodded: "That there wooden shed is + the United States signal station;" adding, after a pause, + "Life-saving service down stairs."</p> + + <p>"Old Probabilities! The house he lives in!"</p> + + <p>"Life-boats!"</p> + + <p>Visions of the mysterious old prophet who utters his oracles + through the morning paper, of wrecks and storms, and of heroic + men carrying lines through the night to sinking ships, filled + our brains. Townspeople out for their summer holiday have keen + appetites for the romantic and extraordinary, and manufacture + them (as sugar from beets) out of the scantiest materials. We + turned our backs on the fisherman and his squid-line. The + signal station and the hull of the lost vessel were only a shed + and timber to him. How can any man be alive to the significance + of a wreck and fluttering flag which he sees twenty times a + day? Noah, no doubt, after a year in the ark, came to look upon + it as so much gopher-wood, and appreciated it as a good job of + joinery rather than a divine symbol.</p> + + <p>We believe, however, that our readers will find in the + wrecked Creole and the wooden shed, and the practical facts + concerning them, matter suggestive enough to hold them a little + space. They fill a yet unwritten page in the history of our + government, and of great and admirable work done by it, of + which the nation at large has been given but partial knowledge. + Or, if we choose to look more deeply into things, we may find + in the old hulk and commonplace building hints as significant + of the Infinite Order and Power underlying all ordinary things, + and of our relations to it, as in the long-ago Deluge and the + ark riding over it.</p> + + <p>The little wooden house stands upon a lonely stretch of + coast in Ocean county, New Jersey. Several miles of low barren + marshes and sands gray with poverty-grass on the north separate + it from Manasquan Inlet and the pine woods and scattered + farm-houses which lie along its shore, while half a mile below, + on the south, is the head of Barnegat Bay, a deep, narrow + estuary which runs into and along the Jersey coast for more + than half its extent, leaving outside a strip of sandy beach, + never more than a mile wide. All kinds of sea fish and fowl + take refuge in this bay and the interminable reedy marshes, and + for a few weeks in the snipe-and duck-season sportsmen from New + York find their way to "Shattuck's" and the houses of other old + water-dogs along the bay. But during the rest of the year the + wooden shed and its occupants are left to the companionship of + the sea and the winds.</p> + + <p>The little building (with a gigantic "No. 10" whitewashed + outside) stands close to the breakers, just above high-water + mark in winter. It is divided into two large rooms, upper and + lower, with a tiny kitchen in the rear and an equally + comfortless bedroom overhead. The doors of the lower room + (which, like those of a barn, fill the whole end of the house) + being closed, we sought for Old Probabilities up stairs, and + found very little at <span class="pagenum"><a name="page73" + id="page73"></a>[pg 73]</span> first sight to gratify + curiosity or any craving for mystery. There was a large + wooden room, with walls and floor of unpainted boards, the + ceiling hung with brilliantly colored flags, a telegraphic + apparatus, one or two desks, books, writing + materials—a scientific working-room, in short, with + its implements in that order which implied that only men had + used them.</p> + + <p>There were in 1874 one hundred and eight such signal + stations as this, modest, inexpensive little offices, + established over the United States, from the low sea-coast + plains to the topmost peak of the Rocky Mountains.</p> + + <p>If we were accurate chroniclers, we should have to go back + to Aristotle and the Chaldeans to show the origin and purpose + of these little offices, just as Carlyle has to unearth Ulfila + the Moesogoth to explain a word he uses to his butter-man. The + world is so new, after all, and things so inextricably tangled + up in it! In this case, as it is the sun and wind and rain + which are the connecting links, it is easy enough to bring past + ages close to us. The Chaldeans, building their great + embankments or raiding upon Job's herds, are no longer a myth + to us when we remember that they were wet by the rain and + anxious about the weather and their crops, just as we are; in + fact, they felt such matters so keenly, and were so little able + to cope with these unknown forces, that they made gods of them, + and then, beyond prayers and sacrifices, troubled themselves no + further about the matter. Even the shrewd, observant Hebrews, + living out of doors, a race of shepherds and herdsmen, never + looked for any rational cause for wind or storm, but regarded + them, if not as gods, as the messengers of God, subject to no + rules. It was He who at His will covered the heavens with + clouds, who prepared rain, who cast forth hoar-frost like + ashes: the stormy wind fulfilled His word. Men searched into + the construction of their own minds, busied themselves with + subtle philosophies, with arts and sciences, conquered the + principles of Form and Color, and made not wholly unsuccessful + efforts to solve the mystery of the sun and stars; but it was + not until 340 B.C. that any notice was taken of the every-day + matters of wind and heat and rain.</p> + + <p>Aristotle, the Gradgrind of philosophers, first noted down + the known facts on this subject in his work <i>On Meteors</i>. + His theories and deductions were necessarily erroneous, but he + struck the foundation of all science, the collection of known + facts. Theophrastus, one of his pupils, made a compilation of + prognostics concerning rain, wind and storm, and there + investigation ceased for ages. For nearly two thousand years + the citizens of the world rose every morning to rejoice in fair + weather or be wet by showers, to see their crops destroyed by + frost or their ships by winds, and never made a single attempt + to discover any scientific reason or rules in the + matter—apparently did not suspect that there was any + cause or effect behind these daily occurrences. They accounted + for wind or rain as our grandfathers did for a sudden death, by + the "visitation of God." In fact, Nature—which is the + expression of Law most inexorable and minute—was the very + last place where mankind looked to find law at all.</p> + + <p>About two hundred and thirty years ago Torricelli discovered + that the atmosphere, the space surrounding the earth, which + seemed more intangible than a dream, had weight and substance, + and invented the barometer, the tiny tube and drop of mercury + by which it could be seized and held and weighed as accurately + as a pound of lead. As soon as this invisible air was proved to + be matter, the whole force of scientific inquiry was directed + toward it. The thermometer, by which its heat or cold could be + measured—the hygrometer, which weighed, literally by a + hair, its moisture or dryness—were the results of the + research of comparatively a few years. Somewhat later came the + curious instrument which measures its velocity. As soon as it + was thus made practicable for any intelligent observer to + handle, weigh and test every quality of the air, it became + evident that wind and storm, even the terrible cyclone, were + not irresponsible forces, carrying health or death to and fro + where they <span class="pagenum"><a name="page74" + id="page74"></a>[pg 74]</span> listed, but the result of + plain, immutable; laws. It was an American in this our + Quaker City who reduced the wind to a commonplace effect of + a most ordinary cause. Franklin, one winter's day passing + with a lighted candle out of a warm room into a cold one, + saw that as he held it above his head the flame was blown + outward before him: when he held it near the floor, the + flame was blown into the room. The shrewd observer stood in + the doorway, instead of hurrying out, as most of us would + have done, to save the wasting candle. The warm air in the + heated room, he conjectured, was expanded by the heat, + consequently it rose as high as it could, and made a way for + itself out of the room at the upper part of the doorway, + while the heavier cold air from without rushed in below to + fill the vacated space. What if he took the equatorial + regions or great tracts of arid desert for the heated room? + The air over them, subjected by the heat to constant + rarefaction, must rise, must overflow above, and must force + the colder air from the surrounding regions in below. Two + sheets of air will thus set in vertically on both sides, + rise, and again separate above. Here was an explanation of + the great, steady, uninterrupted aërial currents which, + at the rate of from fifteen to eighteen miles per hour, + sweep the surface of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The + candle, no doubt, was wasted, but the secret of the + trade-winds was discovered.</p> + + <p>The idea was correct as far as it went. It did not go very + far, it is true. It had not taken into account the earth's + rotation, whose force, according to Herschel, "gives at least + one-half of their average momentum to all the winds which occur + over the whole world;" nor the infinite variation in the + movements of the atmosphere which we call winds, caused by the + change in the sun's motion, by the differing amounts of vapor + held in them, by the physical configuration of the earth below, + by the vicinity of the sea or arid deserts, and by the passage + of storms or electric currents.</p> + + <p>The science of meteorology, especially as regards wind, is + as yet searching for general principles, which can only be + deduced from countless facts. We do not now, like Saint Paul, + talk of the wind Euroclydon as of a special agent of God, but + describe it by stating that it is an aërial ascending + current over the Mediterranean, produced by the heated sands of + Africa and Arabia. We can even measure its heat at 200° + Fahrenheit, and its velocity at fifty-four miles per hour. But + it attacks us just as unexpectedly as it did the apostle, and + brings disease and death to Naples or Palermo to-day just as + surely as it did to Cambyses. The popular verdict on the matter + would no doubt be that when meteorologists can not only + describe the sirocco, but give warning of its coming, their + science will justify its claim to consideration. The common + sense of mankind always demands as a royalty from every science + daily practical benefits to the mass of men and women. It is + not enough for meteorologists to have proved that the + atmosphere varies in weight, in temperature or velocity of + motion according to fixed rules, or to be able to explain why + no rain falls on a certain portion of the coast of Portugal, + while a like coast-exposure in England is incessantly drenched; + or to have determined beyond a doubt that precisely as the + ocean of water, under the influence of the moon and wind, ebbs + and flows and has its succession of storms or calms, the ocean + of air in which we are enveloped answers to the influence of + the sun in great tidal movements, and has also its vast + steadily moving waves of cold or heat or moisture. These + discoveries of general truths must be brought to bear directly + on men's daily life before they will have fulfilled their true + purpose. It would seem as if nothing were more easy than to + bring them so to bear. Meteorology, more intimately perhaps + than any other science, concerns our ordinary affairs. The + health of mankind, navigation, agriculture, commerce, the + hourly business and needs of every man, from the merchant + sending out his cargo and the consumptive waiting for death in + the east wind, to the laundress hanging out the family wash, + are ruled by that most mysterious, most uncurbed of powers, the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page75" + id="page75"></a>[pg 75]</span> weather. We may rub along + through life with scanty knowledge of the history of dead + nations or the philosophy of living ones, but heat and cold, + the climate of the coming winter, yesterday's rainfall or + to-morrow's frost, are matters which take hold of every one + of us and affect us every hour of the day. Now, to bring the + known general truths of this science to practical rules, or + to base upon them predictions of storms or changes in the + weather during any future period, requires, as Sir John + Herschel stated twelve years ago, "patient, incessant and + laborious observations, carried on in every region of the + globe." One reason why this is required is the perpetually + shifting conditions of heat, wind and storm. A man who sat + down to work a mathematical problem in the days of Job, if + there was such a man, found its result just the same as the + school-boy does to-day: figures not only never lie, but + never alter. But the man who solves an equation of which the + winds and waters are members finds that the sum to be added + varies with every hour. There are, so far as is yet known, + no regularly recurring cycles of weather on which to base + predictions: the conditions of heat and wind and moisture + are never precisely the same at any given point. Hence the + necessity, if we would give the science stability and bring + it to bear on our daily life, of educated, skilled observers + at different points to collect and report simultaneously the + daily details of the present conditions.</p> + + <p>It is this daily detail of fact which the United States + government supplies through the little stations of observation + one of which we have stumbled into on the Jersey beach. + Americans, indeed, have from the first taken hold of this + science with a most characteristic effort to reduce it to + practical uses, to bring it at once to bear on the well-being + at least of farmers and navigators. Dove had no sooner + published his chart of isothermal lines and charts, showing the + temperature throughout the world of each month, and also of + abnormal temperatures, than our government issued the <i>Army + Meteorological Register</i> for the United States, which for + accuracy and fullness had never been equaled. In these the + temperature and rainfall for each month of the year were shown. + The forecasts of the weather now published daily in this + country, and which come so directly home to every man's + business that Old Probabilities is a real personage to us all, + have been given in England for several years under the + supervision of Admiral Fitzroy.</p> + + <p>But it is high time now that we should come back to our + little wooden house on the beach, and tell what we know of its + occupants and uses. The courteous gentleman (in a blue flannel + suit for "roughing it") who sits at the telegraphic wires is + Sergeant G——, belonging to the Signal Service + Department of the army. Instruction in this department is given + at Fort Whipple, Va. One hundred officers besides Sergeant + G—— are now in charge of stations, with 139 + privates as assistants. The average force at Fort Whipple is + 140 men. These men are, in point of fact, soldiers liable to be + called into active service in the field: their duty there, + however, is not fighting, but signaling and telegraphy—a + duty quite as dangerous as the bearing of arms. Fresh recruits + for this service are divided into those capable of receiving + instruction only in field duty and those for "full service," + which includes, with military signaling and telegraphy, the + taking of meteoric observations, the collating and publication + of such observations, and the deduction from them of correct + results. Passing two examinations successfully in the latter + course, the signal-service soldier is detailed for duty at a + post as assistant, and after six months' satisfactory service + is returned to Fort Whipple for the special instruction given + to observer-sergeants. When qualified for this work he is + detailed, as a vacancy occurs, for actual service.</p> + + <p>Having thus discovered how our friend the sergeant came into + his post, we looked about to see what he had to do there. The + brilliantly-colored flags overhead drew the eye first. These + flags serve the purpose of an international language on the + high seas, where no other + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page76" + id="page76"></a>[pg 76]</span> language is practicable. + Twenty thousand distinct messages can be sent by them. + Rogers's system has been, adopted by the United States Navy, + the Lighthouse Board, the United States Coast Survey and the + principal lines of steamers. Each flag represents a number, + and four flags can be hoisted at once on the staff. With the + flags there is given a book containing the meaning of each + number. Thus, a wrecked ship cries silently to the shore, + "Send a lifeboat" by flags 3, 8, 9, or says that she is + sinking by 6, 3, 2; or a vessel under full sail hails + another by 8, 6, 0, or bids her "<i>bon voyage</i>" with 8, + 9, 7. Owing to the difficulty of distinguishing colors in + cloudy days or when the flags will not fly, other systems of + signaling are used: that of cones similar to umbrellas being + considered in the English service one of the most efficient, + a different arrangement of cones on the staff representing + the nine numerals. Men may convert themselves into cones in + an emergency by raising or letting fall their arms, and two + men thus give any signal necessary. As the flags, however, + belong more especially to Sergeant G—— 's duty + on the field of battle or to exceptional cases of storm and + danger, we pass them by to examine into his daily round of + duty. Outside, a queer little house of lattice-work perched + on a headland shelters the thermometers and barometers: on a + still higher point directly over the foaming breakers is the + anemometer, the little instrument which measures the + swiftness of the fiercest cyclone as easily as the lightest + spring breeze. It consists of four brass cups shaped to + catch the wind, and attached to the ends of two horizontal + iron rods, which cross each other and are supported in the + middle by a long pole on which they turn freely. The cups + revolve with just one-third of the wind's velocity, and make + five hundred revolutions whilst a mile of wind passes over + them. A register of these revolutions is made by machinery + similar to a gas-meter. The popular idea, by the way, of the + speed of the wind runs very far beyond the truth: we are apt + to say of a racer that he goes like the wind, when the fact + is the horse of a good strain of blood leaves the laggard + tempest far behind; the ordinary winds of every day travel + only five miles an hour, a breeze of sixteen and a quarter + miles an hour being strong enough to cause great discomfort + in town or field: thirty-three miles is dangerous at sea, + and sixty-five miles a violent hurricane, sweeping all + before it.</p> + + <p>Our friend the sergeant examines seven times a day at stated + periods the condition of the atmosphere as to heat, weight and + moisture, the velocity of the wind, the kind, amount and speed + of the clouds, and measures the rainfall and the ocean swell: + all these observations are recorded, and three are daily + reported to headquarters at Washington. In these telegrams a + cipher is used—as much, we presume, to ensure accuracy in + the figures as for purposes of secresy. In this cipher the + fickle winds are given the names of women with a covert sarcasm + quite out of place in the respectable old weather-prophet whom + every housewife consults before the day's work begins. Thus, + when the telegraph operator receives the mysterious message, + "Francisco Emily alone barge churning did frosty guarding + hungry," how is he to know that it means "San Francisco + Evening. Rep. Barom. 29.40, Ther. 61, Humidity 18 per cent., + Velocity of wind 41 miles per hour, 840 pounds pressure, + Cirro-stratus. N.W. 1/4 to 2/4, Cumulo-stratus East, Rainfall + 2.80 inch."?</p> + + <p>Besides these simultaneous reports from the one hundred and + eight United States stations which are telegraphed to the + central office at Washington, there are received there daily + three hundred and eighty-three volunteer reports from every + part of the country, these being the system of meteorological + observations under control of the Smithsonian Institution for + twenty-four years, and given in charge to the Signal Service + Bureau in 1874. In addition to these, again, are simultaneous + reports from Russia, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, + England, Algiers, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, + Portugal, Switzerland, Canada—in all two hundred and + fourteen. When we add together, therefore, + the</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page77" + id="page77"></a>[pg 77]</span> + + <table summary="" + align="center"> + <tr> + <td align="left">United States Signal Service + reports</td> + + <td> </td> + + <td align="right">108</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Volunteer reports</td> + + <td> </td> + + <td align="right">383</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">International reports</td> + + <td> </td> + + <td align="right">214</td> + </tr> + + <tr> + <td align="left">Reports of medical corps of army</td> + + <td> </td> + + <td align="right">123</td> + </tr> + </table> + + <p>we have a grand total of eight hundred and twenty-eight + daily simultaneous reports received at the central office, + where Brigadier-General Albert J. Myer and his brevet aide, + Captain H.W. Howgate (or, if you choose, Old Probabilities + himself), wait to scan through these many watchful eyes the + heavens around the world and utter incessant prophecies and + warnings. Besides the regular observations, report is also made + of casual phenomena—lightning, auroras, time of first and + last frosts, etc., etc.</p> + + <p>The history of the Signal Service Bureau and the + establishment of these stations and telegraph-lines, bringing + the whole country under the instant oversight of one + intelligent observer, would, if it were briefly written, be + full of points of dramatic interest. As yet it must be gathered + out of acts of Congress and official reports. The service has + now existed for fourteen years, but is still without that full + recognition by Congress which would ensure its permanency. + "With interests depending on its daily work as great as can by + any possibility rest upon any other branch of the service, it + is yet regarded as an experiment, an offshoot of regular army + service existing on sufferance, liable at any moment to be + hindered in its operations, if not totally abolished." The + benefit of this daily work, however, affects too nearly and + constantly the mass of the people to allow much danger of its + final extinction. What the real value of this practical work is + can be gathered not only from the dry statistics of annual + reports, but from the increased confidence placed in it by the + people, the unscientific working majority.</p> + + <p>The help given to farmers should rank perhaps first in + estimating the value of this work. At midnight of each day the + midnight forecast is telegraphed to twenty centres of + distribution, located strictly with regard to the agricultural + population. The telegrams, as soon as received, are printed by + signal-service men, rapidly enveloped in wrappers already + stamped and addressed, and sent by the swiftest conveyance to + every post-office which can be reached before 2 P.M. of the + same day, and when received are displayed on bulletin-boards. + The average time elapsing from the moment when the bulletin + leaves the central office until it reaches every post-office + from Maine to Florida is ten hours. In 1874, 6286 of these + farmers' bulletins were issued, and when we consider that by + each one of them reliable information as to the chances of + success or failure in planting or reaping was given, we gain + some idea of the directness and force of the work of this + bureau.</p> + + <p>The river reports of the office include not only regular + daily observations of the changing depths of the great + water-highways, but forecasts of coming floods or sudden rises + and falls of the river-levels. Before the great floods in the + Mississippi Valley in 1874 the warnings given by this means, + and which could have been given by no other, saved an + incalculable amount of property and human life. Bulletins are + also issued regarding approaching freezing of our canals in the + winter months, and have enabled shippers to avoid the accidents + common heretofore when enormous quantities of grain, etc. in + transit have been detained by this means, to the serious + disturbance of the market.</p> + + <p>Cautionary day and night signals are displayed at the + principal ports and harbors when dangerous winds or storms are + anticipated. In one year 762 of these warning signals were + displayed, and 561 were verified by storms of destructive winds + which otherwise would not have been foreseen. In not a single + instance during the last two years has a great storm reached, + without warning from the office, the lakes or seaports of the + country. The amount of shipping, property and life thus saved + to the country is simply incalculable.</p> + + <p>Tri-daily deductions or probabilities of the weather, wind + and storms, with part of the data on which they rest, are + published in all the principal papers of the country, and each + man and woman can <span class="pagenum"><a name="page78" + id="page78"></a>[pg 78]</span> testify as to their use of + them. Who now goes to be married or to bury his dead or to + begin a journey without consulting the two oracular lines in + italics at the head of the leading column? They have come to + take part in our domestic lives. The people would miss + politics or the markets or literature out of the paper with + less regret than Probabilities should the service be + discontinued.</p> + + <p>Besides this practical labor, there is the publication of + nine daily charts on which are inscribed 2160 readings of + different instruments, giving an accurate view of the general + meteoric condition; monthly charts and charts condensing the + results of years of observation; records furnished for the + study of scientific men more comprehensive and regular than can + be offered by any similar institution in any country.</p> + + <p>A special bit of history comes to light respecting our + little wooden shed at the head of Barnegat Bay. An act of + Congress approved March, 1873, authorized the establishment of + signal stations at lighthouses or life-saving stations along + dangerous coasts, and the connection of the same by telegraphs, + thirty thousand dollars being appropriated for that end. In + consequence, signal stations were established on the + Massachusetts coast, from Norfolk, Va., to Cape Hatteras, and + more closely along this dangerous lee-shore of New Jersey, and + telegraph-lines were laid connecting them with each other and + also with the central office. The plan for the future is to net + the whole coast—the lake, Atlantic and Pacific + shores—with these stations and telegraph-wires. By this + means information of coming storms can be conveyed by signal to + vessels, or of wrecks, by telegraph, to other life-saving + stations: the close watch kept upon the ocean-swell and + currents will give warning inland of approaching changes in the + weather; for it is a singular fact that the ocean-swell + communicates this intelligence more quickly than the barometer, + in quite another sense than the poet's</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Every wave has tales to tell</p> + + <p>Of storms far out at sea.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Our little station belongs to the advanced guard of this + proposed line which is to encircle the coast, the whole work of + establishing these stations and telegraph-lines having been, + done by Sergeant G—— and his comrades. Indeed, when + we look at all the work done by our blue-coated friend, his + steady, unintermitting attention to duty by day and night year + after year, his comfortless quarters in the wooden shed on the + lonely beach, and the almost absolute solitude for an educated + man during many months of the year, we begin to think his + station not the least honorable among the soldiers of the + republic. Almost any man, set down on the battle-field, one + army to meet and another to back him, with the crash of music + and arms, the magnetic fury of combat blazing in the air, would + rise to the height of the moment and prove himself manly. But + to be faithful to petty tasks hour after hour, through all + kinds of privation and weather, for years, is quite a different + matter.</p> + + <p>The reports of the chief officer give us a hint of some of + the privations borne by the observer-sergeants, educated young + fellows like our friend. In 1872 the chief ordered one of these + men to establish a station on the western coast of Alaska and + on the island of St. Paul in Behring Sea, which was done, the + observer continuing for a year in that farthest outpost. His + record of frozen fogs which wrap the island like a pall, of + cyclones from the Asian seas that lash its rocky coast, of vast + masses of electric clouds seen nowhere else which sweep + incessantly over it toward the Pole, reads more like the story + of a nightmare dream than a scientific statement.</p> + + <p>In the next spring the chief ordered another sergeant to + found a station on Mount Mitchell, the highest mountain-peak + east of the Mississippi. Professor Mitchell discovered and + measured this mountain about twenty years ago. While taking + meteorological observations upon it he was overtaken by a + storm, lost his way, and was dashed to pieces over one of its + terrible precipices. Several years after his death the + government, suddenly recognizing his right to some + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page79" + id="page79"></a>[pg 79]</span> acknowledgment from science, + ordered his body to be disinterred and buried on the topmost + peak of the mountain. It was a work of weeks, the body in + its coffin being carried by the hardy mountaineers up almost + impassable heights. But it reached the top at last, and lies + there in the sky above all human life, with the mountain for + a monument. One is startled by such a pathetic whim of + poetic justice in a government. It was to this peak that the + sergeant was ordered to carry his instruments and to make an + abiding-place for himself. And here, after two days' journey + from the base, he arrived at night in a storm of snow and + hail—the guides having cleared the way with + axes—set up his instruments, and took observations + above the clouds while trees and rocks were sheeted with + ice, and there was no shelter for himself or his companions + from the furious tempests. A hut was built after a few days, + and here the observer remained with the lonely grave as + companion, taking hourly observations during several + months.</p> + + <p>Another officer was sent to the top of Pike's Peak, where he + lived in a rudely-constructed cabin until his health broke + down; he was then replaced by another, who after a year was + obliged to yield also. As soon as one soldier succumbs in these + perilous outposts another goes forward. The rarity of the air + at this great altitude (nearly thirteen thousand feet) produces + nausea, fever and dizziness: added to this were the intense + cold and exposure to terrific storms. Sergeant Seyboth records + several nights when he with his companions were forced, in a + driving tempest, to leave the shelter of their hut and work all + night heaping rocks upon its roof to keep it from being blown + away; beneath them, many thousand feet, was the rolling sea of + clouds. Again and again these men were lost in the drifted snow + of the cañons while passing from station to station, and + barely escaped with their lives. So imminent, indeed, was their + danger during the winter of 1873 that prayers for their safety + were offered continually in the churches below.</p> + + <p>Frederick Meyer, another of these signal-service soldiers, + was sent on the North Polar expedition with Captain Hall. No + such marvelous tale as that contained in his formal report was + ever found in fiction. Sergeant Meyer made observations every + three hours on the voyage north, and hourly when coming south, + during a year and two months. At the end of that time, as is + well known to our readers, he, with part of the crew of the + Polaris, was deserted by the ship, and left on a floe of ice in + 79° north latitude, the steamer going southward without + attempting their relief. Even in that moment of extremity he + made an effort to secure the case containing his observations, + but it was washed away from him by heavy seas. For six months + these nineteen human beings drifted on the mass of ice over the + polar seas, through all the darkness and horrors of an Arctic + winter, without fire except such as was made by burning one of + their boats—a feeble blaze daily, enough to warm a quart + of water in which to soak their pemmican—without shelter + save such as the heaped ice and snow afforded, and on + starvation diet. After four months the floe began to melt so + rapidly that it was but twenty yards wide. "We dared not + sleep," says Sergeant Meyer, "fearing the ice would break under + us and we should find our grave in the Arctic Sea." Several + times the ice did break beneath them, and they were washed into + the flood, but scrambled up again on the fast-melting floe. + During the whole of this time the signal-service soldier + continued faithful to his work, taking such observations as + were possible with the instruments left to him. The boat had + been burned long before, and they warmed their water with an + Esquimaux lamp. On April 22d their provisions consisted of but + ten biscuits. Starvation was before them when a bear was shot, + and they lived on its raw meat for two weeks. At the end of + that time a steamer passed within sight. The poor wretches on + the ice hoisted a flag and shouted, but the vessel passed out + of sight. Another ship a few days later came within the horizon + and disappeared. The next day was foggy: again a steamer was + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page80" + id="page80"></a>[pg 80]</span> sighted, and for hours the + shipwrecked crew strove to make themselves seen and heard + through the fog, firing shots, hoisting their torn flag and + shouting at the tops of their voices. They were seen at + last, and taken aboard the Tigress, "more like ghastly + spectres who had come up through hell," says one of the + narrators, "than living men."</p> + + <p>The pay of the signal-service soldiers is small, and it is + hardly to be supposed that they are all enthusiasts in science, + or so in love with meteorology that they cheerfully brave + danger and hardships such as these for its sake. We must look + for the secret of their loyalty to their steady, tedious work + in that quiet devotion to duty which we find in the majority of + honest men—the feeling that they must go through with + what they have once undertaken. And, after all, the majority of + men are honest, and loyalty to irksome work is so commonplace a + matter that it is only when we see it carry a man steadily + through great and sudden peril, or consider how in its great + total the work of obscure individuals has lifted humanity to + higher levels in the last three centuries, that we can + understand how good a thing it is.</p> + + <p>At some future time we shall ransack the lower floor of the + little house on the beach and discover what is to be found + there.</p> + + <p class="author">REBECCA HARDING DAVIS.</p> + + <h2>A DEAD LOVE.