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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:42:54 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:42:54 -0700 |
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diff --git a/13770-h/13770-h.htm b/13770-h/13770-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ecd01b5 --- /dev/null +++ b/13770-h/13770-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10510 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" + content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> + + <title>LIPPINCOTT'S MAGAZINE, December, 1873.</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 { + text-align : center; + } + h1 { /* Title */ + margin-top : 2em; + margin-bottom : 2em; + } + h2 { /* Article Headings */ + margin-top : 4em; + margin-bottom : 2em; + } + h3 { /* Chapters and subheadings */ + margin-top : 2em; + margin-bottom : 2em; + } + hr { + text-align : center; + width : 50%; + } + .author { /* text right-justified inside small margin */ + margin-right : 5%; + text-align : right; + } + .center { /* used for author's name after poems */ + text-align : center; + } + .illustrations { + margin : 0.5em 10%; + font-size : 0.9em; + } + div.trans-note { /* Transcriber's note */ + border-style : solid; + border-width : 1px; + margin : 3em 15%; + padding : 1em; + text-align : center; + } + span.pagenum { + position : absolute; + left : 1%; + right : 85%; + font-size : 8pt; + } + .poem { + margin-left : 10%; + margin-right : 10%; + margin-bottom : 1em; + text-align : left; + } + .poem .stanza { + margin : 1em 0; + } + .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.i24 { + margin-left : 12em; + } + .toc { + margin : 0 10%; + text-align : left; + font-size : 0.9em; + } + .toc p { + margin : 0.5em 0; + } + .toc p.i4 { /* Table of contents indented items */ + margin-left : 2em; + } + .figure , .figcenter { + padding : 1em; + margin : 0; + text-align : center; + } + .figure img , .figcenter img { + border : none; + } + .figcenter { + margin : auto; + } + --> + /*]]>*/ + </style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13770 ***</div> + + <h1>LIPPINCOTT'S MAGAZINE</h1> + <h3>OF</h3> + <h2><i>POPULAR LITERATURE AND SCIENCE.</i></h2> + <hr class="short" /> + <h4>DECEMBER, 1873.<br /> + Vol. XII, No. 33.</h4> + <hr class="short" /> + + <br /> + <br /> + + +<h3>TABLE OF CONTENTS</h3> + +<div class="toc"><a href="#illustrations">ILLUSTRATIONS.</a> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#hyperion">THE NEW HYPERION</a> [Illustrated] By EDWARD STRAHAN.</p> + +<p class="i4"><a href="#hyperionchvi">VI.—Shall Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot?</a> (625)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#leaves">AUTUMN LEAVES.</a> By W. (642)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#sketches">SKETCHES OF EASTERN TRAVEL</a> [Illustrated] By FANNIE R. FEUDGE.</p> + +<p class="i4"><a href="#sketcheschiii">III.—Bangkok.</a> (643)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#capital">LIFE AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.</a> (651)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#florida">A DAY'S SPORT IN EAST FLORIDA.</a> By S.C. CLARKE. (663)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#livelies">THE LIVELIES</a> By SARAH WINTER KELLOGG.</p> + +<p class="i4"><a href="#livelieschii">In Two Parts—II.</a> (668)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#crisis">HISTORY OF THE CRISIS</a> By K. CORNWALLIS. (681)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#temptation">SAINT MARTIN'S TEMPTATION</a> by MARGARET J. PRESTON. (690)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#ti">THE LONG FELLOW OF TI</a> By J.T. McKAY. (692)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#problem">THE PROBLEM</a> By CHARLOTTE F. BATES. (700)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#monaco">MONACO</a> By R. DAVEY. (701)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#thule">A PRINCESS OF THULE</a> By WILLIAM BLACK.</p> + +<p class="i4"><a href="#thulechxxii">Chapter XXII—"Like Hadrianus And Augustus." </a> (708)</p> + +<p class="i4"><a href="#thulechxxiii">Chapter XXIII—In Exile.</a> (718)</p> + +<p class="i4"><a href="#thulechxxiv">Chapter XXIV—"Hame Fain Would I Be." </a> (726)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#gossip">OUR MONTHLY GOSSIP.</a></p> + +<p class="i4"><a href="#bulwer">Mr. E. Lytton Bulwer</a> By L. GAYLORD CLARK. (739)</p> + +<p class="i4"><a href="#othello">Salvini's Othello</a> By A.F. (742)</p> + +<p class="i4"><a href="#letter">A Letter From New York</a> By MARGARET CLAYSON. (744)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#notes">NOTES.</a> (747)</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#literature">LITERATURE OF THE DAY.</a> (749)</p> + +<p class="i4"><a href="#books">Books Received.</a> (750)</p> + +<br/> +<hr/> +<br/> + + + +<a name="illustrations"></a> +<p><b>List of Illustrations</b></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0001">The Register. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0002">A Virtuoso. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0003">Delights of the Verlobten. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0004">The Churchyard Lover. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0005">On the First Step. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0006">The Legal Profession and Profession of Friendship. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0007">Effusion. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0008">Self-control. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0009">Losing Time. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0010">Grand Duke's Palace, Baden. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0011">The Wood-path. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0012">Scene of Matthisson's Poem Imitating Gray's "Elegy." </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0013">"Wine or Beer!" </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0014">Entrance to the Alt-Schloss. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0015">"Kellner!" </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0016">Tyrolean. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0017">The King of Siam Returning to His Palace. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0018">Elephant Armed for War. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0019">The Great Gilded Booddh. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0020">Funeral Pile for the Second King. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0021">Seventy-second Child of the King of Siam. </a></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0022">Entrance to the Royal Harem. </a></p> + + +<hr/> +</div> + + + +<a name="hyperion"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + THE NEW HYPERION. +</h2> +<h3> + FROM PARIS TO MARLY BY WAY OF THE RHINE. +</h3> +<a name="hyperionchvi"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h3> + VI.—SHALL AULD ACQUAINTANCE BE FORGOT? +</h3> +<p> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page625" + id="page625"></a>[pg 625]</span> + + My first dinner in the avenue of Ettlingen followed upon the + twelve-barreled bath, but was far from being so glacial a + refreshment. As I descended, quite pink and glowing, I found eight or + ten individuals in the dining-room. They were French and Belgians, and + exchanged a lively conversation in half a dozen provincial accents. + The servants too talked French in levying on the cook for provisions: + for this, as I have since learned, the domestics of my snug little + boarding-house were deemed somewhat pretentious by the serving-people + of the vicinity, who considered the tongue of Paris a sort of court + language, for circulation among aristocrats only, and supposed that + even in France the hired folk all talked German. My reception at the + cheerful board was as cordial as possible. +</p> +<a name="image-0001"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0001_1.jpg"> + <img width="80%" + src="images/0001_1.jpg" + alt="The Register."></img></a> + <p class="center">The Register.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + Placed opposite me, our young hostess was looking in my direction with + an intentness that struck me as singular. My passport was uppermost in + my mind. I was not, however, very uneasy, for the reply of Sylvester + Berkley would soon arrive and put an official seal upon my standing. + It occurred to me, however, that I was a traveler accompanied by no + other baggage than a tin box and an umbrella, and introduced by a + coachman who had no reason whatever for forming lofty notions of my + respectability. The landlady, whom I had scarcely seen on my arrival, + was pretty, neat and quick, and an argument suggested + + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page626" + id="page626"></a>[pg 626]</span> + + itself that + seemed adapted to her station and habits. I was base enough to take + out my watch, a very fine Poitevin, and make an advertisement of that + pledge under pretence of comparing time with the mantel-clock. This + precious manoeuvre appeared quite successful. +</p> +<p> + Very soon my ideas of apprehension and defiance were followed by other + thoughts of a very different kind. The expression of the youthful + housekeeper was not only softened in continuing to watch me, but + it took on a look of great kindness and good-humor—a look that the + finest watch in the world would never have inspired. On my own side + I furtively examined this gentle yet scrutinizing physiognomy. + Surely those gentle glances and my own faded old eyes were not entire + strangers. +</p> +<p> + When Winckelmann was filling the villa Albani with antiques, it + often happened to him to clasp a fair Greek head in his arms and go + pottering along from torso to torso till he could find a shoulder fit + to support his lovely burden. Such was my exercise with this pleasant + head in its neat cambric cap; but in place of consulting my memory + with the proper coolness, I am afraid I questioned my heart. +</p> +<p> + Immediately after the coffee my pretty hostess, passing my chair, with + a quick motion in going out made me a slight gesture. I followed her + into a small office or ante-chamber adjoining. The furniture was very + simple; the indicator, with a figure for every bell, decorated the + wall in its cherry-wood frame; the keys, hanging aslant in rows, + like points of interrogation in a letter of Sévigné's, formed a + corresponding ornament; and a row of registers on the desk completed + the furniture. One of these books she drew forward, opened and + presented for my signature, still flashing over my face that intent + but benevolent glance. +</p> +<p> + "Monsieur, have the goodness to inscribe your name, the place you came + from, and that of your destination." +</p> +<p> + I took the pen, and, with the air of complying exactly and courteously + with her demand, folded the quill into three or four lengths, and + placed it weltering in ink within my waistcoat pocket. I was looking + intently into my hostess's face. +</p> +<p> + I think no American can observe without peculiar complacency the neat + artisanne's cap on the brows of a respectable young Frenchwoman. This + cap is made of some opaque white substance, tender yet solid, and the + theory of its existence is that it should be stainless and incapable + of disturbance. It is the badge of an order, the sign of unpretending + industry. The personage who wears it does not propose to look like + a "dame:" she contentedly crowns herself with the tiara of her rank. + Long generations of unaspiring humility have bequeathed her this + soft and candid sign of distinction: as her turn comes in the line + of inheritance she spends her life in keeping unsullied its difficult + purity, and she will leave to her daughters the critical task of its + equipoise. If she soils or rumples or tears it, she descends in her + little scale of dignities and becomes an ouvrière. If she loses it, + she is unclassed entirely, and enters the half-world. The porter's + wife with her dubious mob-cap, and the hard, flaunting grisette with + her melancholy feathers and determined chapeau, are equally removed + from the white cap of the "young person." To maintain it in its vestal + candor and proud sincerity is not always an easy task in a land where + every careless student and idle nobleman is eager to tumble it + with his fingers or to pin among its frills the blossom named + love-in-idleness: Mimi Pinson has to wear her cap very close to her + wise little head. To herself and to those among whom she moves nothing + perhaps seems more natural than the successful carriage of this white + emblem, triumphantly borne from age to age above the dust of labor + and in the face of all kinds of temptation; but to the republican from + beyond the seas it is a kind of sacred relic. The Yankee who knows + only the forlorn aureoles of wire and greased gauze surrounding the + sainted heads of Lowell factory-girls, and the frowsy ones of New + York bookbinders, is struck by the artisanne cap as by + + <span class="pagenum">[pg 627]</span> + + something exquisitely fresh, proud and truthful. +</p> +<p> + My landlady's cap was as far removed from pretence as from vulgarity. + Her hair was brown, smooth, old-fashioned and nun-like. I looked + at her hand, which, having replaced the pen, was inviting me with a + gesture of its handsome squared fingers to contribute my autograph, + I made my note, pausing often to look up at my beautiful + writing-mistress: "PAUL FLEMMING, American: from Paris to Marly—by + way of the Rhine." +</p> +<p> + I had not finished, when, lowering her pretty head to scrutinize + my crabbed handwriting, she cried, "It is certainly he, the + américain-flamand! I was certain I could not be mistaken." +</p> +<p> + "Do you know me then, madame?' +</p> +<p> + "Do I know you? And you, do you not recognize me?" +</p> +<p> + "I protest, madame, my memory for faces is shocking; and, though there + are few in the world comparable with yours—" +</p> +<p> + She interrupted me with a gesture too familiar to be mistaken. A + tumbler was on the desk filled with goose-quills. Taking this up + like a bouquet, and stretching it out at arm's length to an imaginary + passer-by, she sang, with a mischievous professional <i>brio</i>, "Fresh + roses to-day, all fresh! White lilacs for the bride, and lilies for + the holy altar! pinks for the button of the young man who thinks + himself handsome. Who buys my bluets, my paquerettes, my marguerites, + my penseés?" +</p> +<p> + It was strangely like something I well knew, yet my mind, confused + with the baggage of unexpected travel, refused to throw a clear light + over this fascinating rencounter. +</p> +<p> + The little landlady threw her head back to laugh, and I saw a small + rose-colored tongue surrounded with two strings of pearls: "Very well, + Monsieur Flemming! Have you forgotten the two chickens?" +</p> +<p> + It was the exclamation by which, in his neat tavern, I had recognized + my brave old friend Joliet: it was impossible, by the same shibboleth, + to refuse longer an acquaintance with his daughter. +</p> +<p> + My entertainer, in fact, was no other than Francine Joliet, grown + from a little female stripling into a distracting pattern of a woman. + Twelve years had never thrown more fortunate changes over a growing + human flower. +</p> +<a name="image-0002"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0004_1.jpg"> + <img width="60%" + src="images/0004_1.jpg" + alt="A Virtuoso."></img></a> + <p class="center">A Virtuoso.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + The acquaintance being thus renewed, I could not but remember my last + conversation with Joliet—his way of acquainting me with her absence + from home, his mention of her godmother in Brussels, and his strange + reticence as I pressed the subject. A slight chill, owing perhaps to + the undue warmth of my admiration for this delicate creature, fell + over my first cordiality. I asked a question or two, assuming a kind, + elderly type of interest: "How do you find yourself here in Carlsruhe? + Are you satisfactorily placed?" +</p> +<p> + "As well as possible, dear M. Flemming. I am a bird in its nest." +</p> +<p> + "Mated, no doubt, my dear?" +</p> +<p> + "No." +</p> +<p> + "You are not a widow, I hope, my poor little Francine?" +</p> +<p> + "No." She blushed, as if she had not been pretty enough before. +</p> +<p> + "They call you madame, you see." +</p> +<p> + "A mistress of a hotel, that is the usual title. Is it not the custom + among the Indians of America?" +</p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 628]</span> +<p> + "The godmother who took care of you—you perceive how well I know your + biography, my child—is she dead, then?" +</p> +<p> + "No, thank Heaven! She is quite well." +</p> +<p> + "She is doubtless now living in Carlsruhe?" +</p> +<p> + "No, at Brussels." +</p> +<p> + "Then why are you here? why have you quitted so kind a friend?" +</p> +<p> + My catechism, growing thus more and more brutal, might have been + prolonged until bedtime, but on the arrival of a new traveler she left + me there, with a pen in my hand and a quantity of delicious cobwebs in + my head, saying gently, "I will see you this evening, kind friend." +</p> +<p> + The same evening, after a botanizing stroll in the adjoining wood—a + treat that my tin box and I had promised each other—I found myself + again with Francine. Full of curiosity as I was concerning her + adventures, I determined that she should direct the conversation + herself, and take her own pretty time to tell the more personal parts + of the story. +</p> +<p> + The stage grisette is perpetually exploring the pockets of her apron. + Francine, who wore a roundabout apron of a white and crackling nature, + adorned her conversation by attending to the hem of hers. When she + asked about my last interview with her father, she ironed that + hem with the nail of her rosy little thumb; when she fell into + reminiscences of her mother, she smoothed the apron respectfully and + sadly; when she proposed a question or a doubt, she extracted little + threads from the seam: at last, perfectly satisfied with the apron, + she laid her two small hands in each other on its dainty snow-bank, + and resigned herself to a perfect torrent of remarks about the horse, + the van, the little cabin among the roses, the small one-eyed dog and + the two chickens. Conversation, a thing which is manufactured by an + American girl, is a thing which takes possession of a French girl. +</p> +<p> + All the while I remained uninstructed as to why my had + left her protectress, why she was keeping house at Carlsruhe, and on + what understanding her customers called her madame. +</p> +<p> + I was obliged to take next day a long alterative excursion among the + trees of the Haardtwald: in fact, her gentle warmth, her freshness, + her nattiness, the very protection she shed over me, were working sad + mischief to my peace of mind. I came upon an old shepherd, who, with + his music-book thrown into a bush in front of him, was leaning back + against a tree and drawing sweet sounds out of a cornet-à-piston. +</p> +<p> + "Even so," I said, "did Stark the Viking hear the notes of the + enchanted horn teaching every tree he came to the echo of his + true-love's name." +</p> +<p> + But the churlish shepherd, the moment he caught sight of me, put + up his pipe, whistled to his dogs and rejoined the flock. I was + dissatisfied with his unsocial retreat. I felt, with renewed force, + that a note was lacking to the full harmony of my life, and I threw + myself upon a bank. I tried not to see the artificial roads of + the forest, alive with city carriages. I believed myself lost in a + primeval wood, and I examined the state of my heart. I perceived with + concern that that organ was still lacerated. The languid, musical + pageant of my youth streamed toward me again through the leafy aisles, + and I remembered my high aspirings, my poems, my ideals: the floating + vision of a Dark Ladye passed or looked up at me through the broken + waves of Oblivion; she listened to my rhapsodies with the old puzzling + silence; she confided to me certain Sibylline leaves out of her diary; + then she receded, cold and unresponsive, a statue cut out of a shadow. + I was obliged to untie my cravat. Finally, I fell asleep and dreamed + of Mary Ashburton crowned with the neat workwoman's cap of Francine + Joliet. I returned to dinner considerably exalted, and just touched + with rheumatism. +</p> +<p> + The soup was glacial, the roast was steaming, the conversation was + geographical. "Pray, M. Flemming," said my neighbor (he had been + stealing a look at the register of visitors' names), "can cattle be + wintered out of doors as + + <span class="pagenum">[pg 629]</span> + + far north as Pennsylvania, or only up to Virginia?" +</p> +<p> + "Pray," said another, "is not New York situated between the North + River and the Hudson?" +</p> +<p> + The prayer of a third made itself audible: "Ought we to say + 'Delightful <i>Wy</i>oming,' after Campbell, or Wy<i>o</i>ming?" +</p> +<p> + "We ought to eat with thankfulness the good things set before us," I + replied, with some presence of mind. "Excuse me, gentlemen," I added, + to carry off my vivacity, "but I think informing conversation is a + bore until after the nuts and raisins. A Danish proverb says that he + who knows what he is saying at a feast has but poor comprehension + of what he is eating. On my way hither, breakfasting at Strasburg, I + enjoyed a lesson in geography, and I aver that though the lesson was + elementary, I breakfasted very badly." +</p> +<a name="image-0003"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0007_1.jpg"> + <img width="80%" + src="images/0007_1.jpg" + alt="Delights of the Verlobten."></img></a> + <p class="center">Delights of the Verlobten.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + "Who was the teacher?" asked the explorer of Wyoming, a German, in the + tone of a man to whom no professor of Geography could properly be a + stranger. +</p> +<p> + "The teacher," I answered with a smile, "was one Fortnoye—" +</p> +<p> + I did not finish my sentence. At that name, Fortnoye, a kind of + electric movement was communicated around the board. Every eye sought + the face of Francine, who, troubled and confused, fell upon the cutlet + placed before her and cut it feverishly into flinders. Evidently there + was a secret thereabouts. When + + <span class="pagenum">[pg 630]</span> + + coffee was on, I applied myself to + satisfying the topographic doubts of my neighbors, but the name of the + geographical professor was approached no more. +</p> +<p> + When dinner was over, and only two stranded Belgians remained at + table, discussing whether the Falls of Niagara plunge from the United + States into Canada, or from Canada into the United States, I stole + into the narrow office, believing I should see Francine. +</p> +<p> + She was not there, but the register was lying on the desk. I fell to + turning the leaves over furiously: I felt that I was on the trail of + Fortnoye. I was not long in amassing a quantity of discoveries. Going + back to the previous year, I found the signature of Fortnoye in March + and April; in July and September, Fortnoye bound up and down the + Rhine; in the depth of the winter, Monsieur Tonson-Fortnoye come + again! Evidently one of the most frequent guests of my delicate + Francine was the interpreter of <i>Cosmos</i> in Strasburg, the + white-bearded mystifier of the champagne-cellar, the finest + singing-voice in Épernay. +</p> +<a name="image-0004"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0008_1.jpg"> + <img width="80%" + src="images/0008_1.jpg" + alt="The Churchyard Lover."></img></a> + <p class="center">The Churchyard Lover.