</h2> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>O Rose! within my bloomy croft,</p> + + <p class="i2">Where hidden sweets compacted dwell,</p> + + <p>The wanton wind with breathings soft,</p> + + <p class="i2">To perfect flower thy bud shall + swell,</p> + + <p class="i4">Then steal thy rich perfume,</p> + + <p class="i4">Tarnish both grace and bloom,</p> + + <p>Until, thy pearly prime being past,</p> + + <p>Withered and dead thou'lt lie at last.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>O gleaming Night! whose cloudy hair</p> + + <p class="i2">Waves dark amid its woven light,</p> + + <p>Bestudded thick with jewels rare,</p> + + <p class="i2">Than royal diadem more bright,</p> + + <p class="i4">Lo! the white hands of Day</p> + + <p class="i4">Shall strip thy gauds away,</p> + + <p>And in the twilight of the morn</p> + + <p>Mock thy estate with cold-eyed scorn.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>My love, O Rose! hath had a day</p> + + <p class="i2">As fair, a fate as quick, as thine:</p> + + <p>All wrapped in perfumed sleep I lay</p> + + <p class="i2">Till my fond fancies grew divine,</p> + + <p class="i4">And sweet Elysium seemed</p> + + <p class="i4">Around me as I dreamed.</p> + + <p>The rose is dead, the dawn comes fast:</p> + + <p>Joy dies, but grief awakes at last.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="author">F.A. HILLARD.</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page81" + id="page81"></a>[pg 81]</span> + + <h2>GENTILHOMME AND GENTLEMAN.</h2> + + <p>"Le dernier gentilhomme de France vient de mourir!" + exclaimed the <i>Figaro</i> a short time ago when recording the + death of the Count de Cambis. But the announcement has been + made so often during the last century that we are led to hope + that the race may not be extinct yet. Every generation of + Frenchmen has boasted the possession of its "first" and + lamented the loss of its "last" "gentilhomme de France," and on + each occasion have hasty English journalists of the day joined + both in the glorification and the lamentation over the + individuals thus commemorated by their own countrymen. The term + "gentilhomme" is so liable to be confounded with "gentleman" + that it needs explaining, for, despite the similarity of + derivation, no two words can be more distinct. The French + gentilhomme must be of noble blood: he must be of ancient and + distinguished race, for no <i>nouveau parvenu</i> can ever + aspire to be cited as a <i>vrai gentilhomme</i>, while the + qualifications necessary for sustaining the character seem to + be wholly confined to the one virtue of generosity. Whenever + you hear it said of a man, "Il s'est conduit en vrai + gentilhomme," be sure that it means no more than that he + performed a simple act of justice in a courteous and graceful + manner. The sacred and self-imposed qualities which make up the + significance of the English word "gentleman" no Frenchman, nor + indeed any foreigner, can understand, and the word itself is + never translated, but always left in its original English. + Bulwer defines the appellation more clearly than any other + author when he says, "The word <i>gentleman</i> has become a + title peculiar to us—not, as in other countries, resting + on pedigree and coats-of-arms, but embracing all who unite + gentleness with manhood."</p> + + <p>Now the gentilhomme of France is an entirely different type. + He <i>must</i> rely on pedigree and coats-of-arms; he must be + sudden and quick in quarrel; he must fling away his money + freely amongst the <i>roture</i>; he must be what is called a + <i>beau joueur</i>—that is to say, he may lose at the + gaming-table the dowry of his mother, the marriage-portion of + his sister, everything, in short, save his temper; he may + defraud a creditor, and be the first to laugh at the fraud. + "One God, one love, one king!" is the cry of the good old + English gentleman. But in religion the gentilhomme + Français may declare with Henri Quatre that "Paris vaut + bien une messe;" in love he may pledge his faith to as many + mistresses as that same valiant sovereign; and in politics he + may cry, "Vive le Roi! vive la Ligue!" and yet remain a + <i>parfait gentilhomme</i> in spite of all.</p> + + <p>Every generation seems to have furnished its <i>parfait + gentilhomme par excellence</i>. The court of Louis Quatorze + boasted of its Chevalier de Grammont, from whose own confession + we learn that he gloried in the skill with which he cheated the + poor Count de Camma at Lyons and the cunning with which he + eluded payment of his bill at the inn.</p> + + <p>Then came M. de Montrond, and he again was <i>premier + gentilhomme de France</i> while he lived and <i>le dernier des + gentilhommes Français</i> when he died. M. de Montrond + belonged to two generations, two strongly-contrasted epochs. At + his first ball at court he wore a powdered <i>cadogan</i> and + danced in <i>talons rouges</i>: at his last he lolled with bald + head against a doorway, in varnished boots and starched cravat. + His existence has remained an enigma to this hour. Although + solicited to accept office by every party that rose to power + during his life, he steadfastly refused, and yet, by virtue of + his quality of premier gentilhomme de France, possessed + unbounded influence with them all. The explanation he gave of + his system was cynical enough: "A man must march straight to + the cash-box and secure the money, without waiting + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page82" + id="page82"></a>[pg 82]</span> in the ante-room or the + bureau: the power is sure to follow." He chatted politics + sometimes, but never "talked" them, and seldom failed to + introduce the names of one or more of the forty-three + duchesses, countesses and marquises whose peace of mind he + boasted of having wrecked for ever. Is it not strange that + such frothy frivolity could have obtained dominion for more + than fifty years over the most critical people in the world? + But Montrond always declared that no man in France would + ever take the trouble to read a book if once he had taken + the trouble to read the preface. Even by the capricious and + pedantic yet ignorant society of fashionable London his + fantastical dominion was acknowledged; and the reason of + this will be understood at once in the fearlessness with + which he uttered his rule of conduct: "Every man of + distinction should settle his income at ten thousand pounds + a year, and never trouble himself whether or not he + possesses as much for the capital." This premier gentilhomme + de France was proud of his want of reading, and used often + to declare that the only two books he had ever skimmed were + the wearisome <i>Henriade</i> of Voltaire and the frivolous + <i>Liaisons Dangereuses</i> of Laclos. No research, no + analysis of character, can be found to explain the strange + inconsistency by which M. de Montrond was, notwithstanding, + entrusted by every government under which he lived with the + most important secrets, the most serious + negotiations—sent abroad to stay revolutions, summoned + home to remodel constitutions, and consulted on every point + as though he had spent his whole life in the study of + Montesquieu or Colbert. Such was the moral life of the man + pronounced the premier gentilhomme de France by the fathers + and grandfathers of the present generation.</p> + + <p>Let us glance at the physical side of his + existence—the outward and visible sign of the distinctive + title with which he was honored. M. de Montrond began his + career by the study of arms, wine, women and dice—which + constituted the accomplishments necessary for a gentleman of + the period—in the regiment of Royal Flanders. Theodore + Lamette was his first colonel, Douai his first garrison-town. + Soon after his arrival there every man in the place became his + devoted friend, every woman his willing slave, and every + tradesman his ready creditor. It so happened that a detachment + of Royal Cravattes had sought temporary quarters in the same + town; and among the officers was a certain Comte de Champagne, + a great duelist and gamester. From this man, by some good + fortune, over which a veil has always been thrown by Montrond's + friends, he won a considerable sum, and on finding, after + suffering a considerable time to elapse, that no sign of + payment was made, he proclaimed his intention of taking + steps—not according, but in opposition, to the + law—in order to obtain his due. Montrond knew himself to + be a wretched swordsman, and therefore resolved at once to + replace his want of skill by audacity. He sent his servant to + the stable where four-and-twenty goodly steeds belonging to the + Count de Champagne were champing their oats in all security, + with orders to carry them off and leave in lieu of the + magnificent animals a message to the effect that M. de Montrond + would sell the stud to pay himself, and hand over the balance + to the Count de Champagne. In a few hours, as he had expected, + he was called to the field, and presented himself before the + great duelist with a phlegmatic humor which completely upset + the count's own self-possession. Montrond was hit hard at the + first lunge. He had intended to be; and the result has become + historical in the annals of dueling. He had been pierced in the + breast by his adversary's sword, and was evidently thought by + the latter to have received his death-wound. In token of this + belief the Count de Champagne lowered his weapon, and then M. + de Montrond, making one desperate thrust, drove his sword right + through his adversary's heart. The Count de Champagne fell dead + without a cry, without a struggle. Then M. de Montrond rose + covered with glory and with honor, for in such adventures lay + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page83" + id="page83"></a>[pg 83]</span> the fame of the gentilhommes + of that time.</p> + + <p>It would be impossible to recount the long catalogue of M. + de Montrond's triumphs after this. He became the idol of + fashion—as much with the Directoire as he had been with + the old court—and under the patronage of Madame Tallien + he was permitted to carry amongst the stern republicans the + habits and morals of the Régence. It was at this moment + of his life that the one act of expiation of the past took + place. He worked with right good-will for the benefit of the + exiled nobles, many of whom were recalled through his + influence, which was so great that he found means to persuade + the unkempt rulers of the Republic to invite to their banquets + the pardoned émigrés, and to show that they felt + no rancor and experienced no dread.</p> + + <p>We were about to follow the example of Montrond himself, and + forget that he was married—"just as little as possible," + as he was wont to say, but legally, notwithstanding. He married + during the Revolutionary movement a <i>grande dame</i>, a + divorced lady, a certain Duchesse de Fleury, who had sought in + this union nothing more than the protection of her property + against the name of her first husband, through which it would + have been infallibly condemned to confiscation. Many of the + great ladies of that time had done likewise, thus defrauding + the Republic. But the Duchesse de Fleury neglected the most + important precaution of all—that of securing protection + against the protector she had chosen, who at once seized the + property—more gayly perhaps, but quite as effectually as + the Republic would have done. The terms of the + marriage-contract may be quoted as a specimen of the motives by + which the premier gentilhomme de France was governed in the + transaction. After the declaration that the Duchesse de Fleury + had brought to the <i>communauté</i> certain houses and + lands, besides an income of forty thousand livres, we find + added by way of set-off to this fortune that the count engaged + himself to bring yearly the sum of a hundred thousand + francs—the produce of his wits. After a little while, the + premier gentilhomme having exercised the said wits in spending + the produce of the houses and lands of Madame de Fleury, and + Madame de Fleury not being able to return the compliment by + selling the wits of the Count de Montrond, the two went on + their respective ways, leaving to Providence the task of + redeeming the lands which the wits had sold and the income + which the wits had scattered to the four winds of heaven.</p> + + <p>Space is wanting to recount the struggles of the different + parties which succeeded each other with such frightful rapidity + in France to obtain possession of the Count de Montrond's + influence. But he remained true to one principle, the one with + which he started—"to make straight for the cash-box." Yet + with all this prosaic prudence, amid the poetry of his + position, the moral of this man's life was fulfilled to the + very letter. The Count de Montrond managed to outlive every + pecuniary resource save the one afforded by the remembrance of + "auld lang syne" and the unforgotten days of bygone love. He + died in the house of Madame Hamelin, after having been soothed + and sheltered by this friend and protectress through the + revolutionary storm of 1848. He died dependent, subject to the + same changes and caprice he had so long inflicted upon + others.</p> + + <p>Montrond's successor, the Count de Cambis, the man who has + represented the premier gentilhomme de France in our day, died + lately at as good an old age as the Count de Montrond. + <i>Autres tems, autres moeurs</i>: no more cheating at cards, + no more beating the watch, as in the case of the Chevalier de + Grammont; no more dueling and killing the adversary by + surprise, as in that of the Count de Montrond. When the + bourgeois king, Louis Philippe, succeeded to the elder branch, + the gentilhomme Français entirely lost his prestige, and + the necessity of his existence was ignored. Everything + bourgeois had become the fashion at court: the court itself was + denominated a <i>basse-cour</i> (farm-yard) by the Faubourg St. + Germain, and all who frequented it "les oies de Frère + Philippe" <span class="pagenum"><a name="page84" + id="page84"></a>[pg 84]</span> or "les canards + d'Orléans." The Count de Cambis appeared at that + moment at the Tuileries in search of office. His name stood + high in the annals of the French noblesse: society had, + however, ceased to confound the gentilhomme with the + roué. The conditions necessary to fulfill the + character were changed, and it was now the bourgeois + gentilhomme and not the gentilhomme roué whose claim + to the vacant place was more likely to be accepted. The + Count de Cambis had held the place of honorary equerry to + the Duc d'Angoulême, having obtained it less on + account of his patent of nobility than by reason of his + unblemished character. He was now in search of some place + about the court, and soon found favor in the eyes of the + citizen-king, to whom the quiet virtues of the + Tiers-État were of more value than the flash and + tinsel of the Régence. The count was of fine, + commanding person and handsome countenance: moreover, he was + "the man with a story," and a painful one it was, creative + of the greatest interest in the tender bosoms of the Orleans + princesses. Although poor, belonging to a ruined family, his + prospects had been good at the court of Charles Dix, and one + of the greatest ladies of the court had cast her eyes upon + him as a suitable <i>parti</i> for her daughter. The young + lady, nothing loath, had accepted with alacrity the + proposition of marriage, seconded as it was by the Duchesse + d'Angoulême, and backed by the promise of high office + on its realization. A marriage is easy to arrange in France; + not so the execution of the marriage-contract, which is + rendered as wearisome by delays as the still more dilatory + proceedings of the law; and therefore it was deemed + advisable, in order to pass this dismal period, to despatch + the Count de Cambis to Holland for the purchase of horses + for the royal stable. Arrived at The Hague, he was seized + with an attack of smallpox, which laid him prostrate on the + low flock bed of the miserable little inn to which he had + been conveyed on landing from the boat. Here he lay for some + time incognito, his identity unknown to any save the + faithful valet who attended him, until he had perfectly + recovered from the disease, which, however, was found to + have left the most frightful traces of its passage in scar + and seam and furrow from forehead to chin. The handsome + young cavalier who landed so full of hope and spirits on the + quay at The Hague rose from his bed with a face bloated and + discolored, seamed and scarred and pockmarked, his once + luxuriant locks grown thin and dank, his eyelashes gone, his + whole appearance so changed that as he gazed at himself for + the first time in the looking-glass he was overwhelmed with + such despair that, as he owned afterward to his friends, he + would have thrown himself from the window at which he stood + into the canal below had he not been prevented by the strong + arm of his servant, Dulac. A terrible period of anguish and + depression followed on this first excitement, but he awoke + from it and returned to life once more, a sadder and a wiser + man. When the first impression of horror and dismay had + passed away his resolution was taken at once. He resolved to + disengage the lady from her vow, and sat down to write the + words which were to rend his heart in twain. At that moment + Dulac entered the room with a packet of letters just arrived + from Paris by estafette. Amongst them was one from the young + lady's mother, full of sweet pleasantry and graceful mirth, + describing the gay doings at the Tuileries, and the delight + her daughter had experienced at the idea of being allowed to + attend the Duchesse d'Angoulême to the ball about to + be given in honor of the visit to Paris of some one or other + of the Spanish princes. She described with the greatest + vivacity all the details of the toilet to be worn by her + chère petite Adèle and the kindness of the + royal princess, and ended with the most affectionate + expressions of regret at the absence from the fête of + her daughter's affianced lover, writing in playful terms of + the danger in which Adèle's heart would have been + placed at the accession of so many new and handsome + cavaliers in attendance on the Spanish prince had it not + been for the precaution of wearing, as the safest shield + against all attacks, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page85" + id="page85"></a>[pg 85]</span> the locket which contained + the portrait of her brave and beautiful lover—the + miniature he had given her on his departure. He turned from + the perusal of the letter with a deadly chill at his heart: + he crushed it in his hand, and threw it on the blazing logs + upon the hearth, holding it down with the tongs until every + fiery spark had disappeared, then watched the blackened + flakes as they flew one by one up the chimney; and when the + last had disappeared he dashed the tears from his eyes, and, + to the great surprise and consternation of Dulac, ordered + him to pack up and prepare for their immediate return to + France.</p> + + <p>That very evening he set out by the passage-boat, and + arrived in Paris on the very night of the ball at the + Tuileries. With the strange self-immolation which is generated + in some characters by despair he caused himself to be driven by + the quay round to the Place Louis Quinze, and made the driver + stop so that he might torture himself with the sight of the + lights and the shadows of the dancers. He then alighted at his + own door beneath the gateway in the Rue de Rivoli, which at + that hour was silent and deserted, for the line of carriages + were all setting down in the courtyard of the Place du + Carrousel. The gaping valets merely nodded acquiescence to the + password he muttered as, muffled up to the chin, he glided + noiselessly over the polished floor of the vestibule and + hurried up the stairs. Dulac was well pleased to be home again, + anticipating with delight the enjoyment of that repose which + after such a long arid rapid journey he had well earned. What, + therefore, was his consternation when <i>Monsieur le Comte</i> + announced his intention of attending the ball, ordering him to + prepare in all haste his court-costume for the purpose! Dulac + was accustomed to obey without opposition, and, although + wondering at this sudden vagary on the part of his master, + usually so reasonable in all things, hastened to do his + bidding. The toilet was completed in silence. A few tears were + shed by Dulac over the thin lank locks he was called upon to + friz, and when all was completed and he held aloft the + girandole to light him down the back stairs used by members of + the royal household to gain admission to the state apartments + of the royal palace without passing through the crowd in the + ante-room, the faithful fellow turned heartbroken to his + master's chamber.</p> + + <p>The Count de Cambis entered the ballroom at the moment when + a quadrille was being made up, and the very instinct of his + love—for it could not be mere chance—led him at + once to the room and the place where Mademoiselle de + B—— was seated beside her mother. The count has + often told his friends that he trembled so violently that for a + few minutes he could neither speak nor move, but stood gazing + upon the young lady silent, motionless, as if rooted to the + spot. The whole seemed as if passing before him in a + magic-lantern, and when at length, recalled to himself by the + amazement expressed upon the countenances of both ladies, he + ventured to ask his beautiful fiancée for her hand in + the dance, it was no wonder that she did not recognize his + voice, so choked and husky was it with emotion. But the young + lady turned abruptly away with an impatient gesture, and looked + imploringly at her mother for help against the intrusion of the + repulsive gallant she had secured. At a signal from the matron, + which did not escape the count, she bent her head, and the + count, stooping also, caught the whisper, "Nay, mon enfant, + ugly as he is, he must not be refused, or you cannot dance with + any other partners all night." With pouting lips and tearful + eyes the young lady extended her hand, but by the time she had + raised her eyes again the suppliant had vanished through the + doorway, his disappearance as mysterious as his first + apparition, and, strange to say, was seen no more. He had + caught sight of the locket, the miniature of himself, with the + bright eyes and flowing hair, the long black eyelashes and + glossy moustache. It seemed to reproach him with the fraud he + was premeditating against the lovely girl to whom, if he + listened to the dictates of honor, he must henceforth be as one + dead—as one, indeed, who had died many years + before.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page86" + id="page86"></a>[pg 86]</span> + + <p>His anguish was intense. The test of love had been + deceptive, the ordeal had failed, the verdict had been given + against him. He went back to his chamber, where Dulac was still + busily engaged in unpacking his valise, bade the astounded + valet replace everything he had already taken out, and hurry at + once to the Poste aux Chevaux to command horses for the return + journey to The Hague. As soon as he arrived at that place he + wrote a long letter to the young lady's mother releasing her + daughter from all obligation toward himself, and announcing his + determination never to intrude himself upon her notice again. + The Duchesse d'Angoulême, whose experience of life was of + its bitterness alone, is said to have interfered to prevent the + affair from becoming public, and to have assisted in finding + another <i>parti</i> for the deserted fair one.</p> + + <p>Meanwhile, the Restoration with its disappointments and + broken vows was replaced by the government of Louis Philippe + with its hopes and promises. The Count de Cambis, whose + official position was annihilated by the storm which swept over + the kingdom, found himself immediately, with the whole army of + officials, compelled to choose between poverty and obscurity or + treachery to his former benefactors. When this combat is + allowed to take place between the heart and the stomach, the + latter generally carries the day; and so it did in this case. + The Count de Cambis did but follow the majority in binding + himself at once to the interests of the Orleans family. Louis + Philippe, who, like all French sovereigns, displayed undue + eagerness to make use of the old servants of the preceding + dynasty, was not slow to avail himself of the offer of service + made by the Count de Cambis. A place was found for him as + superintendent of the royal stud, and here he really displayed + that disinterestedness in his dealings which entitled him to + the highest consideration. The Duke of Orleans, whose + aristocratic tastes always inclined him to favor distinction of + birth, treated the Count de Cambis with especial preference; + and on his side the count was careful to flatter the instincts + of His Royal Highness by assuming the manners and gait of the + ancient raffinés of the Garde Royale. One of the duke's + chief delights consisted in fashioning his household + regulations after the model set by the Due d'Angoulême, + and the count became his chief counsel and adviser in every + matter concerning the etiquette to be observed in a + well-ordered court. The tradition preserved to the latest hour + of the existence of the royal stables tells of the fatality + which rendered the Count de Cambis the avenger of the + Restoration he had denied through his share in the catastrophe + which deprived the throne of July of its heir.</p> + + <p>It was the 13th of July, 1842. The day was fine. The duke + appeared at a window which looked into the courtyard where the + Count de Cambis was giving orders concerning the day's service. + "The victoria to-day," called out His Royal Highness from the + balcony.—"And Tom?" was the question sent upward to the + duke.—"No, let me have Kent: he goes best with Ridge," + returned the duke.—"But Kent has been much worked lately, + monseigneur, and—."—"Well, well, Cambis, as you + like: you know best," was the final reply as the duke turned + away from the window and retreated into the chamber. Just then + one of the grooms, who had been standing at a respectful + distance and had overheard the words, came forward and in a + voice full of mystery begged to inform M. le Comte that + something was wrong with Tom, who had been observed to be + restless and irritable the whole morning, and inquired whether + it would not be well to have him doctored. "Pooh! pooh!" + exclaimed the count. "You are all chicken-hearted in + <i>your</i> stable—always complaining of Tom, whose only + fault lies in his spirit. He only shows his thorough breeding, + and the duke wishes to make a gallant display on starting. + There is a crowd already gathered round the gate to see him + drive off." So Tom was harnessed, and the postilion who rode + Piedefer declares that from the very first he argued ill of + Tom's temper, for he observed a vicious expression in + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page87" + id="page87"></a>[pg 87]</span> his eye, and a distension of + the nostrils which never boded good.</p> + + <p>The Duke of Orleans was driven from the palace-gate full of + health and spirits. He was to proceed to Neuilly to bid + farewell to his mother, Queen Amélie, at the little + summer château there. Detractors of the duke's character + will tell you that on the way he stopped and prolonged to undue + length a visit he should not have made at all, and that + consequently he was compelled to urge the postilion to greater + speed. Whatever the cause, just at the entrance of the Route de + la Révolte the dreaded outburst of temper on the part of + the irascible Tom took place. At first merely fidgety, and + managed with the greatest delicacy by the English postilion, + then ill-tempered and capricious, swerving from side to side, + necessitating in self-defence the use of the whip—"But + only gently and lighthanded, as one's obliged to do sometimes, + just to show 'em who's master," was the poor fellow's + explanation amid the bitter tears he shed when recounting the + catastrophe—when suddenly Tom reared and plunged, and set + off at a mad gallop which no human hand could have had the + power to arrest. The postilion kept a cool head and steady + seat: not so the Duke of Orleans, who rose to his feet in alarm + just as the wheels of the carriage struck against a stone. The + shock caused him to lose his balance: he was dashed violently + to the ground, and in a few hours the hope of France lay dead + in the small back shop of a petty tradesman in the avenue.</p> + + <p>The blow was a dreadful one—far heavier than that of a + mere domestic bereavement. It was felt that the royal family + had lost its hold, not of authority, but of sentiment, upon the + nation—that the dynasty for which such sacrifices had + been made was wrecked for ever. But no blame was attached to + any individual save by the Count de Cambis himself, who + acknowledged the grievous responsibility he had incurred by + instantly sending in his resignation and withdrawing from + court. In vain did Louis Philippe endeavor to persuade him to + return; in vain did the queen herself, even amid the desolation + of the first storm of grief, disclaim any imputation of blame + to the count; in vain did the Duc de Némours write with + his own hand the urgent request that he would resume office, + were it only for a time, in order to display to the world the + conviction felt by every member of the royal family of the + utter absence of any neglect or carelessness on his part. It + was of no avail: the Count de Cambis remained steady to his + purpose of retirement, and disappeared entirely from court.</p> + + <p>It was not until the summer of 1847 that a renewal of + intercourse took place. The day was a festival, and the + approaches to the palace were thronged till a late hour. A + garden below the windows, surrounded by a low iron grating, and + called the garden of the Count de Paris, had just been closed + for the night; the sound of the drums beating the + <i>retraite</i> was already dying in the distance; the crowd + had all withdrawn, and yet one solitary figure still remained, + leaning disconsolately against the railing, gazing wistfully + into the garden, and every now and then casting furtive glances + up at the balcony into which opened the window of the apartment + occupied by the Duchess of Orleans. Presently a child came down + the steps and walked straight to the gate against which the + stranger was leaning, his forehead pressed against the grating, + his hand grasping the iron bars. In a moment the key was turned + in the lock, a little hand was placed within that of the Count + de Cambis, and a gentle voice whispered in his ear, "Come in! + come in! We are all there to-night—grandpère and + all. We want to see you so much. It is mamma's fête." + There was no resisting this appeal. Le premier gentilhomme de + France would have been compelled to forego his title had he + refused the invitation, and clasping the child's hand he + traversed the garden in silence, and soon found himself in the + midst of the royal family assembled to celebrate the fête + of St. Hélène in the privacy of domestic + affection. The sight of the well-remembered faces, the smiles + and greetings of the royal family, the cordial kindness of the + king, the silent sympathy of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page88" + id="page88"></a>[pg 88]</span> the queen, the gentle welcome + of the duchess, at length brought consolation to the wounded + spirit of the count, and without further ado he consented at + once to resume his old position; and the next day, when he + was seen galloping beside the royal carriage up the Champs + Élysées, he was greeted with hearty shouts of + recognition by the promenaders on either side. Everything + now went on in the old train. He was readmitted to the + intimacy of the Orleans family, and retained his place and + the confidence of his master until the revolution of + February drove the Orleans family into exile. He retired + into obscurity with a grace and dignity befitting the + premier gentilhomme de France—without reproach, + without a stain upon his escutcheon. He refused the most + tempting offers of employment at the imperial court, and was + seen no more, save when now and then, passing down the + boulevard with hurried steps, he was recognized by his long + white hair and braided jacket, with the persistent cipher of + the royal house to which he had been for so many years + attached. Then, as he hastened along with riding-whip in + hand and jingling spurs upon his heels, some old bourgeois + sipping his demi-tasse at the door of a café would + exclaim, "There goes the Count de Cambis, le dernier + gentilhomme de France!"</p> + + <p>A desperate attempt was made by the imperialists to set up a + premier gentilhomme of their own in the person of Count Morny, + who sought to revive the traditions of De Grammont and of De + Montrond. He was brave, he was witty, his <i>physique</i> might + be said to realize the ideal of the role, but his <i>morale</i> + was founded on the theories of the Bonaparte school. De + Grammont tells us how he cheated the greasy cattle-dealer; De + Montrond makes us laugh when he relates how in his tour of + mediation with Prince Talleyrand he was wont to take bribes + from two rival princes, each willing to pay a heavy sum that + the other might be baffled; but neither De Grammont nor De + Montrond would ever have consented to soil his hands with such + vile commercial speculations as the Houillères d'Anzin + or the Vieille Montagne, or condescend to such disgraceful + financial mystification as the "Affaire Jecker" of Mexico.</p> + + <p>It would be impossible to explain the difference which + exists between the "gentilhomme" and the "gentleman." It is + felt and understood, but cannot be described. The term + "gentleman" itself is conventional. Neither birth nor + accomplishments, nor even gentle manners, are necessary for + undisputed assumption of the title. The man who acts as a + lawyer's clerk cannot be called a gentleman, according to Judge + Keating's decision, because, the title having no place in the + language of the law, if he chanced to be indicted for a + criminal offence he would be denominated a "laborer." Serjeant + Talfourd's sweeping theory, of the term "gentleman" being + legally applicable to every man who has nothing to do and is + out of the workhouse, cannot be accepted, as it would of + necessity include thieves, mendicants and out-door paupers. The + American police have been compelled, to defend the border-line + of gentility against the encroachments of their vagabond + gold-seekers, card-sharpers and ruffians, and confine the term + to those of respectable calling. In California the term may be + applied to every individual of the male gender and the + Caucasian race, the line being drawn at Chinamen. An American + writer contests the acceptance of the term, in England as being + too vague and uncertain for comprehension by foreigners, and + suggests that some less conventional designation than those now + in use should be found to indicate the idea. To the moral sense + it would be natural to suppose that character rather than + calling would be the most important point in the consideration + of the question; but it is not so. In the four-oared race of + gentlemen amateurs held last year at Agecroft in Lancashire the + prize of silver plate was won by a crew taken from a club + composed entirely of colliers, who had been allowed to row + under protest, they not being acknowledged as "<i>gentlemen</i> + amateurs." The race over and the prize won by the colliers, an + investigation took <span class="pagenum"><a name="page89" + id="page89"></a>[pg 89]</span> place by the committee. The + result was unanimity of the vote against acceptance of the + qualification of the winners. Here, then, occurred the best + illustration of the comprehension of the term by the + moderns, for the "gentlemen," deeming that money <i>must</i> + be a salvo to pride in the bosom of all whose quality of + gentleman remains unacknowledged, subscribed a handsome sum + to be distributed amongst the disappointed crew. But here, + again, the proof was given of the vague uncertainty of the + term, for the crew of colliers were <i>gentlemen</i> enough + to refuse the proffered gift with scorn.