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + +<p> + Toward ten o'clock, as I paced the little grove called the Oak Wood, + I saw at the miniature lake four persons, who were regaining the bank + after trying to detach the little boat moored by the shore. They were + just the four from our social table with whom I best agreed. I joined + the party, and, hooking now a friendly arm to the elbow of one, now + to that of another, I soon obtained all they had to communicate on + the subject which occupied my mind. Each knew Fortnoye intimately: the + result of my quadratic amounted to the following: +</p> +<p> + <i>First</i>. Fortnoye, educated at the Polytechnic School in Paris, is a + man of grave character and profound learning. +</p> +<p> + <i>Second</i>. Fortnoye is a roysterer, latterly occupied in extending the + connection of a champagne-house at Épernay. He is a Bohemian, even + a poet: he can rhyme, but strictly in the interests of commerce—he + composes only drinking-songs. +</p> +<p> + <i>Third</i>. Fortnoye is an exploded speculator, dismissed from the French + Board: obliged to beat a retreat to Belgium, he soon found himself in + Baden, where he had good luck at the green table shortly before the + war. +</p> +<p> + <i>Fourth, and last</i>. (This was from the man of Wyoming.) Fortnoye + only retreated to Belgium as a refuge for his + + <span class="pagenum">[pg 631]</span> + + demagogic opinions. He + belongs to the innermost circle of the Commune and to all the French + and Italian secret associations. He is represented in the background + of several of Courbet's pictures. He has been everywhere: in Italy + he joined the society of the Mary Anne, where he met the celebrated + Lothair. This order has a branch called the Society of Pure + Illumination. If he has liberty to return into France, it is because + he is connected with the detective police. +</p> +<p> + The information, extensive as it was, did not altogether satisfy me. I + made little of the inconsistencies betrayed by the various counsels + of the Areopagus, but I closed the whole solemnity with one crucial + interrogatory: "What the dickens does Fortnoye come prowling around + Francine Joliet's house for?" +</p> +<p> + The answer was not calculated to please me: "She is young and + attractive: Fortnoye advanced the funds to set her up in the house." +</p> +<p> + But my morose thoughts were distracted by the scene around us. The + moon burst up above the trees of the Oak Wood—a fine ample German + moon, like a Diana of Rubens. Close to our sides passed numerous young + couples, holding hands, clasping waists, chattering gayly, or walking + in silence with a blonde head laid on a burly shoulder. One of + my companions pointed out a specially stalwart and graceful young + apprentice, whose elbow, supported on a rustic bench, was bent around + a mass of beautiful golden hair. +</p> +<p> + "An eligible <i>verlobter</i>," said he. +</p> +<p> + I thought of Perrette and the tall young man who had helped pull her + milk-cart. My friend continued: "Betrothal hereabouts is a serious + institution. The girl who loses her <i>verlobter</i> becomes a widow. Woe + betide her if she dreams of replacing him too early! She will find + herself followed by ill looks and contemptuous tongues: she even runs + the risk of having nobody to marry better than a dead man, if we may + believe the history of Bettina of Ettlingen." +</p> +<p> + "The history of Bettina of Ettlingen? That sounds like the title to a + ballad." +</p> +<p> + "It is a recent history, which you would take for a legend of the + twelfth century." +</p> +<a name="image-0005"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0009_1.jpg"> + <img width="60%" + src="images/0009_1.jpg" + alt="On the First Step."></img></a> + <p class="center">On the First Step.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + I cannot help it. In face of that word <i>legend</i> my mind stops and + stares rigidly like a pointer dog. The moment was favorable for a good + story: the sky was covered with flocked clouds, behind which the ample + German moon, shorn of half its brightness, took suddenly the pale + gilded tint of sauerkraut. The wandering lovers, half effaced in the + gloom, looked like straying shades in an Elysium. +</p> +<p> + "Ettlingen is between Carlsruhe and Rastadt, an hour's walking as you + go to Kehl. The flowers grow there without thinking about it, and sow + their own seed. It is therefore a simple thing to be a gardener, and + Bettina's father, the florist, attended entirely to his pipe, leaving + the cares of business to his apprentice, whose name was Nature. + <span class="pagenum">[pg 632]</span> + Bettina, as became the daughter of a gardener, was a kind of rose: + Wilhelm, the baker's young man, would have thrown himself into the + furnace for her. But there came along Fritz, the dyer, who had been + in France and who wore gloves. She continued a while to promenade with + Wilhelm under the chestnut trees which surround the fortifications + of Ettlingen, but one night she suddenly withdrew her hand: 'You had + better find a nicer girl than I am: I do not feel that I could make + you happy.' Wilhelm disappeared from the country. His departure, which + was the talk of Ettlingen, caused Bettina more remorse than regret. + For six months she shut herself up: then, hearing nothing of her + lover, she reappeared shyly on the promenade, divested of rings, + ear-drops and ornaments. The beautiful Fritz, in his loveliest gloves, + intercepted her beneath the chestnuts, and, armed with her father's + consent, proposed himself for her <i>verlobter</i>. +</p> +<p> + "'Not yet,' she answered: 'wait till I wear my flowers again.' +</p> +<p> + "In Germany, as in Switzerland and Italy, natural flowers are + indispensable to a young girl's toilet. To appear at an assembly + without a blooming tuft at the corsage or in the hair is to indicate + that the family is in mourning, the mother sick or the lover + conscripted. +</p> +<a name="image-0006"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0010_1.jpg"> + <img width="80%" + src="images/0010_1.jpg" + alt="The Legal Profession and Profession of Friendship."></img></a> + <p class="center">The Legal Profession and Profession of Friendship.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + "With an exquisite natural sense, Bettina, daughter of a gardener, + would never wear any flowers but wild ones. About this time there was + a grand fair at Durlach: almost all Ettlingen went there, and Bettina + too, but as spectatress only, and without her flowers. +</p> +<p> + "The dances which animated the others made her sad. She left the ball + and wandered on the hillside. There, beneath the hedge of a sunken + road, she recognized her beauteous Fritz. Poor Fritz! he was refusing + himself the pleasure of the dance which he might not partake with her. + Ah, the time for temporizing is over! Bettina determines that to-day, + in the eyes of every one, they shall dance together, and he shall be + recognized as her <i>verlobter</i>. She looks hastily around for flowers. + The hill is bare, the road is stony: an enclosure at the left offers + some promise, and Bettina enters. +</p> +<p> + "It was a cemetery. Animated with her new resolve, she thought little + of the profanation, and crowned herself with flowers from the nearest + grave. In an hour the villagers from Ettlingen saw her leaning on + Fritz's shoulder in the waltz. That night the shade of Wilhelm stood + at her bed-head: 'You have accepted the flowers growing on my grave + and nourished from my heart. I am once more your <i>verlobter</i>.' +</p> +<p> + "Next day Fritz came, radiant, with a silver engagement-ring, which he + was to exchange for that on Bettina's finger, returned by Wilhelm at + his departure. But the ring was gone. At night Wilhelm reappeared, and + showed the ring on his finger. Some time passed, and Bettina lost a + good part of her beauty, distracted as she was between the laughing + Fritz in the daytime and the pale Wilhelm at night. She was a sensible + girl, however, and persuaded herself, with Fritz's assistance, that + the vision was created by a disordered fancy. But she caused inquiry + to be made about the grave in the cemetery at Durlach: the answer + came: 'Under the first stone in the line at the right of the gate + lies the body of Wilhelm Haussbach of Ettlingen, where he followed the + trade of baker.' +</p> +<p> + "Then she knew that she had robbed her lover's grave to adorn herself + for a new <i>verlobter</i>. After this the ghost of Wilhelm began to + invade her promenades with Fritz, and she walked evening after evening + beneath the chestnuts between her two lovers. +</p> +<p> + "The gardener's daughter never looked fairer than on her wedding-day. + Armed with all her resolution, and filled with love for Fritz, + she presented herself at the altar. The priest began to recite the + sacramental words, when he came to a pause at the sight of Bettina, + pale and wild-eyed, shivering convulsively in her bridal draperies. +</p> +<p> + "Wilhelm was again at her side, kneeling on the right, as Fritz on + the left. He was in bridegroom's habit, and he offered a bouquet of + graveyard-flowers—the white immortelle and the forget-me-not. When + Fritz rose and put the ring on her finger she felt an icy hand draw + the token off and replace it by another. At this, overcome with + terror, and making a wild gesture of rejection both to right and left, + she ran shrieking out of the church. +</p> +<p> + "Such is the true and authentic story of Bettina," concluded my + narrator. "You may see Bettina any day at Ettlingen, a yellow old maid + forty years of age. Every Sunday she goes to mass at Durlach, where + she employs the rest of the day in tending flowers on a grave, the + first grave in the line to the right of the gateway." +</p> +<p> + I returned to the house with this grim and tender little idyll + crooning through my brains. I took my key and bed-candle, and asked + the porter if a letter had arrived for me from Sylvester Berkley. Not + a line! This silence became inconvenient. Not only did I rely upon + <span class="pagenum">[pg 633]</span> + Berkley for my passport, the certificate of my character, but likewise + for the revictualing of my purse. As I passed the small throne-room + of Francine, where she sat vis-à-vis with all her keys and bells, a + light, a presence, an amicable little nod informed me that a friend + was there for me, and sent a bath of warm and comfortable emotion all + over my poor old heart. +</p> +<a name="image-0007"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0012_1.jpg"> + <img width="40%" + src="images/0012_1.jpg" + alt="Effusion."></img></a> + <p class="center">Effusion.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + It was late. Francine, at a little velvet account-book, was executing + some fairy-like and poetical arithmetic in purple ink. I had the + pleasure, before a half hour had passed, of making her commit more + than one error in her columns, do violet violence to the neatness of + her book, and adorn her thumb-nail with a comical tiny silhouette. + My gossip, which had this encouraging and proud effect, was commenced + easily upon familiar subjects, such as the old rose-garden and the + chickens, but branched imperceptibly into more personal confidences. + I found myself growing strangely confidential. Soon I had sketched for + Francine my life of opulent loneliness, my cook and my old valet, my + philosopher's den at Marly, my negligent existence at Paris, without + family, country or obligations. +</p> +<p> + Her good gray eyes were swimming with tears, I thought. With a look + of perfect natural sweetness she said, "To live alone and far from + kin and fatherland, that is not amusing. It is like one of the small + straight sticks of rose my father would take and plant in the sand in + a far-away little red pot." +</p> +<p> + A delicious vignette, I confess, began to be outlined in my fancy. I + cannot describe it, but I know Francine was in the middle repairing + a stocking, while my own books and geographical notes, in a state + of dustlessness they had never known actually, formed a brown bower + <span class="pagenum">[pg 634]</span> + around her. Somewhere near, in an old secretary or in a grave, was + buried the ideal of an earlier, haughtier love; wrapped up in a stolen + ribbon or pressed in a book. +</p> +<p> + She continued simply, "I am very much alone myself. Without the visits + of Monsieur Fortnoye I should be dead of ennui. I am so glad to find + you know him, monsieur!" +</p> +<a name="image-0008"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0013_1.jpg"> + <img width="40%" + src="images/0013_1.jpg" + alt="Self-control."></img></a> + <p class="center">Self-control.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + This jarred upon me more than I can say. I assumed, as one can at + my age, an air of parental benevolence, in which I administered my + dissatisfaction: "Fortnoye is a roysterer, a squanderer, a wanderer + and a <i>pètroleur</i>. At your age, my child, you are really imprudent." +</p> +<p> + "He is a little wild, but he is young himself. And so good, so + generous, so kind! I owe him everything." +</p> +<p> + "On what conditions?" said I, more severely perhaps than I meant. + "Your relations, my daughter, are not very clear. Is he then your + <i>verlobter</i>?" +</p> +<p> + She looked at me with an expression of stupefaction, then buried her + face in her hands: "He my intended! Has he ever dreamed of such a + thing? Am I not a poor flower-girl?" +</p> +<p> + And she was sobbing through her fingers. +</p> +<p> + My nights were sweet at Carlsruhe. My slumber was ushered in with + those delicious dream-sketches that lend their grace to folly. Each + morning I wondered what surprise the day would arrange for me. +</p> +<p> + The little wood was hidden from my window by an early fog: the birds + were silent. I was meditating on my singular position, in pawn as it + were under the care of Joliet's good daughter, when I heard my name + pronounced at the bottom of the stairs. It was Sylvester Berkley. +</p> +<p> + The briskness of our friendships depends on the time when—the place + where. To men in prison a familiar face is the next thing to liberty. +</p> +<p> + Some years ago I had an absurd dispute with a neighbor about a + party-wall at Passy, and was obliged to go to the Palace of Justice at + ten every morning for a week. My forced intercourse with those solemn + birds in black plumage had a singular effect on me. While among them + I felt as if cut off from my species, and visiting with Gulliver some + dreadful island peopled with mere allegories. As the time passed + I grew worse: I dragged myself to the Cité with horror, and before + returning home was always obliged to wash out my brains by a short + stroll in Notre Dame or amongst the fine glass of the Sainte Chapelle. + One day, pacing the pale and shuffling corridors of the palace, + waiting for an unpunctual lawyer, and regarding the gowns and caps + around me with insupportable hate, at the turning of a passage—oh + happiness!—a face was revealed in the distance, the face of a friend, + the face of an old neighbor. At the bright apparition I made an + involuntary sign of joy: the owner of the face seemed no less pleased. + We walked toward each other, our hands expanded. All of a sudden a + doubt seemed to strike us both at the same moment: he slackened his + pace, I slackened mine. We met: we had never done so before. It was + a little mistake. We saluted each other slightly and gravely, and + separated once more, as wise in our looks as that irreproachable hero + who, after marching up the hill with his men, pocketed his thoughts + and marched down again. +</p> +<p> + My meeting with Berkley Junior was not precisely similar, but + connected with the same feelings and associations. I dashed down four + steps at a time, precipitated myself on him like a bird of prey, and + wrung his hands again and again with fondest violence. +</p> +<p> + Now, up to that date my relations with Sylvester Berkley had been of + a frigid and formal description. I had met him two or three times with + his hearty old relation, and had borne away the distinct impression + that he was a prig. While the uncle would breakfast in his tub, like + Diogenes, off simple bones and cutlets, Sylvester ate some sort of + a mash made of bruised oats: while the nephew made an untenable + pretension to family honors, the elder talked familiarly of the + porcelain trade, freely alluding to the youth as a piece of precious + Sèvres that had cracked. +</p> +<p> + He met my advances with a calmness, imprinted with astonishment, that + recalled me to myself. Against such a refrigerator my heart and fancy + recovered their proper level: I had been caressing an iceberg in a + white cravat. I examined my emotions, and found, to my shame, that my + warmth had a selfish origin in the fact that I was alone in Carlsruhe, + greatly in need of a passport and a purse. +</p> +<p> + "Do you intend shortly to quit the archducal seat?" asked Sylvester, + by way of an agreeable remark. +</p> +<p> + "I have the strongest obligations to be at home," I returned. "I only + await your kind assistance about my passport." +</p> +<p> + "It is expected at the office, but I fear it will not be received in + time for you to take the next train. I fear we shall be obliged to + keep you with us until thirty minutes past one." +</p> +<p> + He conferred on me, with his neck and his hand, a salute which had the + effect of being made from a distant window. Then he departed. +</p> +<p> + To ask such a man for money was not easy. I dressed myself and marched + in great haste to the gay quarter of the town, having made up my mind + to depend on the mercies of the chief jeweler and the merits of my + Poitevin watch. It had cost a thousand francs, and would surely, after + many a service rendered, help me now to regain my home. +</p> +<p> + Another disappointment—not a pawn-broker to be found in Carlsruhe! + I was ready to look upon myself as a fixture in the town, when a + brilliant idea flashed upon me. One of my neighbors at table was + transportation-agent at the railway dépôt. What so opportune for me + as a credit on the railway company? With + <span class="pagenum">[pg 635]</span> +his recommendation my watch + would surely be security enough. +</p> +<p> + Delighted with the thought, and with my own cleverness in originating + it, I made briskly for the Ettlingen Gate, before which the road + passes. Glancing at the clock on the dépôt, I regulated first my watch + by the time of the place, in order that no doubt might be cast on its + perfect regularity. I was holding it in my hand, my eyes still riveted + on the great clock, as I stepped over the nearest rails. A shout, + mixed with imprecations, was audible. My coat was seized by a vigorous + fist, I was rudely pushed, my watch escaped, and the train from + Frankfort, which was just entering the dépôt, only rendered it to my + hands crushed, peeled and pounded. Instead of a thousand francs, my + old friend would hardly bring five dollars. +</p> +<a name="image-0009"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0016_1.jpg"> + <img width="40%" + src="images/0016_1.jpg" + alt="Losing Time."></img></a> + <p class="center">Losing Time.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + After such a catastrophe what remained for me to do? Evidently to + humble my pride and beg an obolus of young Berkley. I represented + to myself that the victory over my own false shame was worth many + watches, and I began to compose a little speech intended for his ear, + in which I compared myself to Dante at the convent door. +</p> +<p> + I found him in his office clasping a hand-valise. "I am about to + go away by your train," he said, without waiting for me to speak or + remarking my shabby-genteel + <span class="pagenum">[pg 636]</span> + expression of heroism. He added, as he + handed me a great sealed envelope, "There is your passport. Nothing + imperative requires my stay here: I shall accompany you, then, as far + as the station of Oos, and while you are continuing your route toward + your beloved metropolis, I will go and finish my leave of absence at + Baden-Baden, where I am claimed by certain conditions of my liver." +</p> +<a name="image-0010"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0017_1.jpg"> + <img width="60%" + src="images/0017_1.jpg" + alt="Grand Duke's Palace, Baden."></img></a> + <p class="center">Grand Duke's Palace, Baden.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + +<p> + I was so nervous and uncertain of myself that this little change in + the horizon upset me completely. For the life of me I could not, at + that moment, and at the risk of seeing him drop his bag and rain its + contents over the official courtyard, rehearse my awkward accident + and disreputable beggary. On the other hand, it was much to gain a + friendly companion and pass arm-in-arm with him to the ticket-office. + Leaving every other plan uncertain, I determined to start from + Carlsruhe in his diplomatic shadow. +</p> +<p> + I dashed with surprising agility into the house to ask for my account + with Francine. I was about to explain that I would quickly settle + with her from Paris, when the thoughtful little woman anticipated me. + "Monsieur Flemming," she said, with her sweet supplicating air, "you + left the city without meaning it. If you would like a little advance, + monsieur, I am quite well supplied just now. Dispose of me: I shall be + so thankful!" +</p> +<p> + The money of Fortnoye! the thought was impossible. It was impossible + to resist taking her bright brown head between my hands and secreting + a kiss somewhere in the laminations of the artisanne cap. +</p> +<p> + "Dear infant! I shall be an unhappy old fellow if I do not see you + again very soon." +</p> +<p> + —And I was off, dragged by those obligations of the time-table which + have no tenderness toward human sentiment. At one o'clock I was at the + railway with Sylvester. I was uncertain of my plans, and the confusion + of the dépôt added nothing to the clearness inside my head. Berkley + advanced first to the ticket-seller's window. "A first-class place for + Baden-Baden," said he. + <span class="pagenum">[pg 637]</span> +</p> +<p> + "How many?" briskly asked the clerk, seeing us together. +</p> +<p> + At that moment Sylvester heard a ghostly voice at his ear: "You may + get a couple." The voice was mine. +</p> +<p> + Berkley got them and paid. I had reflected that my letter of credit + from Munroe & Co. would undoubtedly be drawn on Baden-Baden, and had + suddenly taken a resolution to try the effect of the springs on my + unfortunate stoutness. +</p> +<p> + We got down at the Gasthaus zum Hirsch, but I had already sold the + ruins of my chronometer, and was twenty-five francs the richer for the + transaction. +</p> +<p> + I cannot call Baden-Baden a city: it is a stage. It is a perpetually + set-scene for light opera. Everything seems dressed up and artificial, + and meant to be viewed, as it were, in the glare of the foot-lights. + But instead of the shepherds in white satin who ought to be the + performers in this ingenious theatre, it is the unaccustomed stranger + who is forced into the position of actor. As he toils up the steep and + slovenly streets, faced with shabby buildings that crack and blacken + behind their ill-adjusted fronts of stucco and distemper, he + cheapens rapidly in his own view: he feels painfully like the hapless + supernumerary whom he has seen mounting an obvious step-ladder behind + a screen of rock-work on his way to a wedding in the chapel or a + coronation in the Capitol. The difference is, that here the permission + to play his rôle is paid for by the performer. +</p> +<p> + But I, as I sat hugging my knee in the hotel bed-room, was possessed + by loftier feelings. If there is one faculty which I can fairly + extol in myself, it is that of displaying true sentiment in false + situations. My thoughts, with incredible agility, went back to + Francine. A knock came at the door, and my emotions received a chill: + my visitor could be none but Berkley, in whose face I should see a + reminder that I owed him for my car-fare. +</p> +<p> + In place of frigid politeness, however, the diplomatist wore all + that he knew of good-fellowship and Bohemianism. He was now clad + in tourists' plaid, and stood upon soles half an inch thick—a true + Englishman on his travels. +</p> +<p> + "Come, old boy!"—old boy, indeed!—"you must taste the pleasures of + Baden-Baden: it is but four o'clock, and we can see the Trinkhalle, + the Conversations-Haus, and plenty besides before dinner. Is there any + place in particular where you would like to go?" +</p> +<a name="image-0011"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0018_1.jpg"> + <img width="40%" + src="images/0018_1.jpg" + alt="The Wood-path."></img></a> + <p class="center">The Wood-path.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + I looked solemnly at him. "I would fain visit the Alt-Schloss," I + said. +</p> +<p> + "With all my heart!" replied Sylvester, tapping his legs and admiring + his boots. This unpromising comrade was wearing better than I + expected. + <span class="pagenum">[pg 638]</span> + +</p> +<a name="image-0012"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0019_1.jpg"> + <img width="80%" + src="images/0019_1.jpg" + alt="Scene of Matthisson's Poem Imitating Gray's 'Elegy.'"></img></a> + <p class="center">Scene of Matthisson's Poem Imitating Gray's 'Elegy.'"</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + "Shall we have a carriage?" he pursued. At this question my face + contracted as by the effect of a nervous attack. I thought of the few + pence I possessed. I assumed the determined pedestrian. +</p> +<p> + "For shame!" I cried: "it is but three miles. Where are your tourist + muscles? I should like to walk." +</p> +<p> + "Nothing simpler," said the man of facile views: "we shall do it + within the hour." +</p> +<a name="image-0013"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0019_2.jpg"> + <img width="40%" + src="images/0019_2.jpg" + alt='"Wine or Beer!"'