</p> + + <p class="author">G. COLMACHE.</p> + + <h2>SPECIAL PLEADING.</h2> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Time, bring back my lord to me:</p> + + <p>Haste, haste! Lov'st not good company?</p> + + <p class="i2">Here's but a heart-break sandy waste</p> + + <p class="i2">'Twixt this and thee. Why, killing + haste</p> + + <p>Were best, dear Time, for thee, for thee!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Oh, would that I might divine</p> + + <p>Thy name beyond the zodiac sign</p> + + <p class="i2">Wherefrom our times-to-come descend.</p> + + <p class="i2">He called thee <i>Sometime</i>. Change + it, friend:</p> + + <p><i>Now-time</i> soundeth far more fine.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sweet Sometime, fly fast to me:</p> + + <p>Poor Now-time sits in the Lonesome-tree</p> + + <p class="i2">And broods as gray as any dove,</p> + + <p class="i2">And calls, <i>When wilt thou come, O + Love</i>?</p> + + <p>And pleads across the waste to thee.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Good Moment, that giv'st him me,</p> + + <p>Wast ever in love? Maybe, maybe</p> + + <p class="i2">Thou'lt be this heavenly velvet time</p> + + <p class="i2">When Day and Night as rhyme and rhyme</p> + + <p>Set lip to lip dusk-modestly;</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Or haply some noon afar,</p> + + <p>—O life's top bud, mixt rose and star!</p> + + <p class="i2">How ever can thine utmost sweet</p> + + <p class="i2">Be star-consummate, rose-complete,</p> + + <p>Till thy rich reds full opened are?</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Well, be it dusk-time or noon-time,</p> + + <p>I ask but one small, small boon, Time:</p> + + <p class="i2">Come thou in night, come thou in day,</p> + + <p class="i2">I care not, I care not: have thine own + way,</p> + + <p>But only, but only, come soon, Time.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="author">SIDNEY LANIER.</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page90" + id="page90"></a>[pg 90]</span> + + <h2>THE ATONEMENT OF LEAM DUNDAS.</h2> + + <h4>BY MRS. E. LYNN LINTON, AUTHOR OF "PATRICIA KEMBALL."</h4> + + <h4>CHAPTER XVII.</h4> + + <h4>WHAT MUST COME.</h4> + + <p>If Madame de Montfort could not teach Leam some of the + things generally considered essential to the education of a + gentlewoman, if her orthography was disorderly, her grammar + shaky, her knowledge of geography, history and language best + expressed by <i>x</i>, and her moral perceptions never clear + and seldom straight, she was yet far in advance of a girl whose + training in all things was so infinitely below even her own + dwarfed standard. Madame could read with native grace and + commendable fluency, making nimble leapfrogs over the heads of + the exceptionally hard passages, but Leam had to spell every + third word, and then she made a mess of it, Madame did know + that eight and seven are fifteen, but Leam could not get beyond + five and five are ten and one over makes eleven. If madame + thought deception the indispensable condition of pleasant + companionship, and lies the current coin of good + society—in which she certainly sided with the majority of + believing Christians—Leam would be none the worse for a + little softening of that crude out-speaking of hers, which was + less sincerity than the hardness of youthful ignorance and the + insolence of false pride. If madame was only lacquer, and not + clear gold all through, Leam had not the grace of even the + thinnest layer of varnish, and might well take lessons in the + religion of appearances and that thing which we call "manner." + Madame did know at least how to bear herself with the seeming + of a lady, and could say her shibboleth as it ought to be said. + Thus, she ate with delicacy and held her knife nicely poised + and balanced, but Leam grasped hers like a whanger, and cut off + pieces of meat anyhow, which as often as not she took from the + point. Mamma had eaten with her knife grasped also like a + whanger, and why might not she? she said when madame + remonstrated and gave her a lecture on the aesthetics of the + table. And why should she not make her bread her plate, and + hold both bread and meat in her hand if she liked? Why was she + to wipe her lips when she drank? and why, traveling farther + afield, was she to speak when she was spoken to if she would + rather be silent? Why get up from her chair when ladies like + Mrs, Harrowby and Mrs. Birkett came into the room? They did not + get up from their chairs when she went into their rooms, and + mamma never did. And why might she not say what she thought and + show what she disliked? Mamma said what she thought and showed + what she disliked, and mamma's rule was her law.</p> + + <p>All these objections madame had to combat, and all these + things to teach, and many more besides. And as Leam was young, + and as even the hardest youth is unconsciously plastic because + unconsciously imitative, the suave instructress did really make + some impression; so that when she assured the incredulous + neighborhood of Leam's improvement she had more solid data than + always underlaid her words, and was partly justified in her + assertion.</p> + + <p>Religion, too, was another point on which the forces of new + and old met in collision. Madame was of course what is meant by + the word "religious." Like all persons trading on falsehood and + living in deception, her orthodoxy was undoubted, and the most + rigid investigation could not have discovered an unsound spot + anywhere. She would as soon have thought of questioning her own + existence as of doubting the literal exactness of the first + chapter of Genesis, and she thought science an awfully wicked + thing because it went to disprove the story of the six days. + She firmly believed in the personality of Satan and material + fires for wicked souls; and the sweet way in which she lamented + the probable paucity <span class="pagenum"><a name="page91" + id="page91"></a>[pg 91]</span> of the saved was extremely + edifying, not to say touching. This childlike acceptance, + this faithful orthodoxy, was one of the things for which the + rector liked her so well. He had a profound contempt for + science and skepticism together; and an unbeliever, even if + learned in the stars and old bones, ranked with him as a + knave or a fool, and sometimes both. His pet joke, which was + not original, was that there was only one letter of + difference between septic and skeptic, and of the two the + skeptic was the more unsavory.</p> + + <p>Being then pious, madame had hung about her walls short + texts in fancy lettering, with a great deal of scroll-work in + gold and carmine to make them look pretty. When she came into + possession of Leam's mind, she was shocked at her ignorance of + all the sayings that were so familiar to herself and other + persons of respectability. Leam knew nothing but a few + barbarous prayers to saints, used more after the fashion of + charms than anything else, the ave and the paternoster said + incorrectly and not understood when said. Wherefore madame + caused to be illuminated some texts for her room too, as + lessons always before her eyes, and counter-charms to those + heathenish invocations in which the child put her sole faith + and trust of salvation. And among other things she gave her the + Ten Commandments, very charmingly done. Round each commandment + were pictures, emblems, symbolic flowers, all enclosed in fancy + scroll-work of an elaborate kind. Really, it was a very + creditable piece of bastard art, and Mr. Dundas was moved + almost to tears by it. Madame did it herself—so she said + with a tender little smile—as her pleasant surprise for + poor dear Leam on her fifteenth birthday. And Leam was so far + tamed in that she suffered the Tables to be hung up in her + bedroom, and even found pleasure in looking at them. The + pictures of Ruth and Naomi; of the thief running away with the + money-bags; of a woman lying prostrate with long hair, and a + broken lily at her side; of a murdered man prone in the snow, + and a frightened-looking bravo, half covering his face in his + cloak, fleeing away in the darkness, with a bowl marked + "poison" and a dagger dripping with blood in the + margin,—all these pictures, which stood against the + commandments they illustrated, fascinated her greatly. The + colors and the gilding, the flowers and the emblems, pleased + her, and she took the texts sandwiched between as the jalap in + the jam. At first she thought it impious to have them there at + all, because they were in the Bible, and mamma used to say that + good Christians never read the Bible. It was a holy book which + only priests might use, and when those pigs of Protestants + looked into it and read it, just as they would read the + newspaper, they profaned it. But by force of habit she + reconciled herself to the profanity, and by frequent looking at + the art got the literature into her head. And when it was there + she did not find anything in it to be afraid of or to condemn + as too mysteriously holy for her knowledge. All of which was so + much to the good; and Mr. Dundas had no words strong enough + whereby to express his gratitude to the fair woman who had + saved his child from destruction by giving her the Ten + Commandments made pretty by adjuncts of bastard art.</p> + + <p>But had it not been for Alick Corfield, Madame la Marquise + de Montfort would not have made quite so much way. Alick and + Leam used to meet in Steel's Wood; and when Leam carried her + perplexities to Alick, and Alick told her that she ought to + yield and gave her the reasons why, after first fiercely + combating him, telling him he was stupid, wicked, unkind, she + always ended by promising to obey; and when Leam promised the + things agreed to might be considered done. In point of fact, + then, it was Alick who was really moulding her, in excess of + that unconscious plasticity and imitation already spoken of. + But this was one of the things which the world did not know, + and where judgment went awry in consequence.</p> + + <p>Of course the neighborhood saw what was coming—what + must come, indeed, by the very force of circumstances. The + friendship which had sprung up from the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page92" + id="page92"></a>[pg 92]</span> first between Mr. Dundas and + madame could not stop at friendship now, when both were free + and evidently so necessary to each other. For madame, with + that noble frankness backed by wise reticence characteristic + of her, had told every one of her loss by which she had been + necessitated to become Leam's governess; always adding, "So + that I am glad to be able to work, seeing that I am obliged + to do so, as I could not borrow, even for a short time: I am + too proud for that, and I hope too honest."</p> + + <p>Wherefore, as she was evidently Leam's salvation, according + to her own account, and Sebastian was confessedly her income, + and a very good one too, there was no reason why their several + lines should not coalesce in an indissoluble union, and one + home be made to serve them instead of two. As indeed it came + about.</p> + + <p>When the year of conventional mourning had been perfected, + on the anniversary of the very day when poor Pepita died, the + final words were said, the last frail barrier of madame's + conjugal memories and widowed regrets was removed, and + Sebastian Dundas went home the gladdest man in England. All + that long bad past was now to be redeemed, and he had made a + good bargain with life to have passed through even so much + misery to come at the end into such reward.</p> + + <p>Nothing startled him, nothing chilled him. When madame, + laying her hand on his arm, said in a kind of playful candor + infinitely bewitching, "Remember, dear friend, I told you + beforehand that I have lost <i>all</i> my fortune; in marrying + me you marry only myself with my past, my child and my + liabilities," his mind repudiated the idea of the flimsiest + shadow on that past, the faintest blur on its spotless record. + As for her child, it was his: he would give it his name, it + should be dearer to him than his own; which, all things + considered, was not an overwhelming provision of love; and her + liabilities, whatever they were, he would be glad to discharge + them as a proof of his love for her and the forging of another + golden link between them.</p> + + <p>He doubted nothing, believed all, and loved as much as he + believed. He was happy, radiant, content: the woman whom he + loved loved him, and had consented to become his wife. In + giving her dear self to him she was also accepting security and + devotion at his hands; and what more can a true man want than + to be of good service to the woman he loves? If women like to + minister, it is the pride of men to protect; and if the vow to + endow with all his worldly goods is a fable in fact, it is true + as an instinctive feeling.</p> + + <p>When Mrs. Harrowby heard that the marriage was positively + arranged, she sat with her daughters at a kind of inquest on + their dead friendship with Sebastian Dundas, and came to the + conclusion that they must know something more definite now + about this person calling herself Madame la Marquise de + Montfort. As a stranger it was all very well to overlook the + vagueness of her biography—they were not committed to + anything really dangerous by simply visiting a householder + among them—but it was another matter if she was to be + married to one of themselves. Then they must learn who she + really was, and Mr. Dundas must satisfy them scrupulously, else + they should decline to know her.</p> + + <p>"It will make a great gap in our society," said kindly + Josephine, who, having the most to suffer, had forgiven the + most readily.</p> + + <p>"Gap or no gap, it is what we owe to ourselves," said Mrs. + Harrowby.</p> + + <p>"And to Edgar," added Maria.</p> + + <p>"I shall call on Sebastian to-morrow," said Mrs. Harrowby, + laying aside her knitting with the air of a minister who has + dictated his protocol and has now only to sign the clean + copy.</p> + + <p>"Sleep on it, mamma," pleaded Josephine.</p> + + <p>"It will make no difference," returned the mother; and her + elder two echoed in concert, "I hope not."</p> + + <p>The next day Mrs. Harrowby did call on Mr. Dundas, and, + finding that gentleman at home, succeeded in speaking her mind. + She conveyed her ultimatum as a corporate not individual + resolution, speaking in the name of the "ladies of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page93" + id="page93"></a>[pg 93]</span> the place," which she was + scarcely entitled to do.</p> + + <p>Mr. Dundas declined to satisfy her. Indeed, it would have + been difficult for him to have done so, seeing that he knew no + more of Madame de Montfort, his intended wife, than what they + all knew; which was substantially nothing, unless her fancy + autobiography could be called something. He spoke, however, as + if he had her private memoirs and all the branches, roots and + hole of the family tree in his pocket; and he spoke loftily, + with the intimation that she was superior; to all at North + Aston, Mrs. Harrowby herself included.</p> + + <p>This interview, with its demand unsatisfied and its + assertions unproved, sent the coolness already existing between + the Hill and Andalusia Cottage down to freezing-point; and the + worst of it was that Mrs. Harrowby did not find backers. The + neighborhood did not take up the cause as she expected it + would. It halted midway and faced both sides, in the manner so + dear to English respectability—less cordial to Mr. Dundas + and madame than it would have been had Mrs. Harrowby been + friendly, but unwilling to follow her to the bitter end. As + they said to each other, it was all very well for Mrs. Harrowby + to be so severe on the marriage, because she was angry and + disappointed—and an angry and disappointed mother is ever + unreasonable—but they who had no daughters to marry, + really they did not see why they should persecute that poor + madame who was such pleasant company, and had behaved herself + with so much propriety since she came. And if Sebastian Dundas + was going to make a second mistake, that was his lookout, and + would be his punishment.</p> + + <p>On the whole, the neighborhood when polled was decidedly + more friendly than hostile. The Corfields and Fairbairns were, + as they had always been, neutrals of a genial tint, more for + than against; Mr. and Mrs. Birkett were warm partisans; and + only Adelaide joined hands with the Hill and said that Mrs. + Harrowby was justified in her renunciation and that madame was + a wretch. And for the first time in her life the rector's + daughter spoke compassionately of Leam and humanely of Pepita, + saying of the one how much she pitied her, having such a woman + for a stepmother; of the other, that, horrible as she was, at + least they knew the worst of her, which was more than they + could say of madame.</p> + + <p>She made her father very angry when she said these things, + but she repeated them, nevertheless; and she knew that he dared + not scold her too severely before the world for fear of that + little something called conscience, and knowledge of the reason + why he believed in Madame de Montfort so implicitly.</p> + + <h4>CHAPTER XVIII.</h4> + + <h4>RECKONING WITH LEAM.</h4> + + <p>The announcement of her father's intended marriage with + madame came on Leam with a crushing sense of terror and + despair. Unobservant youth sees little, and even what it does + see it does not comprehend. Though the girl had accustomed + herself by slow degrees to many works and ways which mamma had + never known; though the faculties which had been, as it were, + imprisoned by that close-set, hide-bound love of hers were now + a little loosened and set free; though the activities of youth + were stirring in her, and her inner life, if still isolated, + was a shade more expanded than of old,—yet she had no + desire for greater change, and she had no keener vision for the + world outside herself than before. She saw nothing of that + diabolical thing which her father and madame had been so long + plotting as the outcome of their friendship, the parable of + which her education had been the text. If her intelligence was + warping out from the narrow limits in which her mother had + confined it, it was still below the average—as much as + her feverish love and tenacious loyalty were above. All that + she knew was, mamma dead was the same as mamma living, only to + be more tenderly dealt with, as she could not defend herself; + and that she wondered how papa could be so wicked as to affront + her now <span class="pagenum"><a name="page94" + id="page94"></a>[pg 94]</span> that she was not able to + punish him and let him know what she thought of him.</p> + + <p>When he told her that he was going to give her a new mother, + one whom she must love as she had loved her own poor dear + mamma—- he was so happy he could afford to be tender even + to that terrible past and poor Pepita—Leam's first + sensation was one of terror, her first movement one of + repulsion. She flung off the hand which he had laid on her + shoulder and drew back a few steps, facing him, her breath + held, her tragic eyes flashing, her face struck to stone by + what she had heard.</p> + + <p>"Well, my dear, you need not look so surprised," said Mr. + Dundas jauntily. "And you need not look so terrified. Your new + mother will not hurt you,"</p> + + <p>"She shall not be my mother, papa," said Learn: "I will not + own her."</p> + + <p>"You will do what I tell you to do," her father returned + with admirable self-command.</p> + + <p>"Not when you tell me to do a crime," flashed Leam.</p> + + <p>Mr. Dundas smiled. "Your words are a trifle strong," he + said.</p> + + <p>"It is a crime," she reiterated. "But if you have forgotten + mamma, and want to affront her now that she cannot defend + herself, I have not, and never will."</p> + + <p>Mr. Dundas smiled again. If he was so happy that he could + afford to be tender to the past, so also could he afford to be + patient with the present. "Foolish child!" he said + compassionately: "you do not understand things yet."</p> + + <p>"I understand that I love mamma, and will not have this + wicked woman in her place," said Leam hotly.</p> + + <p>"I think you will," he answered, playing with his + watch-guard. "And in the future, my little daughter, you will + thank me."</p> + + <p>"Thank you? For what?" asked Leam. "You made mamma miserable + when she lived: you and your madame helped to kill her, and now + you put this woman in her place! Papa, I wonder Saint Jago lets + you live."</p> + + <p>"As Saint Jago is kind enough to leave me in peace, perhaps + you will follow his example. What a saint allows my little + daughter may accept," said Mr. Dundas mockingly.</p> + + <p>"No," said Leam with pathetic solemnity, "if the saints + forget mamma, I will not."</p> + + <p>"My dear, you are a fool," said Mr. Dundas.</p> + + <p>"You may call me what you like, but madame shall not be my + mother," returned Leam.</p> + + <p>"Madame will be your mother because she will be my wife," + said Mr. Dundas slowly. "Unfortunately for you—perhaps + for myself also—neither you nor I can alter the law of + the land. The child must accept the consequences of the + father's act."</p> + + <p>"Then I will kill her," cried Leam.</p> + + <p>Her father laughed gayly. "I think we will brave this + desperate danger," he said. "It is a fearful threat, I + grant—an awful peril—but we must brave it, for all + that."</p> + + <p>"Papa," said Leam, "I will pray to the saints that when you + die you may not go to heaven with mamma and me."</p> + + <p>It was her last bolt, her supreme effort at threat and + entreaty, and it meant everything. If her words of themselves + would have amused Mr. Dundas as a child's ignorant + impertinence, the superstition of an untaught, untutored mind, + her looks and manner affected him painfully. True, he did not + love her—on the contrary, he disliked her—but, all + the same, she was his child; and, dissected, realized, it was + rather an awful thing that she had said. It showed an amount of + hatred and contempt which went far beyond his dislike for her, + and made him shudder at the strength of feeling, the tenacity + of hate, in one so young.</p> + + <p>If more absurdity than good sense is talked about natural + affection, still there is a residuum of fact underneath the + folly; and Leam's words had struck down to that small residuum + in her father's heart. It was not that he was wounded + sentimentally so much as in his sense of proprietorship, his + paternal superiority, and he was angry rather than sorrowful. + It made him feel that he had borne with her waywardness long + enough now: it was time to put a stop to it. "Now, Leam, no + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page95" + id="page95"></a>[pg 95]</span> more insolence and no more + nonsense," he said sternly. "You have tried my patience long + enough. This day month I marry Madame de Montfort, with or + without your pleasure, my little girl. In a month after that + I bring her home here as my wife, consequently your mother, + the mistress of the house and of you. I give you the best + guide, the best friend, you have ever had or could have: you + will live to value her as she deserves. Your own mother was + not fit to guide you: your new one will make you all that my + dearest hopes would have you. Now go. Think over what I have + said. If you do not like our arrangements, so much the worse + for you."</p> + + <p>"The saints will never let her come here as my mother. I + will pray to them night and day to kill her." said Leam in a + deep voice, clenching her hands and setting her small square + teeth, as her mother used to set hers, like a trap.</p> + + <p>Naturally, the second Mrs. Dundas could not be brought home + without a certain upsetting of the old order and a + rearrangement of things to suit the new. And the upsetting was + not stinted, nor were the exertions of Mr. Dundas. He + superintended everything himself, to the choice of a tea-cup, + the looping of a curtain, and racked his brains to make his + beloved's bower the fit expression of his love, though never to + his mind could it be worthy of her deserving. There was not an + ornament in the place but was dedicated to her, placed where + she could see it on such and such an occasion, and shifted + twenty times a day for a more advantageous position. Everything + which the house had of most beautiful was pressed into her + service, and even Leam's natural rights of inheritance were + ignored for madame's better endowing. Lace, jewelry, trinkets, + all that had been Pepita's, was now hers, and the man's + restless desire to make her rich and her home beautiful seemed + insatiable.</p> + + <p>But there was always Leam in the background with whom he had + to reckon—Leam, who wandered through the house in her + straight-cut, plain black gown, made in the deepest fashion of + mourning devisable, pale, silent, feverish, like an avenging + spirit on his track; undoing what he had done if he had + profaned an embodied memory of her mother, and as impervious to + his anger as he was to her despair.</p> + + <p>One day he carried from the drawing-room to the boudoir + which was to be madame's, and had been Pepita's, a certain + Spanish vase which had been a favorite ornament with her + because it reminded her of home. He firmly fixed it on the + bracket destined for it, opposite the couch where he longed so + ardently to see his fair and queenly loved one sitting—he + by her side in the lovers' paradise of secure content; but the + next time he went into the room he found it lying in fragments + on the floor. None of the servants knew how the mischance had + happened: the window was not open, and none of them had been in + the room. How, then, came it there, broken on the floor? When + he asked Leam, wandering by in that pale, feverish, avenging + way of hers, he knew the truth.</p> + + <p>"Yes," she said defiantly, "I broke it. It was mamma's, and + your madame shall not have it."</p> + + <p>"If you intend to go on like this I shall have you sent to + school or shut up in a lunatic asylum," cried Mr. Dundas in + extreme wrath.</p> + + <p>"Then I shall be alone with mamma, and shall not see you or + your madame," answered Leam, unconquered.</p> + + <p>"You are a hardened, shameful, wicked girl," said her father + angrily. "Madame is an angel of goodness to undertake the care + of such a wretched creature as you are. I could not do too much + for her if I gave her all I had, and you can never be grateful + enough for such a mother."</p> + + <p>"She is not my mother, and she shall not pollute mamma's + things," Leam answered with passionate solemnity. "If you give + them to her I will break or burn them. Mamma's things are her + own, and she shall not be made unhappy in heaven."</p> + + <p>Provoked beyond himself, Sebastian Dundas said scornfully, + "Heaven! You talk of heaven as if you knew all about it, Leam, + like the next parish. How do + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page96" + id="page96"></a>[pg 96]</span> you know she is there, and + not in the place of torment instead? Your mother was + scarcely of the stuff of which angels are made."</p> + + <p>"Then if she is in the place of torment, she is unhappy + enough as it is, and need not be made more so," said faithful + Leam, suddenly breaking into piteous weeping; adding through + her sobs, "and madame shall not have her things."</p> + + <p>Her tenacity carried the day so far that Mr. Dundas left off + rearranging the old, and sent up to London for things new and + without embarrassing memories attached to them. On which Leam + swept off all that had been her mother's, and locked up her + treasures in her own private cupboard, carrying the key in the + hiding-place which that mother had taught her to use, the thick + coils of her hair. And her father, warned by that episode of + the vase, and a little dominated, not to say appalled, by her + resolute fidelity, shut his eyes to her domestic larceny and + let her carry off her relics in safety.</p> + + <p>So the time passed, miserably enough to the one, if full of + hope and the promise of joy to the other; and the wedding + morning came whereon Sebastian Dundas was to be made, as he + phrased it, happy for life.</p> + + <p>It had been madame's desire that Leam should be her + bridesmaid. She had laid great stress on this, and her lover + would have gratified her if he could. He had no wish that + way—rather the contrary—but her will was his law, + and he did his best to carry it into effect. But when he told + Leam what he wanted—and he told her quite carelessly, and + so much as a matter of course that he hoped she too would + accept her position as a matter of course—the girl, + enlightened by love if not by knowledge, broke into a torrent + of disdain that soon showed him how sleeveless his errand was + likely to be.</p> + + <p>He did his best, and tried all methods from pleading to + threatening, but Leam was immovable. No power on earth should + bend her, she said, or make her take part in that wicked day. + She go to church? She would expect to be struck dead if she + did. She expected, indeed, that all of them would be struck + dead. She had prayed the saints so hard, so hard, to prevent + this marriage, she was sure they would at the last; and if they + did not, she would never believe in them nor pray to them + again. But she did believe in them, and she was sure they would + punish this dreadful crime. No, she would take no part in it. + Why should she put herself in the way of being punished when + she was not to blame?</p> + + <p>So Mr. Dundas had the mortification of carrying to his + bride-elect the intelligence that he had been worsted in his + conflict with his daughter, and that her hatred and reluctance + were to be neither concealed nor overcome.</p> + + <p>Madame was sorry, she said with her sweetest air of patience + and liberal comprehension. She would have liked the dear girl + to have been her bridesmaid: it would have been appropriate and + touching. But as she declined—and her feelings were easy + to be understood and honorable, if a little extreme—she, + madame, elected to be married as a widow should, with only Mrs. + Birkett and Mr. Fairbairn as the witnesses, Mr. Fairbairn to + give her away for form's sake. The dear rector of course would + marry them in this simple manner. They must hope that time and + her own unvarying affection—Mr. Dundas called it + sweetness, angelic patience, greatness of soul—would + soften poor Leam into loving acceptance of what would be so + much to her good when she could be got to understand it. + Meanwhile they must be patient—content to go gradually + and gain her bit by bit. She, madame, would be quite content + with her presence in the room, when they returned to breakfast, + in the pretty white muslin frock ordered from town as the sign + of her participation in the event.</p> + + <p>But when the morning came, where was Leam? The most diligent + search failed to discover her, and the only person who could + have betrayed her whereabouts was the last whom they would have + thought of asking.</p> + + <p>Of course, Mr. Dundas was properly distressed at this + strange disappearance, and madame was unduly afflicted. She + proposed that the marriage should be + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page97" + id="page97"></a>[pg 97]</span> delayed till the girl was + found, but the lover was stronger than the father, and she + was overruled—yielding because it is the duty of the + wife to yield, but only because of that duty—for her + own part desirous of delay until they were assured of the + safety of Leam.</p> + + <p>The ceremony, however, was performed within the canonical + hours, the rector a little tremulous and apparently suffering + from sore throat; and as the happy pair drove away, madame, + remembering her advent and her objects more than a year ago + now, could not but confess that she had done better than she + expected, and, her conscience whispered, better than she + deserved.</p> + + <p>All this time Leam was sitting on the lower branches of the + yew tree beneath which that godless ruffian had murdered his + poor sweetheart two generations ago in Steel's Wood. It was a + lonely corner, where no one would have gone by choice at the + best of times, but now, with its bad name and evil association, + it was entirely deserted. Leam had made it her hiding-place + ever since madame had taken her in hand to teach her the + correct pronunciation of Shibboleth, and she had escaped from + her teaching and run away into the wood, armed banditti and + wild beasts notwithstanding. And one day, hunting in it for + fungi, Alick Corfield had found her sitting there, and + thenceforth they had shared the retreat between them.</p> + + <p>No one knew that they met there, and no one suspected + it—not even Mrs. Corfield, who believed, after the manner + of mothers who bring up their boys at home, that she knew the + whole of her son's life from end to end, and that he had not a + thought kept back from her, nor had ever committed an action of + which she was not cognizant.</p> + + <p>Alick had installed Leam as the girl-queen of his + imagination, and paid her the homage which she seemed to him to + deserve more than many a real queen crowned and sceptered or + princess born in the purple. It pleased him to write bad poems + to her as his Infanta, his royal rose, his pomegranate flower, + his nestling eagle waiting for strength to fly upward to the + sun—all with halting feet and strained metaphor. He drew + pictures of her by the dozen, mostly symbolic and all out of + drawing, but expressive of his admiration, his hope, his + respect; while to Leam he was little better than a two-legged + talking dog whose knowledge interested and whose goodness + swayed her, but on whose neck she set her little foot and kept + it there. She always treated him with profound disdain, even + when he told her curious things that were like fairy-tales, + some of which she did not believe if they were too far removed + from the narrow area of her personal experience. Thus, when he + assured her that certain plants fed on flies as men feed on + meat, she told him with her sublime Spanish calm, "I do not + believe it." And she said the same when he one day informed her + that the planets could be weighed and their distance from the + earth and the sun measured. In the beginning she knew + nothing—neither whether the earth was round or flat, nor + what was the meaning of the stars, nor the name of one wild + flower excepting daisies, nor of one great man. That fallow + waste called her mind was virgin ground in truth, but Alick was + patient, and labored hard at the stubborn soil; and when madame + had given the credit to her own tact and those ugly little + books from which she taught, it was to him really that Leam's + microscopic amount of plasticity and reception was due.</p> + + <p>These secret meetings amused Leam, and kept her from that + ceaseless inward contemplation of her mother which else was her + only voluntary occupation. They gave her a sense of power, as + well as of successful rebellion to her father, that gratified + her pride. To be sure, they were not what mamma would have + liked. Alick Corfield was an Englishman, and mamma hated the + English. But then, Leam reflected, she had not known Alick: if + she had, she would have seen there was no harm in him, and that + he was not teaching her things which a child of Spain ought not + to know, and which Saint Jago would be angry with her for + learning. And <span class="pagenum"><a name="page98" + id="page98"></a>[pg 98]</span> perhaps now that mamma was up + in heaven, and knew all that went on here at home, she would + not mind her little Leama seeing Alick Corfield so often. In + her prayers she told her very faithfully all that she had + done and felt and thought; she never deceived her a hair's + breadth; and as she had asked her permission so often and so + humbly, she made sure now that it was granted. Mamma could + not refuse her when she asked her so earnestly; and she was + not angry, but on the contrary glad, that her little heart + had such a good dog to care for her, and that she was + defying el señor papa, that false image of the false + saint.</p> + + <p>For the rest, it was only natural that she should like the + air of quasi adventure and independence which this unknown, + intercourse with Alick gave her. And as she was still in that + conscienceless phase of youth when liking means everything, and + honor without love is a grass having neither root nor flower, + she continued to meet her faithful dog, and to learn from + him—not all that he could tell her, but what she chose to + accept.</p> + + <p>So here it was, perched among the lower branches of the yew + tree in Steel's Wood, that Leam spent her father's wedding-day + with Madame la Marquise de Montfort; and when she became hungry + Alick went home and brought her some dry bread and grapes from + Steel's Corner, Dry bread and grapes—this was all that + she would have, she said. She was not greedy like the English, + who thought of nothing but eating, she added in her disdainful + way; and if Alick brought her anything but bread and grapes, + she would fling it into the wood. On his life he was not to + touch anything on papa's table. She would rather die of hunger + than eat their wicked food. She wondered it did not choke them + both.</p> + + <p>"Now go," she said superbly, "and come back soon: I am + hungry," as if her sense of inconvenience was a catastrophe + which heaven and earth should be moved to avert.</p> + + <p>But young and so beautiful as she was, her little tricks of + pride and arbitrariness were just so many additional charms to + Alick; and if she had not flouted and commanded him, he would + have thought that something terrible was about to happen: had + she become docile, grateful, familiar, he would have expected + her to die before the day was out. He liked her superb + assumption of superiority. She was his girl-queen, and he was + her slave; she was his mistress, and he was her dog; and, + dog-like, he fawned at her feet even when she rated him and + placed her little foot on his neck.</p> + + <h4>CHAPTER XIX.</h4> + + <h4>AT STEEL'S CORNER.</h4> + + <p>"I hope you will not be bored, my boy, but I am thinking of + bringing that wretched Leam Dundas here for a few days. I don't + like a girl of her age and character to be left for a full + month alone. It is not right, for who knows what she may not + do? If she ran away on the wedding-day, she may run away again, + and then where would we all be? I cannot think what her father + was about to leave her unprotected like this. So I shall just + take and bring her here; and if you are bored with her, you + must make the best of it."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Corfield and Alick were sitting in the "work-room" on + the morning of the fifth day after the marriage, when the + thought struck the little woman of the propriety of Leam's + visit to them for the month of her father's absence. She did + not see her son's face when she spoke, being busy with her + wood-carving. If she had, she would not have thought that the + presence of Leam Dundas would bore or annoy him. The clumsy + features gladdened into smiles, the dull eye brightened, the + dim complexion flushed: if ever a face expressed supreme + delight, Alick's did then; and it expressed what he felt, for, + as we know, the one love of his boyish life was this girl-queen + of his fancy. Not that he was in love with her in the ordinary + sense of being in love. He was too reverent and she too young + for vulgar passion or commonplace sentiment. She was something + precious to his imagination, not his senses, like a child-queen + to her courtier, a high-born lady to her + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page99" + id="page99"></a>[pg 99]</span> page. He bore with her + girlish temper, her girlish insolence of pride, her ignorant + opposition, with the humility of strength bending its neck + to weakness—the devotion and unselfish sweetness + characteristic of him in other of his relations than those + with Leam. Judge, then, if he was likely to be bored, as his + mother feared, or if this project of a closer domestication + with her was not rather a "bit of blue" in his sky which + made these early autumn days gladder than the gladdest + summer-time.</p> + + <p>To will and to do were synonymous with Mrs. Corfield: her + motto was <i>velle est agere</i>; and a resolve once taken was + like iron at white heat, struck into the shape of deed on the + instant. Darting up from her chair, birdlike and angular, she + put away her work. "Order the trap," she said briskly, "and + come with me. We will go at once, before that poor creature has + had time to do anything, wild, or silly."</p> + + <p>"I do not think she would do anything wild or silly, + mother," said Alick in a deprecating voice. It galled him to + hear his darling spoken of so slightingly.</p> + + <p>"No? What has she ever done that was rational?" cried his + mother sharply. "From the beginning, when she was a baby of + three months old, and howled at me because I kissed her, and + that dreadful mother of hers flew at me like a wildcat and said + I had the evil eye, Leam Dundas has been more like some + changeling than an ordinary English girl. I declare it + sometimes makes my heart ache to, see her with those awful eyes + of hers, looking as if she had seen one does not know + what—as if she was being literally burnt up alive with + sorrow. However, don't let us discuss her: let us fetch her and + save her from herself. That is more to the purpose at this + moment."</p> + + <p>And Alick said "Yes," and went out to order the trap with + alacrity.</p> + + <p>When they reached Andalusia Cottage, the first thing they + saw was a strange workman from Sherrington painting out the + name which in his early love-days for his Spanish bride + Sebastian Dundas had put up in bold letters across the + gate-posts. The original name of the place had been Ford House, + but the old had had to give place to the new in those days as + in these, and Ford House had been rechristened Andalusia + Cottage as a testimony and an homage. Mrs. Corfield questioned + the man in her keen inquisitorial way as to what he was about; + and when he told her that the posts were to show "Virginia" now + instead of "Andalusia," her great disgust, to judge by the + sharp things which she said to him, seemed as if it took in the + innocent hand as well as the peccant head. "I do think + Sebastian Dundas is bewitched," she said disdainfully to her + son as they drove up to the house. "Did any one ever hear of + such a lunatic? Changing the name of his house with his wives + in this manner, and expecting us to remember all his + absurdities! Such a man as that to be a father! Lord of the + creation, indeed! He is no better than a court fool." Which + last scornful ejaculation brought the trap to the front door + and into the presence of Leam.</p> + + <p>Standing on the lawn bareheaded in the morning sunshine, + doing nothing and apparently seeing nothing, dressed in the + deepest mourning she could make for herself, and with her high + comb and mantilla as in olden days, her eyes fixed on the + ground and her hands clasped in each other, her wan face set + and rigid, her whole attitude one of mute, unfathomable + despair,—for the instant even Mrs. Corfield, with all her + constitutional contempt for youth, felt hushed, as in the + presence of some deep human tragedy, at the sight of this poor + sorrowful child, this miserable mourner of fifteen. Instead of + speaking in her usual quick manner, the sharp-faced little + woman, poor Pepita's "crooked stick," went up to the girl + quietly and softly touched her arm.</p> + + <p>Leam slowly raised her eyes. She did not start or cry out as + a creature naturally would if startled, but she seemed as if + she gradually and with difficulty awakened from sleep, or from + something even more profound than sleep. "Yes?" she said in + answer to the touch. "What do you want?"</p> + + <p>It was an odd question, and Leam's + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page100" + id="page100"></a>[pg 100]</span> grave intensity made it all + the more odd. But Mrs, Corfield was not easily disconcerted, + and it was "only Leam" at the worst.</p> + + <p>"I want you," she answered briskly, "Tell the maid to pack + up your box, take off that lace thing on your head, and come + home with me for a day or two. You need not stay longer than + you like, but it will be better for you than moping here, + thinking of all sorts of things you had better not think + of."</p> + + <p>"Why do my thoughts vex you?" asked Learn gravely. "I was + not thinking of you."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Corfield laughed a little confusedly. "I don't suppose + you were," she said, "but you see I did think of you. But + whether you were thinking of me or not, you certainly look as + if you would be the better for a little rousing. You were + standing there like a statue when we came up."</p> + + <p>"I was listening to mamma," said Leam with an air of grave + rebuke.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Corfield rubbed her nose vigorously. "You would do + better to come and talk to me instead," she said.</p> + + <p>Learn transfixed her with her eyes. "I like mamma's company + best," she said in the stony way which she had when stiffening + herself against outside influence.</p> + + <p>"But if you come to us, you can listen to her as much as you + like," said Alick soothingly. "We will not hinder you; and, as + my mother says, it is not good for you to be here alone."</p> + + <p>"I like it," said Leam.</p> + + <p>"Nonsense! then you should not like it. It is not natural + for a girl of your age to like it. Come with us," cried Mrs. + Corfield: "why not?"</p> + + <p>"I have something to do," Leam answered solemnly.</p> + + <p>"What can a chit of a thing like you have to do? Come with + us, I tell you." Mrs. Corfield said this heartily rather than + roughly, though really she could not be bothered, as she said + to herself, to stand there wasting her time in arguing with a + girl like Leam. It was too ridiculous.</p> + + <p>Leam looked at her with mingled tragedy and contempt, and + disdained to answer.</p> + + <p>"What have you got to do?" again asked Mrs. Corfield.</p> + + <p>"I shall not tell you," answered Leam, holding her head very + high.</p> + + <p>How, indeed, should she tell this little sharp-faced woman + that she was thinking how she could prevent madame from coming + here as her home? The saints had deserted her; she had prayed + to them, threatened them, coaxed, entreated, but they had not + heard her; and now she had nothing but herself, only her poor + little frail hands and bewildered brain, to protect her + mother's memory from insult and revenge her wrongs. The fever + in her veins had given her mamma's face sorrowful and weeping, + meeting her wherever she turned—mamma's voice, faint as + the softest summer breeze in the trees, whispering to her, + "Little Leama, I am unhappy. Sweet heart, do not let me be + unhappy." For five days this fancy had haunted her, but it had + not become distinct enough for guidance. She was listening now, + as she was listening always, for mamma to tell her what to do. + She was sure she would show her in time how to prevent that + wicked woman from living here, bearing her name, taking her + place: mamma could trust her to take care of her, now that she + could not take care of herself. As she had said to papa, if all + the world, the saints, and God himself deserted hers she, her + child, would not.</p> + + <p>She would not tell these thoughts, even to Alick. They were + a secret, sacred between her and mamma, and no one must share + them. If, then, she went with this bird-like, insistent woman, + she would talk to her and not let her think: she and Alick + would stand between herself and mamma's spirit, and then mamma + would perhaps leave her again, and go back to heaven angry with + her. No, she would not go, and she lifted up her eyes to say + so.</p> + + <p>As she looked up Alick whispered softly, "Come."</p> + + <p>Feverish, excited, her brain clouded by her false fancies, + Leam did not recognize his voice. To her it was her + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page101" + id="page101"></a>[pg 101]</span> mother sighing through the + sunny stillness, bidding her go with them, perhaps to find + some method of hinderance or revenge which she could not + devise for herself. They were clever and knew more than she + did; perhaps her mother and the saints had sent them as her + helpers.</p> + + <p>It seemed almost an eternity during which these thoughts + passed through her brain, while she stood looking at Mrs. + Corfield so intently that the little woman was obliged to lower + her eyes. Not that Leam saw her. She was thinking, listening, + but not seeing, though her tragic eyes seemed searching Mrs. + Corfield's very soul. Then, glancing upward to the sky, she + said with an air of self-surrender, which Alick understood if + his mother did not, "Yes, I will go with you: mamma says I + may."</p> + + <p>"It is my belief, Alick," said Mrs. Corfield, when she had + left them to prepare for her visit, "that poor child is going + crazy, if she is not so already. She always was queer, but she + is certainly not in her right mind now. What a shame of + Sebastian Dundas to bring her up as he has done, and now to + leave her like this! How glad I am I thought of having her at + Steel's Corner!"</p> + + <p>"Yes, mother, it was a good thing. Just like you, though," + said Alick affectionately.</p> + + <p>"You must help me with her, Alick," answered his mother. "I + have done what I know I ought to do, but she will be an awful + nuisance all the same. She is so odd and cold and impertinent, + one does not know how to take her."</p> + + <p>Alick flushed and turned away his head. "I will take her off + your hands as much as I can," he said in a constrained + voice.</p> + + <p>"That's my dear boy—do," was his mother's unsuspecting + rejoinder as Leam came down stairs ready to go.</p> + + <p>Steel's Corner was a place of unresting intellectual + energies. Dr. Corfield, a man shut up in his laboratory with + piles of extracts, notes, arguments, never used, but always to + be used, an experimentalist deep in many of the toughest + problems of chemical analysis, but neither ambitious nor + communicative, was the one peaceable element in the house. To + be sure, Alick would have been both broader in his aims and + more concentrated in his objects had he been left to himself. + As it was, the incessant demands made on him by his mother kept + him too in a state of intellectual nomadism; and no one could + weary of monotony where Mrs. Corfield set the pattern, unless + it was of the monotony of unrest. This perpetual taking up of + new subjects, new occupations, made thoroughness the one thing + unattainable. Mrs. Corfield was a woman who went in for + everything. She was by turns scientific and artistic, a student + and a teacher, but she was too discursive to be accurate, and + she was satisfied with a proficiency far below perfection. In + philosophy she was what might be called a woman of + antepenultimates, referring all the more intricate moral and + intellectual phenomena to mind and spirit; but she was + intolerant of any attempt to determine the causation of her + favorite causes, and she derided the modern doctrines of + evolution and inherent force as atheistic because + materialistic. The two words meant the same thing with her; and + the more shadowy and unintelligible people made the <i>causa + causarum</i> the more she believed in their knowledge and their + piety. The bitterest quarrel she had ever had was with an old + friend, an unimaginative anatomist, who one day gravely proved + to her that spirits must be mere filmy bags, pear-shaped, if + indeed they had any visual existence at all. Bit by bit he + eliminated all the characteristics and circumstances of the + human form on the principle of the non-survival of the useless + and unadaptable. For of what use are shapes and appliances if + you have nothing for them to do?—if you have no need to + walk, to grasp, nor yet to sit? Of what use organs of sense + when you have no brain to which they lead?—when you are + substantially all brain and the result independent of the + method? Hence he abolished by logical and anatomical necessity, + as well as the human form, the human face with eyes, ears, nose + and mouth, and by the inexorable + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page102" + id="page102"></a>[pg 102]</span> necessities of the case + came down to a transparent bag, pear-shaped, for the better + passage of his angels through the air.</p> + + <p>"A fulfillment of the old proverb that extremes meet," he + said by way of conclusion. "The beginning of man an + ascidian—his ultimate development as an angel, a + pear-shaped, transparent bag."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Corfield never forgave her old friend, and even now if + any one began a conversation on the theory of development and + evolution she invariably lost her temper and permitted herself + to say rude things. Her idea of angels and souls in bliss was + the good orthodox notion of men and women with exactly the same + features and identity as they had when in the flesh, but + infinitely more beautiful; retaining the Ego, but the Ego + refined and purified out of all trace of human weakness, all + characteristic passions, tempers and proclivities; and the + pear-shaped bag was as far removed from the truth, as she held + it, on the one side as Leam's materialistic conception was on + the other. The character and condition of departed souls was + one of the subjects on which she was very positive and very + aggressive, and Leam had a hard fight of it when her hostess + came to discuss her mother's present personality and + whereabouts, and wanted to convince her of her + transformation.</p> + + <p>All the same, the little woman was kind-hearted and + conscientious, but she was not always pleasant. She wanted the + grace and sweetness known genetically as womanliness, as do + most women who hold the doctrine of feminine moral supremacy, + with base man, tyrant, enemy and inferior, holding down the + superior being by force of brute strength and responsible for + all her faults. And she wanted the smoothness of manner known + as good breeding. Though a gentlewoman by birth, she gave one + the impression of a pert chambermaid matured into a tyrannical + landlady.</p> + + <p>But she meant kindly by Leam when she took her from the + loneliness of her father's house, and her very sharpness and + prickly spiritualism were for the child's enduring good. Her + attempts, however, to make Leam regard mamma in heaven as in + any wise different from mamma on earth were utterly abortive. + Leam's imagination could not compass the thaumaturgy tried to + be inculcated. Mamma, if mamma at all, was mamma as she had + known her; and if as she had known her, then she was unhappy + and desolate, seeing what a wicked thing this was that papa had + done. She clung to this point as tenaciously as she clung to + her love; and nothing that Mrs. Corfield, or even Alick, could + say weakened by one line her belief in mamma's angry sorrow and + the saints' potent and sometimes peccant humanity.</p> + + <p>Among other scientific appliances at Steel's Corner was a + small off-kind of laboratory for Alick and his mother, to + prevent their troubling the doctor and to enable them to help + him when necessary: it was an auxiliary fitted up in what was + rightfully the stick-house. The sticks had had to make way for + retorts and crucibles, and as yet no harm had come of it, + though the servants said they lived in terror of their lives, + and the neighbors expected daily to hear that the inmates of + Steel's Corner had been blown into the air. Into this + evil-smelling and unbeautiful place Leam was introduced with + infinite reluctance on her own part. The bad smell made her + sick, she said, turning round disdainfully on Alick, and she + did not wonder now at anything he might say or do if he could + bear to live in such a horrid place as this.</p> + + <p>When he showed off a few simple experiments to amuse + her—made crystal trees, a shower of snow, a heavy stone + out of two empty-looking bottles, spilt mercury and set her to + gather it up again, showed her prisms, and made her look + through a bit of tourmaline, and in every way conceivable to + him strewed the path of learning with flowers—then she + began to feel a little interest in the place and left off + making wry faces at the dirt and the smells.</p> + + <p>One day when she was there her eye caught a very small phial + with a few letters like a snake running spirally round it.</p> + + <p>"What is that funny little bottle?" she + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page103" + id="page103"></a>[pg 103]</span> asked, pointing it out. + "What does it say?"</p> + + <p>"Poison," said Alick.</p> + + <p>"What is poison?" she asked.</p> + + <p>"Do you mean what it is? or what it does?" he returned.</p> + + <p>"Both. You are stupid," said Leam.</p> + + <p>"What it does is to kill people, but I cannot tell you all + in a breath what it is, for it is so many things."</p> + + <p>"How does it kill people?" At her question Leam turned + suddenly round on him, her eyes full of a strange light.</p> + + <p>"Some poisons kill in one way and some in another," answered + Alick.</p> + + <p>Leam pondered for a few moments; then she asked, "How much + poison is there in the world?"</p> + + <p>"An immense deal," said Alick: "I cannot possibly tell you + how much."</p> + + <p>"And it all kills?"</p> + + <p>"Yes, it all kills, else it is not poison."</p> + + <p>"And every one?"</p> + + <p>"Yes, every one if enough is taken."</p> + + <p>"What is enough?" she asked, still so serious, so + intent.</p> + + <p>Alick laughed. "That depends on the material," he said. "One + grain of some and twenty of others."</p> + + <p>"Don't laugh," said Leam with her Spanish dignity: "I am + serious. You should not laugh when I am serious."</p> + + <p>"I did not mean to offend you," faltered Alick humbly. "Will + you forgive me?"</p> + + <p>"Yes," said Leam superbly, "if you will not laugh again. + Tell me about poison."</p> + + <p>"What can I tell you? I scarcely know what it is you want to + hear."</p> + + <p>"What is poison?"</p> + + <p>"Strychnine, opium, prussic acid, belladonna, + aconite—oh, thousands of things."</p> + + <p>"How do they kill?"</p> + + <p>"Well, strychnine gives awful pain and + convulsions—makes the back into an arch; opium sends you + to sleep; prussic acid stops the action of the heart; and so + on."</p> + + <p>"What is that?" asked Leam, pointing to the small phial with + its snake-like spiral label.</p> + + <p>"Prussic acid—awfully strong. Two drops of that would + kill the strongest man in a moment."</p> + + <p>"In a moment?" asked Learn.</p> + + <p>"Yes: he would fall dead directly."</p> + + <p>"Would it be painful?"</p> + + <p>"No, not at all, I believe."</p> + + <p>"Show it me," said Learn.</p> + + <p>He took the bottle from the shelf. It was a sixty-minim + bottle, quite full, stoppered and secured.</p> + + <p>She held out her hand for it, and he gave it to her. "Two + drops!" mused Leam.</p> + + <p>"Yes, two drops," returned Alick.</p> + + <p>"How many drops are here?"</p> + + <p>"Sixty."</p> + + <p>"Is it nasty?"</p> + + <p>"No—like very strong bitter almonds or cherry-water; + only in excess," he said. "Here is some cherry-water. Will you + have a little in some water? It is not nasty, and it will not + hurt you."</p> + + <p>"No," said Leam with an offended air: "I do not want your + horrid stuff."</p> + + <p>"It would not hurt you, and it is really rather nice," + returned Alick apologetically.</p> + + <p>"It is horrid," said Learn.</p> + + <p>"Well, perhaps you are better without it," Alick answered, + quietly taking the bottle of prussic acid from her hands and + replacing it on the shelf, well barricaded by phials and + pots.</p> + + <p>"You should not have taken it till I gave it you," said Leam + proudly. "You are rude."</p> + + <p>From this time the laboratory had the strangest fascination + for Leam. She was never tired of going there, never tired of + asking questions, all bearing on the subject of poisons, which + seemed to have possessed her. Alick, unsuspecting, glad to + teach, glad to see her interest awakened in anything he did or + knew, in his own honest simplicity utterly unable to imagine + that things could turn wrong on such a matter, told her all she + asked and a great deal more; and still Leam's eyes wandered + ever to the shelf where the little phial of thirty deaths was + enclosed within its barricades.</p> + + <p>One day while they were there Mrs. Corfield called + Alick.</p> + + <p>"Wait for me, I shall not be long," he said to Leam, and + went out to his + mother.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page104" + id="page104"></a>[pg 104]</span> + + <p>As he turned Learnm's eyes went again to that small phial of + death on the shelf.</p> + + <p>"Take it, Leama! take it, my heart!" she heard her mother + whisper.</p> + + <p>"Yes, mamma," she said aloud; and leaping like a young + panther on the bench, reached to the shelf and thrust the + little bottle in her hair. She did not know why she took it: + she had no motive, no object. It was mamma who told + her—so her unconscious desire translated itself—but + she had no clear understanding why. It was instinct, vague but + powerful, lying at the back of her mind, unknown to herself + that it was there; and all of which she was conscious was a + desire to possess that bottle of poison, and not to let them + know here that she had taken it.</p> + + <p>This was on the afternoon of her last day at the Corfields. + She was to go home to-night in preparation for the arrival of + her father and madame to-morrow, and in a few hours she would + be away. She did not want Alick to come back to the laboratory. + She was afraid that he would miss the bottle which she had + secured so almost automatically if so superstitiously: Alick + must not come back. She must keep that bottle. She hurried + across the old-time stick-house, locked the door and took the + key with her, then met Alick coming back to finish his lesson + on the crystallization of alum, and said, "I am tired of your + colored doll's jewelry. Come and tell me about flowers," + leading the way to the garden.</p> + + <p>Doubt and suspicion were qualities unknown to Alick + Corfield. It never occurred to him that his young queen was + playing a part to hide the truth, befooling him for the better + concealment of her misdeeds. He was only too happy that she + condescended to suggest how he should amuse her; so he went + with her into the garden, where she sat on the rustic chair, + and he brought her flowers and told her the names and the + properties as if he had been a professor.</p> + + <p>At last Leam sighed. "It is very tiresome," she said + wearily. "I should like to know as much as you do, but half of + it is nonsense, and it makes my head ache to learn. I wish I + had my dolls here, and that you could make them talk as mamma + used. Mamma made them talk and go to sleep, but you are stupid: + you can speak only of flowers that don't feel, and about your + silly crystals that go to water if they are touched. I like my + zambomba and my dolls best. They do not go to water; my + zambomba makes a noise, and my dolls can be beaten when they + are naughty."</p> + + <p>"But you see I am not a girl," said Alick blushing.</p> + + <p>"No," said Leam, "you are only a boy. What a pity!"</p> + + <p>"I am sorry if you would like me better as a girl," said + Alick.</p> + + <p>She looked at him superbly. Then her face changed to + something that was almost affection as she answered in a softer + tone, "You would be better as a girl, of course, but you are + good for a boy, and I like you the best of every one in England + now. If only you had been an Andalusian woman!" she sighed, as, + in obedience to Mrs. Corfield's signal, she got up to prepare + for dinner, and then home for her father and madame + to-morrow.</p> + + <h4>CHAPTER XX.</h4> + + <h4>IN HER MOTHER'S PLACE.</h4> + + <p>Whatever madame's past life had been—and it had been + such as a handsome woman without money or social status, fond + of luxury and to whom work was abhorrent, with a clear will and + very distinct knowledge of her own desires, clever and + destitute of moral principle, finds made to her + hand—whatever ugly bits were hidden behind the veil of + decent pretence which she had worn with such grace during her + sojourn at North Aston, she did honestly mean to do righteously + now.</p> + + <p>She had deceived the man who had married her in such adoring + good faith—granted; but when he had reconciled himself to + as much of the cheat as he must know, she meant to make him + happy—so happy that he should not regret what he had + done. Though she was no <span class="pagenum"><a name="page105" + id="page105"></a>[pg 105]</span> marquise, only plain Madame + de Montfort—so far she must confess for policy's sake, + and to forestall discovery by ruder means, but what remained + beyond she must keep secret as the grave, trusting to + favorable fortune and man's honor for her + safety—though the story of the fraudulent trustee was + untrue, and she never had more money than the three hundred + pounds brought in her box wherewith to plant her roots in + the North Aston soil—though all the Lionnet bills were + yet to be paid, and her husband must pay them, with awkward + friends in London occasionally turning up to demand + substantial sops, else they would show their teeth + unpleasantly,—still, she would get his forgiveness, + and she would make him happy.</p> + + <p>And she would be good to Leam. She would be so patient, + forbearing, tender, she would at last force the child to love + her. It was a new luxury to this woman, who had knocked about + the world so long and so disreputably, to feel safe and able to + be good. She wondered what it would be like as time went + on—if the rest which she felt now at the cessation of the + struggle and the consciousness of her security would become + monotonous or be always restful. At all events, she knew that + she was happy for the day, and she trusted to her own tact and + management to make the future as fair as the present.</p> + + <p>The home-coming was triumphant. Because the rector was + inwardly grieved at the loss of his ewe-lamb—for he had + lost her in that special sense of spiritual proprietorship + which had been his—he was determined to make a + demonstration of his joy. He and Mrs. Birkett meant to stand by + Mrs. Dundas as they had stood by Madame la Marquise de + Montfort, and to publish their partisanship broadly. When, + therefore, the travelers returned to North Aston, they found + the rector and his wife waiting to receive them at their own + door. Over the gate was an archway of evergreens with + "Welcome!" in white chrysanthemums, and the posts were wreathed + with boughs and ribbons, but leaving "Virginia Cottage" in its + glossy evidence of the new regime. The drive was bordered all + through with flowers from the rectory garden, and Lionnet too + had been ransacked, and the hall was festooned from end to end + with garlands, like a transformation-scene in a pantomime. One + might have thought it the home-coming of a young earl with his + girl-bride, rather than that of a middle-aged widower of but + moderate means with his second wife, one of whose past homes + had been in St. John's Wood, and one of her many names Mrs. + Harrington.</p> + + <p>But it pleased the good souls who thus displayed their + sympathy, and it gratified those for whom it had all been done; + and both husband and wife expressed their gratitude warmly, and + lived up to the occasion in the emotion of the moment.</p> + + <p>When their effusiveness had a little calmed, down, when Mrs. + Dundas had caressed her child—which poor Mrs. Birkett + gave up to her with tears—and Mr. Dundas had also taken + it in his arms and called it "Little Miss Dundas" and "My own + little Fina" tenderly—when, the servants had been spoken + to prettily and the bustle had somewhat subsided, Mrs. Dundas + looked round for something missing. "And where is dear Leam?" + she asked with her gracious air and sweet smile.</p> + + <p>It was very nice of her to be the first to miss the girl. + The father had forgotten her, friends had overlooked her, but + the stepmother, the traditional oppressor, was thoughtful of + her, and wanted to include her in the love afloat. This little + circumstance made a deep impression on the three witnesses. It + was a good omen for Leam, and promised what indeed her new + mother did honestly design to perform.</p> + + <p>"Even that little savage must be tamed by such persistent + sweetness," said Mr. Birkett to his wife, while she, with a + kindly half-checked sigh, true to her central quality of + maternity and love of peace all round, breathed "Poor little + Leam!" compassionately.</p> + + <p>Leam, however, was no more to the fore at the home-coming + than she had been at the marriage, and much searching went on + before she was found. She was unearthed at last. The gardener + had seen her shrink away into the shrubbery + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page106" + id="page106"></a>[pg 106]</span> when the carriage-wheels + were heard coming up the road, and he gave information to + the cook, by whom the truant was tracked and brought to her + ordeal.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Birkett went out by the French window to meet her as + she came slowly up the lawn draped in the deep mourning which + for the very contrariety of love she had made deeper since the + marriage, her young head bent to the earth, her pale face rigid + with despair, her heart full of but one feeling, her brain + racked with but one thought, "Mamma is crying in heaven: mamma + must not cry, and this stranger must be swept from her + place."</p> + + <p>She did not know how this was to be done; she only knew that + it must be done. She had all along expected the saints to work + some miracle of deliverance for her, and she looked hourly for + its coming. She had prayed to them so passionately that she + could not understand why they had not answered. Still, she + trusted them. She had told them she was angry, and that she + thought them cruel for their delay; and in her heart she + believed that they knew they had done wrong, and that the + miracle would be wrought before too late. It was for mamma, not + for herself. Madame must be swept like a snake out of the + house, that mamma might no longer be pained in heaven. + Personally, it made no difference whether she had to see madame + at Lionnet or here at home, but it made all the difference to + mamma, and that was all for which she cared.