></img></a> + <p class="center">"Wine or Beer!"</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + I breathed again. We set off. We had before us cliffs and hills, + with small Gothic towers printed on the blue of the sky; but the + mountain-path beneath our steps was sanded, graveled, packed, rolled, + weeded, and provided with coquettish sofas at every hundred steps. + I, who happened that afternoon to feel the emotions of Manfred, would + gladly have exchanged these detestable conveniences for precipices, + storms and eagles. +</p> +<p> + "How ridiculous," I said with a little temper, "to go to a ruin by way + of the boulevards!" +</p> +<p> + "Ah," said my companion of complaisant manners, "you like Nature? It + is but the choosing." +</p> +<p> + And Berkley, perfectly acquainted with the locality, directed our + steps into a narrow path hardly traced through the woods. Here at + least were flowers and grass and sylvan shadows. No sooner did I + smell the balm of the pine trees than my heart resigned itself, with + exquisite indecision, to the thoughts of Francine Joliet and the + memories of Mary Ashburton. I glanced at Berkley: he seemed, in Scotch + clothes, a little less impenetrable than he had appeared in white + cravat and dress-gloves. I cannot restrain my confidences when a man + is near me: I buttonholed Sylvester, and I made the plunge. "I used to + talk of the Alt-Schloss," + <span class="pagenum">[pg 639]</span> +I murmured, "with one whom I have lost." +</p> +<p> + "Ah, I comprehend: with my late uncle, perhaps." +</p> +<p> + "No, sir, not with any cynic in a tub, but with a maiden in her + flower. It was one of the best points I made with Miss Ashburton." +</p> +<p> + "The Alt-Schloss is indeed a picturesque construction," said the + diplomate, by way of generally inviting my confidence. +</p> +<p> + "We were conversing about the poems of Salis and Matthisson," I + pursued. "I had in my pocket a little translation of Salis's song + entitled 'The Silent Land,' and endeavored to bend the dialogue in + a suitable direction, but these allusions are incredibly hard to + introduce in conversation, and we happened to stray upon Baden-Baden. + I asked Miss Ashburton if she had been here, and she answered, 'Yes, + the last summer.' 'And you have not forgotten?' I suggested—'The + old castle,' she rejoined. 'Of course not. What a magnificent ruin it + is!'" +</p> +<a name="image-0014"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0020_1.jpg"> + <img width="40%" + src="images/0020_1.jpg" + alt="Entrance to the Alt-schloss."></img></a> + <p class="center">Entrance to the Alt-Schloss.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + "What tact your friend displayed," said Berkley, "to feign utter + unconsciousness of the green tables, and see nothing but ruins in + Baden-Baden!" +</p> +<p> + "Permit me to say," I replied quickly, "that it is not agreeable to + me to have that lady alluded to, however distantly, in connection with + gambling-tables. The Ashburtons had been probably drinking the waters, + for her mother was noticeably stout and florid. But to continue with + the poets. I explained to her that the ruins of the Alt-Schloss had + suggested to Matthisson a poem in imitation of an English masterpiece. + Matthisson made a study of Gray's 'Elegy,' and from it produced his + 'Elegy on the Ruins of an Ancient Castle.' Miss Ashburton became + nationally enthusiastic, and said she should like very much to see the + poem. Her wish was usually my law, but the translation of the other + song being in my pocket, I was obliged to palm it off upon her; and + after conceding that Matthisson had written his 'Elegy' with unwonted + inspiration, I sailed in upon that tide of feeling—with a slight + inconsequence, to be sure—and + <span class="pagenum">[pg 640]</span> + declaimed my version from Salis. Miss + Ashburton, sir, was obliged to turn away to hide her tears." +</p> +<p> + "I used to hear from my uncle of your attachment," said Sylvester, + with his politest air of condolence, "and I assure you my opinion ever + has been that your feelings did you honor. Nothing, in my view, is so + becoming to gray hairs and the evening of life as fidelity to a first + passion." +</p> +<p> + "Lord forgive you, Berkley!" I exclaimed, startled out of all + self-possession by his impertinence. "What on earth do you mean? You + are completely ignorant of what you are talking about. I have hardly + any gray hairs, and some excellent constitutions are gray at thirty. + You are partly bald yourself: I know it from the way you turn up your + love-locks. And it was not Miss Ashburton I was talking about. That + is, if I did derive my reminiscences from her, it was with an object + of a very different character at the end of the perspective. I have + adopted other views; that is, I have lately had presented to my + mind—" +</p> +<a name="image-0015"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0021_1.jpg"> + <img width="40%" + src="images/0021_1.jpg" + alt="'kellner!'"></img></a> + <p class="center">'Kellner!'</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + +<p> + With these rhetorical somersaults, like the flappings of a carp upon + the straw, did I express the mental distractions I was suffering + from, and the tugs at my heart respectively administered by + Francine's cap-strings and Mary Ashburton's shadowy tresses. Berkley, + diplomatically approving the landscape before us, would not get angry, + would not be insulted, and offered no prise to my difficult temper. +</p> +<p> + "Tell me now, Sylvester," said I after a few minutes' silence. "You + are young, yet you have seen the world. What is the best refuge, in + your view, for a man of delicate sentiments and of ripe age? Would you + recommend such a person to shut himself up for ever in a hermitage + of musty books, and to flirt there eternally with the memories of his + young loves, who are become corpulent matrons or angular maids? Or, + don't you think, now, that an autumnal attachment—provided some sweet + and healthy intelligence comes in contact with his own—is a capital + thing in its way? The crackling fireside instead of the lovers' + walk? The perfection of rational comfort subservient to, rather than + dominating, his early dreams? Respectful affection, fidelity and + fondest care as the conditions surrounding one's character, and + upholding it in its best symmetry? Cannot the poet think better if his + body is kept snug? Cannot the man of feeling remember better if his + slippers are toasted and his buttons sewed? In fact, is not + one's faith to a beloved ideal best shown by acquiring a fresh + standing-point to see it from?" +</p> +<p> + "No doubt Hamlet's mother thought so," said Sylvester rather brutally, + "and married King Claudius solely to brighten her ideal of her first + husband." A more appropriate remark, it seemed to me, might have + been found to chime in with my speculations. "But here," pursued + the statesman, compromisingly, "are old memories protected by modern + conveniences. Here is the 'Repose of Sophie.'" +</p> +<p> + We had mounted a terrace from whose eminence the whole spread of the + valley was visible. Profanation! No sooner had we attained the plateau + than a covered gallery appeared, and a Teutonic voice was heard with + the familiar inquiry, "Will the gentlemen take wine or beer?" +</p> +<p> + Was ever a man of delicacy and feeling so ruthlessly treated as I? + To be tempted by circumstances into pouring out one's most intimate + confessions to an icy person to whom one owes money, and then to have + even this imperfect confidence interrupted by a tavern-waiter in an + apron! Miserable hireling! give us solitude and meditation, not beer! +</p> +<p> + Flying the "Repose of Sophie" without the concession of a glance, we + mounted toward the ancient castle, whose ruins seemed ready to roll on + us down the hillside. It was indeed romantic. The wind, in plaintive, + melodious + <span class="pagenum">[pg 641]</span> +tones, searched our ears as it came perfumed from the tufted + walls. We penetrated through a scene of high and mossy rocks, bound in + the lean embrace of knotted ivy, and finally by a dismantled postern + we intruded into the castle. Sacrilege again! The stone-masons were + tranquilly working here and there, solidifying old ruins and very + probably fabricating new ones. The wind, whose sighing we had admired, + was the cat-like harmony of the æolian harps: these harps were + artlessly stretched across each of the old vaulted windows. We arrived + at the high portal of the ancient manor, a genuine Roman construction + of Aurelius Aquensis—a gateway with a round arch: it was obstructed + by hired cabs, by whole herds of venal donkeys saddled and bridled, + and by holiday-makers of Baden in Sunday clothes preserved for ten + or fifteen years. The old pile itself is transformed into a hostelry. + Gray was wrong: the paths of glory lead not to the grave, but to the + <i>gasthaus</i>; and Matthisson could have imitated the "Elegy" about as + well in the gaming-hall as among these rejuvenated ruins. +</p> +<p> + The modern idea of a wood is a graveled chess-board on a large + scale, flooded at night with gas: the modern idea of a ruin is a + dancing-floor, with a few patched arches and walls lifted between + the wind and our nobility. We shave the weeds away and produce a fine + English turf: we root up the brambles and eglantines which might tear + the skirts of the ladies. Our lovers, our poets and romancers must fly + to distant glades if they would not walk in the shade of trees that + have been transplanted. +</p> +<p> + I was considering the sorry triumph of the stage-machinists of + Baden-Baden, when Berkley, who had disappeared, came in sight again. + Our dinner, he said, was ready—ready in the guards' hall. I retreated + with a sudden cry of alarm. I had rather dine at the hotel; I had + rather not dine at all; I was not in the least hungry. It was the + emptiness of my pocket that caused this sudden fullness, of the + stomach. Berkley made light of my objections. +</p> +<p> + "Listen! You can hear from this mountain the dinner-bells of the city. + We should arrive too late. Although you hate restored castles, you + need not refuse to dine with me in one." +</p> +<a name="image-0016"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0022_1.jpg"> + <img width="40%" + src="images/0022_1.jpg" + alt="Tyrolean."></img></a> + <p class="center">Tyrolean.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + The noble hall was a scene of vulgar festivity, where the ubiquitous + kellner, racing to and fro with beer and plates of sausage, solved the + problem of perpetual motion. It was not easy, in such circumstances, + to maintain the flow of poetic association, but I accomplished the + feat in a measure. As the shades of evening closed around the hill, + and the bells of twenty dining-tables ascended to us through the + still air, I thought of Gray's curfew—of that glimmering Stoke-Pogis + landscape that faded into immortality on his sight. I thought of + Matthisson's "Elegy" on this forlorn old dandy of a castle. I thought + of the sympathetic chest-notes with which I read to Mary Ashburton the + "Song of the Silent Land." +</p> +<p> + I thought of Francine, and of the condition of base terror I was in + when I ran away from her with the man who momentarily represented my + solvency, + <span class="pagenum">[pg 642]</span> +my credit and my respectability. May the foul fiend catch + me, sweet vision, if I do not find thee soon again! A Tyrolean, who + entered by stealth, persuaded a heart-rending lamentation to issue + from his wooden trumpet: although the acid sounds proceeding from this + terrible whistle set my teeth on edge and caused me at first to start + off my seat, yet I rewarded him with such a competency in copper as + made his eyes emerge from his face. A singing-girl and some blonde + bouquet-sellers had equal cause to rejoice in my generosity. It is + when a gentleman is landed finally on his coppers that he becomes + penny-liberal. I glanced defiance at Berkley, my creditor, as I + showered largess on these humble poets. +</p> +<p> + We descended under the stars, and I began to think that illuminated + gravel-roads were, at night, susceptible of some apology. We returned + to the city by easy stages, with a halt at the "Repose of Sophie." + At the hotel there was given me, re-directed in the pretty hand of + Francine, an unlimited credit from Munroe & Co. on the house of Meyer + in Baden-Baden. I was a freeman once more. +</p> +<p class="author">EDWARD STRAHAN.</p> +<p class="center">[TO BE CONTINUED.]</p> + + + +<a name="leaves"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + AUTUMN LEAVES. +</h2> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">My life is like the autumn leaves</p> + <p class="i6">Now falling fast,</p> + <p class="i2">Which grew of late so fresh and fair—</p> + <p class="i6"> Too fair to last.</p> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">The mar of earth and canker-worm</p> + <p class="i6">The foliage bears;</p> + <p class="i2"> So my poor life of sin and care</p> + <p class="i6">The impress wears.</p> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">As shine the leaves before they fall</p> + <p class="i6"> With brighter hue,</p> + <p class="i2">And each defect of worm and time</p> + <p class="i6"> Is lost to view,</p> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2"> So may my life, when fading, shine</p> + <p class="i6"> With brighter ray,</p> + <p class="i2"> And brighter still as nearer to</p> + <p class="i6"> The perfect day.</p> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2"> And as new life still springs again</p> + <p class="i6"> From fallen leaves,</p> + <p class="i2"> And richer life a thousand-fold</p> + <p class="i6"> From gathered sheaves;</p> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">So, God, if aught in me was good,</p> + <p class="i6">The good repeat,</p> + <p class="i2">And let me from my ashes breathe</p> + <p class="i6">An influence sweet.</p> +</div></div> + +<p class="center">W.</p> + +<a name="sketches"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<span class="pagenum">[pg 643]</span> +<h2> + SKETCHES OF EASTERN TRAVEL. +</h2> +<h3> +<a name="sketcheschiii"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + III.—BANGKOK. +</h3> +<p> + We left Singapore—which, though an English colony, is a very Babel of + languages and nations—in a Bombay merchantman, whose captain was an + Arab, the cook Chinese, and the fourteen men who composed the crew + belonged to at least half that many different nations, whilst our + party in the cabin were English, Scotch, French and American. After + eight days of rather stormy weather we disembarked at the mouth of + the Meinam River, thirty miles below the city of Bangkok. Owing to + the sandbar at the mouth, large vessels must either partially unload + outside, or wait for the flood-tide when the moon is full to pass the + bar; and to avoid the delay consequent upon either course, we took + passage for the city in a native sampan pulled by eight men with long + slender oars. The trip was a delightful one, giving us enchanting + glimpses of the grand old city long before we reached it. Amid the + mass of tropical foliage, gleaming out from among clustering palms + and graceful banians, we could discern the gilded spires of gorgeous + temples and palaces, of which Bangkok boasts probably not less than + two hundred. The temples, with their glittering tiles of green and + gold, and graceful turrets and pinnacles from which hang tiny tinkling + bells that ring out sweet music with every passing breeze, their tall, + slender pagodas and picturesque monasteries, stand all along the banks + of the river, its most conspicuous adornments. But pre-eminent, both + for height and splendor, is Wat Chang, visible, all but its base, from + the very mouth of the river. Its central spire, full three hundred + feet in height, towers grandly above the surrounding turrets and + pagodas, the white walls gleaming out from the dark foliage of the + banian, and the feathery fringes of the palm reflected on its shining + roof. +</p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 644]</span> + +<a name="image-0017"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0025_1.jpg"> + <img width="100%" + src="images/0025_1.jpg" + alt="The King of Siam Returning to His Palace."></img></a> + <p class="center">The King of Siam Returning to His Palace.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + The two main entrances to the royal palace are of white masonry very + elaborately adorned. Groups of elegant columns support a capital + composed of nine crowns rising one above the other, and terminating in + a slender spire of some forty feet. The whole is inlaid in exquisite + mosaics of porcelain, the various colors arranged in quaint devices, + so as to produce the happiest effect, while the reflection of the + sun's rays upon the glazed tiles, the numberless turrets and pinnacles + of the lofty pile, and the porticoes and balconies of pure white + marble opening from every window, and leading to delectable + conservatories, luxurious baths or fairy groves and arbors, present, + as grouped together, a sight worth a trip across the waters to enjoy. + The engraving represents one of these entrances, and His Majesty + Somdetch Phra Paramendr Maha Mongkut, the late supreme king of Siam, + on his return from his usual afternoon promenade. This "promenade," + however, was not a walk, a ride or a drive, but an airing in one of + the royal state barges. For the late king, true to the usages of his + forefathers, continued to the very close of his life to make all his + tours, public and private, with very rare exceptions, by water. This + has heretofore been the custom of all classes, the gently-flowing + Meinam being the Broadway of Bangkok, and canals, intersecting the + city in every direction, its cross streets. Every family keeps one or + more boats and a full complement of rowers; palaces and temples + have their gates on the river; and upon its placid waters move in + ever-varying panorama life's shifting scenes of weddings and funerals, + business and pleasure, from early morn till long past midnight. Only + since the accession of the present kings have streets been constructed + along the river-banks; and these young princes, as a sort of + concession to European customs, now take occasional drives in open + <span class="pagenum">[pg 645]</span> + carriages, attended by liveried servants, though for state processions + boats are still in vogue. His Majesty the late king was ordinarily + conveyed to the jetty in a state palanquin, and handed from it into + his boat, without the sole of his boot ever touching the ground. This + has been the custom of Siamese monarchs from time immemorial, but I + have sometimes seen both the late kings wave aside their bearers and + jump with agile dexterity into their boats, as if it were a relief to + them to lay aside courtly etiquette and act like ordinary mortals. + The royal palanquins are completely covered with plates of pure gold + inlaid with pearls, and the cushions are of velvet embroidered, and + edged with heavy gold lace. They are borne by sixteen men robed in + azure silk sarangs and shirts of embroidered muslin. + <span class="pagenum">[pg 646]</span> +The umbrella is + of blue, crimson or purple silk, and for state occasions is richly + embroidered, and studded with precious stones. So also are those + placed over the throne, the sofa, or whatever seat the king happens to + occupy. +</p> +<a name="image-0018"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0026_1.jpg"> + <img width="80%" + src="images/0026_1.jpg" + alt="Elephant Armed for War."></img></a> + <p class="center">Elephant Armed for War.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + + + +<a name="image-0019"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0027_1.jpg"> + <img width="80%" + src="images/0027_1.jpg" + alt="The Great Gilded Booddh."></img></a> + <p class="center">The Great Gilded Booddh.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + The late supreme king, who died in 1868 at the age of sixty-five, was + tall and slender in person, of intellectual countenance and noble, + commanding presence. His ordinary dress was of heavy, dark silk, + richly embroidered, with the occasional addition of a military coat. + He wore also the decorations of several orders, and a crown—not + the large one, which is worn but once in a lifetime, and that on the + coronation-day—but the one for regular use, which is of fine gold, + conical in shape and the rim completely surrounded by a circlet of + magnificent diamonds. This prince, the most illustrious + <span class="pagenum">[pg 647]</span> +of all + the kings of Siam, spent many of the best years of his life in the + priesthood as high priest of the kingdom. He was a profound scholar, + not only in Oriental lore, but in many European tongues and in the + sciences. In public he was rather reticent, but in the retirement of + the social circle and among his European friends the real symmetry + of his noble character was fully displayed, winning not only the + reverence but the warm affection of all who knew him. He died + universally regretted, and the young prince now reigning as supreme + king is his eldest surviving son: the second king is his nephew. +</p> +<a name="image-0020"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0028_1.jpg"> + <img width="80%" + src="images/0028_1.jpg" + alt="Funeral Pile for the Second King."></img></a> + <p class="center">Funeral Pile for the Second King.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + + +<p> + Among the choice treasures of Siam are her elephants, but they belong + exclusively to the Crown, and may be employed only at the royal + command. + <span class="pagenum">[pg 648]</span> +They are used in state processions and in traveling by the + king and members of the royal family, and in war at the king's mandate + only. It is death for a Siamese subject, unbidden by his sovereign, to + mount one of His Majesty's elephants. In war they are considered + very effective, their immense size and weight alone rendering them + exceedingly destructive in trampling down and crushing foot-soldiers. + The howdah is placed well up on the animal's back, and in it sits a + military officer of high rank, with an iron helmet on his head, and + above him a seven-layered umbrella, as the insignia of his royal + commission. On the croup sits the groom, guiding the royal beast + with an iron hook, while all about the officer are disposed lances, + javelins, pikes, helmets and other munitions of war, which he + dispenses as they are needed during the progress of a battle. I have + been told that as many as six or seven hundred of these colossal + creatures are often marched and marshaled in battle together; and + so perfectly are they trained as to be guided and controlled without + difficulty, even amid the din of firearms and the conflict of + contending armies. Sometimes on the king's journeys into the interior + a train of fifty or sixty will be marched in perfect order, their + stately stepping beautiful to behold, but their huge feet coming down + with a jolt that threatens to dislocate every joint of the unfortunate + rider. +</p> +<p> + I have spoken of the gorgeousness of the Bangkok temples, but I must + not forget to mention the colossal statue of Booddh that reposes in + one of them. It is one hundred and seventy feet in length, of solid + masonry, perfectly covered with a plating of pure gold, and rests + quite naturally upon the right side, the recumbent position indicating + the dreamless repose the god now enjoys in <i>nirwâna</i>. This is supposed + to be the largest image of Gautama, the fourth Booddh, in existence, + and it is an object of the profoundest veneration to every devout + Booddhist. +</p> +<p> + Incremation of the dead is the custom in Siam, and while there I was + present at several royal funerals, each marked by more lavish display + of costly magnificence than we Americans ever see on this side the + water. Shortly after I left the country occurred the death of the + patriotic second king, so well and favorably known among us as Prince + T. Momfanoi, the introducer of square-rigged vessels and many other + improvements, and afterward as King Somdet Phra Pawarendr Kamesr Maha + Waresr. The body was embalmed, and lay in state for nearly a year + before the burning took place. The count de Beauvoir reached Bangkok + just in time to see the royal catafalque, of which he gives a somewhat + amusing account. He says: "The body, having been thoroughly dried + by mercury, was so doubled that the head and feet came together, and + after being tied up like a sausage was deposited in a golden urn + on the top of the mausoleum." He speaks of the state officers in + attendance by day and by night, and the dead king, from the golden urn + on the very summit of the altar, holding his court with the same pomp + and parade as during his life. A more affecting ceremony is the coming + at noon and eve of the crowds of beautiful women, not yet absolved + from their wifely vows, to converse with their loved and lamented + lord, and the depositing of letters and petitions in the great golden + basket at the foot of the mausoleum, with the confident expectation + that these loving missives will reach the deceased and be answered by + him. These royal catafalques are costly and magnificent, being covered + with plates of gold, while the silks and perfumes consumed with a + single body cost thousands of dollars. +</p> +<p> + M. de Beauvoir describes an interview with the king, surrounded by ten + of his offspring, including the seventy-second child. I well remember + the eldest son, the present supreme king, now in his twentieth year, + looking when five years old the exact counterpart of this one—his + graceful little figure, dimpled cheeks, eyes lustrous as diamonds, and + the glossy, raven hair, close shaven at the back, while the foretop + was coiled in a + <span class="pagenum">[pg 649]</span> +smooth knot, fastened with jeweled pins and twined + with fragrant flowers. The dress was very simple—only two garments of + silk or embroidered muslin—but the deficiency was more than made + up by jewelry, of which, in the form of chains, rings, anklets and + bracelets, he wore almost incredible quantities, while his golden + girdle was studded with costly diamonds. +</p> +<a name="image-0021"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0031_1.jpg"> + <img width="80%" + src="images/0031_1.jpg" + alt="Seventy-second Child of the King of Siam."