</p> + + <p>Thinking these things, she met Mrs. Birkett midway on the + lawn, the kind soul having come out to speak a soothing word + before the poor child went in, to let her feel that she was + sympathized with, not abandoned by them all. Fond as she was of + madame, the new Mrs, Dundas, and little as she knew of Leam, + the facts of the case were enough for her, and she saw Adelaide + and herself in the child's sorrow and poor Pepita's successor. + "My dear," she said affectionately as she met the girl walking + so slowly up the lawn, "I dare say this is a trial to you, but + you must accept it for your good. I know what you must feel, + but it is better for you to have a good kind stepmother, who + will be your friend and instructress, than to be left with no + one to guide you."</p> + + <p>Leam's sad face lifted itself up to the speaker. "It cannot + be good for me if it is against mamma," she said.</p> + + <p>"But, Leam, dear child, be reasonable. Your mamma, poor + dear! is dead, and, let us trust, in heaven." The good soul's + conscience pricked her when she said this glib formula, of + which in this present instance she believed nothing. "Your + father has the most perfect right to marry again. Neither the + Church nor the Bible forbids it; and you cannot expect him to + remain single all his life—when he needs a wife so much, + too, on your account—because he was married to your dear + mamma when she was alive. Besides, she has done with this life + and all the things of the earth by now; and even if she has + not, she will be happy to see you, her dear child, well cared + for and kindly mothered."</p> + + <p>Leam raised her eyes with sorrowful skepticism, melancholy + contempt. It was the old note of war, and she responded to it. + "I know mamma," she said; "I know what she is feeling."</p> + + <p>She would have none of their spiritual + thaumaturgy—none of that unreal kind of transformation + with which they had tried to modify their first teaching. There + was no satisfaction in imagining mamma something different from + her former self—no more the real, fervid, passionate, + jealous Pepita than those pear-shaped transparent bags, so + logically constructed by Mrs. Corfield's philosopher, are like + the ideal angels of loving fancy. If mamma saw and knew what + was going on here at this present moment—and Mrs. Birkett + was not the bold questioner to doubt this continuance of + interest—she felt as she would have felt when alive, and + she would be angry, jealous, weeping, unhappy.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Birkett was puzzled what to say for the best to this + uncomfortable fanatic, this unreasonable literalist. When + believers have to formularize in set words their hazy notions + of the feelings and conditions of souls in bliss, they make + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page107" + id="page107"></a>[pg 107]</span> but a lame business of it; + and nothing that the dear woman could propound, keeping on + the side of orthodox spirituality, carried comfort or + conviction to Leam. Her one unalterable answer was always + simply, "I know mamma: I know what she is feeling," and no + argument could shake her from her point.</p> + + <p>At last Mrs. Birkett gave up the contest. "Well, my child," + she said, sighing, "I can only hope that the constant presence + of your stepmother, her kindness and sweetness, will in time + soften your feeling toward her."</p> + + <p>Leam looked at her earnestly. "It is not for myself," she + said: "it is for mamma."</p> + + <p>And she said it with such pathetic sincerity, such an accent + of deep love and self-abandonment to her cause, that the + rector's wife felt her eyes filling up involuntarily with + tears. Wrong-headed, dense, perverse as Leam was, her filial + piety was at the least both touching and sincere, she said to + herself, a pang passing through her heart. Adelaide would not + speak of her if she were dead as this poor ignorant child spoke + of her mother. Yet she had been to Adelaide all that the best + and most affectionate kind of English mother can be, while + Pepita had been a savage, now cruel and now fond; one day + making her teeth meet in her child's arm, another day stifling + her with caresses; treating her by times as a woman, by times + as a toy, and never conscientious or judicious.</p> + + <p>All the same, Leam's fidelity, if touching, was embarrassing + as things were; so was her belief in the continued existence of + her mother. But what can be done with those uncompromising + reasoners who will carry their creeds straight to their + ultimates, and will not be put off with eclectic compromises of + this part known and that hidden—so much sure and so much + vague? Mrs. Birkett determined that her husband should talk to + the child and try to get a little common sense into her head, + but she doubted the success of the process, perhaps because in + her heart she doubted the skill of the operator.</p> + + <p>By this time they reached the window, and the woman and the + girl passed through into the room.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Dundas came forward to meet her stepdaughter + kindly—not warmly, not tumultuously—with her quiet, + easy, waxen grace that never saw when things were wrong, and + that always assumed the halcyon seas even in the teeth of a + gale. For her greeting she bent forward to kiss the girl's + face, saying, "My dear child, I am glad to see you," but Leam + turned away her head.</p> + + <p>"I am not glad to see you, and I will not kiss you," she + said.</p> + + <p>Her father frowned, his wife smiled. "You are right, my + dear: it is a foolish habit," she said tranquilly, "but we are + such slaves to silly habits," she added, looking at the rector + and his wife in her pretty philosophizing way, while they + smiled approvingly at her ready wit and serene good-temper.</p> + + <p>"Will you say the same to me, Leam?" asked her father with + an attempt at jocularity, advancing toward her.</p> + + <p>"Yes," said Leam gravely, drawing back a step.</p> + + <p>"Tell me, Mrs, Birkett, what can be done with such an + impracticable creature?" cried Mr. Dundas.</p> + + <p>"She will come right: in time, dear husband," said the late + marquise sweetly; and Mrs. Birkett echoed, looking at the girl + kindly, "Oh yes, she will come right in time."</p> + + <p>"If you mean by coming right, letting you be my mamma, I + never will," cried Leam, fronting her stepmother.</p> + + <p>"Silence, Leam!" cried Mr. Dundas angrily.</p> + + <p>His wife laid her taper fingers tenderly on his. "No, no, + dear husband: let her speak," she pleaded, her voice and manner + admirably effective. "It is far better for her to say what she + feels than to brood over it in silence. I can wait till she + comes to me of her own accord and says, 'Mamma, I love you: + forgive me the past'"</p> + + <p>"You are an angel," said Mr. Dundas, pressing her hand to + his lips, his eyes moist and tender.</p> + + <p>"I always said it," the rector added huskily—"the most + noble-natured woman of my acquaintance."</p> + + <p>"I never will come to you and say, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page108" + id="page108"></a>[pg 108]</span> 'Mamma, I love you,' and + ask you to forgive me for being true to my own mamma," said + Learn. "I am mamma's daughter, no other person's."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Dundas smiled. "You will be; mine, sweet child," she + said.</p> + + <p>How ugly Leam's persistent hate looked by the side of so + much unwearied goodness! Even Mrs. Birkett, who pitied the poor + child, thought her tenacity too morbid, too dreadful; and the + rector honestly held her as one possessed, and regretted in his + own mind that the Church had no formula for efficient exorcism. + Believing, as he did, in the actuality of Satan, the theory of + demoniacal possession came easy as the explanation of abnormal + qualities.</p> + + <p>Her father raged against himself in that he had given life + to so much moral deformity. And yet it was not from him that + she inherited "that cursed Spanish blood," he said, turning + away with a groan, including Pepita, Leam, all his past with + its ruined love and futile dreams, its hope and its despair, in + that one bitter word.</p> + + <p>"Don't say that, papa: mamma and I are true. It is you + English that are bad and false," said Leam at bay.</p> + + <p>Mrs. Dundas raised her hand, "Hush, hush, my child!" she + said in a tone of gentle authority. "Say of me and to me what + you like, but respect your father."</p> + + <p>"Oh, Leam has never done that," cried Mr. Dundas with + intense bitterness.</p> + + <p>"No," said Leam, "I never have. You made mamma unhappy when + she was alive: you are making her unhappy now. I love mamma: + how can I love you?"</p> + + <p>And then, her words realizing her thoughts in that she + seemed to see her mother visibly before her, sorrowful and + weeping while all this gladness was about in the place which + had once been hers, and whence she was now thrust + aside—these flowers of welcome, these smiling faces, this + general content, she alone unhappy, she who had once been queen + and mistress of all—the poor child's heart broke down, + and she rushed from the room, too proud to let them see her + cry, but too penetrated with anguish to restrain the tears.</p> + + <p>"I am sure I don't know what on earth we can do with that + girl," said Mr. Dundas with a dash of his old weak petulance, + angry with circumstance and unable to dominate it—the + weak petulance which had made Pepita despise him so heartily, + and had winged so many of her shafts.</p> + + <p>"Time and patience," said madame with her grand air of noble + cheerfulness. But she had just a moment's paroxysm of dismay as + she looked through the coming years, and thought of life shared + between Leam's untamable hate and her husband's unmanly + peevishness. For that instant it seemed to her that she had + bought her personal ease and security at a high price.</p> + + <p>As Leam went up stairs the door of her stepmother's room was + standing open. The maid had unpacked the boxes most in request, + and was now at tea in the servants' hall, telling of her + adventures in Paris, where master and mistress had spent the + honeymoon, and in her own way the heroine of the hour, like her + betters in the parlor. The world seemed all wrong everywhere, + life a cheat and love a torture, to Leam, as she stood within + the open door, looking at the room which had been hers and her + mother's, now transformed and appropriated to this stranger, + She did not understand how papa could have done it. The room in + which mamma had lived, the room in which she had died, the + window from which she used to look, the very mirror that used + to reflect back her beautiful and beloved face—ah, if it + could only have kept what it reflected!—and papa to have + given all this away to another woman! Poor mamma! no wonder she + was unhappy. What could she, Leam, do to prevent all this + wickedness if the blessed ones were idle and would not help + her?</p> + + <p>Her eyes fell on a bottle placed on the console where + madame's night appliances were ranged—her night-light and + the box of matches, her Bible and a hymn-book, a tablespoon, a + carafe full of water and a tumbler, and this bottle marked + "Cherry-water—one tablespoonful for a dose." In madame's + handwriting <span class="pagenum"><a name="page109" + id="page109"></a>[pg 109]</span> underneath stood, "For my + troublesome heart." Only about two tablespoonsful were + left.</p> + + <p>Leam took the bottle in one hand, the other thrust itself + mechanically into her hair. No one was about, and the house was + profoundly still, save for the voices coming up from the room + below in a subdued and not unpleasant murmur, with now and then + the child's shrill babble breaking in through the deeper tones + like occasional notes in a sonata. Out of doors were all the + pleasant sights and sounds of the peaceful evening coming on + after the labors of the busy day. The birds were calling to + each other in the woods before nesting for the night; the + homing rooks flew round and round their trees, cawing loudly; + the village dogs barked their welcome to their masters as they + came off the fields and the day's work; and the setting sun + dyed the autumn leaves a brighter gold, a deeper crimson, a + richer russet. It was all so peaceful, all so happy, in this + soft mild evening of the late September—all seemed so + full of promise, so eloquent of future joy, to those who had + just begun their new career.</p> + + <p>But Leam knew nothing of the poetry of the moment—felt + nothing of its pathetic irony in view of the deed she was + half-unconsciously designing. She saw only, at first dimly, + then distinctly, that here were the means by which mamma's + enemy might be punished and swept from mamma's place, and that + if she failed her opportunity now she would be a traitor and a + coward, and would fail in her love and duty to mamma. No, she + would not fail. Why should she? It was the way which the saints + themselves had opened, the thing she had to do; and the sooner + it was done the better for mamma.</p> + + <p>She uncorked the bottle of cherry-water, good for that + troublesome heart of poor madame's. All that Alick had told her + of the action of poisons came back upon her as clearly as her + mother's words, her mother's voice. This cherry-water, too, had + the smell of bitter almonds, and was own sister to that in the + little phial in her other hand. Now she understood it + all—why she had been taken to Steel's Corner, why Alick + had taught her about poisons, and why her mamma had told her to + steal that bottle. She looked at it with its eloquent paper + marked "Poison" wound about it spirally like a snake, uncorked + it and emptied half into the cherry-water.</p> + + <p>"Two drops are enough, and there are more than two there," + she said to herself. "Mamma must be safe now." And with this + she left the room and went into her own to watch and wait.</p> + + <p>It was early to-night when Mrs. Dundas retired. There were + certain things which she wanted to do on this her first night + in her new home; and among them she wanted to put that green + velvet pocket-book, gold embroidered, in some absolutely safe + place, where it would not be seen by prying eyes or fall into + dangerous hands. She did not intend to destroy its contents. + She knew enough of the uncertainty of life to hold by all sorts + of anchorages; and though things looked safe and sweet enough + now, they might drift into the shallows again, and she wished + her little Fina's future to be assured by one or other of those + charged with it—if the stepfather failed, then to fall + back on the father. Wherefore she elected to keep these papers + in a safe place rather than destroy them, and the safest place + she could think of was Pepita's jewel-case, now her own. It had + a curious lock, which no other key than its own would + fit—a lock that would have baffled even a "cracksman" and + his whole bunch of skeleton keys.</p> + + <p>In putting them away, obliged for the need of space to take + off the paper wrappings, she was foolish enough to look at the + photographs within—just one last look before banishing + them for ever from her sight, as an honest wife + should—and the sight of the handsome young face which she + had loved sincerely in its day, and which was the face of her + child's father, shook her nerves more than she liked them to be + shaken. That troublesome heart of hers had begun to play her + strange tricks of late with palpitation and irregularity. She + could not afford that her nerve should fail her. That gone, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page110" + id="page110"></a>[pg 110]</span> nothing would remain to her + but a wreck. But her cherry-water was a pleasant and safe + calmant, and she knew exactly how much to take.</p> + + <p>Her maid saw nothing more to-night than she had seen on any + other night of her service. Her mistress, if not quite so sweet + to her as to Mrs. Birkett, say, or the rector, was yet fairly + amiable as mistresses go, and to-night was neither better nor + worse than ordinary. Her attendance went on in the usual + routine, with nothing to remark, bad or good; and then madame + laid her fair head on the pillow, and took a tablespoonful of + her calmant to check the palpitation that had come on, and to + still her nerves, which that last look backward had somewhat + disturbed.</p> + + <p>How beautiful she looked! Fair and lovely as she had always + been to the eyes of Sebastian Dundas, never had she looked so + grand as now. Her yellow hair was lying spread out on the + pillow like a glory: one white arm was flung above her head, + the other hung down from the bed. Her pale face, with her mouth + half open as if in a smile at the happy things she dreamt, + peaceful and pure as a saint's, seemed to him the very + embodiment of all womanly truth and sweetness. He leaned over + her with a yearning rapture that was almost ecstasy. This + noble, loving woman was his own, his life, his future. No more + dark moods of despair, no more angry passions, disappointment + and remorse; all was to be cloudless sunshine, infinite + delight, unending peace and love.</p> + + <p>"My darling, oh my love!" he said tenderly, laying his hand + on her glossy golden hair and kissing her. "Virginie, give me + one word of love on your first night at home."</p> + + <p>She was silent. Was her sleep so deep that even love could + not awake her? He kissed her again and raised her head on his + arm. It fell back without power, and then he saw that the + half-opened mouth had a little froth clinging about the + lips.</p> + + <p>A cry rang through the house—cry on cry. The startled + servants ran up trembling at they knew not what, to find their + master clasping in his arms the fair dead body of his + newly-married wife.</p> + + <p>"Dead—she is dead," they passed in terrified whispers + from each to each.</p> + + <p>Leam, standing upright in her room, in her clinging white + night-dress, her dark hair hanging to her knees, her small + brown feet bare above the ankle—not trembling, but tense, + listening, her heart on fire, her whole being as it were + pressed together, and concentrated on the one thought, the one + purpose—heard the words passed from lip to lip. "Dead," + they said—"dead!"</p> + + <p>Lifting up her rapt face and raising her outstretched arms + high above her head, with no sense of sin, no consciousness of + cruelty, only with the feeling of having done that thing which + had been laid on her to do—of having satisfied and + avenged her mother—she cried aloud in a voice deepened by + the pathos of her love, the passion of her deed, into an + exultant hymn of sacrifice, "Mamma, are you happy now? Mamma! + mamma! leave off crying: there is no one in your place + now."</p> + + <p>[TO BE CONTINUED.]</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page111" + id="page111"></a>[pg 111]</span> + + <h2>FAMISHING PORTUGAL.</h2> + + <p>The following paper contains the substance of a remarkable + letter and accompanying documents recently received from + Portugal:</p> + + <p>LISBON, September, 1875.</p> + + <p>You wish to know what truth there is in the cable reports of + "a drought in the north and south of Portugal, and a threatened + famine in two or three provinces." Shall I tell you all? Well, + then, Heaven nerve me for the task! I shall have an unpleasant + story to narrate.</p> + + <p>You, who have been in Portugal, need not be reminded that + the kingdom consists of six provinces—Minho, + Tras-os-Montes, Beira, Estremadura, Alemtejo and Algarve. In + the early part of this summer a drought affected the whole + kingdom. Toward the end of July abundant rain fell in Minho, + where two products only are raised—wine ("port wine") and + maize. The rain, which, had it fallen in Alemtejo, the + principal wheat-province of the kingdom, would have done + incalculable good, benefited neither the vineyards of Minho nor + the maize-crop anywhere. The consequence is, that this + last-named crop, the principal bread-food of the country, has + failed, and famine prevails throughout the land. Having lived + in America, I know what you, so accustomed to freedom and + plenty, will say to this:</p> + + <p>"France, Sprain, Morocco, England—all these countries + are near to Portugal. If she is short of bread, let her simply + exchange wine for it, and there need be no fears of a + famine."</p> + + <p>Ah, my dear American friends, little do you suspect the + artlessness of this reply. Know, then, that those who own the + wines of Portugal do not lack for bread, and those who lack for + bread do not own the wines; that the first of these classes are + the aristocrats and foreigners who live in the cities or + abroad, and the second the people at large; that there exists + an abyss between these classes so profound that no political + institutions yet devised have been able to bridge it; that + there is no credit given by one class to the other, and few + dealings occur between them; and that the laws of Portugal + discourage the importation of grain into the kingdom.</p> + + <p>You are a straightforward people, and dive at once to the + bottom of a subject. "Why do not the Portuguese devote + themselves so largely to the cultivation of grain that there + need never be danger of famine?" you will now ask. My answer to + this is: The people do not own the land.</p> + + <p>"What! Were the reforms of Pombal, the French Revolution, + the Portuguese revolution of 1820 and the various constitutions + since that date, the abolition of serfdom and mortmain, and the + law of 1832, all ineffectual to emancipate the Portuguese + peasant from the thralldom of land?"</p> + + <p>Alas! they were indeed all in vain, and the Portuguese + peasantry stands to-day at the very lowest step of European + civilization—far beneath all others. The number of + agricultural workers in Portugal is about eight hundred and + seventy-five thousand. Of this number, some seven hundred + thousand are hired laborers, farm-servants, <i>emphyteutas</i> + (you shall presently know the meaning of this ominous word) and + metayers; that is to say, persons who may cultivate only such + products as their employers or landlords choose, and the latter + in their greed and short-sightedness always choose that the + former shall cultivate wine. The remainder, or some one hundred + and seventy-five thousand, consist chiefly of small + proprietors, owning three, four, five and ten acre patches of + land, often intersected by other properties, and therefore not + adapted for the cultivation of grain: such of the + <i>emphyteutas</i> and metayers as are practically free to + cultivate what they please make up the remainder of this + class.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page112" + id="page112"></a>[pg 112]</span> + + <p>The quantity of land devoted to grain is therefore exactly + what the aristocratic land-owners choose to make it; and, never + suspecting that a well-fed peasant is more efficient as a + laborer than a famished one, they have made it barely enough, + in good years, to keep the miserable population from entirely + perishing. The product in such years is about six bushels of + edible grain per head of total population, together with a + little pulse and a taste of fish or bacon on rare occasions. In + unfavorable years, like the present one, the product of edible + grain falls to five bushels per head, and unless the government + suspends the corn laws for the whole country—which since + 1855 it has usually done on such occasions—famine ensues. + The nation (excepting, of course, the court and aristocracy, + who live in or near Lisbon and Oporto) is thus kept always at + the brink of starvation, and every mishap in these artificial + and tyrannical arrangements consigns fresh thousands to the + grave.</p> + + <p>The population of Portugal was the same in 1798 that it is + to-day—viz., about four millions—and there has been + no time between those periods when it was greater. Knowing, as + we do, that the law of social progress is growth—in other + words, that the condition of individual development, both + physical and intellectual, is that degree of freedom which + finds its expression in the increase of numbers—what does + this portentous fact of a stationary population bespeak? + Simply, the utmost degradation of body and mind; vice in its + most hideous forms; filth, disease, unnatural crimes; a hell + upon earth. These are always the characteristics of nations + which have been prevented from growing. The melancholy proofs + of a condition of affairs in Portugal which admits of this + description shall presently be forthcoming.</p> + + <p>Antonio de Leon Pinelo, who was one of the greatest lawyers + and historians that Spain ever produced, very profoundly + remarked that no man could possibly understand the history of + slavery in America who had not first mastered the subject of + Spanish <i>encomiedas</i>. With equal truth it may be said that + the solution of Portuguese history lies in the subject of + <i>emphyteusis</i>. Emphyteusis (Greek: zmphutehuis, + "ingrafting," "implanting," and perhaps, metaphorically, + "ameliorating") is a lease of land where the tenant agrees to + improve it and pay a certain rent. The origin of this tenure is + Greek, and it was probably first adopted in Rome after the + conquest of the Achaean League (B.C. 146), when Greece became a + Roman province. It was carried into Carthage B.C. 145, and into + Spain and Portugal about B.C. 133, when those countries fell + beneath the Roman arms. Whenever this occurred the first act of + the conquerors was to assume the ownership of the land. They + then leased it on emphyteusis, either to the original + occupiers, to their own soldiers, or to settlers + ("carpet-baggers"). The rent was called <i>vectigal</i>, and + decurions (corporals in the army) were usually employed to + collect it and administer the lands.</p> + + <p>Syria, Greece, Carthage, and the Iberian Peninsula were the + first countries to succumb to the Roman arms outside of Italy. + These conquests all occurred within the space of fifty-seven + years (from 190 to 133 B.C.), and this was doubtless the period + when emphyteusis was first employed upon an extensive scale. + Originally, the tenants were liable to have their rents + increased, and to be evicted at the pleasure of the state, and + thus lose the benefit of any improvements effected by them. The + result was, that no improvements were effected. The forests + were cut down, the orchards destroyed, the lands exhausted by + incessant cropping; and by the beginning of the present era the + entire coasts of the Mediterranean were exploited.</p> + + <p>This great historical fact is replete with + significance—not only to Portugal, but also to the rest + of the world, even to America, which, by abandoning its public + lands to the rapacity of monopolists and the vandalism of + ignorant immigrants, is preparing for itself a future filled + with forebodings of evil.</p> + + <p>The ruin of the lands of Carthage, Spain, etc. eventually + hastened the ruin of Italy. It put an end to the legitimate + supplies of grain which those countries + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page113" + id="page113"></a>[pg 113]</span> had been accustomed to + contribute; it forced their populations to crowd into + already overcrowded Italy, and increase the requirements of + food in a country which had been exploited like their own, + and, though not so rapidly, yet by similar + means;<a id="footnotetag1" + name="footnotetag1"></a><a href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a> + and it gave rise to the servile wars, to the most corrupt + period in Roman history, to the Empire, and to the endless + series of consequences in its train.</p> + + <p>After the Western Empire had apparently fallen beneath the + Northern arms—that is to say, five hundred years + later—and not until then, the Roman Code ameliorated the + baneful tenure of emphyteusis. A law of the emperor Zenos (A.D. + 474-491) fixed whatever had theretofore been uncertain in the + nature and incidents of emphyteusis. The tenant was guaranteed + from increase of rent and from eviction—the alienation of + the property by the state being held thenceforth to affect the + quit-rent only—and finally he obtained full power to + dispose of the land, which nevertheless remained subject to the + quit-rent in whatever hands it might be. Before these reforms + were effected, Portugal was conquered by the Visigoths, the + Roman proprietors of the soil were expelled, and their laws and + institutions suppressed. This occurred in the year 476. Whether + emphyteusis in any form remained is not quite certain, but it + seems not; and during this government, and the Moorish one + which superseded it in the year 711, the Iberian Peninsula + enjoyed an interval of prosperity to which it had been a + stranger for ages.</p> + + <p>In the eleventh century this happy condition of affairs was + disturbed by the appearance of certain Spanish crusading + knights, who, issuing from the mountainous parts of the country + adjacent to their own, began to war against the Moorish + authorities. In the course of a century, and with little + voluntary aid from the peasants, who distrusted them and their + religious pretensions and promises of advantage, they managed + to acquire possession of the country. Now, what do you suppose + was one of the first acts committed by these adventurers? + Nothing less than the re-enactment of the odious Roman tenure + of emphyteusis, and that in its most ancient and worst + form—liability to increased rent and to eviction; not + only this, but with certain base services combined. The + wretched inhabitants were required to work so many days in the + week for these lords, to break up a certain amount of waste + land; to furnish so many cattle; to kill so many birds; to + provide (in rural districts remote from the sea) so many salt + fish; to furnish so much incense or so many porringers, iron + tools, pairs of shoes, etc.</p> + + <p>Talk of the Western Empire having "declined and fallen," as + Messrs. Gibbon and Wegg put it! Why, here it was again, and + with the worst of its ancient crimes inscribed upon its code of + law. Emphyteusis was reintroduced into Portugal by King Diniz + (Dennis) in the year 1279, and was followed by its usual + effects—ruin and depopulation. In 1394 was born Prince + Henry. He was the son of John I. and Philippa, daughter of John + of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, and was therefore the nephew of + Henry IV. of England. Perceiving and commiserating the + wretchedness of the people, and casting about him for a remedy, + Henry saw but one: that was departure from the land, + emigration, colonization, escape from the tyranny of the soil, + of nobles and of ecclesiastics—a tyranny which both his + illustrious rank and his piety forbade him to oppose. Hence his + intense devotion to the discovery and colonization of strange + lands, which is in vain to be accounted for on the ground of a + mere passion, the only one usually advanced by unthinking + historians.</p> + + <p>The results of this mania, as it was then considered, of + Prince Henry are well known—the discovery of Madeira, the + Azores, Senegambia, Angola, Benguela, etc., and, after Prince + Henry's death, the Cape of Good Hope, Goa, Macao, the islands, + etc.; all of which were colonized by Portuguese. These + colonies, and the commerce which sprang + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page114" + id="page114"></a>[pg 114]</span> up with them, afforded + outlets for the downtrodden serfs of Portugal. Such was the + beneficial result of this partial measure of freedom that in + the course of the following two centuries Portugal became + one of the leading nations of the world, with a population + of 5,000,000 and a flag respected in every clime.</p> + + <p>Unhappily, this interval of prosperity to Portugal was the + cause of infinite misery to the negro race. The discoveries in + Africa and Asia afforded a career to the enslaved Portuguese; + yet, by leading, as they did, to the discovery of America, they + were eventually the cause of the slave-trade, which without + America could not have flourished. Such will ever be the result + of the attempt to palliate instead of cure evil. Moreover, the + discovery of America and the resulting slave-trade were the + cause of Portugal's retrogression to the point whence she had + started in Prince Henry's time. When gold and slaves rendered + maritime discovery profitable to the aristocratic class, all + the nobles went into it—not only the aristocrats of + Portugal, but those also of Spain, England, France, Holland, + Italy. They all went into the trade of acquiring empires, and + it is not to be wondered at if in this rivalry of greed and + violence Portugal, exploited and burdened with serfdom and + other features of bad government at home, was distanced and + overcome. Her colonies were captured and reduced by foreign + enemies, or invaded and ruined by one of the several political + diseases from which she had never wholly rid herself. For + example, the once magnificent city of Goa, which formerly + contained a population of 150,000 Christians and 50,000 + Mohammedans, is now an almost deserted ruin, with but 40,000 + inhabitants, <i>chiefly ecclesiastical</i>.</p> + + <p>When Pombal assumed the reins of government in 1750 the + population of Portugal had been reduced to less than 2,000,000: + there was neither agriculture, manufactures, army nor navy. + Perceiving this state of affairs, and recognizing the cause of + it, Pombal caused the vines to be torn up by the roots and corn + planted in their place. Ruffianism was crushed, the Jesuits + were banished, the nobility were taught to respect the civil + law, the peasantry were encouraged. After twenty-seven years of + reforms and prosperity Pombal was dismissed from office and the + old abuses were reinstated, among them those worst incidents of + emphyteusis which had been devised by the base ring of nobles + and ecclesiastics who held the land in their grasp.</p> + + <p>These abuses remained without material change until 1832, + and thus you have a complete history of emphyteusis from the + first to the last day of its institution in Portugal. In truth, + however, its last day has not come even yet, for many of its + incidents still linger in the code of laws.</p> + + <p>Now for its effects on the land. What growth of forest trees + had followed the abolition of emphyteusis under the Gothic and + Saracenic monarchs was destroyed under the government of + Christian nobles, and to-day there is scarcely a tree in + Portugal—the woods, including fruit and nut trees, + covering less than 400,000 out of 22,000,000 acres, the entire + area of the country. The destruction of the woods, to say + nothing of its effects upon the rainfall, caused the top soil + to be washed away, and thus impoverished the arable land, + filling the rivers with earth, rendering them innavigable, and + converting them from gently-flowing streams to devastating + torrents, which annually bestrew the valleys and plains with + sand and stones.<a id="footnotetag2" + name="footnotetag2"></a><a href="#footnote2"><sup>2</sup></a> + In the next place, emphyteusis has caused every kind of + improvement to be avoided. The soil has been exhausted by + over-cropping; public works, like roads, wells, irrigating + canals, etc., have been neglected; and the numerous works + left by the industrious Saracens have been allowed to go to + ruin. Finally, the tenant, being placed entirely in the + power of the lord, was continually kept at the point of + starvation. To escape this dreadful fate he has committed + every conceivable offence against the laws of Nature and + humanity. Tyranny <span class="pagenum"><a name="page115" + id="page115"></a>[pg 115]</span> and starvation have made of + him a liar, thief, smuggler, assassin, beast. The very + ground is tainted with his tread, the air is redolent of his + crimes.</p> + + <p>I am aware of the eminently legal, and therefore judicial, + mind of Americans; therefore I shall give nothing of importance + on my own testimony alone. It shall be seen what the Portuguese + peasant is from the descriptions that travelers have written, + and from the fragments of statistical evidence which the + deeply-culpable ruling classes have permitted to be + published.</p> + + <p>But first let me describe the degree of destitution to which + the peasant has been reduced, for without this destitution this + criminal character would not have been his.</p> + + <p>Baron Forrester says:<a id="footnotetag3" + name="footnotetag3"></a><a href="#footnote3"><sup>3</sup></a> + "The poverty of the inhabitants of the interior of Portugal + is equal to that of the Irish." (This was written in 1851, + immediately after the Irish famine.) "The wretchedness of + their condition checks marriage and promotes clandestine + intercourse." William Doria writes:<a id="footnotetag4" + name="footnotetag4"></a><a href="#footnote4"><sup>4</sup></a> + "The inhabitants (all ages) do not obtain half (scarcely + one-third) as much as the minimum of animal food required to + sustain active vitality, which is one hundred grammes, about + one-fifth of a pound, per day." Marques + says:<a id="footnotetag5" + name="footnotetag5"></a><a href="#footnote5"><sup>5</sup></a> + "The daily ration of an able-bodied man should consist of at + least twelve hundred grammes, of which one-fourth (about + three-fifths of a pound) should be animal food. The + Portuguese soldier (much better fed than the peasant) + receives but seventeen grammes (little over half an ounce) + of animal food." Notwithstanding the superior food of the + soldier, such is the hatred of the peasant for the + aristocratic classes, in whose service the army is employed, + that he will mutilate himself to escape the + conscription.<a id="footnotetag6" + name="footnotetag6"></a><a href="#footnote6"><sup>6</sup></a> + Says Malte-Brun: "During four months of the year the + inhabitants of the Algarve have little to eat but raw figs. + This causes a disease called <i>mal de veriga</i>, which + sweeps away numbers of the people." Says Doria: "All the + women work in the fields;" and Dr. Farr<a id="footnotetag7" + name="footnotetag7"></a><a href="#footnote7"><sup>7</sup></a> + tells us that "when women are employed in any but domestic + labors they discharge the duties of mother imperfectly, and + the mortality of children is high." Says Forrester: + "Leavened bread is beginning to be known in the principal + cities, but not in the provinces. Gourds, cabbages and + turnip-sprouts, with bread made from chestnuts (which are + always wormy), form the peasant's diet." "In Algarve + carob-beans are commonly roasted, ground into flour and made + into bread." Says Da Silva:<a id="footnotetag8" + name="footnotetag8"></a><a href="#footnote8"><sup>8</sup></a> + "The growth of the peasantry is stunted by insufficient + nourishment, which consists largely of chestnuts, beans and + chick-peas."</p> + + <p>The utmost area of land which the average Portuguese peasant + can cultivate is two and a half acres: in the United States the + average of cultivated land per laborer is over thirty-two + acres; on prairie-land sixty acres is not uncommon. Forrester + writes: "In the Alto Douro, the richest portion of the kingdom, + the villages are formed of wretched hovels with unglazed + windows and without chimneys. Instead of bread or the ordinary + necessaries of life, one finds only filth, wretchedness and + death. Emigration is the one thought of the people."</p> + + <p>Now for the moral, intellectual and physical results of the + destitution thus evinced. The work entitled <i>Voyage du Duc du + Châtelet en Portugal</i>, although usually quoted under + this title, was really written by M. Comartin, a royalist of La + Vendée, and written during the French Revolution. If it + had any bias at all, that bias was all in favor of Portugal, + yet this is his description of her people: "Il est, je pense, + peu de peuple plus laid que celui de Portugal. Il est petit, + basané, mal conformé. L'intérieur + répond, en général, assez à cette + repoussante envelope, surtout à Lisbonne, où les + hommes paroissent réunir tous les + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page116" + id="page116"></a>[pg 116]</span> vices de l'âme et du + corps. II y a, au reste, entre la capitale et le nord de ce + royaume, une différence marquée sous ces deux + rapports. Dans les provinces septentrionales, les hommes + sont moins noirs et moin laids, plus francs, plus lians dans + la société, bien plus braves et plus + laborieux, mais encore plus asservis, s'il est possible, aux + préjugés. Cette différence existe + également pour les femmes; elles sont beaucoup plus + blanches que celles du sud. Les Portugais, + considérés en général, sont + vindicatifs bas, vains, railleurs, présomptueux + à l'excès, jaloux. et ignorans. Après + avoir retracé les défauts que j'ai cru + appercevoir en eux, je serois injuste si je me taisois sur + leurs bonnes qualités. Ils sont attachés + à leur patrie, amis géneréux, + fidèles, sobres, charitables. Ils seroient bons + Chrètiens si le fanatisme ne les aveugloit pas. Ils + sont si accoutumés aux pratiques de la religion + qu'ils sont plus superstitieux que dévots. Les + hidalgos, ou les grands de Portugal, sont très + bornés dans leur éducation, orgueilleux et + insolens; vivant dans la plus grande ignorance, ils ne + sortent presque jamais de leur pays pour aller voir les + autres peuples." Time and changed circumstances have + somewhat softened these traits, but their general + correctness is still recognizable.</p> + + <p>"Add hypocrisy to a Spaniard's vices and you have the + Portuguese character," says Dr. Southey. "They are deceitful + and cowardly—have no public spirit nor national + character," says Semple. "The morals of both sexes are lax in + the extreme; assassination is a common offence; they rank about + as low in the social scale as any people of Christendom," says + McCulloch. "Their songs are licentious: the national dance or + the <i>toffa</i> is so lascivious that every stranger who sees + it must deplore the corruption of the people, and regret to + find such exhibitions permitted, not only in the country, but + in the heart of towns, and even on the stage," says Malte-Brun. + "Portugal is a paradise inhabited by demons and brutes," says + Madame Junot—a phrase taken probably from Byron's + description of Cintra.</p> + + <p>My countrymen will be enraged with me for thus repeating the + worst that has been said about them, but I repeat it for their + own benefit, like the surgeon, who, to save the patient's life, + cruelly probes the wound or lays bare the corruption from which + he is suffering. Moreover, I shall have still darker spots to + exhibit in a national character which has been stamped with + centuries of feudal and ecclesiastical tyranny.</p> + + <p>In a country possessing a fair share of the natural + resources commonly in demand a free and prosperous population + will double in numbers every fifteen years, an increase of + about 4-1/2 per cent. per annum compounded. The United States, + a country rich in natural resources, and one whose government + offers but few obstacles to freedom and individual prosperity, + has doubled its population every twenty-two and a half years + since 1790. This is equal to over 3 per cent. per annum. In + that country the annual number of births in every 10,000 of + population is 500,<a id="footnotetag9" + name="footnotetag9"></a><a href="#footnote9"><sup>9</sup></a> + of immigrants, 75; total increase, 575. The deaths are 250, + leaving 325 in 10,000, or 3-1/2 per cent. gain as the net + result of the year's growth and decay of population.</p> + + <p>There is no reason for believing that the proportion of + births in Portugal is less than it is in Germany, or even the + United States: on the contrary, "in climates where the waste of + human life is excessive from the combined causes of disease and + poverty affecting the mass of the inhabitants, the number of + births is proportionately greater than is experienced in + countries more favorably circumstanced.... Population does not + so much increase because more are born, as because fewer + die."<a id="footnotetag10" + name="footnotetag10"></a><a href="#footnote10"><sup>10</sup></a> + Hence, the presumption is that the rate of births in + Portugal is equal to that in Carthagena de Colombia, where + it is 8 to 10 per cent., or at least that of some parts of + Mexico, where it is 6.21 per cent. Yet the population of + Portugal has not increased during a hundred years. What, + then, has become of the 250,000 human beings annually called + into existence in Portugal? One-half + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page117" + id="page117"></a>[pg 117]</span> of them took their chances + with the rest of the population, were registered at birth, + died according to rule, were duly entered upon statistical + tables and buried in consecrated ground: the other half were + strangled by their mothers, flung into ditches, exposed to + die, starved to death, assassinated in some manner. The + crimes of foeticide and infanticide have become so common + that there is scarcely a peasant-woman in Portugal not + guilty of them, either as principal or accessory.</p> + + <p>Illegitimacy is more common in Portugal than in any country + of Europe. This fact can be proved from a comparison of + marriages, births and baptisms; but since the statistics on + these subjects are defective, the better testimony is to be + derived from the number of deposits at the foundling hospitals. + The foundling of the house of Misericordia in Lisbon, that of + the Real Casapin in Belem and the foundling at Oporto together + receive nearly five thousand foundlings during the year, of + whom two-thirds<a id="footnotetag11" + name="footnotetag11"></a><a href="#footnote11"><sup>11</sup></a> + perish in the establishments, which thus become "charnels + and houses of woe." Almost every town or village in the + kingdom has its <i>roda dos expostos</i>—literally, a + "wheel for exposed ones"—where, upon the ringing of a + bell, the children deposited in a turning-basket or wheel + are passed into the interior of the establishment without + inquiry. Although their term of stay is limited to a few + weeks, less than one-half of them ever pass out of the + establishment alive! Says Dr. T. de Carvalho: "The + <i>roda</i> is the <i>açouque</i> ('slaughter-house') + for children. It is the permanent and legal means of + infanticide. <i>Abaixo a roda dos expostos!</i>"</p> + + <p>Notwithstanding this frightful mortality, the number of + infants always on hand in the foundlings of Portugal is nearly + 40,000, or 1 per cent of the entire population. One-eighth of + all the reported births in the kingdom become foundlings: as + for the non-reported ones, their fate is known only to the + recording angel. Says Claudio Adriano da Costa: "Promiscuous + intercourse has become common all over the country;" and he + attributes it, though I think superficially, to the "misplaced + indulgence to concubinage awarded by the + rodas."<a id="footnotetag12" + name="footnotetag12"></a><a href="#footnote12"><sup>12</sup></a></p> + + <p>The true cause of Portuguese immorality and crime is the + unequal distribution of wealth, which leaves the mass of the + inhabitants a prey to the vicissitudes of the seasons, the + tyranny of the powerful and wealthy and the despair of + insecurity. The origin of this evil state of affairs was the + tenure of emphyteusis: its active and unfeeling promoters have + been always the nobility and ecclesiastics, and its only + powerful enemy, the only hope of the people, the Crown.</p> + + <p>After what has been mentioned it is unnecessary to speak of + minor crimes—- of street assassinations, highway + robberies and the like. Your own McCulloch will inform you that + according to official information reported to the Cortes there + occurred in one year, and merely in the two districts of Oporto + and Guarda, no less than three hundred and forty-two + assassinations and four hundred and sixty robberies. It is true + that life is not quite so insecure now as when McCulloch wrote. + Some few rays of light have penetrated the profound abyss of + misery and evil in which the country was then plunged; + nevertheless, the improvement has been but slow and partial, + and nothing short of revolution can accelerate it. There is but + one man in the world who possesses the means to render that + revolution successful, and that man—His Majesty Dom Pedro + II., the emperor of Brazil—is now, or soon will be, on + his way to the United States. May he not peruse in vain this + sad account of famine and crime in Portugal!</p> + + <p>There are persons with nervous organisms so abused that a + sudden cry, whether it be of boisterousness or despair, will + cause them great agony: so there are others with moral + susceptibilities so overstrained that the story of a nation's + misery and crime, such as I have endeavored + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page118" + id="page118"></a>[pg 118]</span> to sketch, will evoke + within them more pain than interest. Regard for such + exceptional persons has created a namby-pambyism in + literature which would banish these topics—the + greatest and holiest in which human sympathy can be + enlisted—to the domains of science. But science cannot + aid unhappy Portugal. Sympathy and prayer alone can mitigate + our sufferings. Therefore sympathize with and pray for us, + you who stand in the broad glare of freedom, filled with + plenty and surrounded by promise, Pray for unhappy + Portugal!</p> + + <h2>AT THE OLD PLANTATION.</h2> + + <h4>TWO PAPERS.—I.</h4> + + <p>The life of the low-country South Carolina planter, until + broken up by the war, had changed but little since colonial + times. It was the life which Washington lived at Mount Vernon, + with some slight differences of local custom. The two-storied + house, with its ten or twenty rooms and broad piazza, had + probably been built in ante-Revolutionary days by the British + country gentleman or Huguenot exile from whom the present owner + drew his descent. I well remember how the old house at Hanover + bore near the top of the chimney stack the legend "<i>Peu + à peu</i>" written with a stick in the soft mortar with + which the bricks had been covered. The old Huguenot builder had + burned his bricks by guess, and three times the work had to + stop until the kiln could be replenished and a new lot + prepared. The top was finally reached, however, and the + triumphant <i>Peu à peu</i> was only his French way of + proclaiming to posterity <i>Perseverantia vincit omnia</i>. In + many instances, however, fire has destroyed the original + structure—a danger to which the country residence is + specially exposed—but the new one has usually been + modeled after that which it succeeded. Indian names, flowing + softly from the tongue, have usually come down with the tracts + to which they originally belonged, as <i>Pooshee, Wantoot, + Wampee, Wapahoula</i>, though Chelsea, White Hall, Sarrazin's + or Sans Souci often betrays the English or French origin of the + first patentee.</p> + + <p>To understand the home and life of the wealthy Carolina + planter we must remember that he was the most contented man in + the world. The greed of gain was unknown to him, and his + deep-rooted conservatism forbade everything like speculation. + Solid, substantial comfort and large-hearted hospitality were + the objects in all his expenditures. He never invested his + surplus money except in another plantation to put his surplus + negroes on, for he never sold a negro except for incorrigible + bad qualities or to pay some pressing debt. He had no expensive + tastes except for rare old madeira and racing-stock, from the + last of which his splendid saddle-horses were always selected; + and these were usually of the best and purest blood. He was as + much at home in the saddle as an English fox-hunter or a Don + Cossack, and the only wheeled vehicles in his spacious + carriage-house were the heavy family coach, and the light sulky + in which his summer trips were made between the pineland and + the plantation.</p> + + <p>Come back with me now to the days when the North-eastern + Railroad was a possibility of the future, and join me in a + Christmas visit to old Pooshee. We take the little steamer for + the head of Cooper River, the December sun being warm enough to + tempt us from the close cabin to the airy deck. The graceful + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page119" + id="page119"></a>[pg 119]</span> spire of old St. Michael's + cuts sharply against the sky, reminding you, if you have + visited the suburbs of London, of St. + Martin's-in-the-Fields, that fine specimen of Sir + Christopher Wren's style, after which it was modeled. The + old customhouse looks just as it did when Governor Rutledge + had the tea locked up in its store-rooms, and the gray moss + droops in weeping festoons from the live-oaks of beautiful + Magnolia. I wonder how the miles of green marsh through + which we pass can seem to you such a dreary waste. To my eye + it is all alive with interest. I never tire of watching how + the lonely white heron spears his scaly prey, how the + clapper-rail floats on his raft of matted rushes, how the + marsh-wren jerks his saucy little tail over his + bottle-shaped nest, or how with quick and certain stroke the + oyster-catcher extracts the juicy "native" from his bivalved + citadel. We are now getting above the salt-water line, and + on either hand the rice-fields, now covered with water, + stretch away from the banks, their surface covered with + countless thousands of ducks. As the winding river brings + the channel somewhat nearer to the shore, the splash of the + paddles startles the feeding multitude, and they rise with a + rush and roar of wings which might be heard for miles. Could + we stop for a day or two at Rice Hope, we might have rare + sport among the mallards and bald-pates as they fly out + between sunset and dark, or in the early morning from behind + a well-constructed blind. But we must decline the cordial + invitation which urges us to do so as the boat casts off + from the landing, and in a couple of hours more we step + ashore at Fairlawn, where we find the carriage waiting to + take us over the twelve remaining miles of our journey. The + road, like the marsh, may seem lonely and tedious to you, + but I know every turn and bend of it, and the trees are all + old friends. I'm sure I know that green heron which "skowks" + to me as he springs from the rail of the bridge, and there + is something familiar in the bark of the black squirrel + which has just rushed up that pine. Hark! that was the yelp + of a turkey. Stop the horses for a moment and we may see + them. One, two, four, seven! What a splendid old gobbler + last crossed the road, and no guns loaded! And there is the + track of as noble a buck as I ever saw: that's where he + jumped into the pea-field, and ten to one he's lying now in + that patch of sedge.</p> + + <p>"Well!" I think I hear you say, "you have seen more to + interest you in a hundred yards than I should have found in two + miles."</p> + + <p>Exactly; and that is why I enjoy the country so much. Learn + to love Nature in her every mood and to study her every + feature, and you will never know the feeling of loneliness if + you keep outside the walls of a jail. But we are at the outer + gate, and our journey is nearly over. At the end of a long + enclosed road, shaded by trees—which, however, do not + form an avenue, such as you may see near the coast, where the + live-oaks flourish more vigorously—stands the spacious + mansion, with its white walls, green Venetian shutters and red + tin roof. There is no enclosure about it save that which is + formed by the rail fences of the distant fields. The "yard" + contains about forty acres of grassy lawn shaded by spreading + forest trees—white-oaks, water-oaks and + hickories—from which hang the graceful folds of the + Spanish moss. The out-buildings are scattered about without the + slightest reference to distance, except in the case of the + kitchen, which is at the back and some twenty yards from the + dwelling. The stable and carriage-house stand on either side, + <i>in front</i>, but at a distance sufficient to prevent + unsightliness or discomfort. In the background are the large + "cotton-houses," with their bleaching-platforms, the + "gin-house," the corn-house, the fodder-house and the + poultry-house, which is nearly as large as any of them; while + nearer the mansion are grouped the "loom-house," the dairy and + the oven-shed, under which is built the huge brick oven capable + of baking to a sugary confection several bushels of yam "slips" + at a time. On the left is the "negro-yard" (never called "the + quarter" in this region), with its fifty or sixty substantial + cabins, each <span class="pagenum"><a name="page120" + id="page120"></a>[pg 120]</span> gleaming with whitewash and + having its own little vegetable patch and chicken-house.</p> + + <p>It is Saturday evening, and the sun is just entering the + heavy cloud-bank which rests on the western horizon as we drive + up to the door. Our genial and venerable host, "the old + doctor," is at the stables superintending the feeding of his + horses, and thither we bend our steps with a sense of + exhilaration which only the crisp, fresh country air can + impart, and a new vigor thrilling through every muscle as the + foot presses the green and springy sod. Our old friend is a + worthy representative of the old <i>régime</i>, the only + change which the lapse of thirty years has made in his costume + being the substitution of black for blue broadcloth in the + velvet-collared, brass-buttoned, narrow-skirted coat with its + side-pocket flaps. The collar sits as high in the neck; the red + silk handkerchief peeps out behind; the trousers are cut with + the "full fall," over which hangs the watch fob-chain with its + heavy seals; the low-crowned beaver hat has the same wide brim; + and the silver snuff-box is still redolent of Scotch + maccaboy.</p> + + <p>"The hounds have got fat waiting for you, and the birds are + almost tame enough to put salt on their tails," says the old + gentleman after the hearty welcome is over. "Old Nannie says + the foxes are eating up all her turkeys, and Loudon tells me + that he sees deer-tracks coming out of the new ground every + morning."</p> + + <p>"How <i>are</i> ye, gentlemen?" says stout John Myers, the + "obeshay," which is negro for "overseer."—"I say, there! + you Cuffee, that basket ain't half full o' corn.—I s'pose + you're goin' to clean out all the game by Chris'mas?—You + Cæsar, why don't you fill up old Chester's stall with + trash? You niggers are gittin' too lazy to live;" and he walks + off to see that the negroes, who are watching us with open + mouths and eyes, do not allow their astonishment to interfere + with the comfort of the horses. Five sturdy negro men are doing + the work of two boys, forking in the "pine-trash" from the huge + pile outside, and bringing ear-corn in oak bushel-baskets on + their shoulders from the corn-house three hundred yards + away.</p> + + <p>We cross over to this building when the stable-door has been + locked and watch the eager crowd which is waiting for the + weekly "'lowance." Sturdy, strapping women, with muscular arms + and stout calves freely displayed under the skirts which are + tucked around their waists, are standing in picturesque + attitudes or sitting on their upturned baskets, while ragged, + wild-looking little "picknies" are clinging to the said skirts + and peeping with great staring eyes at the strange "buckrah + man." Each will take the week's supply of ear-corn and potatoes + for her household—a peck for each member of the family, + large and small—and will grind her own grist at the + mill-house, or more probably trade away the entire supply at + the cross-roads store for flour, sugar and coffee.</p> + + <p>"Why, Rose, is that you? How are you, and how are the + children?"</p> + + <p>"De Lawd! Wha' dat? who dat da' talk me? Bless de Lawd! da' + nyoung maussa! Ki! enty you tek wife yet? Go 'way! Look! he + done got bayd (beard) same like ole nanny-goat! Bless de + Lawd!"</p> + + <p>"I'm glad to see you looking so young, Kitty: your children + must be grown up."</p> + + <p>"Tenk de Lawd, maussa," with a low curtsey, "I day yah yet! + Dem pickny, da big man an' 'oman now. Enty you got one piece + t'bacca fo' po' ole nigger?"</p> + + <p>The tobacco is forthcoming, together with a few gaudy + head-handkerchiefs and little parcels of sugar, and "nyoung + maussa" has it all his own way with the simple creatures. These + negroes are as near the original wild African type as if a few + years instead of more than a century of contact with + civilization had passed over them. They are all the direct + descendants of original importations, chiefly Ghoolahs and + Ashantees; indeed, "Gullah niggah" is a favorite term of + playful reproach among them. Their <i>male</i> names are still + largely Ashantee, as "Cudjo," "Cuffee," "Quarcoo," "Quashee," + etc., and their dialect, a mixture of "pigeon English" and + Ghoolah, strongly impregnated with the French of the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page121" + id="page121"></a>[pg 121]</span> Huguenot masters of their + forefathers, is simply incomprehensible to a stranger, + whether white or black. Indeed, when excited and talking + rapidly even those who have grown up among them can scarcely + understand the lingo. "Coom, Hondree," says an old nurse to + her little charge at bedtime, "le' we tek fire go atop:" in + English, "Come, Henry, let's take a light and go up stairs." + "Child" is "pickny;" "white man" (or woman), "buckrah;" "I + don't know," "Me no sabbée;" "Is it not?" "Enty?"; + "watermelon" is "attermillion" or "mutwilliam;" and so + on.</p> + + <p>Paying a medical visit, I enter a house where the patient is + a sick child: the old crone who is sitting in the doorway with + a boy's head between her knees, performing the office of which + monkeys are so fond, calls out, "Lindy! de buckrah coom."</p> + + <p>"What's the matter with the child?" I inquire.</p> + + <p>"Ki, maussa! me no sabbée wha' do a pickny," replies + the intelligent Lindy, who wishes me to know that she knows + nothing about the case.</p> + + <p>We shall see more of them before leaving the plantation.</p> + + <p>A day on the water and a long drive are excellent + preparatives for a supper of broad rice-waffles toasted crisp + and brown before the crackling hickory fire, of smoking + spare-ribs and luscious tripe, of rich, fragrant Java coffee + with boiled milk and cream; nor does a sound night's sleep + unfit one for enjoying at breakfast a repetition of the same, + substituting link sausages and black pudding for the tripe and + spare-ribs, and superadding feathery muffins and soft-boiled + eggs.</p> + + <p>It is Sunday morning, but the service to-day is at the other + end of the parish, some twenty miles away. The sky seems + brighter and the grass more green than on the work-days of the + week: the birds sing more cheerily, and seem to know that for + one day they are safe from man's persecution. Certain it is + that the wary crow will on that day eye you saucily as you pass + within ten yards of him, while on any other you cannot approach + him within a hundred. At ten o'clock the household is assembled + in the drawing-room, the piano—with, it may be, a flute + accompaniment—is made to do the organ's duty, and the + full service of the Prayer-Book is read and sung and listened + to with reverent attention. There are yet two hours to dinner, + and as the wild, wailing chant from the negro-yard comes to our + ears we determine to visit their chapel. If there was one point + in which, more than in others, the Carolina planter was + faithful to his duty, it was in securing the privileges of + religion to his slaves. Every plantation had its chapel, + sometimes rivaling in its appointments the churches for the + whites. One of the largest congregations of the Protestant + Episcopal Church in South Carolina, having lost its silver + during the sack of Columbia, is still using the sterling + communion service of a chapel for negroes which was burned upon + a neighboring plantation. The missionary is to-day upon another + portion of his circuit, and we have a specimen of genuine + African Christianity. On one side the rough benches are filled + with men clad, for once in the week, in <i>clean</i> cotton + shirts, with coat and pants of heavy "white plains," some young + dandies here and there being "fixed up" with old black silk + waistcoats and flashy neckties, holding conspicuously old + mashed beaver hats, which have been carefully wetted to make + them shine. On the other are ranged the women, the front + benches holding the sedate old "maumas," with gaudy yellow and + red kerchiefs tied about their heads in stiff high turbans, and + others folded <i>à la</i> Lady Washington over their + bosoms; behind them sit the young women in white woolen + "frocks," without handkerchiefs on head or breast; while the + children who are not minding babies at home or hunting rabbits + in the woods are gathered about the door.</p> + + <p>Old Bob, the preacher, rises and fixes his eyes severely on + the small fry near the door: "We's gwine to wushup de Lawd, an' + I desiah dem chilluns to know dat no noise nor laffin', nor no + so't o' onbehavin', kin be 'lowed; so min' wot you's 'bout + dere. You yerry me? (hear + me)."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page122" + id="page122"></a>[pg 122]</span> + + <p>Then, adjusting the great silver-rimmed spectacles and + opening a ragged prayer-book (upside down), he proceeds to read + over the hymn, the whole congregation listening with rapt + attention. As he utters the last word all rise together, the + old women with closed eyes, heads on one side and hands crossed + over their breasts, and he begins to "line out," dividing the + words rhythmically into spondaic measure, with the accent + strongly on every second syllable and the falling inflection + invariably on the last uttered:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>When I'—kin read'—my ti'—tul + clear'—</p> + + <p>To man'—shuns in'—de skies'.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Immediately the old mauma at the end of the front bench + "sets de tchune," a sad, quavering minor, and pitched so high + that any attempt to follow it seems utterly hopeless. But no: + the women all strike in on the same soaring key, while the men, + by a skillful management of the <i>falsetto</i>, keep up with + the screamiest flights. As they wail out the last word, + "skies," the women all curtsey with a sharp jerk of the body + and the men droop their heads upon their breasts—a token + that the strophe is ended; and the next two lines follow in the + same manner. Then follows the prayer, in which due remembrance + is made of "ole maussa" and "nyoung missis an' maussa," and all + their friends and visitors. We are considerate enough to + withdraw before the sermon, lest our presence should embarrass + the preacher, but a little eavesdropping gives us an + opportunity of hearing how practically he deals with "lyin' an' + tiefin', an' onbehavin' 'mongst de nyoung 'omans," and how he + holds up "de obeshay," as Saint Paul did the magistrate, in + terror to those who "play 'possum w'en de grass too t'ick," or + "stick t'orn in he finger so he can't pick 'nuff cotton w'en de + sun too hot." With our withdrawal is removed a restraint which + has chilled the active devotion of the assembly, and soon the + singing begins again, accompanied now, however, by the heavy + tramp of feet and the clapping of hands keeping time to the + sad, wailing minor which characterizes all their music. The + hymn, too, is no longer selected from the prayer-book, but from + some unwritten collection better adapted to their ideas of + "heart-religion":</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>De angel cry out A-men,</p> + + <p class="i2">A-men! A-men!</p> + + <p>De angel cry out A-men!</p> + + <p class="i2">I'se bound to de promis' lan'!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>I da gwine up to hebbin in a long w'ite robe,</p> + + <p class="i2">Long w'ite robe! long w'ite robe!</p> + + <p>My Sabiour tell me wear dat robe</p> + + <p class="i2">W'en I meet him in de promis' lan'!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>We've a great deal before us during the coming week, for we + must give a day to the partridges (never called "quail" in the + South), and we have a fox-hunt or two in the mornings, and that + old buck to look after whose tracks I showed you in the road; + besides the ducks and turkeys which are waiting to be shot, and + all the Christmas frolicking, from which the ladies will not + excuse us. We will therefore take this quiet Sunday afternoon + for a walk among the fields and woods to see what manner of + country we are in. Bending our steps first toward the huge old + oak which seems to hang upon the very edge of the green hill + near the house, we suddenly find ourselves just over a large + basin enclosed with an octagonal brick wall, except where the + clear water runs out over silvery gravel between curbings of + heavy plank. This is the spring, and a queer sort of spring it + is. Just under the tree-roots the water is but a few inches + deep over a bed of bluish-gray limestone, and in no part of the + basin, which is about twelve by twenty feet, does it seem to be + more than a half fathom in depth. But just under the ledge of + rock a shelving hole slopes back under the hill, the bottom of + which no man has ever found. This hole is only about three feet + by two, and the narrow outlet to the basin is but four inches + deep, and loses itself within fifty yards in an oozy bog. Yet, + peering into the depth, you catch a glimpse of the black head + and beady white eyes of a mudfish at least two feet long, and + presently of the silvery side of a three-pound bass which + glides across the opening. Drop a line with the cork set at ten + feet, and you will draw out of the very bosom of the earth a + mess of fat perch and bream each as large and as thick as your + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page123" + id="page123"></a>[pg 123]</span> hand, and eels three feet + in length are sometimes caught in the basin at night. Two + miles away, in the direction of the "run," there are on + Woodboo plantation two similar basins connected by a shallow + streamlet, and with no outlet which a minnow could navigate: + one of them is large enough for a little skiff to float on, + and the gray rock slopes down to a centre depth of ten feet. + Just where the sides meet is a long, irregular fissure, out + of which huge bass, pike, jack and mudfish are constantly + emerging, and into which they retreat when disturbed. + Hundreds of perch, bream and young bass sport in the shallow + parts, and are easily caught with rod and line, the water + being so clear that you can watch the fish gorging the bait, + and strike when the entire hook disappears. Now, where do + these fish live? where do they breed? and upon what do they + feed? But the mystery does not end there. About a mile in + the opposite direction as we walk through a little belt of + wet pineland, where the woodcock runs across our path or + whistles up from the wet leaves, we come suddenly upon a + dozen or more little basins, the largest not over six feet + by nine, which have no outlet whatever. One hole about two + feet in diameter goes sheer down between two pine trees to a + depth never yet fathomed: you cannot see it until right on + it, and you cannot use a rod, but drop your line about + twelve feet deep, and your cork will go down like lead, + while you pull up red perch and blue bream until your arm + wearies of the sport. I have caught five dozen in a winter's + afternoon, for the fish bite best in the coldest weather, + the temperature of the water being sixty-two degrees the + year round, irrespective of the weather. You must go fifteen + miles before reaching another of these springs or fountains, + and then ten more to the last of the chain, the famous Eutaw + Springs of Revolutionary memory. Here, then, must be a + subterranean river or reservoir at least twenty-eight miles + long, teeming with the same fish which swim in the + surface-streams, yet having no discoverable connection with + any of these. We meet with no rocks or stones anywhere, but + our walk leads us past many marl-pits from which numerous + fossil remains have been obtained. The fertile and + superstitious imagination of the negroes has not been idle + in such a suggestive field, and they have peopled these + fountains with spirits which they call "cymbies," akin to + the undine and the kelpie. On Saturday nights you may hear a + strange rhythmic, thumping sound from the spring, and + looking out you may see by the wild, fitful glare of + lightwood torches dark figures moving to and fro. These are + the negro women at their laundry-work, knee-deep in the + stream, beating the clothes with heavy clubs. They are merry + enough when together, but not one of them will go alone for + a "piggin" of water, and if you slip up in the shadow of the + old oak and throw a stone into the spring, the entire party + will rush away at the splash, screaming with fear, convinced + that the "cymbie" is after them.