></img></a> + <p class="center">Seventy-second Child of the King of Siam.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + <span class="pagenum">[pg 650]</span> +<a name="image-0022"><!--IMG--></a> + <div class="figcenter" + style="width:100%;"> + <a href="images/0032_1.jpg"> + <img width="80%" + src="images/0032_1.jpg" + alt="Entrance to the Royal Harem."></img></a> + <p class="center">Entrance to the Royal Harem.</p> + </div> +<!--IMAGE END--> + + +<p> + Polygamy prevails in its fullest extent in Siam, especially among + those of noble or royal lineage; and the higher the rank the larger + the number of wives, those of the supreme king amounting ordinarily to + five or six hundred. Of these, the "superior wife" holds the rank + of queen: she resides within the harem proper, where are the private + apartments of the king, and her children + <span class="pagenum">[pg 651]</span> + are always the legal heirs. + For the other wives or concubines, their children and attendants, + there is a whole circle of buildings, connected by balconies with the + palace royal. All these are handsomely fitted up, but what is called + "the harem" pre-eminently is more gorgeous than our dreams of fairy + palaces or enchanted castles of genii. Long suites of apartments + with frescoed walls, ceilings of gold and pearl, floors inlaid with + exquisite mosaics of silver and ebony, and with hangings of costly + lace, velvet and satin, huge waxen candles, and lamps fed with + perfumed oil that are never suffered to expire, mirrors, pictures, and + statuettes innumerable, with cups, basins, and even spittoons, of + pure gold,—all these are but a tithe of the lavish adornments of this + Oriental paradise, where birds sing, flowers bloom, and the sounds + of low sweet music ever greet the ear of the favored visitor. The + accompanying engraving will give some idea of the general appearance + of the entrance to the harem, with its burnished roof of green and + gold, its graceful turrets and mosque-like pinnacles, and its base + of pure white marble, chaste and elegant. But neither language nor + pictorial illustration can convey to the mind any adequate realization + of its bewildering beauty; and Count de Beauvoir but echoes the + language of every traveler who has visited Bangkok when he declares, + in his recent work, that "its temples and palaces are the most + splendid of even the gorgeous East." +</p> +<p class="author">FANNIE R. FEUDGE.</p> + + + +<a name="capital"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + LIFE AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. +</h2> +<p> + There are few cities where life is so well put upon the stage as in + Washington, so far as opportunity for satisfaction and enjoyment is + considered. A certain grandeur characterizes all the approaches to + the city. From the west you descend upon it by a way that leads out + of cloudy mountain-chains and over chasms spanned by an awful + trestle-work; from the south, passing our national Mecca, the Tomb + of Washington, your highway is the picturesque Potomac, which here, + nearly three hundred miles from the sea, broadly embays itself as + if to mirror the magnificence of the place; from the north the track + winds along the banks of the Delaware, white with its coastwise + commerce, in and out among the beautiful bridges that arch the + Schuylkill, across the broad Susquehanna, past blazing forges and + foundries, and over the long and lonely expanses of the two Gunpowder + Rivers—desert wastes of water, stretching for miles away without a + sail, without a light, in the melancholy grandeur of a very dream of + desolation. If it is at night that you step from the station, halfway + down the distance you presently see the ray of a street-lamp throw up + the façade of the Patent Office in broken light and shadow; you see + before you and under the hill the twinkle of scattered groups of + light; you see, far off, the long row of the Treasury columns half + lost in darkness, and you will remember pictured scenes of bivouacs + among the ruins of Baalbec. And if it is in the morning that you + arrive, fresh from the turbulence of Broadway, from the quaint and + tortuous hillside lanes of Boston, from the elegant monotony + of Philadelphia, the impression made upon you is still not very + different. Though you are in the heart of the place, it seems to lie + before you like a city in the distance. Now the mist is stripped away + from some massive marble pile; now a prospect opens of river and wood + and the pillared heights of Arlington; now a + <span class="pagenum">[pg 652]</span> +lofty heaven reveals + a waning moon, it may be—for every square has its horizon—the + morning-star flames out, a red and yellow sunrise burns behind the + silver cloud of the Capitol dome, and the whole city, in its splendor + and its squalor, bared to view, gives you a suffocating sense of the + pettiness of all other places before the opulence of sky, the width + and height, the light and space and air, that Washington affords. +</p> +<p> + The concentric labyrinth of the city's plan is indeed something + altogether unique; but whether it owes its origin to the fear of the + old French barricade or to a desire for grandeur and scope, the effect + attained is the same one of airy magnificence—monstrous avenues + crossing the right angles of the streets in diagonals radiating from + the White House and the Capitol, and all tiresomeness prevented by + the accommodating way which these avenues have of turning out for any + edifice that fancies their situation; while to keep upon them you are + so perpetually crossing one street or losing your way down another + that you may almost imagine yourself a spider walking across a web. +</p> +<p> + The designer of all this must have had a city in his mind's eye that + rivaled Napoleon's Paris—buildings, monuments, marbles, fountains, + trees, and everywhere great spaces and shining skies. For years, + though, this visionary city has existed only among the castles of the + air, and it is within a little while that the District government has + begun to put in a substantial underpinning to the cloudy fabric. But + although wretched thoroughfares and dilapidated dwellings, until the + last decade, have characterized the place, the fine public buildings + have for a long while awaited their fit surroundings—buildings mostly + of the Grecian types, which, however unfit they might be for a land + where damp dark heavens make all the spires that can spring up to + catch the sunshine a necessity, are perfectly appropriate to a climate + where the long hot summers demand the shelter of flat roofs and cool + protecting porticoes. There are, then, already, the Patent Office, + with its massive Doric simplicity; the Treasury, with the superb + extent of its columned sides; the Post Office, with its dazzling + Corinthian splendor; the Institution, with its romantic towers and + turrets of dark red stone, ivy-grown and in the midst of gardens; and + the Capitol, whose dome rises over the city, so pale, so perfect and + so buoyant that it seems only a cloud among the clouds—a pile that by + daylight looks like a white altar of liberty set on its hilltop among + velvet lawns and embowering trees, and which by starlight—when you + see the sentinel lamps throw out the great shadows of the arches at + its foundation, see the lofty flights of steps with their exquisite + gradation, see the long flying lines of the rows of columns, monoliths + of marble, taking a sparkle of light and retreating into distance and + darkness, and follow up the heights till your eye rests on the shadowy + dome hanging in the mid-heavens with the stars themselves—seems in + its vast white sublimity the shrine of nothing less than the Genius of + the nation. And by and by, when the building shall be quite complete, + and shrubbery shall have grown in the new grounds, when the almond and + the tulip tree and that burning bush the scarlet Japan quince, shall + have come to blossom there, and the giant magnolia shall lift its + snowy urns of incense about the spot, imagination will be able to + conjure up no image of majesty and beauty eclipsing the reality. For + all this and much more is now under way: streets have been leveled and + paved and parked, embankments have been terraced, boulevards have been + planted with mile-long rows of lindens, blossoming gardens have been + laid out, fountains have been opened, and such dwellings erected with + their grass-plots and their water-jets before them, in place of the + bare old barracks and shanties, that it is now a city of parks and + palaces. Your carriage can roll for leagues over streets whose roadway + is smooth as a floor, past squares rich in the foliage and flower + of their season, enchanting pictures of river and height unveiled at + every turn, and the squalor once so prominent is seen striking its + tents, while only the splendor remains. There is hardly a street but + down its vista some allurement is displayed: this one reaches far + away, through the green of willows and the blue of distance, across + the Long Bridge and into the hills of Virginia; that one ends in the + Agricultural Department and its delightful grounds; down these the + Institution is seen at various angles in various guises; while the + great Pennsylvania Avenue gives you at one end the Capitol dome, + always a thin and pale blue mist about its whiteness, with the shining + colonnades that bear it lifted high over the tossing treetops below, + and at the other end the southern façade of the Treasury, rising + before you like an antique temple, while noble views open at every + intersection of the cross-streets there; and toward nightfall the + distant mists of the river-country beyond build up sunsets unrivaled + in their gorgeousness. +</p> +<p> + There are few more interesting thoroughfares in the world than this + avenue. Here ruler and ruled jostle each other; here thunder the + liveried equipages of foreign nobles; here saunters the President, and + nobody turns to look. Sooner or later all the famous of the world + are tolerably sure to be met upon it: as we walk there History walks + beside us and mighty shadows move before us. Washington has dashed + down that avenue in his yellow chariot that was painted with cupids + and drawn by six white horses; Hamilton, Jefferson, La Fayette, + Burr, and all the gods of the republic have trodden it before us; + dishonoring British squadrons have marched upon it; it has shaken to + the tread of our own legions; and great forms begin to loom in the + national memory that have just passed from its daily crowds. Nor does + all its interest belong to the past: those daily crowds themselves are + full of perpetual dramas in which the actors are unknown perhaps to + fame or fiction, but none the less real and in sad earnest with their + play. Here goes a little withered man in his threadbare coat: he has + a proud and scowling face, but he pauses with a singularly sweet and + gentle manner at every group of children, black or white. +He is an old + <span class="pagenum">[pg 653]</span> + numismatician, a foreigner, and his youth in Europe was given to + the gathering of coins and medals till he had a nearly unrivaled + collection, and he came over the sea, hoping to dispose of them to + the government of this country. Failing in his purpose, his means + dwindling day by day, he was obliged to pledge a portion of his + treasure that he might be able to live. It cut him to the heart + to divide the collection: he had the history of the world in those + incontrovertible records of brass and silver and gold, currency of the + old Hindoo, of the Assyrian—medals where Alexander's superb profile + shone crowned as Apollo—coins of the Ptolemies, of the Cæsars, of + almost every people and generation from the beginning of civilization + till to-day. But divide them he did, and left a part of them in other + hands, and went to the North. There, driven by necessity, he pledged + another portion; and after a while, wishing to redeem the latter + pledge, and not being allowed to do so, he began a lawsuit to obtain + it. The court decided the case against him; and the little man, half + crazed, unable to obtain the portion he had pledged in Washington, and + now seeing this also leave him, cried out in the open court, "O unjust + judge! God shall demand your soul of you!" And the judge, with a + sudden exclamation, fell backward, and before the sun set he was dead. + The little numismatician returned to Washington, and having failed in + all the hopes of his life, took translating and any other writing he + could find to do. But there a certain high official having treated him + unworthily, he adjured him much as he had adjured the unjust judge; + and a fortnight afterward the official had gone to join the judge. It + is hardly surprising if there were a vague feeling toward this really + excellent man and scholar as toward one having the evil eye, whom + people dread to meet and fear to offend. +</p> +<p> + But here is another individual with another experience. Gems are his + passion, and for years he has sacrificed to it. He is only an old + clerk on a moderate salary, but no misadventure has + <span class="pagenum">[pg 654]</span> +ever disturbed his + plans, and year by year he has added some treasure to his hoard till + it is unique as it is precious. There are rings of bishops and kings; + jeweled baubles from Egyptian tombs and gold-wrought ornaments of the + Montezumas; a cameo where a single face with its shadows makes six + laughing and six weeping outlines; a cat's-eye quartz to which the + one the king of Siam has is perhaps the mate; diamonds and pearls, + amethysts and topazes, beryls and opals, single emeralds of rare + beauty and doublets of great size, rubies of the real pigeon's blood, + and sapphires whose heart is blue as the bluest midnight, but whose + angles refract a radiance red as fire; chains of carved beads; seals, + intaglios,—to almost all of them some legend attaching. +</p> +<p> + Here passes a person very different from either of these—a tall and + martial figure, a filibustero in every clime, hunted with blood-hounds + in the Spanish sierras when Don Carlos needed him, floating naked + on bladders down the Danube, with despatches in his mouth, when + the Hungarians were sore pressed. Here goes a jolly, happy man, who + contentedly lets title and coronet go by across the sea while he + practices law in the Patent Office. Here on the avenue go up and + down all these people, and countless others with stories as pointed, + whether it be such a story as that of Captain Suter, whose treacherous + servant bartered all the gold of California for a single drink, or of + this black man who to-day is free and yesterday was a slave. +</p> +<p> + But attractive as this picturesque grouping of avenues and edifices + may be, the attraction does not belong to the outside alone: inside + the great doors of the majestic halls you will find that time has + wings while you pass in review the trophies of all the zones, and + of the meteoric heavens too, preserved in the Smithsonian, or the + archives of the country in the Patent Office. This latter is indeed a + place of enchantment. The Pompeiian hall has something of the air of a + hall dressed for legerdemain, and if you pause to think you will + note a strange wizardry at work there. You linger before a little + printing-press, and as if magical clouds rose and shut out the + work-day world, the skies of Greece are overhead and the Ancient + searching for his lever with which to move the world passes down the + room and lingers with you; for surely he has found the lever, and + surely the world has been moved with it, the boundaries of empires + broken up, kings discrowned, republics ruined. Go farther: a case + of toys: harmless trifles enough, arrests you—cannon a finger long, + batteries the size of a lady's spool-stand, but the reduced models of + death-dealing engines whose power of wholesale slaughter may one day + revolutionize the codes of nations and abolish warfare. In another + case you observe only a lump of coal, a phial of pitch, a flask of + oil; and the necromancer of the place has dipped his rod down into the + central darkness of the earth and drawn up light like the day's. Yet + beyond: an iron stirrup and a slender spur, and the sewing-girl has + but to set her foot there and escape the shapes that dog her. Not far + away, again, we remember the Oriental magician, who as often as + the king cut off his head grew another in its place, as we see the + machinery for a feat almost as wonderful in the exact anatomy of steel + springs and leather ligaments made to fit upon the very nerves of + volition themselves, till the halt walk and the maimed are made whole. + In this spot is the jar into which the fisherman shut the afrite; in + that are the great genii who gather in a harvest; and in still another + there lies a tiny thing answering your touch with no louder noise than + a buzz and a click, but its whisper can be heard from end to end of + the land, and it runs beneath the roar of ocean to carry the voice + of one world to another. In fact, within these crystal cells the + intelligence of all our millions is concreted; and it is no wonder + that in the face of the marvels here inventors are sometimes seized + with a temporary madness, and have to be cared for till the fit + passes. +</p> +<p> + Inside the Capitol too there is much to detain you: the vast + fireproof library of Congress; the legislative halls; the marble room, + wainscoted in mirrors, where you can see the Senators slide between + the pillars accompanied by the multiplying train of not one but a + hundred shadows, and where you can wonder to your heart's content + what a room lined with looking-glass has to do with legislation; the + storied bronze doors, and the bronze staircases hidden away in the + dark, in and out the intricacies of whose balustrades all manner of + forest-life is cast—the deer bounding beneath the branches, and the + birds fluttering over their nests, which the serpent slides along to + rifle. In the older portion of the building is the national order of + architecture designed by Jefferson, the columns of which are clustered + cornstalks, and in whose capitals the acanthus leaf is pushed aside + by the curling tobacco. The lower corridors, too, are pictured + with representations of our natural history in bird and flower and + fruit—far fitter decoration than the swarming cherubs and cupids and + numberless unwarrantable little Loves that tumble about on the other + walls, intrude themselves on battle-scenes, and hover round the + appalling frescoes of Liberty, Law, Legislation and Religion in the + President's room, after a fashion that would be too free and easy for + the villa of Lucullus, but which is not altogether discordant with the + splendid leprosy of gilding with which the whole interior is infected; + which is to be seen oozing from the caissons overhead in huge + stalactites, damasked in broad sheets on the paneling, glaring in + lattice-work, bosses, scrolls and frets, and trickling everywhere over + the efflorescence of the plaster decorations. There are two or three + committee-rooms, likewise, very elaborately, though very questionably, + decorated, and usually on exhibition to rural visitors, who gape at + them with a happy sense of the proprietorship of such pomp. The least + unworthy of these is the room set apart for the Committee on Military + Affairs: vivid wreaths of laurel decorate the ceiling much more + effectively than do the sprawling females of most of the other places; + a couple + <span class="pagenum">[pg 655]</span> +of large battle-pieces illuminate the walls, and cornice, + panel and pilaster are simply adorned with frescoed arms and muniments + of war. Another is the room of the Agricultural Committee, where, with + his group of Romans, Cincinnatus, called from the plough, fills the + upper section of one end, and confronts his modern compeer, Israel + Putnam; above two side doors little scenes of grain-harvesting + illustrate the difference between the old and the new way of + going afield; and circling overhead are the Seasons and their + attendants—Spring, with armfuls of blossoms and cherubs letting loose + the doves; Summer, whose sprites are shooting down arrows of fervid + heat; Autumn, with his grapes and sheaves, and his followers festive + with lute and tambourine; and old Winter, moving through angry clouds, + while his children pour out the showers and blow blasts from their + shells. In the room of the Committee on Naval Affairs on both sides + as you enter rise grayly the vestibules of vast temples, typifying, + perhaps, the sea as the gateway of all nations: above them, much + foreshortened, Neptune and Amphitrite, Æolus, Oceanus, Nereus and + Thetis, accompany a new sea-goddess, America, with scores of nymphs + interspersed—all of them riding on sea-horses and simpering sadly; + while in the great panels around the sides of the room other nymphs, + painted at full length in lively colors, are bearing aloft various + symbols of the sea—this one a sextant, that a chart, another a + compass, a fourth a bannerol, sufficiently prosaic in idea, though + not ungraceful in fact, as witness the floating damsel who carries a + barometer lightly as a mermaid carries her glass, or the figure with + the red-gold hair whose back alone we see as she unrolls her map. + But it is not easy to say why we should recur to mythology for our + national ornamentation, or why the ancient Greeks should be called + in where our own history needs the canvas, or why these aërial young + women should so comfortably usurp the place of the Guerriere and + Constitution, the dauntless little boat between the fires on Lake + Erie, or the + <span class="pagenum">[pg 656]</span> +unsurpassed sea-scenes of storm and calm along our own + coast. +</p> +<p> + But there is far more than all this pride of the eyes to detain you + within the Capitol: there is the great arena where our political + athletes contend, and where, by daily observation of their faces, + daily hearing of their voices, daily notice of their manners, one + becomes familiar as if by personal acquaintance with the heroes of the + day. In past times the heroes were such as Webster, Calhoun and Clay. + Now they are others—men whom this belittling age of the telegraph and + the reporter brings so near us that there is at least little chance + of their ever looming up in undue proportion through the mists of + tradition. It is Henry Wilson, sitting in the Vice-President's chair, + a notable example of the possibilities in a republic; or it is + Sumner, with that gray head which all men honor as a type of political + integrity, albeit not untinctured with arrogance; or it is another + sort of man that engages your attention, one whom you recognize at + once, for certainly there is no one but knows that face—a face so + easy to caricature that there is no insult of the pencil that has + not been offered it, but which is not the less expressive of an + indomitable will, an untamable spirit, and a mind like a torch, + throwing light on everything it approaches. From the instant that + General Butler rises the discussion, however dull before, bristles + into excitement, and one could hardly wish for an hour of racier + enjoyment than is afforded by the debate when he desires to gain + a point over able but envious opponents, who never attack him + single-handed, and