</p> + + <p>Leaving the spring behind us, we pass up the long lane + between two cotton-fields of a hundred acres each, in which the + blackened stalks are still standing, as are the dried + cornstalks and gray pea-vines in the field beyond. These will + remain until the early spring, when they will be cut down and + "listed in" with the hoe, for not a foot of this rich and + profitable plantation has ever been broken with the plough. + Incredible as it may appear, there is not a plough or a + work-horse, and but one old mule, upon this highly-cultivated + tract of one thousand acres. All the hauling is done by + ox-teams, with three sturdy negroes to each cart, and the heavy + cotton-hoe does everything else. Where one man and a plough + could till three acres, twenty men and women with hoes 'ridge + up the ground, scatter manure in the furrows, and draw the + ridges down on it again. True, the surface only is scratched, + and the soil is soon exhausted, but who cares for that when + there is abundance of rich timber-land from which to clear new + fields? and as to economizing labor, that is the last thing a + planter cares about, for what are the negroes to do? None are + ever sold, the "picknies" who swarm around + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page124" + id="page124"></a>[pg 124]</span> every cabin growing up to + stock the plantations bought for each child as he or she + "comes of age or is married," and work has to be made for + them to do.</p> + + <p>"What shall I put the hands at to-day, sir?" asked an + overseer of an old planter when the last bale of cotton had + been packed.</p> + + <p>"Hum! let's see! Well, set them to filling up the old + ditches and digging new ones."</p> + + <p>For the same reason power-gins and saw-mills found little + favor, the single-treadle "foot-gin" and the saw-pit and + cross-cut employing ten times as many hands. It was the aim of + every large planter to produce and manufacture by hand-power + everything needed on the place. Of course, it required a heavy + expenditure of labor and land to raise provisions for such an + army of unprofitable workers, on which account slave capital + was the poorest paying property in the world. The planter was + wealthy, but he owned only land and negroes: when the latter + were emancipated the former became useless; and this is the + reason why the war so utterly ruined the rich land-owners of + the South.</p> + + <p class="author">ROBERT WILSON.</p> + + <h2>OUR MONTHLY GOSSIP.</h2> + + <h4>'76.</h4> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Pass, '75, across the Styx!</p> + + <p>Make way for stately '76,</p> + + <p>Who comes with mincing, minuet pace,</p> + + <p>Well-powdered hair and patch-deckt face—</p> + + <p>An antiquated kerchief on:</p> + + <p>White-capped, like Martha Washington;</p> + + <p>Clock-hosed and high-heeled slipper-shod,</p> + + <p>To give no Nineteenth Century nod;</p> + + <p>Nay, but a courtesy profound,</p> + + <p>Whose look demure consults the ground.</p> + + <p>O rare-seen bloom! No flower perennial,</p> + + <p>This aloe-crowned Dame Centennial!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>She comes with shades of days long fled—</p> + + <p>Knee-breeched; long silk-stockingèd;</p> + + <p>Well-braided queues; bright-buckled shoon</p> + + <p>That flash with diamonds; gold galloon</p> + + <p>On rebel uniforms of blue—-</p> + + <p>A color that this land found <i>true</i>;</p> + + <p>Three-cornered hats, and plumes that flew</p> + + <p>Through conflicts where men dare and do.</p> + + <p>A patriot throng, a gallant host,</p> + + <p>Our Dame Centennial's train can boast.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>O aloe-flower upon her brow!</p> + + <p>Of what strange birth-pangs breathest thou,</p> + + <p>The while we gaze with dreamy eyes</p> + + <p>Back o'er a sea of memories,</p> + + <p>And see thy seed of foreign skies</p> + + <p>Here washt, to spring beneath our sun</p> + + <p>And ripen till its bloom is won!</p> + + <p>What storms have rocked thy stem aslant,</p> + + <p>O changeful-nurtured Century-Plant!</p> + + <p>Whose living flower now opens bland</p> + + <p>Its kindly promise o'er the land!</p> + + <p>With blood and tears 'twas watered,</p> + + <p>The bud whose blossom now is spread</p> + + <p>A floral cap her head upon,</p> + + <p>Who, <i>à la</i> Martha Washington,</p> + + <p>Our Dame Centennial now appears,</p> + + <p>Our '76, our crown of years!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Brave preparations thee await,</p> + + <p>O dame arrayed in olden state!</p> + + <p>For thee, for thee, Penn's city stands</p> + + <p>And stretches forth inviting hands</p> + + <p>To guests of home and foreign lands,</p> + + <p>And gathers all historic pride</p> + + <p>Of ancient records at her side,</p> + + <p>With gifts from all, on thee to rain</p> + + <p>Who bring'st such mem'ries in thy train.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Hail, city well named "Brother's Love!"</p> + + <p>The Quaker City of the dove,</p> + + <p>That fain would call a land to fling</p> + + <p>Its spites away, and 'neath thy wing</p> + + <p>Renew the treaty made by Penn</p> + + <p>In the wildwood with wilder men;</p> + + <p>Yet true men still! Be this the token—-</p> + + <p>loyal faith, a pledge unbroken!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>O year that wear'st thy aloe-flower</p> + + <p>So proudly! may thy touch have power</p> + + <p>Of healing! May thy visage bland</p> + + <p>Drive threatening discord from the land,</p> + + <p>And thronèd Peace more firmly fix!</p> + + <p>Then shall the elder '76,</p> + + <p>From out the eighteenth century's band</p> + + <p>Of Time's host in the shadowy land,</p> + + <p>Greet thee as one true soul may smile</p> + + <p>Upon another, where nor guile</p> + + <p>Nor sorrow can its brightness dim.</p> + + <p>So greet the clear-eyed seraphim—</p> + + <p>So once in Eden's sinless bower</p> + + <p>Unfading flower smiled on flower.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="author">LATIENNE.</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page125" + id="page125"></a>[pg 125]</span> + + <h2>THE KREUZESSCHULE.</h2> + + <h4>OBER-AMMERGAU, Bavaria, Oct. 4, 1875.</h4> + + <p>The town lies at the end of a lovely green valley. Behind it + are fir-clad mountains with rocky peaks: on one side a great + square rocky peak, which towers above all and is surmounted by + a cross. On each side of the valley sloping hills, fir-clad to + the top. A rapid, clear stream runs by on the edge of the + village. Green pastures dotted with haymakers, a few scattered + trees and a distant town fill the charming valley. Virginia + creepers hang on the walls, and gay flowers fill pretty + balconies and peep through sunny little casements. All is + simple and neat, and the bright fresco pictures on the fronts + of many houses lighten it all.</p> + + <p>On a high hill overlooking the town they are placing a + colossal crucifixion group, presented by King Ludwig II. in + <i>Erinnerung an die Passionsspiele</i>—in memory of the + Passion play—Christ on the cross, with the Virgin and St. + John, one on each side. The two latter were ready to be hoisted + on to the pedestal: the former is partly up the hill. All are + surrounded by heavy planking, so that it is impossible to judge + of the artistic merit, but the great group cannot fail to have + a fine effect when viewed from a distance.</p> + + <p>Yesterday (October 3d) was the eventful day. Our tickets had + been ordered by telegraph, and we had "the best seats." The + performance was to begin at nine o'clock, and at a quarter + before nine we were in our places.</p> + + <p>The building in which the play is given is of plain rough + wood without paint ("or polish"); in the interior a gallery and + two side-galleries, below them a parterre, and on each side of + it a standing-place, all of plain, unpainted boards. The + orchestra was sunk below the level of the stage, the proscenium + painted to represent columns and entablature. The curtain + represented, or seemed intended to represent, Jerusalem. The + whole place could not probably contain over six hundred people, + and was about half full. There were very few foreigners.</p> + + <p>The play to be represented was not the "Passion play," which + is given every ten years, but the <i>Kreuzesschule</i>, which + is played once in fifty years—last in 1825. In it the + play is taken from the Old Testament, and the tableaux from the + New Testament—the reverse of the Passion play.</p> + + <p>The orchestra began punctually at nine o'clock. There were + about twenty performers, and they played with skill and taste. + The selection of music was admirable. They commenced with a + sort of prelude, slow and declamatory. Perfect silence reigned, + and the deep interest of the spectators was, from the first and + throughout, shown in their expressive faces. Men and women at + times shed tears, and made not the slightest effort to hide + their emotion. The black head-*kerchiefs of many of the women + spectators, tight to the skull with ends hanging down behind, + seemed in harmony with the scene.</p> + + <p>The prelude ended, the Chorus entered with slow and + dignified pace—seven men and women from one side, six + from the other, all in a kind of Oriental costume, picturesque + and handsome. The tallest came first, and so on in gradation, + so that when ranged in front of the curtain they formed a kind + of pyramid. The central figure then began the prologue, an + explanation. Then the basso commenced singing an air, during + which the Chorus divided, falling back to the sides and + kneeling, while the curtain rose, displaying the first tableau. + This lasted nearly three minutes, during which time the figures + were really perfectly motionless. The basso finished his air + and the tenor sang another while the curtain was up. This + tableau represented the cross supported by an angel, while + grouped around were men, women and children looking up at it in + adoration. This was the "Kreuzesschule"—the school of the + Cross—the prologue to the piece. The picture had the + simplicity of the best school: no affected attitudes—all + plain, earnest and beautiful. When the curtain fell the Chorus + again took their places in front of it, a duet was sung, then a + chorus, and then they countermarched and retired in quiet + dignity.</p> + + <p>Then came the first part. A prelude by the orchestra, and + the curtain <span class="pagenum"><a name="page126" + id="page126"></a>[pg 126]</span> rises on Abel, dressed in + sheep skin, by his altar, from which smoke ascends, he + returning thanks. Enter Cain in leopard skin, much disturbed + and angry. They discourse, Abel all sweetness, Cain bitter + and cross. An angel in blue mantle, like one of Raphael's in + the "Loggia," appears at the side and comforts Abel. Then + Eve in white dress—evidently it had been a puzzle to + dress her—and buskins, who says sweet words to Cain. + Then Adam in sheep skin, very sad at all this difficulty. + Eve sweetly strives to reconcile Cain to his brother, and + appeals to him with much feeling. He discourses at length, + then appears to relent and embraces Abel, but is evidently + playing the hypocrite, and as the curtain falls you see that + hate is in his heart.</p> + + <p>The curtain down, the orchestra plays a prelude, the Chorus + enters as before, and the leader speculates on Cain's behavior. + "Is he honest?"—"Ah no, his heart is full of hate: he + meditates evil." The Chorus divides as before, falls back and + the curtain rises. This tableau represents the hate and rage of + the people and Pharisees toward Christ, who drives the traders + out of the Temple. In grouping, costume, color, tone, action + and completeness it was truly a marvelous picture. The stage + was crowded with figures: Christ in the centre, behind—a + row of columns on each side—a scourge in his left hand, + his right upheld in admirable action; in the background a group + in wild confusion; on the right, richly dressed priests and + Pharisees, indignant and fierce; in front, sellers of sheep and + doves, money-changers and traders of various kinds. All the + elements of a great picture were here shown in the highest + degree, and no words of praise could be too strong to express + the idea of its merits and its charm. This tableau lasted + nearly two minutes, with the most complete steadiness, the + basso singing an aria. The curtain then fell, and the Chorus, + taking its place, sang and retired as before. This ended the + first part, Cain's hate prefiguring the hatred toward + Christ.</p> + + <p>Then came Part Second. The curtain rose on Cain by the side + of his ruined in a soliloquy. Enter Abel, gentle and mild. Eve + comes in, and again tries to make peace, and Cain again plays + the hypocrite and invites his brother into the wood on some + pretext. They retire, leaving Eve disturbed by she knows not + what. Adam enters, shares her fears and goes out to seek his + sons. Thunder and lightning, admirably represented, and then + enter Cain disheveled and disturbed. His mother knows not what + has happened, but is agonized and calls for her Abel. An angel + appears at the side and discloses all by asking Cain, "Where is + thy brother?" and then announcing the fiat of the Most High to + him. He rushes off as Adam enters bearing the body of Abel; and + his mother, sitting down beside the dead body, makes a most + touching picture of a <i>Pietà</i>. Adam with + upstretched arms appeals to God, and the curtain falls. This + was the "Blutschuld"—the crime of blood—and + prefigured the betrayal of Christ by Judas for the thirty + pieces of silver.</p> + + <p>After a most beautiful prelude by the orchestra, the Chorus + again enters; the leader expresses his horror at Cain's action + and his pity for a fate thus given over to Satan; they again + divide, and the curtain rises on the tableau of Judas receiving + the money. At the end the high priest and other priests, in + appropriate costume, stand on a platform beyond a railing. + Judas in the centre, by a table, is taking the money from an + attendant: all around are groups, admirably arranged, + expressing, in face and attitude, wonder or pleasure or + disgust. The same artistic ideas and beautiful arrangement and + the same unaffected simplicity. This tableau lasted one minute + and a half, while the tenor sang an aria, "Oh, better for him + that he had never been born."</p> + + <p>The third part was <i>Das Opfermahl</i>—the offering + of bread and wine by Melchisedek to Abraham, prefiguring the + Last Supper. Prelude by orchestra. The curtain rises, + displaying Melchisedek before an altar, on which are bread and + wine. Four attendants are near him. He, in a + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page127" + id="page127"></a>[pg 127]</span> flowing white robe, + discourses to them. The scene is simple and natural. Enter + Abraham and attendants on one side and Lot and attendants on + the other, all dressed in Roman mantles, buskins and + helmets. The stage was filled and the grouping admirable. + Abraham and Lot discourse, embrace and part, Lot and his + followers retiring. Melchisedek comes forward and addresses + Abraham, who replies at some length. Then Melchisedek + prepares his bread and wine, takes some, then offers to + Abraham, who eats and drinks. Meantime, a most charming + chorus of Handel is sung behind the scenes, while + Melchisedek and his attendants offer the bread and wine to + all of Abraham's suite, who partake reverentially. Tableau + and chorus, and the curtain descends. The ease and simple + quiet action of all this scene were remarkable.</p> + + <p>Enter Chorus as before: leader speaks. They divide and the + curtain rises on the tableau of the Last Supper. I know not + whether it was taken from any one picture—I think + not—but it was simply and effectively grouped, and it + recalled both Lionardo and Andrea del Sarto. This lasted two + and a half minutes, during which time the contralto sang an air + of Mozart's.</p> + + <p>The fourth part—<i>Die Ergebung</i> + (Resignation)—was represented in the play by Abraham's + willingness to sacrifice his son at God's command, prefiguring + the agony of Christ in the Garden.</p> + + <p>After a prelude by the orchestra the curtain rose and + discovered Abraham and Isaac in loving discourse, with figures + in the background, admirably costumed and grouped. An angel in + white robe and blue mantle appears and delivers his heavenly + message to the astounded Abraham. His agony was simply and + feelingly depicted. He appears at last resigned, when Sarah, in + red robe and Eastern headdress, enters to renew his grief. The + beauty of this woman was of the highest order in feature and + expression, and her dress was truly artistic. The scene between + these two was most touchingly acted. Isaac reappears, thinking + that he is simply going on a journey, and, scarcely + comprehending his mother's great grief, presents his companion + to her as a comfort and stay, thus prefiguring John and Mary at + the cross. Abraham and Isaac depart, and the curtain falls.</p> + + <p>Then another prelude by the orchestra, and the Chorus + appears: the leader delivers the epilogue. They divide and + kneel, and the curtain rises on the tableau of the scene in + Gethsemane.</p> + + <p>Christ, on an elevation, is kneeling: an angel stands in + front of him. Below, the apostles are all asleep in groups. + Behind, in the centre, Judas advances with the soldiers, who + bear tall lanterns. It was like a picture of Carpaccio, and + worthy of that great master. This tableau lasted two and a + quarter minutes, during which time the tenor sang an aria.</p> + + <p>The fifth part—<i>Es ist vollbracht</i> (It is + fulfilled)—represents Abraham going out to sacrifice his + son, prefiguring the Crucifixion. The curtain rises on Sarah, + full of agony, which is most simply and powerfully depicted. + Attendants enter, who tell a long story: then Abraham and Isaac + appear, and there is a most striking scene—Sarah + fainting, the friend sustaining her, the others grouped around + in various picturesque attitudes. An angel appears, simple and + practical, like those of the good old painters, and delivers + the blessing. The curtain falls.</p> + + <p>Again the orchestra in a superb prelude: then the Chorus + appears, and, after the epilogue, divides and kneels as the + curtain rises on a tableau which my imagination never could + have pictured, for its wonderful completeness, its power, its + feeling, its artistic beauty and its marvelous expression far + exceeded any idea that I had of the power of men and women to + represent such a picture—the Crucifixion.</p> + + <p>The stage was crowded with figures, Christ in the centre, + fully extended on the cross, with no signs whatever of support + to disturb the illusion—the thieves on one side and the + other, with arms over the cross, as frequently represented; the + group at the foot of the cross so touchingly tender—the + soldiers, the priests, the people—all grouped with such + consummate <span class="pagenum"><a name="page128" + id="page128"></a>[pg 128]</span> skill, such harmony of + colors, such appropriateness and vigor of expression, as + have never, to my thinking, been excelled in the greatest + pictures of the greatest masters. Here was most remarkably + shown the wonderful artistic talent and feeling of these + simple people. There was nothing repulsive in any way, + scarcely painful, except tenderly so. You breathlessly gazed + on this wondrous scene, and when, after three minutes, the + curtain fell, you were speechless with admiration and + emotion. A lovely air by the soprano accompanied this + tableau, and after the curtain fell a grand chorus completed + the fifth part.</p> + + <p>The sixth part—<i>Durch Dunkel zum Lichte</i> (through + Darkness to Light)—ended the programme. The play + represented Joseph, with all his honors upon him, receiving his + old father and his brothers—prefiguring the Ascension of + Christ.</p> + + <p>After the prelude by the orchestra the curtain rises and + discovers old Jacob, surrounded by his sons in various groups. + The scene and costumes were admirable and appropriate. In the + midst of a discourse Joseph bursts in in fine attire, followed + by a great train, among which are two darkies, taken bodily + from Flemish pictures. After much embracing and blessing and + forgiveness, the curtain falls as Jacob with outstretched arms + thanks the Lord and prophesies all good things.</p> + + <p>Then again the orchestra, and again our Chorus enters on the + scene, and after the epilogue, "At last all woe is ended," they + divide and kneel, as the curtain rises on the scene of the + Ascension. This was most simply represented. Christ ascends + from the tomb, standing on it, surrounded by angels, while + figures appropriately grouped around make a picture which + recalled Perugino. The basso sings an aria, and a grand chorus, + "Alleluja!" ends this most remarkable performance.</p> + + <p>There was no delay nor interruption throughout. Not the + sound of a hammer nor the whisper of a prompter was ever heard. + There was no applause whatever from the audience until the end, + and then it seemed to come from the strangers. The three + hours—for the end was precisely at twelve—seemed + not more than one, so filled was the mind with the simple, + grand beauty and the artistic completeness of the whole thing. + No personality appears for an instant. There are no bills to + tell the names of the actors, nor did any actor or actress at + any time look toward the audience.</p> + + <p>Never since early childhood have the Bible stories been + brought back with such vividness, such tender and absorbing + interest. Tradition, faith and earnestness have made this a + people of artists. If one could believe, as all must wish, that + love of money-making and speculation will not invade this + simple village, to the demoralization of its people, the + satisfaction would be most complete. Be that as it may, I shall + always owe a debt of gratitude to Ober-Ammergau, and as long as + memory lasts shall remember <i>Die Kreuzesschule</i>.</p> + + <p class="author">J.W.F.</p> + + <h3>VARESE.</h3> + + <p>Varese is an ancient little town on a hill overlooking the + small lake of the same name in the midst of the mountainous + country between Como and Lago Maggiore, and a little to the + southward of the Lake of Lugano. It is within a very few miles + of the Swiss frontier. All this lacustrine region has for many + generations been celebrated as a specially privileged one. It + is Italy without the enervating heat and aridity which are such + serious drawbacks to the enjoyment of its other charms by + Northern folk. It is Switzerland without the rigidity of its + climate and the comparative poverty of the northern vegetation. + You have the oleander and cactus around your feet, while the + snow-peaks high above your head are rose-colored morning and + evening by a southern sun. You wander amid groves of Spanish + chestnut, and may hear the while the Swiss-sounding + cattle-bells from Alpine pastures high above them. The lakes + themselves, with their branching arms and bays and their + fairy-like islands, are of course a feature of ever-varying and + incomparable beauty.</p> + + <p>Accordingly, Fortune's favorites of all countries have long, + even from the old Roman times downward, thickly studded + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page129" + id="page129"></a>[pg 129]</span> the district with their + villas and gardens and palaces and parks. But the possession + of a villa on one of the Italian lakes implies that the + happy owner is nothing very much less than a millionaire. + And it has been reserved for these quite latter days to find + the means of placing within the reach of the many all the + delights which were heretofore the exclusive privilege of + the few. In no instance has this been done with so complete + a measure of success as at Varese. The hotel is situated + about a mile from the little town. Its gardens look down on + the lake, the intervening slope being covered with forest. + To the left, as one stands at the garden-front of the house, + looking toward the lake, are the hills in the midst of which + the Lake of Lugano nestles, and on the right, beyond the + Lago Maggiore, is a view of Monte Rosa with its eternal + snows, perhaps the finest to be found anywhere. I have seen + Monte Rosa and its chain very finely from the top of the + pass called the Col di Tenda, between Turin and Nice, but I + think the view from the terrace in front of this house is + finer. Immediately at the back of the house we have the + hills—mountains they would be called in any other part + of Europe—of which Monte Generoso, now covered with + snow, though with a hotel on the top, is the most + conspicuous. The country more immediately around us is a + district of rolling hills, partly vineyard, but in a larger + degree wooded, and here and there diversified by the + well-cared-for gardens of some large villa. Our outlook, it + will be admitted, is pleasant enough. The house I am + speaking of, now known under the style and title of the + "Excelsior Hotel," was recently a magnificent villa of the + Morosini family at Venice. The name will not be new to any + who have visited Venice; for the traveler, even if his + tastes did not lead him to take any heed of such matters, + will not have been allowed by the <i>ciceroni</i> to + overlook the tombs of the doges of that family in the grand + old church of the beheaded Saint John, <i>San Giovanni + decollata,</i> or "San Zuan Degolà," as the + soft-lisping Venetians call it. Yes, the Morosini were very + great men in their day: more than one of the brightest + chapters in the history of the great republic on the + Adriatic is filled with their name. But now their place + knows them no more: the family is extinct. The last scion of + the race, an old lady who died quite recently at Varese, is + said to have declared that it was time for a Morosini to + retire from the scene when their house was about to be + turned into an inn. Poor old lady! One could have wished + that she had vanished before that desecration had been + threatened, especially as her end was so near at hand; for + it would, I fear, have been too much to wish that the + Excelsior Hotel should have been kept out of existence for + another generation.</p> + + <p>The Morosini had palaces among the most splendid of that + city of palaces, Venice, as may be seen to the present day. But + this Varese villa was their place of delight and enjoyment. And + truly the ideas which we generally attach to the word "villa" + are scarcely represented by the magnificent building to which + the public are now indiscriminately invited. It is an enormous + pile of building, the vast garden-frontage of which makes + considerable claims to architectural magnificence. There are, + especially in Switzerland, very magnificent and palace-like + hotels which have been built for the purpose they now serve, + but the fact that they were so built has very effectually + prevented even the most splendid among them from rivaling, or + indeed approaching, the grandiose magnificence of this superb + hostelrie, which has chosen its name in no idle spirit of + vaunting. For building is costly, space is precious, and the + necessity of finding a due return for the capital employed is + the paramount rule which the architect has to keep ever in + mind. The old Morosini, who raised this pile with the abundant + profits of the trade with the East when Venice had the monopoly + of it, were curbed in their architectural ambition by no such + considerations. The building of this Villa Morosini must have + cost a sum which no possible amount of success in the way of + hotel-keeping could ever be expected to pay a tolerable + interest on. But the sum for which it was + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page130" + id="page130"></a>[pg 130]</span> purchased by the present + proprietors by no means represents the whole of the capital + which has been expended on it as it now stands. It needed + the expenditure of no less a sum than sixty thousand pounds + sterling to adapt it in all respects to its present purpose, + and it is now really such a hotel as does not exist + elsewhere in Europe. The whole of the ground floor of the + vast building, looking in its entire length on the + trimly-kept gardens and on the lake below them, is devoted + to public rooms, the spaciousness of which is such that even + if the entire house were filled to its utmost capacity they + would never be in the least degree crowded. First on the + right hand is the breakfast-room. Then comes an enormous + dining-hall, the coved ceiling of which, supported by noble + pillars and ornamented with stuccoes in relief, is in + perfect keeping with the style of the rest of the + ornamentation. Next to the dining-room is a reading-room + well furnished with papers and books: then comes a so-called + ladies' drawing-room, though I do not observe that that + better half of the creation has the smallest wish to + monopolize it. Next to that is the very handsome general + drawing-room; then a large music-room with a grand + pianoforte and harmonium; then an equally spacious + smoking-room; and, lastly, a billiard-room;—truly a + princely suite of rooms. The manager speaks English + perfectly, and the results of his English education may be + seen in the admirably comfortable and clean arrangements of + the chambers and every part of the house. The bedrooms are + all warmed with hot air, and really nothing has been + neglected which can contribute to ensure the comfort of the + inmates.</p> + + <p>And all this can be enjoyed for nine francs per diem! A + palace to live in, placed in one of the choicest spots in the + world, abundant and well-skilled service, an excellently + well-kept and well-served table, charming gardens, and all for + about two dollars a day! Truly wonderful are the possibilities + brought within our reach by <i>co-operation!</i> Still, I do + not suppose that quite the same results could be attained + without the fortunate chance which placed a magnificent palace + at the disposal of the present proprietors at doubtless a + comparatively very small cost. <i>Morosini "nobis hæc + otra fecit"</i> The princely expenditure of that noble family + in days long since gone by provided for us nomads these + enjoyments; for one is afraid to guess what the cost at the + present day of erecting such a pile would be. Throughout a + large part of the house, in the huge corridors and + antechambers, a great deal of the old furniture and the vast + marble chimney-pieces and mural decorations remain as the + Morosini left them, and contribute their part toward persuading + us that we are not dwellers in a vulgar inn, but the guests of + some magnificent old doge, who leaves his friends the most + complete liberty and independence, and merely gratifies the + commercial traditions of his race by requesting us <i>pro + formâ</i> to drop a small present to his domestics at + parting.</p> + + <p>There are a great variety of charming drives and walks in + the neighborhood in every direction; and the whole district is + full of the villas and well-kept gardens of the rich Milanese, + who have chosen this favored spot for their country residences. + I have said <i>well-kept</i> gardens advisedly; and it is worth + noting that the love of gardens and gardening seems to be a + specialty of the Milanese among all the Italians. One sees in + other parts of Italy the remains of care and magnificence of + this sort—at Rome especially; but all (though in many + cases belonging to owners still wealthy as well as noble) + dilapidated, little cared for, and speaking in melancholy tones + of decay and perished splendor. A ruined building may be an + extremely picturesque object, but a ruined garden can never be + other than a melancholy and repulsive one. But the whole of + this district testifies to the love of the Milanese for their + gardens; and most of them are on a truly princely scale of + magnificence. There is one villa which I will mention, because + the owner of it is doing there what recalls to our minds + strikingly the old days which saw the creation of that Italian + splendor the remains of which we still admire, and suggests + that it is <span class="pagenum"><a name="page131" + id="page131"></a>[pg 131]</span> not beyond hope that the + privileged soil of Italy and the genius for the arts which + seems inherent in this people may, under their new political + circumstances, lead to yet another renaissance. The villa I + am alluding to is in the immediate neighborhood of Varese, + on a rising ground above the town, commanding the most + magnificent views of Monte Rosa, Monte Viso and the country + between the lakes of Como and Maggiore. It is a new + creation, and is the property and the work of the Milanese + banker, Signor Ponti. The house and gardens are well worth a + visit—if the traveler is fortunate enough to be + permitted to see them—for the sake of the happy + originality of idea which has inspired the architecture of + the former and the excellent taste which has turned the + favorable circumstances of the ground to the best account in + laying out the latter. But the feature which I specially + wished to mention is the ornamentation of the principal + <i>salon</i> or ball-room in the villa. When permitted to + visit it we found Signor Bertini, a Milanese artist well + known in all parts of Italy, engaged in putting the last + touches to a series of frescoes which form the principal + ornamentation of the room. The four largest paintings + commemorate the glories of Italy in the history of human + discovery. In one the monk, Guido of Arezzo, the inventor of + modern musical notation, is teaching a class of four boys to + sing from the page of an illuminated missal—a really + charming composition. In another Columbus is showing to the + Spanish monarchs the natives of the newly-found world whom + he had brought home with him. In a third Galileo is showing + to the astonished pope, by means of a telescope, the wonders + of that other newly-found world of which he was the + discoverer. The fourth shows us the very striking and + lifelike figure of Volta explaining the wonders of the + "pile" to which he has given his name to the First Napoleon. + The whole of these, as well as of the other decorations of + the room, are in "real fresco"—that is to say, the + colors are laid on while the mortar is yet wet (whence the + name <i>fresco</i>), and thus become so entirely + incorporated with the substance of the wall that the + painting is indestructible save by the destruction of at + least the coating of the latter. Of course, it is evident + that a painting so executed admits of no second touch. The + hand of the artist must obey his thought with absolutely + unfailing fidelity or the work is worthless. Hence the + special difficulty of this description of art, and the + necessity of a very high degree of mastery in him who + attempts it. In the present case Signor Bertini has + succeeded admirably. But I was especially struck by the + taste and liberality of the Milanese banker, who, instead of + making his room gorgeous with damask hangings and satin and + velvet, which any man who has cash in his pocket may have, + is giving encouragement to the art of his country, and doing + at this day exactly that which the Strozzi, the Borghesi, + the Medici and so many other bankers and merchants did three + hundred and odd years ago, and by doing made Italy what it + was.