to meet whom, their shafts flying on every side, he + brings up his subtlety of argument, his readiness, his audacity, his + wit and repartee and forensic skill, till he winds them in their + own toils. Perhaps while you have been observing these and other + notabilities of the day, another personage has come upon the floor by + prescriptive right of past membership, and has arrested your gaze. + He is a gentleman of portly presence, who looks out of a pair of keen + dark eyes, and still possesses some of the great personal beauty + for which in his youth he was remarkable. He is the last of the + old statesmen; he has had a part in many of the scenes that we call + history; he was the compeer of Webster and Clay and Crittenden and + Calhoun; and one would not marvel if he looked but contemptuously + on the fevered measures and boyish ecstasies and advocacies of + their successors. Familiar with modern languages and literatures, an + encyclopædia of ancient and mediæval learning, a master of the science + of government, as old as the century, and one of its conspicuous + figures, perhaps but a single thing is wanting to make Mr. Cushing a + chief: he does not believe in the people. +</p> +<p> + Thus it is easily seen that your life at the Federal Capital, if you + possess either an eye for beauty or an interest in affairs, may be + full of enjoyment and variety. Your companions are people of mark; + you learn, by returning, when summer does, to the small scandals and + personalities of common towns, how large is the outlook in Washington; + the theatre of the world opens before you there; you feel that you + assist at the making of history, if you are not yourself a part of + events. +</p> +<p> + But this is one side of life. There is another and a more purely + social side which is a very different thing. Into this affairs of + state do not enter; with the right or wrong of vital questions it does + not concern itself at all; and in fact it is doubtful if politics are + not thought there mere subsidiaries to the authority of Fashion, and + if the fair wives and daughters of our lawgivers do not regard the + great machinery of state as something ordained solely to sustain them + in their brilliant round as the wind of the juggler's fan supports his + paper butterflies upon their airy flight. In this life an etiquette + reigns that has no law of its being save that of vague tradition—an + etiquette at variance with that of other regions, and through which + the female population is resolved into what might be termed, in the + parlance of the place, a committee of the whole on "calling." This + etiquette rules the wives of important functionaries with a rod + of iron. By some occult method of reasoning they have reached the + conclusion that their husbands' popularity, and consequent lease + of power, depend upon their own faithful performance of what is + considered to be social duty, and they devote themselves to it with + a zeal worthy of a better cause. On certain days of the week their + houses are open to all who choose to come; and both residents and + passing travelers, all who wish to inspect the inside of such homes + among the other sights of the town, throng the doors, leave cards + and partake of refreshments. Of course many strange occurrences are + incidental to such occasions; and so the lady whose beauty had been + made famous must have thought when unknown crowds flocked to see her, + destroying daily a vase or a statuette, a photograph or a book, + but always staring with all their eyes, and one day crowning their + enormities with a procession of deaf-mutes from an asylum, which filed + in and gazed and filed out again, in total silence of course, save now + and then a crack of nimble finger-joints. +</p> +<p> + All the other days in the week the great lady is occupied in returning + these visits, hunting for obscure addresses, trailing her rich + garments over third-story stairs; and it is no uncommon thing for her + to have the names of one or two thousand people in her visiting-book, + on whom she is to call, provided she can find them. Of course the call + is brief, the faces are unknown, the conversation is void, and the + only satisfaction attained is in checking off that particular name as + done with. Certainly this great lady's lot is not altogether enviable. + In the daytime she is claimed by calls, in the night-time by balls; + at nine in the morning people on business begin to clamor for her + husband, at ten, if he is a Congressman, he goes to his committee, + at twelve Congress meets to adjourn at five; and if after that some + political dinner, at which great things are to be adjusted, does not + take him to itself till nearly midnight, constituents, schemers and + lobbyists do. What sort of home-life there can be where the + <span class="pagenum">[pg 657]</span> +master of + the house is out all day and the mistress is out all night, remains a + matter of conjecture. +</p> +<p> + But there are wheels within wheels; and all the wheels are not so + thoroughly oiled as to make things run with perfect smoothness; and + thus in the progress of this very "calling" sad disturbances + arise. Shall the Senators' wives make the first call on the Cabinet + ministers' wives? By no means: the Cabinet ministers are but creatures + of a day, ephemera, who draw their breath by and with the advice and + consent of the Senate: they must respect their creator. Shall the + Senators' wives call first upon the wives of the justices of the + Supreme Court? There is a doubt: the Supreme Court is the last resort + of the law of the land, a reverend and hoary institution, and its + judges, having a life-lease, will be judges still when the Senators + shall have passed away; but no, again—the Senators make the justices. + The Representatives shall make the first call on the Senators' wives + of course; but how about the Speaker's wife? She is the third in + succession from the presidency, says the new-comer: she is nothing + but a Representative still, says the compelling etiquette. Finally, + through some incomprehensible regulation, whose framer forgot that + though democracies may be rude they must not be inhospitable, the + wives of the foreign ambassadors, representatives of sovereign states, + have to go the whole round and knock first at every door before being + fairly accredited to Society. But once established, be it said in + passing, the foreigners have a full revenge accorded them; for in vain + the native youth aspire, the freshest belles hover round the titled + flames, not perhaps till their wings are singed, but till successive + seasons have taught them that Cleopatra's beauty is useless without + Cleopatra's pearls. Meantime, to give one last discomfort to + the "calling" system, the ubiquitous reporter presents himself, + deliberately overturns the card-basket in the hall and notes the + names there; and the lady of the house sees herself, her dress, her + deportment and her guests photographed in the + <span class="pagenum">[pg 658]</span> +morning paper with + startling distinctness. +</p> +<p> + But the calling is the brightest part of this social side of life. The + other part is the night-life—not the night-life of gambling saloons + and their kind: of that dark underground existence Society has no + knowledge, though he who left it at daybreak and will go back to it at + midnight clasps the last débutante in his arms and whirls with her to + the sweet waltz-music—but the night-life of the Season. +</p> +<p> + A Washington season is a generic thing: women come to the place for + the sake of it, as they go nowhere else. Through the system of + calling just described official society is accessible to all, and the + introductions obtained there to people of the more select circles, + when fortified by wealth and pertinacity, open the whole charmed round + of pleasure. Society in other cities is totally unlike Society + in Washington. There it is an interchange of kindliness between + households of friends: it is the festivity of happy anniversaries, the + union of families in new ties, the cherishing of long acquaintance. + But in Washington—except so far as the small number of residents + is concerned—its whole purpose and meaning are anomalous: each + Administration brings a new following, each Congress has a new rabble + at its heels; friendships are accidents of the day, diplomacy is + carried on by dining; every party has a political purpose, every + civility a double meaning. Nevertheless, the sparkle of wit, the + kindling of enthusiasm, are not absent from it; on the contrary, there + is more of that than elsewhere, for it is sustained by the chosen + intellect and beauty of the continent. You may meet admirals there who + have sailed round the world, generals who have fought mighty battles, + priests who may yet be popes, men and women who are figures of + the century: they will tell you the romance of their travel, the + heart-beat of their successes, and you will contrive to hear it for + all the accompanying roar and sweep in which they are the lay figures + for aspirants to measure, and the property of reporters. In such a + Society of course all asperities are softened: this man's daughter + dances with the son of his arch-enemy; deference is accorded to the + opinion of a woman on public matters as if she already possessed her + right of suffrage; there is an exhilaration in meeting and avoiding + and overlooking, in the light and skillful skating over dangerous + surfaces, while a rare freedom unites with a gentle even if politic + courtesy, which it is delightful to meet to-night and which allures + you to seek it to-morrow. Society without a conscience it is, + possibly, but for all that sufficiently fascinating. +</p> +<p> + Let us look at one of its scenes: not a "state sociable" nor a hotel + "hop," and not a President's "levee." There are fine ladies who have + lived forty years in Washington without attending that pandemonium, + the levee, where the crowd seizes one with a hundred hands till + flounce and furbelow are crushed in its grasp, and where, while the + court reigns in the Blue Room, the mob are disporting themselves in + the magnificence of the East Room, the parlor of the people, where + they have the reddest of red curtains, the broadest of gold cornices, + the portraits of their public servants in the panels between square + rods of looking-glass; where the huge chandeliers shine with a + thousand pendants and a thousand jets, and where, because foreign + crowds tread bare marble floors, they have on theirs a tufted velvet, + and so revolve rejoicing on the biggest carpet in the world, like the + medley of a vast kaleidoscope—old people with one foot in the grave, + children in arms, a bride with veil and orange-blossoms, cripples, + heroes, dwarfs and beauties, all together. Not on any such scene of + the Season let us look, where the doors are locked behind us at eleven + o'clock, but on one of its "balls and masks begun at midnight, burning + ever to midday." It is like an Aztec revel for its flowers: the great + stairways, leading up and down between the rooms that glow with light + and resound with the tones of flute and violin, are wound with shrubs + where art conceals everything but the branch and blossom; doors are + arched with palms and long banana leaves; flowers swing from lintel + and window and bracket, stream from the pictures, crown the statues; + sprays of dropping vines wreathe the chandeliers that shed the soft + brilliance of wax-lights around them; mantels are covered with moss; + tables are bedded with violets; tall vases overflow with roses and + heliotropes, with cold camellias and burning geraniums; the orchestra + is hidden with latticed bloom and bud; and yellow acacias and scarlet + passion-flowers and a great white orchid with a honeyed breath + encircle the fern-filled basin where a fountain plays. The murmur of + music, the wealth of perfume, make the atmosphere an enchantment. A + crowd of gorgeous hues and tissues, bare bosoms and blazing jewels, + ascend and descend the stairs: here are women the fame of whose beauty + is world-wide, wearing lace whose intricate design, over the pale + shimmer of some perfectly tinted silk beneath, represents the labor of + a lifetime, wearing necklaces and tiaras of diamonds, where the great + stones set in a frosty floral splendor seem to throb with a spirit + of their own. There of course is the President; yonder is the + Chief-Justice; here again the general of all our armies; here flash + the glittering insignia of soldiers, here the fantastic array of + diplomats; down one vista the dancers float through their mazes, down + another shine the crystal and gold and silver of the tables red with + burgundy and bordeaux, tempting with terrapin and truffle, with spiced + meats and salads, pastries, confections and fruits; and close by is + the punch-room. You have your choice of the frozen article, or of that + claret concoction to hold whose glowing ruby a bowl has been hollowed + in the ice itself, or of the champagne punch, where to every litre of + the champagne a litre of brandy, a litre of red rum, a litre of green + tea, are given, and where you see a flushed and fevered damsel dipping + the ladle and tossing off her jorum as coolly as though she had not + had her three wines at dinner that day, and had not, in half the + houses of her dozen morning calls, sipped her sherry or set down her + little punch-glass + <span class="pagenum">[pg 659]</span> +empty of its delicious mixture of old spirits and + fermenting fruit-juices. Perhaps that sight sets you to thinking. You + may have been attracted earlier in the night by her delicate toilette + and her face pure as a pearl: you saw her later, warm from the dance, + eating and drinking in the supper-room: then her partner's arm was + round her waist, her head was on his shoulder, and she was plunging + into the German, whirling to maddening measures, presently caught in + a new embrace, flying from that man's arms to another's, growing wild + with the abandon of the figure, hair flying, dress disordered, powder + caked, face burning, till, pausing an instant for the champagne in + a servant's hands, your girl with the face as pure as a pearl seemed + nothing but a bacchante. And you ask yourself, "What is to be the end, + for her, of these midnights rich in every delight of vanity—the thin + slipper, the bare flesh, the brain loaded with false tresses, the + pores stopped with the dust of white and pink ball, the heated dance, + the indigestible banquet, the scanty sleep to get which she doses + herself nightly with some tremendous drug?" You wonder what emotions + are stimulated by the whirling dances, the rich dainties, the breath + of the exotics, the waltz-music, the common contact, the emulation of + dress, the unseasonable hours, the twice-breathed air, the everlasting + drams. "I saw Florimonde going the round of her half dozen parties the + other night," wrote a "looker-on in Venice" toward the close of the + last season. "What a resplendent creature she was, the hazel-eyed + beauty, with the faintest tinge of sunset hues on her oval cheeks! + Her dress was of that peculiar tarnished shade of pink—like yellow + sunshine suffusing a pale rose—which made the white shoulders rising + from it whiter and more polished yet; the panier and scarf were of + yellowest point lace; and a necklace of filigree and of large pale + topazes, each carved in cameo, illuminated the whole. Maudita went out + with Florimonde, too, that night, as she had gone every night for two + months before. Skirt over skirt of fluffy net flowed round Maudita, + and let + <span class="pagenum">[pg 660]</span> + their misty clouds blow about the trailing ornaments of long + green grasses and blue corn-flowers that she wore, while puffs and + falls half veiled the stomacher of Mexican turquoise and diamond + sparks, whose device imitated a spray of the same flowers; and in + among the masses of her glittering, waving auburn hair rested a + slender diadem of the turquoise again—that whose nameless tint, half + blue, half green, makes it an inestimable treasure among the Navajoes, + as it was once among the Aztecs, who called it the chalchivitl; + each cluster of Maudita's turquoises set in a frost-work of finest + diamonds—a splendid toilette indeed, as fresh and radiant as the + morning dew upon the meadows. When they set out on the love-path, that + is. When they came home from it, and from all the fatigues and fervors + of the German, a metamorphosis. The gauzy dress was so fringed and + trodden on and torn that it seemed to hold together, like many an + ill-assorted marriage, by the cohesion of habit alone; the hair—Madge + Wildfire's was of more respectable appearance; the powder had fallen + on arms and shoulders; and to my critical eyes, if to no others, the + sunset hues remained on only one of Florimonde's cheeks; and those + enticing shadows round Maudita's eyes when she went out—for the best + of eyes are dulled by too much wear and tear—does antimony 'run,' + or had some pugilistic partner given her a 'black eye'? Not that the + damsels came home in such trim on every night of the season: this was + the accumulation of six parties in one night, the last of the Germans, + when the fun grew fast and furious, the figures and the favors more + fantastic; when daylight was breaking ere the champagne breakfast was + eaten; and when the drunken coachman, out all night, had kept them + shivering in the porch an endless while, and had jolted them about the + carriage afterward. But they had had a glorious time: their eyes were + dancing like marsh-lights, their laughter was ringing like a peal of + bells, the jests and bon-mots and flattery they had heard were running + off their lips like rain; they had made Goodness knows what conquests, + they had made Goodness knows how many engagements; and oh, they + were so tired! I ran into their room to see them next day: it was + afternoon, and they were still in bed. There was nothing remarkable in + that, they said: some girls were obliged to stay in bed two days out + of every week through sheer fatigue, and some got so excited they + couldn't sleep at all, except by means of morphia, and that made them + sick a couple of days, any way; but as for themselves, they had never + given out yet, and never meant to do so. While she was speaking, + Florimonde's voice faltered, and the sentence was finished under the + breath. Her voice had given out. At the moment the muscles round that + handsome mouth of hers began to twitch ridiculously: she yawned and + threw up her arms, as a baby stretches itself, and stiffened in that + position, with her teeth set and her eyes rolled out of sight, and + lay there like a corpse. Florimonde had given out. As I sprang to + investigate this surprising condition of things, there came a sudden + gurgle and a groan from Maudita, who had risen in her own little bed + at my motion. I turned to see her clutching her throat, as if her + hands were the claws of a wild-cat: she was laughing and howling and + crying all at once; her face was of a dark purple tint; her body—that + lithe and supple waltzing body of hers—was bending itself rigidly + into the shape of a bow, resting by the head and the heels on the + bed—the dignified Maudita!—and the foam was standing half an inch + high on her mouth. Maudita had given out too. Of course the doctor + came presently and separated the patients, and gave them pills and + powders and bromides without end; and there were watchers to keep the + delicate creatures, whom it took three or four people to hold in + their fits, from injuring themselves; and at last sleep came with + the all-persuading chloral, and with the awaking from that powerful + chloral-given sleep came an imbecile sort of state, whose scattered + wits were full of small cunning and spites, that told secrets and told + lies, and could not pronounce names; and lips were blistered and eyes + were swollen and purblind; and Florimonde and Maudita must keep Lent + in spite of themselves. But how long do you suppose they will keep it? + and in what way? As the good formalist fasts on Friday, with dishes of + oysters escalloped deliciously on the shell, with toasted crabs, + and bass baked in port wine. Will Florimonde forego her low necks + or Maudita her blonde powder? Will there be any less excitement or + rivalry in their private theatricals and concerts for charity? Will + the flirtations be any less extraordinary at the high teas? The mind + will be perhaps a little flighty; the health will not be so firm; + there will be a good deal of morbid sorrow over imaginary misdeeds, + and none at all over real ones; there will be compensatory + church-going, with delightful little monogram-covered prayer-books. + But will the flesh be mortified by any real rough sackcloth and ashes? + It is hardly to be hoped. Neither Lent, nor religion, nor judgment, + nor anything but poverty and absolute impotence, will put a period to + the wild pursuit of pleasure that a fashionable season begins. Ill for + the next generation, the mothers of which are wrecks before its birth! + Well for Florimonde and Maudita, with all the dew and freshness of + their youth destroyed, if at length, thoroughly ennuyées, they do not + put a piquancy and flavor of sin into their pleasure, as the old West + Indian toper dashes his insipid brandy with cayenne!" +</p> +<p> + Doubtless on such phenomena of the Season as these the ashes with + which the priest sprinkles the heads of the penitents while he murmurs + <i>Memento, homo, quod pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris</i>, falls like + the Vesuvian dust upon Pompeiian revels, and they are buried beyond + sight and hearing, for a time at least. But we all know that ashes + are a fertilizer, and by and by there blossoms above the ruins a later + season which is to the earlier one what the spirit is to the body. + Everywhere outdoors, then, it is spring: the damp and windy weather + has blown away, the sky is as blue as the violets and hyacinths + <span class="pagenum">[pg 661]</span> + starting untended in the sod that the soft showers have clad in a + vivid verdure, and sunbeams are pouring over dome and obelisk and + pillared lines of marble till they shine with dazzling lustre through + the light screens of greenery. Then come the "kettle-drums," with + sunset looking in for company; then the receptions are held in rooms + full of sunshine, with open windows letting in the outside fragrance + and bird-song and glimpses of charming landscape, or they are turned + into fêtes-champêtres in the surrounding gardens; then come the + riding-parties to the Falls, where last night's sylph may be to-day's + Amazon in the midst of exceedingly grand scenery. Then, too, is the + time for the moonlit boating where the Potomac narrows between steep + and romantic banks of a sylvan wildness, and where the long oars of + the swift rowers bear you as if on wings; for picnics to Rock Creek, + a region of rude beauty, where the woods abound in lupines and pink + azaleas, and the great white dogwood boughs stretch away into the + darkness of the forest like a press of moonbeams, and where at dark + your horses ford the stream and climb the hill, and bring you over the + Georgetown Heights, past villas half-guessed by starlight among their + gardens and fountains, and in by a market picturesque with a hundred + torches flaring over the heads of mules and negroes and venders and + higglers—piles of game, crisp vegetables and scarlet berries. And + with this comes the excursion down river, sheet after sheet of the + shining stream opening on woody loveliness remote in azure hazes, + to Mount Vernon among its blossoming magnolias and rosy Judas trees, + where the great tomb stands open with its sarcophagi, and where + Eleanor Custis's harpsichord keeps strange company with the grim key + of the Bastile that has never been moved since Washington hung it on + the nail—where the quaint old rooms and verandahs and conservatories + invite the guests, and the garden with its breast-high hedges of + spicy box invites the lovers. Now the few ancestral mansions embower + themselves in an aristocratic seclusion of trees and + <span class="pagenum">[pg 662]</span> +vines that shut + them in with their birds and flowers and sunshine, and the Van Ness + Place, where Washington came to lay out the city, adorns all its + ancient and mossy magnificence with fresh drapery of leaves and + flowers. The halls of Congress, too, are still open all day, the drama + growing livelier as the adjournment draws nearer; and at evening the + drives are thronged with fine equipages winding down the Fourteenth + street way, out by the Soldiers' Home, through Harewood, or up by + the Anacostia branch and the wild Maryland hill-roads, where + wide-stretching pictures are revealed between the forest trees, while + sometimes one sees, with its two rivers—one shining like silver, one + red and turbid—the city lying far away, much of its outline veiled + and the color of its baked brick and stone and marble mellowed in the + distance, till through the quivering air and among all its towering + trees it looks like a vision of antique temples in the midst of + gardens of flowers. And now the numberless squares and triangles and + grass-plots of the city are green as Dante's newly-broken emeralds, + are a miracle of spotless deutzia and golden laburnum, honeysuckle and + jasmine: half the houses are covered with ivies and grapevines; the + Smithsonian grounds surround their dark and castellated group of + buildings in a wilderness of bloom; and the rose has come—such roses + as Sappho and Hafiz sung; deep-red roses that burn in the sun, roses + that are almost black, so purple is their crimson, roses that are + stainless white, long-stemmed, in generous clusters, making the air + about them an intoxication in itself—roses fit to crown Anacreon. + Twice a week during all this sweet season the Marine Band has been + blowing out its music in the President's Grounds and in the Capitol + Park late in the warm afternoon, and every one promenades in gala + attire beneath the trees and over the shady slopes till the tunes die + with the twilight, and many a long-delaying love-affair culminates as + the stars come out and the perfumed wind casts down great shadows from + the swinging branches overhead, while indulgent duennas gossip on, + oblivious of dew; and at midnight the mocking-birds begin to bubble + and warble a wild sweet melody everywhere throughout the dark and + listening city. For one brief month, you see, it is politics and power + set down in Paradise—let only the envious say as strangely out of + place as the serpent there. And finally the festivities of this almost + ideal spring season, where the world of Fashion and the world of + Nature meet at their best, come to an end with Decoration Day—the + last day ere the spring brightens into the blaze of summer—a day + that robs death of its terrors, and seems to carry one back to that + primeval period when the old death-defying Egyptians made their + festivals with flowers, as we stand in that desolation of the dead + on the heights of Arlington, and see the billows of graves stretching + away to the horizon, wave after wave, crested with the line of + white headstones, and every mound heaped with flowers that have been + scattered to the tune of singing children's voices, while below the + peaceful river floats out broadly; and far across its stream, over all + the turfy terraces and above the plumy treetops that hide the arched + and columned bases of its snowy splendor, the dome of the country's + Capitol rises—a shining guardian of the slumbers of the dead. +</p> + + <span class="pagenum">[pg 663]</span> +<a name="florida"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + A DAY'S SPORT IN EAST FLORIDA. +</h2> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2"> Through these green tents, by eldest Nature dressed,</p> + <p class="i2"> He roamed, content alike with man and beast.