</p> + + <p class="author">T.A.T.</p> + + <h3>A STATE GOVERNOR IN THE RÔLE OF ENOCH ARDEN.</h3> + + <p>The conventional romance of the long-lost husband returning + home just in time to interrupt the second nuptials of his wife + is told of Samuel Cranston, governor of Rhode Island, who died + in 1727, after being elected to that office thirty-two times in + succession.</p> + + <p>It appears that when quite a young man Mr. Cranston married + Mary, a granddaughter of Roger Williams. Soon after the + marriage he went to sea, was captured by pirates and carried to + some country—Algiers, it is supposed—where he was + detained for several years without being able to communicate + with his family. Meanwhile, Mrs. Cranston, believing him to be + dead, accepted an offer of marriage, and was on the eve of the + nuptial ceremonies when her first husband arrived in Boston. + There he heard the news of the proposed marriage, but there + being no such thing then as telegraphs or railroads, he started + for home by means of post-horses as fast as they could carry + him. When he reached <span class="pagenum"><a name="page132" + id="page132"></a>[pg 132]</span> Howland's Ferry, just + before night, he learned that his wife was to be married + that very evening. "With increased speed he flew to Newport, + but not until the wedding-guests had begun to assemble. She + was called by a servant into the kitchen, 'a person being + there who wished to speak with her.' A man in sailor's habit + advanced and informed her that her husband had arrived in + Boston, and requested him to inform her that he was on his + way to Newport." It does not appear that the hero of this + romance made any attempt to find out if his wife had become + more attached to his rival, with the purpose of remaining + incognito should he find this to be the fact. On the + contrary, after being questioned very closely by her, he + advanced toward her, "raised his cap, and pointing to a scar + on his forehead, said, 'Do you recollect that scar?'" + Whereupon she at once recognized him, though the romance is + marred by the absence of the assurance that she "flew into + his arms." This may be inferred, however, for the returned + wanderer became the hero of the evening, entertaining the + wedding-guests with an account of his adventures and + sufferings among the pirates.</p> + + <h3>THE PALATINE LIGHT.</h3> + + <p>This phenomenon appeared off the northern coast of Block + Island about 1720, and reappeared at irregular intervals down + to the year 1832, since which it has not been seen. A common + impression of those seeing it for the first time was that it + was a light on board of some ship, or a ship on fire when very + bright. Arnold, in his <i>History of Rhode Island</i>, gives an + account of it, and also of the tradition which assigned to it a + strange origin. "This light," he remarks, "has been the theme + of much learned discussion within the present century, and, + while the superstition connected with it is of course rejected, + science has failed thus far in giving it a satisfactory + explanation." Dr. Aaron C. Willey, a resident physician of + Block Island, wrote a careful account of the phenomenon in + 1811, which was published at the time in the <i>Parthenon</i>, + whatever that may have been. He says: "Its appellation + originated from that of a ship called the Palatine, which was + designedly cast away at this place in the beginning of the last + century, in order to conceal, as tradition reports, the inhuman + treatment and murder of some of its unfortunate passengers." + This was an emigrant ship bound from Holland to Pennsylvania. + Some seventeen of the survivors were landed on the island, but + they all died except three. One lady, it was said, having "much + gold and silver plate on board," refused to land. The ship + floated off the rocks, and soon after disappeared for ever. Dr, + Willey says he saw this light in February, 1810. "It was + twilight, and the light was then large and greatly lambent, + very bright, broad at the bottom and terminating acutely + upward. From each side seemed to issue rays of faint light + similar to those perceptible in any blaze placed in the open + air at night. It continued about fifteen minutes from the time + I first observed it, then gradually became smaller and more dim + until it was entirely extinguished." The same gentleman saw it + again in the following December, when he thought it was a light + on board of some vessel until undeceived. It moved along + apparently parallel to the shore on this occasion, after a time + falling behind the doctor, who was riding along the coast. + Finally, it stopped, then moved off some rods and stopped + again. The same authority declares that he had been told by a + gentleman living near the sea that it had often been so bright + as to "illuminate considerably the walls of his room through + the windows." This happened only when the light was within half + a mile from the shore, for it was "often seen blazing at six or + seven miles' distance, and strangers supposed it to be a vessel + on fire."</p> + + <p class="author">M.H.</p> + + <h3>NOTES.</h3> + + <p>It is not very extraordinary that printers' ink is a poor + pigment for painting sunsets or sunrises. The strange thing is + that travelers and sentimentalizers obstinately ignore the + fact, and hang their paper walls with more scenery of that + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page133" + id="page133"></a>[pg 133]</span> description than any other. + What a gallery of alpine, arctic and marine sunsets we have, + and how blank an impression do they all produce! From any of + them, done with a clever pen by one who undertakes to + describe what he has freshly seen, we gather that the + spectacle must have been very fine, and must have deeply + delighted the spectator. We can even catch some tints here + and there, but they are fugitive, and each escapes the eye + before it grasps the next one. If we shut our eyes on + Tennyson's page we may realize a glimpse of Mont Blanc + blushing through "a thousand shadowy penciled valleys," and + have a momentary pleasure; but the poet's picture does not + abide with us. Some one devotes a couple of pages to mapping + out the infinitude of half-tints that composed a summer's + evening view looking seaward from the North Cape—a + good subject faithfully gone into, but still not a + satisfactory sketch even of the reality. The pen and type + will outline and shade, but cannot color. They give us some + fair landscapes made up of form and effect; they can compass + a cavernous bit of Rembrandt, a curtain of fog or shower, or + a staircase of wood and rock climbing into the distance, + just as they can sometimes faintly depict the infinite + chiaroscuro of the Miserere in St. Peter's; but the + monochrome, in music as in painting, is their limit.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Has photography dealt hardly with portrait-painting as a + branch of art, or has it benefited it by weeding out the + feeble? The Memorial Exhibition will assist in determining. It + will, we hope, allow the best living painters in this + department to be fully represented by the side of their + predecessors. We shall then see if the Inmans, Neagles, and + Sullys are an extinct species, and if the ranks of their pupils + have melted away before the cannon-like camera. We cannot + believe that the sun, always exaggerating perspective except + when rectified by the stereoscope, and more or less falsifying + light and shade by the chemical effect of different rays, is to + be the only limner of faces. Thus imperfect even in mechanical + execution, it seems impossible that he should supersede future + Vandycks. As Webster used to say to young lawyers, there is + plenty of room up stairs. Painters may fearlessly aim to get + above the sun. Take one of Sully's women and compare it with + the smoothest print softened into inanity by the dots of the + retoucher of negatives—the representative of the element + of art in the process. A difference exists equivalent to that + between brain and no brain. No woman, "primp" herself for the + sitting as she may, can present her soul to the dapper + gentleman under the canopy of black velvet as Sully saw it. She + does not know herself, as reflected in her lineaments, as he + did; and in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the knight of + the tripod does not know her at all.</p> + + <p>The same is true of John Neagle as a perpetuator of + character with the pencil. Men were his best subjects. In + individualizing them he has had no superior, if an equal, among + American artists. His finish was not always good, and his + coloring for that reason occasionally crude. In female heads he + was less happy: character-painters generally are. Stuart's + women are equally defective, but in a rather different way, + being hard and angular in drawing.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>England is determined not to shrink from the solution of the + time-honored problem of the result of the meeting between an + irresistible force and an impregnable target. Her iron-clads + have piled pellicle on pellicle of iron till two feet thick has + become their normal shell. Everything thinner has been + punctured, and now an eighty-ton gun, to cost sixty thousand + pounds, is getting ready to perforate that. There must be a + stopping-point for all this somewhere. Perhaps the fate of + armor afloat may soon be settled finally by the torpedo, as its + efficiency on land was disposed of by the bullet, and the + men-at-arms of the sea no longer lord it over hosts of wooden + yeomanry. Happy the nation that can look on with its hands + firmly in its pockets while others lavish their treasure in + seeking the new philosopher's + stone!</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page134" + id="page134"></a>[pg 134]</span> + + <h2>LITERATURE OF THE DAY.</h2> + + <p>Nero: An Historical Play. By W.W. Story. Edinburgh and + London: Wm. Blackwood & Sons; New York: Scribner, Welford + & Armstrong,</p> + + <p>The fashion of so-called historical dramas is spreading, but + the standard is lowering. When Mr. Swinburne wrote + <i>Chastelard</i>, whatever its faults, it was entitled to the + name of drama: last year he published <i>Bothwell</i>, which, + whatever its beauties, does not deserve to be so ranked. + Tennyson's <i>Queen Mary</i> followed during the past summer, + and many similar attempts may be expected from less illustrious + pens. It is an unfortunate direction for dramatic and poetic + composition to have taken, tending to impair the excellence of + both styles, while fulfilling the exigencies of neither. + <i>Bothwell</i> and <i>Queen Mary</i> are not historical + dramas, but versified chronicles, a certain number of pages of + the annals of Scotland and England in metre, divided into acts + and scenes and distributed into parts. Such a production, be it + called what it may, must necessarily lack the essential + qualities of the true drama, while it introduces into a branch + of literature which belongs to the imagination the realism + against which art is struggling. The latest specimen of this + new school is Mr. Story's <i>Nero</i>, for, although by his + preface it appears that the publication did not follow the + writing for several years, it comes to the world in the wake of + the aforementioned works. It is to be remembered that Mr. + Story's pen is as versatile as his talent is various. He has + given the public two law-books, commonly attributed to his + eminent father; the delightful <i>Roba di Roma</i>, which + embodies the actual animate beauty and interest of Roman life; + a volume of poems, <i>Graffiti d'Italia</i>, full of fine + dramatic fragments and studies of character in the manner of + Browning, descriptions which are pictures, and sweet verses + which live in the heart; and a number of essays in the + pleasantest style of table-talk. Moreover, we are to bear in + mind that this gentleman is not an author by profession, but + one of the most distinguished living sculptors. But the very + merit of his productions subjects them to a code of criticism + more severe than that by which amateur performances are usually + judged, and the faults one finds are by comparison with a + standard which makes fault-finding flattery. In the first + place, one cannot turn over a few pages of Mr. Story's + <i>Nero</i> without perceiving that he is imbued with the + knowledge of classical things and times, and with the study of + Shakespeare and the old English playwrights. The turn of the + phrases and the march of the passages recall those best models, + though without imitation. As in them, there is less beauty than + vigor and spirit: the dialogue is strewn with expressions as + striking as they are simple. Speaking of Claudius's murder, + Burrhus says:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>And Agrippina, startled, pushed him down</p> + + <p>The dark declivity to death.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>Agrippina herself to Nero:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i10">Oh what a day it was</p> + + <p>When, with a shout that seemed to rend the air,</p> + + <p>The army hailed you Cæsar! <i>My poor + heart</i></p> + + <p><i>Shook like the standards straining to the breeze</i></p> + + <p><i>With that great cheer of triumph.</i></p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>The finest portions of the play are those in which Agrippina + has the principal part, and, notwithstanding some flaws and + inconsistencies in the character, which is evidently meant to + be complete and homogeneous, the whole impression is very + forcible and <i>single</i>. Her final menace (Act ii., Scene 5) + when Nero defies her, the terrible scene in which she tries to + regain her failing influence by kindling unholy fire in his + blood, her rage at the inaction and ignorance of her forced + retirement, her monologue when she knows that her last hour has + come, are all of a piece and exceedingly well sustained. The + dramatic ends of the play would have been better answered if + she and her son had been the central figures, and the tragedy + had ended with her death. Poppæa is closely studied: her + petty, feline personality contrasts well with the large, + imperial presence of Agrippina. Nero himself is not so + successful as a whole: his puerility in the first part is + overdone, though as the play goes on the creation takes + definite shape, and becomes at once more complex and more + distinct. The invariable recurrence of his vanity at the most + tremendous moments is admirably managed: it is like an + unconscious trick of look or gesture for which we watch. In his + first outburst of grief at Poppæa's death he + cries:</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page135" + id="page135"></a>[pg 135]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i10">How still she lies!</p> + + <p>How perfect in her calm! No more distress,</p> + + <p>No agitations more, no joy, no pain.</p> + + <p>I'll keep her as she is. Fire shall not burn</p> + + <p>That lovely shape; but it shall sleep + embalmed—</p> + + <p>Thus, thus for ever in the Julian tomb,</p> + + <p>And she shall be enrolled among the gods.</p> + + <p>A splendid temple shall be raised to her,</p> + + <p>A public funeral be hers, <i>and I</i></p> + + <p><i>The funeral eulogy myself will speak.</i></p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>There are some impressive dramatic situations, the finest of + which is at the close of the second act, after the murder of + Britannicus, the result of a threat from Agrippina to dethrone + her refractory son in behalf of the rightful heir:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Nero</i>. How is Britannicus?</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Agrip</i>. Dead.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Nero</i>. Are you sure?</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Agrip</i>. Go see his corpse there, and assure + yourself.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Nero</i>. Dead? Poor Britannicus! who might have + sat</p> + + <p>Upon this very throne instead of me!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Agrip</i>. Nero!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Nero</i>. My mother!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Agrip</i>. Ah! I understand.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p><i>Nero</i>. Take him and make him emperor—if + you can.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>This has what the French call the <i>coup de fouet</i>. But + the power and progress of the play are clogged by two + faults—defective construction and a curious diffuseness + and lack of concentration in many of the scenes and speeches. + The action is sadly impeded, for instance, by the author's not + making one business of Seneca's death, but spinning it out + through four scenes of going and coming, as also with + Poppæa's, and even more with Nero's, where the + intercalation of long conversations with changes of places and + personages is hurtful, almost destructive, to the effect. This + appears to be the result of too close an adherence to fact, + which brings us back to our original grievance against + dramatizing history. The loss of force from lack of + concentration probably arises from carelessness, haste or want + of revision. From the same causes may spring, too, sundry + anachronisms of expression, such as "For God's sake;" + vulgarisms like "Leave me alone" for "Let me alone;" + extraordinary commonplaces, as in the comparison of popular + favor to a weathercock, and of woman's love to a flower worn, + then thrown aside; and a constant lapsing from the energy and + spirit of the dialogue into flatness, familiarity and + triviality. There is an occasional not unwholesome coarseness + which recalls Mr. Story's Elizabethan masters, as in the + following passage:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i10">What a crew is this</p> + + <p>Which just have fled! Foul suckers that drop off</p> + + <p>When they no more can on their victims gorge!</p> + + <p>This Tigellinus....</p> + + <p>Within his sunshine basked and buzzed and stung;</p> + + <p>And, now the shadow comes, off, like a + fly—</p> + + <p>A pestilent and stinking fly—he goes!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>But it is unpardonable to make even Nero say, "I have to + rinse my mouth after her kiss."</p> + + <p>The fine qualities of the composition give the blemishes + relief, and the material deserved that Mr. Story should work it + up to its utmost possible perfection.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Autobiography of Mrs. Fletcher. With Letters and other + Family Memorials. Edited by the Survivor of her Family. Boston: + Roberts Brothers.</p> + + <p>There are in this work several elements of a gentle but + unfailing interest, such as generally attaches to the class of + books to which it belongs. It gives us some delineations of + bygone manners and social changes, glimpses of many more or + less notable persons, and above all the record of a life which, + without being in the usual sense of these terms eventful or + distinguished, stands forth as one in a great degree + self-determined and bearing a strong impress of individuality. + Mrs Fletcher was one of those women who easily become the + central figures of the circles in which they move, and who owe + this position, not to any transcendent qualities, but to the + combined and irresistible influence of great personal charms, a + high degree of mental vivacity, and those sympathetic and + harmonizing qualities which it is so difficult to define, but + which are equally distinct from mere amiability on the one hand + and intense self-devotion on the other. There seems to be in + such characters a hint of heroic possibilities that would only + be narrowed and despoiled of some of their charm if put to the + test of action. Lord Brougham compared Mrs. Fletcher to Madame + Roland, but she had neither the soaring intellect nor the + self-assertive tendencies that mark the representative of a + cause. Principle, however, counted for much more with her than + with the sex generally, and one can easily believe that her + tenacity in adhering to it would have been proof against any + ordeal whether of persecution or persuasion. This trait was not + more strikingly illustrated by the strength and fervency of her + Whiggism amid the reactionary tide produced by the excesses of + the French Revolution than by + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page136" + id="page136"></a>[pg 136]</span> the circumstances of her + marriage. The only child of a small landed proprietor in + Yorkshire, she had no lack of opportunities for gratifying + her father's ambition by marrying in a rank far above her + own. Nor was it her ardent affection for the man of her + choice that made her strong against entreaties and + reproaches. She would probably have been capable of any + sacrifice of feeling imposed by her sense of duty, but it + was this latter sentiment that forbade the sacrifice. "I was + not, perhaps," she writes, "what in the language of romance + is called in love with Mr. Fletcher, but I was deeply and + tenderly attached to him. He had inspired a confidence and + regard I had never felt for any other man. I could not bear + the thought of marrying in opposition to my father's will, + but I was resolved <i>on principle</i> never to marry so + long as Mr. Fletcher remained single." He was twenty years + her senior, without fortune, and hindered, instead of aided, + in his struggle at the Scottish bar by his prominence as an + advocate of reform. These, she admits, were "sound and + rational objections," and could she have prevailed on Mr. + Fletcher to release her from the engagement, this solution, + she confesses, would have been less painful to her than + offending her father. But her lover remaining firm, she + decided after two years, having come of age in the interval, + to take the step dictated by honor as well as inclination, + and which the event proved to have been, as she anticipated, + "best for the interest and happiness of all parties."</p> + + <p>Her married life lasted thirty-seven years, and she survived + her husband nearly thirty more, dying in 1858 at the age of + eighty-seven. Her career was, on the whole, one of singular + happiness and prosperity, made so in part by fortunate + circumstances, but in a still greater degree by her sunny + temperament, her power of attracting and retaining friends, her + unflagging interest in public affairs and her unshaken belief + in human progress. Jeffrey and Brougham were among her earliest + friends, Carlyle and Mazzini among her latest, and there have + been few Englishmen of note in the present century whose names + do not appear in the list. Unfortunately, they appear for the + most part as names only. They occur incidentally in a record + intended not for the public, but for the writer's own family, + whose interest in her personal history needed no stimulant and + called for no extraneous details. Here and there we find a + passage calculated to whet if not to satisfy a more general + curiosity, such as the account of a conversation with + Wordsworth after his return from Italy in 1837, and some + letters from Mazzini written soon after his first arrival in + England, But even these belong not to the memoir itself, but to + the editor's additions. The book is therefore not to be judged + by a mere literary standard, or read with expectations founded + on a general knowlege of the writer's position and + associations. On all with whom she came in contact Mrs. + Fletcher produced the impression of a character singularly + round and complete. Something of the same influence is felt in + the perusal of her unaffected narrative, and with readers of a + reflective turn may prove a sufficient compensation for the + lack of more ordinary attractions.</p> + <hr /> + + <h4><i>Books Received</i>.</h4> + + <p>Notes on the Manufacture of Pottery among Savage Races. By + Ch. Fred. Hartt, A.M. Rio de Janeiro: Printed at the office of + the "South American Mail."</p> + + <p>The History of My Friends; or, Home-Life with Animals. + Translated from the French of Emile Achard. New York; G.P. + Putnam's Sons.</p> + + <p>The Cultivation of Art, and its Relations to Religious + Puritanism and Money-Getting. By A.R. Cooper. New York: Chas. + P. Somerby.</p> + + <p>Health Fragments; or, Steps toward a True Life. By Geo. H. + Everett, M.D. New York: Chas. P. Somerby.</p> + + <p>Sewerage and Sewage Utilization. By Prof. W.H. Corfield, + M.A. New York: D. Van Nostrand.</p> + + <p>Notes of Travel in South-western Africa. By C.J. Andersson. + New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.</p> + + <p>St. George and St. Michael: A Novel. By George Macdonald. + New York: J.B. Ford & Co.</p> + + <p>Water and Water-Supply. By W.H. Corfield, M.A., M.D. New + York: D. Van Nostrand.</p> + + <p>Home Pastorals, Ballads and Lyrics. By Bayard Taylor. + Boston: James R. Osgood & Co.</p> + + <p>Soul Problems, with other Papers. By Joseph E. Peck. New + York: Chas. P. Somerby.</p> + + <p>Scripture Speculations. By Halsey R. Stevens. New York: + Charles P. Somerby.</p> + + <p>Antiquity of Christianity. By John Alberger. New York: Chas. + P. Somerby.</p> + + <p>The Ship in the Desert. By Joaquin Miller. Boston: Roberts + Brothers.</p> + <hr class="full" /> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote1" + name="footnote1"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag1">(return)</a> + + <p>Although the various states of Italy were conquered by + Rome before Greece was, it is probable that emphyteusis was + not employed in those states until after the year B.C. + 146—between that and B.C. 120.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote2" + name="footnote2"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag2">(return)</a> + + <p>The Mondega annually overflows its banks, changes its + course and buries thousands of once fertile acres under + sand and stones; the Vonga has converted the once + productive land between Aveiro and Ovar into a vast morass; + the Douro is periodically converted into a frightful and + resistless torrent which sweeps everything before it.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote3" + name="footnote3"></a><b>Footnote 3:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag3">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Prize Essay on Portugal</i>, London, 1854.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote4" + name="footnote4"></a><b>Footnote 4:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag4">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Parliamentary Papers</i>, London, 1870.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote5" + name="footnote5"></a><b>Footnote 5:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag5">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Estudos Estatisticos, hygienicos e administrativas + sobre as doenças e a mortalidade do exercito + Portuguez</i>, etc., by Dr. José Antonio Marques, + Lisbon, 1862.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote6" + name="footnote6"></a><b>Footnote 6:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag6">(return)</a> + + <p>Doria, p. 184.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote7" + name="footnote7"></a><b>Footnote 7:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag7">(return)</a> + + <p>The Registrar-General of England.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote8" + name="footnote8"></a><b>Footnote 8:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag8">(return)</a> + + <p>L.A. Rebello da Silva (minister of marine), <i>Economia. + Rural</i>, Lisbon, 1868.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote9" + name="footnote9"></a><b>Footnote 9:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag9">(return)</a> + + <p>It is understood, of course, that the census figures of + births are admittedly and grossly inaccurate.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote10" + name="footnote10"></a><b>Footnote 10:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag10">(return)</a> + + <p>Porter's <i>Progress</i>, p. 21.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote11" + name="footnote11"></a><b>Footnote 11:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag11">(return)</a> + + <p>During the thirteen years from 1840-52 the number of + children deposited in the Oporto foundling was 15,608, of + whom no less than 11,310, or 72.4 per cent.—<i>nearly + three-fourths</i>—died while in the hospital. Most of + the remainder died during infancy after leaving the + hospital.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote12" + name="footnote12"></a><b>Footnote 12:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag12">(return)</a> + + <p>In some districts of Portugal the proportion of married + to single persons is as 1 to 173!</p> + </blockquote> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13116 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/13116-h/images/1.jpg b/13116-h/images/1.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f29ea40 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/1.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/21.jpg b/13116-h/images/21.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9722de4 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/21.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/22.jpg b/13116-h/images/22.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c5314af --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/22.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/23.jpg b/13116-h/images/23.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0968d59 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/23.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/24.jpg b/13116-h/images/24.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..70ffd99 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/24.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/25-1.jpg b/13116-h/images/25-1.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e886609 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/25-1.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/25-2.jpg b/13116-h/images/25-2.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..56a5a3d --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/25-2.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/26-1.jpg b/13116-h/images/26-1.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8430cb7 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/26-1.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/26-2.jpg b/13116-h/images/26-2.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0a399e0 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/26-2.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/27-1.jpg b/13116-h/images/27-1.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a63237a --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/27-1.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/27-2.jpg b/13116-h/images/27-2.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..b1e8d61 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/27-2.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/28.jpg b/13116-h/images/28.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..de2f573 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/28.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/29.jpg b/13116-h/images/29.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..cf6b8bf --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/29.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/30.jpg b/13116-h/images/30.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..af694e9 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/30.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/31.jpg b/13116-h/images/31.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..77a9c3d --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/31.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/32.jpg b/13116-h/images/32.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7e65fab --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/32.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/33-1.jpg b/13116-h/images/33-1.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..2e920b7 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/33-1.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/33-2.jpg b/13116-h/images/33-2.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..045954a --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/33-2.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/34-1.jpg b/13116-h/images/34-1.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ed62abc --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/34-1.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/34-2.jpg b/13116-h/images/34-2.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ba33c03 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/34-2.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/38.jpg b/13116-h/images/38.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3813c66 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/38.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/40.jpg b/13116-h/images/40.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..856b765 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/40.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/42.jpg b/13116-h/images/42.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..03eaad9 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/42.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/44.jpg b/13116-h/images/44.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..26dc3b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/44.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/46.jpg b/13116-h/images/46.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e2f3658 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/46.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/48.jpg b/13116-h/images/48.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..521c950 --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/48.jpg diff --git a/13116-h/images/9.jpg b/13116-h/images/9.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..196bace --- /dev/null +++ b/13116-h/images/9.jpg |