</p> + <p class="i2"> Where darkness found him, he lay glad at night:</p> + <p class="i2"> There the red morning touched him with its light.</p> +</div> + <p class="author">R.W. EMERSON</p> + + + +<p> + On the 18th of February we arrived in the yacht off Mosquito Inlet + about sunrise, and as the tide served our pilot took us in over the + bar, which happened to be smooth at the time, and we anchored just + above the junction of the Halifax and Hillsboro Rivers. Rivers they + are called by the Floridians, but are long stretches of salt water + lying parallel with the coast, and separated from the sea by a sandy + beach of a mile in width, which is covered with a growth of pitch-pine + and palmetto scrub. In New York and New Jersey such waters are called + bays, and on the coast of Carolina they are sounds. They furnish a + convenient boat-navigation for the people, who in consequence do most + of their traveling by water. +</p> +<p> + Here we found lying at anchor a couple of large Eastern schooners: + they were waiting for cargoes of live-oak, which was being cut by a + large force of men in the employ of the Swifts, a firm that supplies + all this timber for the American navy. A lighthouse is much needed + here, the entrance being narrow, with only eight or ten feet of water + at high tide. The Victoria followed us in, and we had not been long + at anchor when a canoe came down the river under sail, and rounding to + alongside, a tall young man in white duck jacket and trousers stepped + on board, and accosted our pilot: "How are you, Pecetti? So you are + taking up my trade?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, yes: I've shipped as pilot for this cruise, and Al. Caznova + has the other yacht.—Captain Morris, this is Mr. Weldon, one of the + branch pilots." +</p> +<p> + "How do you do, Mr. Weldon? Is there a collector of the port here?" +</p> +<p> + "There's a deputy living in that cottage that you see on the bluff to + the left—Major Allen; and there is his boat coming down the river." +</p> +<p> + "Any hotel here, Mr. Weldon?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, there is a very good one at New Smyrna, about three miles up the + river: Mr. Loud keeps it." +</p> +<p> + "We think of stopping here two or three days: where would be the best + place to anchor the yachts?" +</p> +<p> + "If you are going to Loud's, you can anchor near Major Allen's: there + is good holding ground, and you would be in sight of your vessel." +</p> +<p> + "Won't you stop and take breakfast, Mr. Weldon? and we will get you to + show us the way to the hotel." +</p> +<p> + "Much obliged, but I want to see the pilot of the other yacht. You can + see the hotel when you get to Major Allen's;" and he departed. +</p> +<p> + "I believe I have seen that man before," said Captain Morris. "We sent + a party ashore here in '63 to get wood, and they were fired upon by + the natives, and one man was killed. I shelled the place and burned a + house or two, and we took a couple of prisoners and left them at St. + Augustine. I think this young fellow was one of them." +</p> +<p> + Presently a yawl boat, rowed by two negroes, with the revenue flag + flying, came alongside, and a stout man of middle age came on board. + Morris came forward: "Mr. Allen, the collector, I suppose? I am master + and owner of this yacht, the Pelican of New York, a pleasure-vessel + on a cruise. The other schooner is also a yacht: she belongs in + Montréal." +</p> +<p> + "All right, captain! I will step below and look at your papers, if you + please. A handsome vessel, upon my word!" +</p> +<p> + "We are just going to breakfast, major: you will join us, I hope?" +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 664]</span> + This the major did, and being a Yankee of fluent speech, we soon + learned all about him—how he had served in a Massachusetts regiment, + and had been the first secretary of state under the new constitution + of Florida. This has an imposing sound, but when we learn that almost + all the better class of whites were mere unreconstructed rebels, + leaving only a few poor whites, some carpet-baggers from the North + and the negroes from whom to select the State officers, the position + ceases to seem exalted. During breakfast he told us all about New + Smyrna and its people, which was not much, since there are only five + or six houses there. The conjecture of Captain Morris about the pilot + was correct: he was of a good old rebel family, every man of whom of + suitable age had been in the Confederate service. +</p> +<p> + Major Allen went to visit the Victoria, and on his return we both got + under way and beat up the river about two miles, anchoring in three + fathoms water under the bluff on which stands the collector's house. + About noon a boat from each yacht started for the hotel. The river + here expands into a bay of a mile in width, containing several + islands, some of them wooded, and some low and grassy. The main + channel of the Hillsboro' River comes in from the south, half a mile + wide, with ten or twelve feet of water. On the west side the bay is a + low island with a creek between it and the mainland. On this mainland + is a shell bluff, twelve feet high, on which stands the hotel—a long + two-story building, with a piazza in front and out-buildings behind. + In the front yard are young orange, olive and fig trees, with two + splendid oleanders fifteen feet high, one on each side the door. + Another tropical plant, seen at the North in greenhouses, but here + growing ten feet high in the open air, is the American aloe or + century-plant. This house will accommodate twenty-five boarders, but + it was not full at the time; so we obtained rooms. It is one of the + most comfortable places in Florida, with a well-kept table, provided + with fish, oysters, turtle and game. New Smyrna is about thirty miles + from Enterprise, on the St. John's River: to this place there are + three or four steamers weekly from Jacksonville. +</p> +<p> + A hunting-party was organized to go the next day to Turnbull's Swamp, + which lies a few miles west of Loud's, and contains deer, turkeys and + ducks, with bears and panthers for those who desire that kind of + game. The party consisted of Captain Morris and Roberts of our yacht; + Colonel Vincent and two of the Englishmen from the Victoria, with + Weldon the pilot, and a tall Ohio hunter named Halliday, who lived in + the woods near Loud's. He took three fox-hounds, and Morris brought + his deer-hounds ashore. They took with them a mule and cart, with a + tent and blankets, intending to stay in the swamp over night. Captain + Herbert and I preferred to go a-fishing, and we hired a man to get + bait and take us to the ground in his boat. Doctor White went off by + himself to shoot birds for his collection. +</p> +<p> + About eight A.M. we anglers sailed out of the creek, and stood across + the bay with a light southerly breeze. Our boatman was one of the + Minorcan race, of whom there are many on this coast, descendants of + the men of Turnbull's colony of 1767. He was a cousin of our pilot, by + name Pecetti—a stout, well-built man forty years old, with keen black + eyes and curling dark hair and beard, and a great fisherman with line + and net. He lived near the inlet, and had the kind of boat commonly + used in these shallow waters—flat-bottomed, broad in the beam, with + centre-board and one mast set well forward. He had dug a peck or two + of the large round clams, and two or three throws of his cast-net as + we came through the creek procured a dozen mullet. +</p> +<p> + We ran into a channel between the eastern shore of the bay and an + island, and came to in a deep channel near the shore, which was marshy + and covered with a dense growth of mangrove bushes. +</p> +<p> + "Now," said Pecetti as he made fast the painter to a projecting limb, + "if the sand-flies don't eat us up, we ought to get some fish here." +</p> +<p> + "What kind of fish do you find here?" asked Herbert. +</p> +<p> + "Mostly sheepshead, some groupers and snappers, trout, bass, and + whiting. For sheepshead you want clam bait—for the others, mullet is + best. Rig up your rods and I will bait for you." +</p> +<p> + I had a bamboo bass-rod, with a large reel: the captain had a light + salmon-rod, with click reel. Pecetti selected for us some stout + Virginia hooks tied on double gut, with four-ounce sinkers, the tide + being quite strong here and half flood. +</p> +<p> + I found the bottom alongside the boat with about twelve feet of line, + and left my hooks upon it as directed. Soon I felt a slight touch, but + pulled up nothing but bare hooks. Twice was I thus robbed by the small + fish which swarmed about us, and which get the bait before the larger + ones can reach it; but the third time I felt a heavy downward tug, and + found myself fast to a strong fish, which fought hard to keep at the + bottom, and made short but furious rushes here and there, so that I + had to give him line. In a few minutes he tired himself by his own + efforts, and I wound him up toward the surface, but no sooner did he + approach daylight than he surged downward again. Five minutes' play + of this sort exhausted him, and I lifted on board a five-pound + sheepshead, the same thick-set, arched-backed fish, with his six dusky + bars on a silvery ground, which we buy in Fulton market at half a + dollar the pound, and which the wise call <i>Sargus ovis</i>. In the New + York waters it is a scarce fish, but runs larger than on the Southern + coast, sometimes up to ten or twelve pounds. Here they do not average + more than four pounds, a seven-pounder being rare. I agree in opinion + with Norris, whose theory is that those found on the coasts of + the Middle states are the surplus population of more Southern + waters—perhaps the magnificoes of their tribe, who, like the rich + planters in the good old times, like to amuse themselves at Cape May + or Long Branch. +</p> +<p> + But to return to our muttons. Here Captain Herbert pulled up a + handsome silvery fish of about a pound weight. +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 665]</span> + "A whiting!" cried Pecetti, "and the best fish in the river." Next + I hooked a couple of sheepshead, but lost one by the breaking of a + hook—a common accident, the jaws of this fish being very powerful. + Herbert now got hold of a big one, which played beautifully on his + elastic rod, and gave him a long fight and plenty of reel music, but + was finally saved, a six-pound sheepshead. +</p> +<p> + Pecetti, who had waited on us attentively, baiting our hooks and + taking off our fish (a service of some danger to a tyro, as the + sheepshead is armed with sharp spines), had a hook baited with + mullet away astern of the boat. This line was now straightened out + by something heavy, which he pulled in, hand over hand, and lifted on + board a handsome fish, near two feet long, with darkly mottled sides + and shaped like a cod-fish. "That's a nice grouper," said he—"ten + pound, I think." This is a percoid, <i>Serranus nigritus</i> of Holbrook, + and one of the very best table-fishes of these waters. +</p> +<p> + We took six or eight more sheepshead, and the captain caught a + handsome, active fish of about four pounds weight, resembling the + squetegue or weakfish of New York, but having dark spots on the back, + like the lake-trout of the Adirondacks. This is the salt-water + trout, so called, though it is not a salmonine: it is <i>Otolithus + Caroliniensis</i>, the weakfish being <i>Otolithus regalis</i>. +</p> +<p> + Next I hooked a strong fish which seemed disposed to run under the + mangrove roots. "That's a big grouper," cried Pecetti. "Keep him away + from the roots, or you will lose him." +</p> +<p> + I did my best, but he was too strong: the rod bent into a hoop with + the strain, but I had to let him run, and he took to his hold under + the bank, from whence I was not able to dislodge him, and had to break + my line, losing hooks and snood. While this was going on, Herbert, who + had put on a mullet bait and let it float down the current, hooked and + secured after five minutes' play a channel bass or redfish of about + seven pounds. This is a fish peculiar to the Southern waters, good + on the table when in + <span class="pagenum">[pg 666]</span> +season, which is the spring and summer: in the + winter it spawns, and is not so good. When above ten or twelve pounds + in weight it is of a brilliant copper-red on back and sides: the + smaller ones are of a steel-blue on the back, and iridescent when + first caught. It grows to the weight of fifty or sixty pounds, runs in + great schools, and in habits and play when hooked resembles the allied + species <i>Labrax lineatus</i>, the striped bass. Cuvier named the species + <i>Corvina ocellata</i>, from the black spot which it bears near the tail. +</p> +<p> + The bottom here was rather foul, being covered with old logs and + branches of the mangroves, which, being a very heavy wood, had sunk + to the bottom and become covered with barnacles and other crustaceae, + which attracted the fish to this spot. They bit well, but so did the + sand-flies: as soon as the breeze died away they came out from the + bushes in clouds, and attacked us so fiercely that we were obliged to + quit. +</p> +<p> + "We'll go down toward the inlet," said Pecetti: "there's good + fishing-ground and more breeze." So he set the sail, and we ran down + the river, past the yachts, about a mile, where we came to anchor near + a bluff covered with trees, in a deep channel. Here we first caught + blackfish or sea-bass, of small size, but plenty; also snappers, + lively fish of the perch family, of a red color, and from a pound to + two pounds in weight, which usually take a mullet bait, in the swift + current near the surface. Then a school of sheepshead came along, + of which we got a dozen. After these we found bass, of which we took + eight, weighing from six to ten pounds each; also three fine groupers, + the largest twelve pounds. Pecetti caught a Tartar in the shape of + a monstrous sting-ray, four feet across, with a tail three feet long + armed with formidable spines. This creature lives on the bottom, his + food being chiefly mollusks and crustaceae, for the disposal of which + he has a huge mouth with a pavement of flat enameled teeth. He lies + usually half buried in the sand, and is much dreaded by the fishermen, + who are in danger of treading on him as they wade to cast their nets. + In that case he strikes quick blows with his whiplike tail, the jagged + spines of which make very dangerous wounds, apt to produce lockjaw. +</p> +<p> + After much difficulty our boatman got the ray alongside the boat with + his gaff-hook, and gave it a few deep cuts in the region of the heart + with a large knife. The blood spurted out in big jets, as from the + strokes of a pump, which soon exhausted its strength, and Pecetti + dragged it ashore and cut off its tail for a trophy. As the creature + was dying it ejected from its stomach a quart or more of small + bivalves, which must have been recently swallowed. +</p> +<p> + "That makes the best bait for sharks," said Pecetti: "I always bait + with sting-ray when I can get it." +</p> +<p> + As the rays and sharks both belong to the order of placoids, it + appears that the shark is not particular about preying on his kindred. +</p> +<p> + "Are sharks plenty here?" I inquired. +</p> +<p> + "Indeed they are!" said Pecetti: "I wonder we have not had our lines + cut by them. I have caught half a dozen in an hour's time right here. + I think I can show you one very quick." He went ashore and launched + the ray's carcass down the current. It floated slowly away, but had + not gone fifty yards when it was seized by a shark, which tugged and + tore at it, till directly a second and a third arrived and struggled + furiously for it, lashing the water into foam with their tails. + Presently more came up, till there were five or six of the monsters + all fighting for the prey, which they soon devoured. "There, you see + how soon they smelt the blood. What you think of sharks, now?" +</p> +<p> + "I think," said I, "that this is not exactly the place to bathe in." +</p> +<p> + The tide being now well on the ebb, the fish stopped biting, perhaps + driven away by the sharks, and we sailed down to the inlet, where + there is a long sandy beach fringed with mangroves: behind these, low + hillocks of sand covered with saw-palmetto extend across to the + ocean, perhaps half a mile; and here is an expanse of sandy beach some + hundreds of yards in width at low tide, hard and smooth, so that one + could drive from St. Augustine to the south end of the peninsula were + it not for the creeks and inlets. +</p> +<p> + On the river-front is a long bed of oysters, growing up to high-water + mark, the upper ones poor, called "raccoon oysters" by the natives, + but the lower ones, which are mostly covered with water, large, fat + and delicious. We gathered about a bushel of these, built a fire of + dead mangrove wood, which is the best of fuel, and when we had a good + bed of coals threw on the oysters. The heat, at the same time that it + roasted them, obliged them to open their valves, so that it was both + easy and pleasant to take them on the half shell. Besides these free + gifts of Nature, we had with us from the hotel biscuits, cold meat and + doughnuts. While we were eating, a handsome sailboat from the hotel + came to the beach: it contained a party of ladies and gentlemen who + were going for shells, which are numerous on the sea-beach, though not + many of the finer sorts are found so far north. After a heavy storm + the paper nautilus is sometimes found. Sea-beans of various kinds + are numerous, and the search for them, and the polishing of them when + found, seem to be the principal occupations of many Florida tourists. + Were it not for the sharks, this would be a fine bathing-beach. + Whether they are man-eaters or not, may be a question, but we + preferred to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. +</p> +<p> + On our return to Loud's we found Doctor White very busy skinning his + birds. +</p> +<p> + "What is this, doctor?—a jay? It looks rather different from our blue + jay." +</p> +<p> + "Yes: this is the Florida jay: it has no crest, you perceive. Here is + another Southern bird, the fish-crow, smaller than ours, you see. + Here I have a white heron and a wood-ibis. These will give me work for + to-day." +</p> +<p> + "What game did you see, doctor?" inquired Captain Herbert. +</p> +<p> + "I saw some quails in the palmetto scrub behind the house, and shot + one to see if it differs from ours. It is the same bird, <i>Ortyx + Virginiana</i>: they call it partridge in the South—rather smaller + <span class="pagenum">[pg 667]</span> +than + ours at the North. In the swamp I found snipe, <i>Scolopax Wilsonii</i>: + they call them here jacksnipe. Here is one of them: did you ever see a + fatter bird?" +</p> +<p> + "I should like to go and look them up to-morrow morning," said the + captain. "How far away were they?" +</p> +<p> + "About half a mile only, north-west. You will find some small ponds, + and near them the snipe were plenty: there were wood-ducks there + also." +</p> +<p> + "I will go with you, captain," said I. "We will take Morris's old + pointer, Dash: he is steady and staunch." +</p> +<p> + About four o'clock that afternoon the hunting-party returned, + bringing in three deer, six wild turkeys, twenty-five ducks, ten + gray squirrels, and three rabbits, besides a wild steer, killed by + Halliday. They had also killed a wild-cat, and a small alligator about + seven feet long. A good heap of game it made. +</p> +<p> + "What are you going to do with that alligator, Captain Morris?" asked + the doctor. +</p> +<p> + "I thought I should like to take home his hide to put in my hall. He + was going for one of my hounds when I shot him." +</p> +<p> + "I will take off the skin for you," said the doctor: "you had better + pack it in salt till you get to New York. We will save that wild-cat's + skin, too: it is a handsome pelt—<i>Felis rufus</i>, the Southern lynx." +</p> +<p> + "Well done!" cried Mr. Loud, who just then came out to the cart. + "That's the biggest gobbler I have seen this year. I must weigh that + bird: bring out the scales, Peter. So—eighteen pounds, and this other + sixteen: fine birds indeed! Who killed them?" +</p> +<p> + "Colonel Vincent killed the largest, and I two of the others," said + Dr. Macleod of the Victoria. "Captain Morris, I think, shot three + turkeys and a deer; Mr. Weldon killed two deer; Halliday shot the + steer and the cat, and the small game was pretty equally divided + between us, I believe." +</p> +<p> + We had that night a fine supper of venison steaks, roast ducks, stewed + squirrels, oysters and fish, all well cooked by Mr. Loud's old negro, + who was really an artist. +</p> +<p class="author">S.C. CLARKE.</p> + + + + +<a name="livelies"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<span class="pagenum">[pg 668]</span> +<h2> + THE LIVELIES. +</h2> +<h3> +<a name="livelieschii"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + IN TWO PARTS.—II. +</h3> +<p> + When Dr. Lively had accomplished his part toward relieving immediate + suffering, when he saw system growing gradually out of the chaos, when + he saw that he could be spared from the work, he began to consider his + personal affairs. +</p> +<p> + "I can't start again here," he said to Mrs. Lively. "Office and living + rooms that would answer at all cannot be had for less than one hundred + and fifty dollars a month, and that paid in advance, and I haven't a + cent." +</p> +<p> + "What in the world are we going to do?" +</p> +<p> + "I'll tell you what I've been thinking about: I met in the + relief-rooms yesterday an old college acquaintance—Edward Harrison. + He lives in Keokuk, Iowa, now—came on here with some money and + provisions for the sufferers. He would insist on lending me a few + dollars. He's a good fellow: I used to like him at college. Well, he + told me of a place near Keokuk where a good physician and surgeon is + needed—none there except a raw young man. It has no railroad, but + it's all the better for a doctor on that account." +</p> +<p> + "No railroad! How in the world do the folks get anywhere?" +</p> +<p> + "It's on the Mississippi River, and boats are passing the town every + few hours." +</p> +<p> + "The idea of going from Chicago to where there isn't even a railroad! + What place is it?" +</p> +<p> + "Nauvoo." +</p> +<p> + "Nauvoo! That miserable Mormon place?" +</p> +<p> + "Harrison says there is only an occasional Mormon there now—that it's + largely settled by Germans engaged in wine-making." +</p> +<p> + "Grapes?" asked Napoleon. +</p> +<p> + "That boy never comes out of his dreaming except for something to eat. + Dear me! the idea of living among a lot of Germans!" said Mrs. Lively, + returning to the subject. +</p> +<p> + "There's a French element there, the remnants of the Icarians—a + colony of Communists under Cabet," the doctor explained. +</p> +<p> + "What! those horrid Communists that turned Paris upside down?" Mrs. + Lively exclaimed. +</p> +<p> + "Oh no," said the doctor. "They settled in Nauvoo some twenty years + ago, I believe." +</p> +<p> + "Dear! dear! dear! it's very hard," said the lady. +</p> +<p> + "My dear, I think we are very fortunate. Harrison says there's plenty + of work there, though it's hard work—riding over bad roads. He + promises me letters of introduction to merchants there, so that I can + get credit for the household goods we shall need to begin with and + for our pressing necessities. He has already written to a man there + to rent us a house, and put up a kitchen stove and a couple of plain + beds, and to have a few provisions on hand when we arrive. I purpose + leaving here to-morrow, or the day after at farthest." +</p> +<p> + "But how are we ever to get there without money?" +</p> +<p> + "We can get passes out of the city. So, my dear, please try to feel + grateful. Think of the thousands here who can't turn round, who are + utterly helpless." +</p> +<p> + "Well, it never did help me to feel better to know that somebody was + worse off than I. It doesn't cure my headache to be told that somebody + else has a raging toothache. Grateful! when I haven't even a change of + clothes!" +</p> +<p> + "Go to the relief-rooms and get a change of under garments," Dr. + Lively advised. +</p> +<p> + "I won't go there and wait round like a beggar, and have them ask me a + million of prying questions, and all for somebody's old clothes," Mrs. + Lively declared. +</p> +<p> + "Now, my dear," her husband remonstrated, "I have been a great deal + in the relief-rooms, and I believe there are no unnecessary questions + asked—only such as are imperative to prevent imposition." +</p> +<p> + "The things don't belong to them any more than they do to me." +</p> +<p> + "Perhaps not as much. They were sent to the destitute, such as you, so + you shouldn't mind asking for your own," the doctor argued. +</p> +<p> + "Think what a mean little story I should have to tell! I do wish you'd + bought that house. If we'd lost fifty thousand!—but a few bed-quilts + and those old frogs and bugs and dried leaves of yours! The most + miserable Irish woman on DeKoven street can tell as big a story of + losses as we can." +</p> +<p> + "I'll go to the relief-rooms and get some clothes for you," said the + doctor decidedly: "I'm not ashamed." +</p> +<p> + "I won't wear any of the things if you bring them," said Mrs. Lively. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, wife," said the doctor, his face pallid and grieved, "you are + wrong, you are wrong. Are you to get no kind of good out of this + calamity? Is the chastisement to exasperate only? to make you more + perverse, more bitter?" +</p> +<p> + "You are very complimentary," was the wife's reply. +</p> +<p> + The doctor was silent for a moment: then he took up his hat. "I'm + going to try to get passes out of the city," he said. +</p> +<p> + He had a long walk by Twelfth street to the rooms of the committee + on transportation. Arrived at the hall, he found two long lines of + waiting humanity reaching out like great wings from the door, the men + on one side, the women on the other. He fell into line at the very + foot, and there he waited hour after hour. For once, the women held + the vantage-ground. They passed up in advance of the men to the + audience-room, being admitted one by one. The audience consumed, on + the average, five minutes to a person. At length all the women had had + their turn: then, one by one, the men were admitted. Slowly Dr. Lively + moved forward. He had attained the steps and was feeling hopeful of + <span class="pagenum">[pg 669]</span> +a speedy admission, when the business-session was pronounced ended for + the day, and the doors were closed. He went back drooping, and related + his experience to his wife. +</p> +<p> + "You don't mean to say you've been gone all this afternoon and come + back without the passes?" she exclaimed. +</p> +<p> + "That's just how it is," answered the doctor. +</p> +<p> + "Well, I'll warrant I would have got in if I'd been there," she said. +</p> +<p> + "Yes, you'd have got an audience, for, as I have said, the women were + admitted before the men. My next neighbor in the line said he had been + there three days in succession without getting into the hall." +</p> +<p> + "Well, I'll go in the morning, and I'll come home with a pass in an + hour, I promise you." +</p> +<p> + The next morning Mrs. Lively started for the hall at eight o'clock, + determined to procure a place at the head of the line. But, early + as was the hour, she found the doors already besieged. There were + at least three dozen women ahead of her. She took her place very + ungraciously at the foot of the line. At nine the doors were opened, + and the first comers admitted. Ten o'clock came, and Mrs. Lively was + still in the street—had not even reached the stairs. Eleven o'clock + came—she stood on the second step. At length she had reached the top + step but one, and it was not yet twelve. +</p> +<p> + "It doesn't seem fair," she said to the doorkeeper, "that the men + should have to wait, day after day, till all the women in the city are + served." +</p> +<p> + "No," assented the keeper, "it is not fair. Now, there are men in that + line who have been here for four days. They'd have done better + and saved time if they'd gone to work in the burnt district moving + rubbish, and earned their railroad passage." +</p> +<p> + Mrs. Lively's suggestion of unfairness proved an unfortunate one for + her, for the keeper conceived the idea of acting on it. +</p> +<p> + "It isn't fair," he repeated, "and I mean to let some of those fellows + in." +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 670]</span> + "Oh, do let me in first," she cried, but the keeper had already + beckoned to the head of the other line, and was now marching him into + the hall. +</p> +<p> + "No use for you to try for a pass," said the inner doorkeeper after a + few words with the petitioner. "You must have a certificate from some + well-known, responsible person that your means were all lost by the + fire, or you cannot get an audience. Must have your certificate, sir, + before I can pass you to the committee." +</p> +<p> + The man thus turned back went sorrowfully down the steps into the + street, and the next man passed in-doors. +</p> +<p> + "You want a pass for yourself," said the inner keeper. "The committee + refuse in any circumstances to issue passes to able-bodied men. If you + are able to work, you can earn your fare: plenty of work for willing + hands. No use in arguing the matter, sir," he continued resolutely: + "you can't get a pass." +</p> +<p> + "But I haven't a dollar in the world," persisted the man. +</p> +<p> + "Plenty of work at big prices, sir. Women and children and the sick + and helpless we'll pass out of the city, but we need men, and we won't + pass them out." +</p> +<p> + He turned away from the petitioner and beckoned the head woman to + enter. This one had her audience, and came back crying. Mrs. Lively + was now at the head of the line. Her turn had at last come. +</p> +<p> + "Session's over," announced the keeper, and closed the doors. +</p> +<p> + Some scores of disconsolate people dispersed in this direction and + that. Mrs. Lively and a few others sat down on the steps, determined + to wait for the reopening of the doors. After a weary waiting in the + noon sun, which was not, however, very oppressive, the doors were + again opened, and Mrs. Lively was admitted to the audience-room. At + the head of one of the long tables sat George M. Pullman, to whom Mrs. + Lively told her small story. Then she asked for passes to Nauvoo + for herself, husband and son. She was kindly but closely questioned. + Didn't she save some silver and jewelry? didn't her husband save his + watch? etc. etc. +</p> +<p> + Mrs. Lively acknowledged it. "But," she added, "we haven't a change of + clothes—we haven't money enough to keep us in drinking-water." +</p> +<p> + "Buy water!" said Mr. Pullman with a decided accent of impatience. + "Don't talk about buying water with that great lake over there. Wait + till Michigan goes dry. I've brought water with my own hands from Lake + Michigan. Money for water, indeed!" +</p> +<p> + "So has my husband brought water from the lake," replied the lady with + spirit: "he brought two pails yesterday morning, and it took him three + hours and a half to accomplish it. I presume your quarters are nearer + the lake than ours." +</p> +<p> + "Well, well, I can't give your husband a pass. He can raise money on + his watch, can get a half-fare ticket, or he can work his way out. + We don't like to see our men turning their backs on Chicago now: some + have to, I suppose. I ought hardly to give you a pass, but I'll give + you one, and your child;" and he gave the order to the clerk. +</p> +<p> + In another moment she was on her way to the Chicago, Burlington and + Quincy ticket-office to get the pass countersigned. At three o'clock + she reached her quarters with the paper, having been absent seven + hours. +</p> +<p> + As the pass was good for three days only, despatch was necessary in + getting matters into shape and in leaving the city. Dr. Lively pawned + his watch—a fine gold repeater—for twenty dollars, and the next day, + with an aching heart but smiling face, turned his back on the city + whose bold challenges, splendid successes and dramatic career made it + to him the most fascinating spot, the most dearly loved, this side of + heaven. +</p> +<p> + In due time these Chicago sufferers were landed at Montrose, a + miserable little village in Iowa, at the head of the Keokuk Rapids. + Just across the wonderful river lay the historical Nauvoo, fair and + beautiful as a poet's dream, though the wooded slopes retained but + shreds of their autumn-dyed raiment. Mrs. Lively was pleased, the + doctor was enthusiastic. They forgot that "over the river" is always + beautiful. They crossed in a skiff at a rapturous rate, but when they + had made the landing the disenchantment began. A two-horse wagon was + waiting for passengers, and in this our friends embarked. The driver + had heard they were coming, and knew the house that had been engaged + for them—the Woodruff house, built by one of the old Mormon elders. + The streets through which they drove were silent, with scarcely a + sound or sight of human life. It all looked strange and queer, unlike + anything they had ever seen. It was neither city nor village. The + houses, city-like, all opened on the street, or had little front + yards of city proportions, and to almost every one was attached the + inevitable vineyard. It was indeed a city, with nineteen out of every + twenty houses lifted out of it, and vineyards established in their + places; and all the houses had an old-fashioned look, for almost + without exception they antedated the Mormon exodus. +</p> +<p> + The Livelies were set down in a street where the sand was over the + instep, before a stiff, graceless brick building, standing close up in + one corner of an acre lot. On one side, in view from the front gate, + was a dilapidated hen-house—on the other, a more unsightly stable + with a pig-sty attached. All the space between the house and + vineyard, in every direction, was strewn with corncobs and remnants + of haystacks, while straw and manure were banked against the house to + keep the cellar warm. In front was a walled sewer, through which the + town on the hill was drained, for the Livelies' new home was on "the + Flat," as the lower town is called. The view from the front took in + only a dreary hillside covered with decaying cornstalks. +</p> +<p> + The doctor moved a barrel-hoop which fastened the gate, and it + tottered over, and clung by one hinge to the worm-eaten post, from + which the decaying fence had fallen away. A hall ran through the + house, and on either side were two rooms. The second floor was + <span class="pagenum">[pg 671]</span> +a duplicate of the first, so that the house contained eight small rooms, + nine by eleven feet, exactly alike, each with a huge fireplace. There + was not a pantry, a closet, a clothes-press, a shelf in the house. Not + a room was papered: all were covered with a coarse whitewash, smoked, + fly-specked and momently falling in great scales. The floors were + rough, knotty and warped; the wash-boards were rat-gnawed in every + direction; all the woodwork was unpainted and gray with age. +</p> +<p> + Two beds and a kitchen stove had been set up on the bare floors. On a + pine table in the cramped kitchen were a few dishes, tins and pails, + a loaf of bread, a ham, some coffee and sugar. Mrs. Lively sat down + in the kitchen on a wooden chair with a feeling of utter desolation in + her heart. Napoleon looked longingly at the loaf of bread. The doctor + flew round in a way that would have cheered anybody not foregone to + despondency. He brought in some cobs from the yard and kindled a fire + in the stove, filled the tea-kettle, and put some slices of ham to fry + and some coffee to boil. +</p> +<p> + "Go up stairs, dear," he said to Mrs. Lively, "and lie down while + I get supper ready. You are tired: I feel as smart as a new whip. I + haven't been a soldier for nothing: I'll give you some of the best + coffee you ever drank. Nappy, run across the street and see if you + can't get a cup of milk: I see the people have a cow. Won't you lie + down?" he continued to his wife. She looked so ineffably wretched that + his heart ached for her. +</p> +<p> + "I think I shall feel better if I do something," she said drearily; + "but," she continued, firing with something of her old spirit, "how in + the world is anybody to do anything here? Not even a dishcloth!" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, never mind," laughed the doctor, piling the dusty dishes in a + pan for washing, "we'll just set the crockery up in this cullender to + drain dry." +</p> +<p> + "We'd better turn hermits, go and winter in a cave, and be done with + it. How are we ever to live?" +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 672]</span> + "Why, my dear, I never felt so plucky in my life. We mustn't show the + white feather: we must prove ourselves worthy of Chicago. Come, now, + we'll work to get back to Chicago. We can live economically here, and + when we get a little ahead we can start again in Chicago. Only think + of these eight rooms and an acre of ground, three-fourths in grapes, + for six dollars a month! Ain't it inspiriting? I've seen you at + picnics eating with your fingers, drinking from a leaf-cup, making + all kinds of shifts and enjoying all the straits. Now we can play + picnicking here—play that we are camping out, and that one of these + days, when we've bagged our game, we're going home to Chicago. Now, + we'll set the table;" and he began moving the dishes, pans and bundles + off the pine table on to chairs and the floor. +</p> +<p> + "Isn't this sweet," said Mrs. Lively, "eating in the kitchen and + without a tablecloth?" +</p> +<p> + "We'll have a dining-room to-morrow, and a tablecloth," said the + doctor cheerfully. +</p> +<p> + Thanks to his friend Harrison's letters, Dr. Lively readily obtained + credit for imperative family necessities. If ever anybody merited + success as a cheerful worker, it was our doctor. He did the work of + ever-so-many men, and almost of one woman. Pray don't despise him when + I tell you that he kneaded the bread, to save Mrs. Lively's back; that + he did most of the family washing—that is, he did the rubbing, the + wringing, the lifting, the hanging out—and once a week he scrubbed. + When he wasn't "doing housework" he was in his office, busy, not with + patients, but in writing articles for magazines and papers. Then + he set to work upon a book, at which he toiled hopefully during the + dreary winter, for he was almost ignored as a physician, although + there seemed to be considerable sickness. He heard of the other doctor + riding all night. Indeed, if one could believe all that was said, this + physician never slept. True, this man was not a graduate of medicine. + He had been a barber, and had gone directly from the razor to the + scalpel; but that did not matter: he had more calls in a week than Dr. + Lively had during the winter. +</p> +<p> + "The idea of being beaten by a barber!" exclaimed Mrs. Lively. "Why + don't you advertise yourself?" +</p> +<p> + "There's no paper here to advertise in." +</p> +<p> + "Then you ought to have a sign to tell people what you are—that you + were surgeon of volunteers in the army; that you had a good practice + in Chicago; that you're a graduate of two medical schools; that you + write for the medical journals and for the magazines. Why don't you + have these things put on a big sign?" +</p> +<p> + "It would be unprofessional." +</p> +<p> + "To be professional you must sit in that miserable office and let + your family starve. Why don't you denounce this upstart barber?—tell + people that he hasn't a diploma—that he doesn't know anything—that + he couldn't reduce that hernia and had to call on you?" +</p> +<p> + "That's opposed to all medical ethics." +</p> +<p> + "Medical fiddlesticks! You've got to sit here like a maiden, to be + wooed and won, and can't lift a finger or speak a word for yourself. + Then there's that woman with the broken arm—Joe Smith's wife. Why + shouldn't you tell that the barber didn't set it right, and that you + had to reset it? I saw some of Joseph Smith's grandchildren the other + day," she continued, suddenly changing the subject, "and I must say + they don't look like the descendants of a prophet." +</p> +<p> + For a brief period in the unfolding spring Mrs. Lively experienced a + little lifting of her spirits. The season was marvelously beautiful in + Nauvoo: one serious expense, that for fuel, was stayed, and there was + the promise of increased sickness, and thus increased work for the + doctor. But this gleam was followed almost immediately by a shadow: + a scientific paper which he had despatched to a leading magazine + came back to him with the line, "Well written, but too heavy for our + purposes."<a id="footnotetag1" +name="footnotetag1"></a><a href= +"#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a></p> + +<p> + "I knew it was," said Mrs. Lively. "You write the driest, + long-windedest things that ever I read." +</p> +<p> + Dr. Lively sighed, took his hat and went out, while Mrs. Lively, after + some moments of irresolution, set about getting dinner. +</p> +<p> + "Now, where's your father?" she impatiently demanded when the dinner + had been set on the table. +</p> +<p> + "Dunno," answered Master Napoleon through the potato by which his + mouth was already possessed. +</p> +<p> + The Little Corporal, as he was sometimes called by virtue of his + illustrious name, was a lean-faced lad with no friendly rolls + of adipose to conceal the fact that he was cramming with all his + energies. +</p> +<p> + "Why in the name of sense can't he come to his dinner?" +</p> +<p> + Napoleon gave a gulping swallow to clear his tongue. "Dunno," he + managed to articulate, and then went off into a violent paroxysm of + choking and coughing. +</p> +<p> + "Why don't you turn your head?" cried the mother, seizing the said + member between her two hands and giving it an energetic twist that + dislocated a bone or snapped a tendon, one might have surmised from + the sharp crick-crack which accompanied the movement. "What in the + name of decency makes you pack your mouth in that manner? Are you + famished?" +</p> +<p> + "A'most," answered the recovered Napoleon, resettling himself, face to + the table, and resuming the shoveling of mashed potato into his mouth. +</p> +<p> + "That's a pretty story, after all the breakfast you ate, and the lunch + you had not two hours ago! Where under the sun, moon and stars do you + put it all?" +</p> +<p> + "Mouth," responded Napoleon, describing with his strong teeth a + semicircle in his slice of brown bread. +</p> +<p> + "Tell me what can be keeping your father," said Mrs. Lively, returning + to her subject. +</p> +<p> + "Can't." +</p> +<p> + "He'll come poking along in the course of time, I suppose, when all + the hot things are cold, and all the cold things are hot. Just like + him. And I + <span class="pagenum">[pg 673]</span> +worked myself into a fever to get them on the table piping + hot and ice-cold. From stove to cellar, from cellar to well, I rushed, + but if I'd worked myself to death's door, he'd stay his stay out, all + the same." +</p> +<p> + "Reason for stayin', I s'pose," suggested Napoleon. +</p> +<p> + "Yes, of course you'll take his part—you always do. For pity's sake, + what has your mother ever done that you should side against her?" +</p> +<p> + "Dunno." +</p> +<p> + "Dunno! Of course you don't. I'll tell you: She tended you through + all your helpless infancy: she nursed you through teething, and + whooping-cough, and measles, and scarlet fever, and chicken-pox, + and mercy knows what else. Many's the time she watched with you the + livelong night, when your father was snoring and dreaming in the + farthest corner of the house, so he mightn't hear your wailing and + moaning. She's toiled and slaved for you like a plantation negro, + while he—" +</p> +<p> + "He's comin'," interrupted Napoleon, without for a moment intermitting + his potato-shoveling. "Walkin' fast," continued the sententious lad, + swallowing immediately half a cup of milk. +</p> +<p> + Dr. Lively came hurrying into the dining-room. +</p> +<p> + "For pity's sake, I think it's about time," the wife began pettishly. +</p> +<p> + "Have you seen my purse anywhere about here?" the gentleman asked with + an anxious cadence in his voice. +</p> +<p> + "Your purse!" shrieked Mrs. Lively, turning short upon her husband and + glaring in wild alarm. +</p> +<p> + "Lost it?" asked Napoleon, digging his fork into a huge potato and + transferring it to his plate. +</p> +<p> + "Go, look in the bed-room, Nappy: I think I must have dropped it + there," said the father. +</p> +<p> + Napoleon rose from his chair, but stopped halfway between sitting and + standing for a farewell bite at his bread and butter. +</p> +<p> + "For mercy's sake, why don't you go along?" Mrs. Lively snapped out. + "What do you keep sitting there for?" +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 674]</span> + "Ain't a-settin'," responded Nappy, laying hold of his cup for a last + swallow. +</p> +<p> + "Standing there, then?" +</p> +<p> + "Ain't a-standin'." +</p> +<p> + "If you <i>don't</i> go along—" and Mrs. Lively started for her son and + heir with a threat in every inch of her. +</p> +<p> + "Am a-goin'," returned the son and heir; and, sure enough, he went. +</p> +<p> + During this passage between mother and child Dr. Lively had been + keeping up an unflagging by-play, searching persistently every part + of the dining-room—the mantelpiece, the clock, the cupboard, the + shelves. +</p> +<p> + "In the name of common sense," exclaimed the wife, after watching him + a moment, "what's the use of looking in that knife-basket? Shouldn't + I have seen it when I set the table if it had been there? Do you think + I'm blind? Where did you lose your purse?" +</p> +<p> + "If I knew where I lost it I'd go and get it." +</p> +<p> + "Well, where did you have it when you missed it?" +</p> +<p> + "As well as I can remember I didn't have it when I missed it." +</p> +<p> + "Well, where did you have it before you missed it?" +</p> +<p> + "In my pocket." +</p> +<p> + "Oh yes, this is a pretty time to joke, when my heart is breaking! + I shouldn't be surprised to hear of your laughing at my grave. Very + well, if you won't tell me where you've been with your purse, I can't + help you look for it; and what's more, I won't, and you'll never find + it unless I do, Dr. Lively: I can tell you that. You never were known + to find anything." +</p> +<p> + "Not there," said Napoleon re-entering the room and reseating himself + at the table. "Milk, please," he continued, extending his cup toward + his mother. +</p> +<p> + "You ain't going to eating again?" cried the lady. +</p> +<p> + "Am." +</p> +<p> + "Where <i>do</i> you put it all? I believe in my soul—Are your legs + hollow?" +</p> +<p> + "Dunno." +</p> +<p> + "Do, my dear," remonstrated Dr. Lively, "let the child eat all he + wants. You keep up an everlasting nagging, as though you begrudged him + every mouthful he swallows." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, it's fine of you to talk, when you lose all the money that comes + into the family—five thousand dollars in Chicago, and sixty dollars + now, for I'll warrant you hadn't paid out a cent of it; and all + those accounts against us! Had you paid any bills? had you? You won't + answer, but you needn't think to escape and deceive me by such a + shallow trick. If you'd paid a bill you'd been keen enough to tell it: + you'd have shouted it out long ago. Pretty management! Just like you, + shiftless! Why in the name of the five senses didn't you pay out the + money before you lost the purse? You might have known you were going + to lose it: you always lose everything." +</p> +<p> + "Bread, please," called Napoleon, who had taken advantage of the + confusion to sweep the bread-plate clean. +</p> +<p> + "In the name of wonder!" exclaimed the mother, snatching a half loaf + from the pantry. "There! take it and eat it, and burst—Do," she + continued, turning to Dr. Lively, "stop your tramp, tramping round + this room, and come and eat your dinner. There's not an atom of reason + in spending your time looking for that purse. You'll never see it + again. Like enough you dropped it down the well: it would be just like + you. I just know that purse is down that well. Carelessness! the idea + of dropping your purse down the well!" +</p> +<p> + Without heeding the rattle, Napoleon went on eating and Dr. Lively + went on searching—now in the dining-room, now in the kitchen, now in + the hall. +</p> +<p> + Mrs. Lively soon returned to her life-work: "What's the sense in + poking, and poking, and poking around, and around, and around? Mortal + eyes will never see that purse again. I've no question but you put it + in the stove for a chip this morning when you made the fire. Who ever + heard of another man kindling a fire with a purse? Will you eat your + dinner, Dr. Lively, or shall I clear away the table? I can't have the + work standing round all day." +</p> +<p> + Notwithstanding his worry, the doctor was hungry, so he replied by + seating himself at the table. "There's nothing here to eat," he said, + glancing at the empty dishes and plates. +</p> +<p> + "If that boy hasn't cleared off every dish!" cried the housekeeper. + "Why didn't you lick the platters clean, and be done with it?" and she + seized an empty dish in either hand and disappeared to replenish it. +</p> +<p> + While her husband took his dinner she went up stairs and ransacked the + bed-room for the missing purse. "What are you sitting there for?" she + exclaimed, suddenly re-entering the dining-room, where Dr. Lively was + sitting with his arms on the table. "Why don't you get up and look for + that purse you lost?" +</p> +<p> + "No use, you said," Napoleon put in by way of reminder. +</p> +<p> + "For pity's sake, arn't you done eating yet?" +</p> +<p> + "Just am," answered the corporal, rising from his seat, yet chewing + industriously. +</p> +<p> + Mrs. Lively began to gather the dirty dishes into a pan. "What are you + going to do about it, Dr. Lively?" she asked meanwhile. +</p> +<p> + "I don't know what we <i>can</i> do about it, except to cut off + corners—live more economically." +</p> +<p> + "As if we could!" cried Mrs. Lively, all ablaze. "Where are there + any corners to cut off? In the name of charity, tell me. I've cut + and shaved until life is as round and as bare as this plate." With a + mighty rattle and clatter she threw the said plate into the dish-pan + and jerked up a platter from the table. Holding it in her left hand, + she proceeded: "Do you know, Dr. Lively, what your family lives on? + Potatoes, Dr. Lively—potatoes; that is, mostly. How much do I pay out + a month for help? A half cent? Not a quarter of it. How much is wasted + in my housekeeping? Not a single crumb. It would keep any common woman + busy cooking for that boy. I tell you, Dr. Lively, I can't economize + any more than I do and have done. I might wring and twist and screw + in every possible direction, and at the year's end there wouldn't be a + nickel to show for all the wringing and twisting + <span class="pagenum">[pg 675]</span> +and screwing. There's + only one way in which the purse can be made up—there's only one way + in which economy is possible. You can save that money, Dr. Lively: + you're the only member of the family who has a luxury." +</p> +<p> + "Hang me with a grapevine if I've got any luxury!" said the doctor + with something of an amused expression on his face. +</p> +<p> + "Tobacco," suggested Napoleon. +</p> +<p> + "Yes, it's tobacco. You can give up the nasty weed, the filthy habit." +</p> +<p> + "Do it?" asked Napoleon. +</p> +<p> + "Don't think I shall," replied the doctor coolly. +</p> +<p> + "Then I'll save the money," responded Mrs. Lively with heroic voice + and manner. "I had forgotten: there is one other way. Dr. Lively, I'm + housekeeper, laundress, cook, everything to your family. And what do + I get for it? Less than any twelve-year-old girl who goes out to + service. I have the blessed privilege of lodging in this old Mormon + rat-hole, and I have just enough of the very cheapest victuals to + keep the breath in my body; and one single, solitary thing that is not + absolutely necessary to my existence—one thing that I could possibly + live without." +</p> +<p> + "What?" asked Napoleon, gaping and staring. +</p> +<p> + "It is sugar—sugar in my coffee. I'll drink my coffee without sugar + till that sixty dollars is made up. I'll never touch sugar again till + that money is made good—never!" and into the kitchen sailed Mrs. + Lively with her pan of dishes. +</p> +<p> + "Sugar, please," demanded Napoleon the next morning at the + breakfast-table. Dr. Lively passed over the sugar-bowl. +</p> +<p> + "How can you have the heart to take so much?" said the mother, + watching Napoleon as he emptied one heaping spoonful and then another + into his coffee-cup. "But I might have known you'd leave your + mother to bear the burden all alone. All the economizing, all the + self-denial, must come on my shoulders. And just look at me!—nothing + but skin and bones. I've got to make up everybody's losses, + <span class="pagenum">[pg 676]</span> + everybody's wasting. It's a rare thing if I get a warm meal with the + rest of you: I'm all the while eating up the cold victuals and scraps + and burnt things that nobody else will eat." +</p> +<p> + "I'd eat 'em," said Napoleon. +</p> +<p> + "Of course you'd eat them. There's nothing you wouldn't eat, in the + heavens above or the earth beneath. And all the thanks I get is to be + taunted with stinginess." +</p> +<p> + "Take some?" asked Napoleon, passing the sugar-bowl to his mother. +</p> +<p> + "Never!" she exclaimed, drawing back as though a viper had been + extended to her. "Take the thing away—set it down there by your + father's plate. I said I'd use no more sugar till that money was made + good. When I say a thing I mean it." +</p> +<p> + "Now, Priscilla," remonstrated the doctor, "what is the use of + breaking in on your lifelong habits? You'll make yourself sick, that's + all." +</p> +<p> + "Dr. Lively, you're trying to tempt me: why can't you uphold me? It + will be hard enough at best to make the sacrifice. Yes, I shall make + myself sick, but it won't hurt anybody but me. I can get well again, + as I've always had to." +</p> +<p> + "Perhaps so, after a druggist's bill and hired girl's wages. Every + spoonful of sugar you save may cost you ten dollars." +</p> +<p> + "Then, why don't you give up that vile tobacco? I won't use any sugar + till you do. All you care about is the money my sickness will cost—my + suffering is nothing." Mrs. Lively raised her cup to her lip, then set + it back in the saucer with a haste that sent the contents splashing + over the sides. +</p> +<p> + "Bitter?" asked Napoleon. +</p> +<p> + "Bitter! of course it's bitter—bitter as tansy. It sends the chills + creeping up and down my backbone, and the top of my head feels as if + it was crawling off. I believe I shall lose my scalp if I don't use + sugar." +</p> +<p> + "To stick it on?" asked Napoleon with a stolid face. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, it's beautiful in my only child to laugh at a mother's + discomfort!" "Ain't a-laughin'," he replied. +</p> +<p> + "What are you doing if you ain't laughing?" +</p> +<p> + "Eatin'." +</p> +<p> + "Of course: you're always eating." Again Mrs. Lively essayed her + coffee, but fell back in her chair with an unutterable look. "Oh, I + can't!—I cannot do it!" she exclaimed. +</p> +<p> + "Don't," Napoleon advised. +</p> +<p> + Mrs. Lively with a sudden jerk sat bolt upright, as straight as a + crock. "Who asked you for your advice?" she demanded sharply. +</p> +<p> + The young Lively swallowed three times distinctly, and then replied, + while shaking the pepper-box over his potato, "Nobody." +</p> +<p> + "Then, why can't you keep it to yourself?" +</p> +<p> + "Can." +</p> +<p> + "Then, why don't you do it?" +</p> +<p> + "Do." +</p> +<p> + "You exasperating boy! Wouldn't you die if you didn't get the last + word?" +</p> +<p> + "Dunno." +</p> +<p> + "Look here, Napoleon Lively: you've got to stop your everlasting + talking. Your chatter, chatter, chatter just tries me to death. I'm + not—" +</p> +<p> + Here Dr. Lively, overcome with the absurdity of this charge, did + a very unusual thing. He broke into laughter so prolonged and + overwhelming that Mrs. Lively, after some signal failures to edge in + a word of explanation, left the table in the midst of the uproar and + dashed up stairs, where she jerked and pounded the beds with a will. +</p> +<p> + The next day Mrs. Lively was canning some cherries which the doctor + had taken in pay for a prescription. The air was filled with the + mingled odor of the boiling fruit and of burning sealing-wax. The cans + were acting with outrageous perversity, for they were second-hand and + the covers ill-fitting. Her blood was almost up to fainting heat, and + she was worried all over. She had to do all her preserving in a + pint cup, as she expressed it in her contempt for the diminutive + proportions of the saucepan which she was using. +</p> +<p> + "Here 'tis," said Napoleon, suddenly appearing at the kitchen-door. +</p> +<p> + "Here what is?" demanded Mrs. Lively shortly, without looking up. Her + two hands were engaged—one in pressing the cover on a can, the other + in pouring wax where a bubble persistently appeared. +</p> +<p> + "This," answered Napoleon. +</p> +<p> + "What?" +</p> +<p> + "Purse." +</p> +<p> + "Purse!" she screamed. "Is the money in it?" She dropped her work and + took eager possession of it. "Where did you find it?" +</p> +<p> + "Big apple tree," replied Napoleon. +</p> +<p> + "Under the apple tree?" +</p> +<p> + "Fork," was the lad's emendation. +</p> +<p> + "Why in the name of sense do you have to bite off all your sentences? + They are like a chicken with its head off. Do you mean to say that you + found the purse in the fork of the big apple tree?" +</p> +<p> + "Do; and pipe." +</p> +<p> + "Pipe! of course. One might track your father through a howling + wilderness by the pipes he'd leave at every half mile. Don't let him + know you've found the purse, and to-morrow morning I'm going to see + if I can't have some of his bills paid before the money is lost, as it + would be if he should get it in his hands." +</p> +<p> + The next morning Mrs. Lively felt under her pillow, as on a former + occasion, and, as on that former occasion, found the purse where she + had put it the night before. She gave it into Napoleon's hands after + breakfast, and despatched him to settle the bills. In less than half + an hour he was back. +</p> +<p> + "Did you pay all the bills?" she asked. +</p> +<p> + "No." +</p> +<p> + "How many?" +</p> +<p> + "None." +</p> +<p> + "Why don't you go along and pay those bills, as I bade you?" +</p> +<p> + "Have been." +</p> +<p> + "Then, why didn't you settle the bills?" +</p> +<p> + "Couldn't." +</p> +<p> + "If you don't tell me what's the matter—Why couldn't you?" +</p> +<p> + "No money!" +</p> +<p> + "No money? Where's the purse?" +</p> +<p> + "Here 'tis;" and he handed it to her. +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 677]</span> + She opened it and found it empty. "Where's the money?" she demanded in + great alarm. +</p> +<p> + "Dunno." +</p> +<p> + "What did you do with it?" +</p> +<p> + "Nothin'." +</p> +<p> + By dint of a few dozen more questions she arrived at the information + that when he had opened the purse to pay the first bill he found it + empty. +</p> +<p> + "Why didn't you look on the floor?" +</p> +<p> + "Did look." +</p> +<p> + "And feel in your pocket?" +</p> +<p> + "Did." +</p> +<p> + "I suppose you couldn't be satisfied till you'd opened the purse + to count the money. You're a perfect Charity Cockloft with your + curiosity. And then you went off into one of your dreams, and forgot + to clasp the purse. Go look for it right at the spot where you counted + the money." +</p> +<p> + "Didn't count it." +</p> +<p> + "Well, where you opened the purse in the street." +</p> +<p> + "Didn't open it in the street." +</p> +<p> + "The money just crawled out of the purse, did it?" +</p> +<p> + "Dunno." +</p> +<p> + The house was searched, the store, the street, but all in vain. Dr. + Lively was questioned: Did he take the money from the purse when it + was under her pillow? He didn't even know before that the purse had + been found. The house had been everywhere securely fastened, and the + bed-room door locked. +</p> +<p> + "Well, it's very mysterious," said Mrs. Lively. "That money went just + as the other did in Chicago. We must be haunted by the spirit of some + burglar or miser." +</p> +<p> + Cards were posted in the stores and post-office, offering five dollars + reward for the lost money. +</p> +<p> + "A pretty affair," said Mrs. Lively, "to payout five dollars just for + somebody's shiftlessness!" +</p> +<p> + "To recover sixty we can afford to pay five," said the doctor. +</p> +<p> + Shortly after this an express package from Chicago was delivered for + the doctor at his door. Mrs. Lively was quite excited, hoping she + scarce knew what + <span class="pagenum">[pg 678]</span> +from this arrival. The half hour till the doctor came + home to tea seemed interminable. She sat by watching eagerly as the + doctor cut the cords and broke the seals and unwrapped—what? Some + things very beautiful, but nothing that could answer that ceaseless, + persistent cry of the human, "What shall we eat, what shall we drink, + and wherewithal shall we be clothed?" +</p> +<p> + "Nothing but some more of those miserable sea-weeds!" exclaimed Mrs. + Lively, "and the express on them was fifty cents." +</p> +<p> + "They are beautiful," cried the doctor with enthusiasm. +</p> +<p> + "Beautiful! What have we got to do with the beautiful? We've done with + the beautiful for ever. I feel as if I never wanted to see anything + beautiful again. And you'll have to spend your time collecting geodes + to send back for the miserable trash. I hate those old sea-weeds. You + left everything we owned to perish in that fire, and brought away only + that case of sea-weeds. I'll take it some time to start the fire in + the stove. Beautiful! What right have you to think of the beautiful? + It's a disgrace to be as poor as we are. The very bread for this + supper isn't paid for, and never will be. Come to supper!" She snapped + out these last words in a way inimitable and indescribable. +</p> +<p> + "Priscilla," said the husband in a sad, solemn way, "I never knew + anybody in my life who seemed so utterly exasperated by poverty as + you." +</p> +<p> + "You never knew anybody else that was tried by such poverty." +</p> +<p> + "I saw thousands after the Chicago fire." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, when they had the excitement all about them." +</p> +<p> + "And who is the object of your exasperation? Who is responsible for + your circumstances? Who but God?" +</p> +<p> + "God didn't lose that sixty dollars, and He didn't lose that money in + Chicago." +</p> +<p> + "Well, now, my dear, I'm working hard at my book, and I think I'm + making a good thing of it. I hope it'll bring us a lift." +</p> +<p> + "A book on that horrid subject isn't going to sell. I wouldn't touch + it with a pair of tongs: I'd run from it. Nobody'll read it but a + few old long-haired geologists. I'd like to know what good all your + geology and botany and those other horrid things ever did you. You + couldn't make a cent out of all them put together. You're always + paying expressage on fossils and bugs and sea-weeds and trash. All + that comes of it is just waste." +</p> +<p> + "Does anything but waste come of your fault-finding?" +</p> +<p> + "Now, who's finding fault?" +</p> +<p> + Dr. Lively left the table and took down his case of sea-weeds, and + turned it over in his hand. +</p> +<p> + "The only thing that came through the fire," he said musingly. +</p> +<p> + "And of what account is it?" said Mrs. Lively. +</p> +<p> + "It may prove to be of value," he said. "To-night's addition will make + my collection very fine. I may take some premiums on it at fairs." + He sat down and began to compare the specimens just received with his + previous collection. +</p> +<p> + "What is the use of looking over those things—miserable sea-weeds? + You'd better bring in some wood and draw some water: it nearly breaks + my back to draw water up that rickety-rackety well." +</p> +<p> + "Good Heavens!" cried Dr. Lively, springing to his feet like one + electrified. "What does it mean?" +</p> +<p> + Mrs. Lively gazed at him: his hand was full of money, greenbacks. +</p> +<p> + "I found them here, among the sea-weeds in the case." He counted + them out on the table, Mrs. Lively standing by watching him, for once + speechless. "It's just the amount we lost, and the same bills. See + here: ten five-hundred-dollar bills, and this change that we lost in + Chicago; and four ten-dollar bills and four fives that were lost here. + They are the same bills. Who put them here?" +</p> +<p> + "I don't know," replied Mrs. Lively in a low tone: "I didn't." She + spoke as though she was dealing with something supernatural. +</p> +<p> + In the case of sea-weeds, the only thing that came through the fire! + How often had she pronounced it worthless! What a spite she had + conceived against it! How the sight of it had all along exasperated + her! +</p> +<p> + "It is very strange," said the doctor, believing in his secret soul + that his wife had put the money there and forgotten it. "Have you no + recollection of putting the money here?" he said cautiously. "Try to + think." +</p> +<p> + "I never put it there," she said in a subdued, dazed way: "I know I + never did." +</p> +<p> + Napoleon came in eating an apple. He was informed of the discovery, + and closely questioned. "Don't know nothin' 'bout it," he declared. + "Go back to Chicago?" he asked. +</p> +<p> + "Yes," answered the doctor. "The money's here, however unaccountably: + we'll accept the fact and thank God." The doctor's lip quivered, + and Mrs. Lively burst into tears. "We will go back home, to the most + wonderful city in the world. If possible, we'll buy the very lot where + we lived, and build a little house. Many of those who lived in the + neighborhood, my old patients, will return, and so I shall have a + practice begun. I shall start for Chicago in the morning. You can + make an auction of the few traps we have here, and follow as soon as + possible. You'll find me at Mrs. B——'s boarding-house on Congress + street." +</p> +<p> + There was some further planning, so that it was eleven o'clock before + they retired. Napoleon went to bed hungry that night, if indeed since + the Chicago fire he had ever gone to bed in any other condition. + He dropped off to sleep, however, and all through his dreams he was + eating—oh such good things!—juicy steaks, feathery biscuits, flaky + pies, baked apples and cream. He awoke with an empty feeling, an old + familiar feeling, which had often caused him to awake contemplating a + midnight raid on the cupboard. But poor Napoleon had been restrained + by conscientious scruples and by the fear of his mother's tongue, for + he + <span class="pagenum">[pg 679]</span> +appreciated the altered condition of the family. But now they were + all rich again there was no longer any necessity for pinching his + stomach. There were in the cupboard some biscuits intended for + breakfast, and some cold ham. He remembered how tempting they had + looked as his mother set them away. Now they fairly haunted him as + he lay thinking how favorable the moonlight was to his contemplated + burglary. He left his bed, not stealthily: he was not of a nature + to be specially mortified by discovery. He made his way to the + dining-room. In one of the recesses made by the chimney Dr. Lively had + constructed a kind of cupboard, and in the other recess he had put + up some shelves, where their few books and the case of sea-weeds + lay. Napoleon cut some generous slices of ham, and with the biscuits + constructed several sandwiches. Then he seated himself by the window + for the benefit of the moonlight. This brought him within a few + feet of the shelves where the sea-weeds were. There he sat in his + night-dress, his bare feet on the chair-round, vigorously eating his + sandwiches. Suddenly he heard a soft, stealthy, gliding noise in the + hall. It was as though trailing drapery was sweeping over the naked + floor. He gave a gulping swallow, paused in his eating and listened + intently. The stillness of death reigned through the house. He crammed + half a sandwich in his mouth and began a cautious chewing. Again the + trailing sound, and again his jaws were stilled. At the door entered + a tall figure in flowing white robes. Steadily it advanced upon him, + seeming to walk or glide on the air. For once there was something in + which he was more interested than in eating. At last the ghost stood + close beside him, and he saw with his staring eyes that it wore a + veil and carried its left hand in its bosom. The boy sat rooted with + horror, his tongue loaded, his cheeks puffed with his feast, afraid + to swallow lest the noise of the act should reveal him. The figure + withdrew its hand from its bosom: it held a roll of bankbills. It + reached out for the case of sea-weeds, laid the + <span class="pagenum">[pg 680]</span> +bills carefully + between the cards, returned these to the case and the case to the + shelf. It stood a moment in the broad moonlight, then lifted the veil, + and revealed to the astonished boy the face of his mother. She stood + within two feet of him, her eyes on his face, but she did not speak. +</p> +<p> + "Mother! mother!" he cried with a sense of the supernatural on him, + "what's the matter?" He seized her by the arm: he shook her. +</p> +<p> + "What is it? what do you want? where am I? what does this mean?" were + questions she asked like one newly awakened. "What are you doing here, + Napoleon?" +</p> +<p> + "Eatin'." +</p> +<p> + "Eating! what for?" +</p> +<p> + "Hungry." +</p> +<p> + "What time is it?" +</p> +<p> + "Dunno." +</p> +<p> + "What am I doing here?" +</p> +<p> + "Hidin' money;" and Napoleon took a bite from his long-neglected + sandwich. +</p> +<p> + "What do you mean?" +</p> +<p> + "Mean <i>that</i>." +</p> +<p> + "Stop bobbing off your sentences. Tell me what it all means." +</p> +<p> + Napoleon stood up, laid his sandwiches on the chair, took down the + sea-weeds and showed her the bills among them. +</p> +<p> + "Who put these here?" +</p> +<p> + "You." +</p> +<p> + "When?" +</p> +<p> + "Just now." +</p> +<p> + "I did not." +</p> +<p> + "You did." +</p> +<p> + By this time Dr. Lively, who had been restless and excited, was + awake, and down he came to the family gathering. By dint of persistent + inquiries he at length arrived at the facts in the case, and drew the + inevitable conclusion that his wife had been walking in her sleep, and + that to her somnambulism were to be referred the mysterious emptyings + of his purse. +</p> +<p> + Mrs. Lively was mortified and subdued at being convicted of all the + mischief which she had so persistently charged to her husband. And she + said this to him with her arms in a very unusual position—that is, + around her husband's neck. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, you needn't feel that way," he said, choking back the quick + tears. "If you hadn't hid that money maybe we never could have got + back home. But I'll hide my own money, after this, while I'm awake: I + sha'n't give you another chance to hide money in sea-weeds. Strange, I + should have snatched just those sea-weeds, and left everything else to + burn! All these things make me feel that God has been very near us." +</p> +<p> + "Yes," said the wife, "He has whipped me till He's made me mind." +</p> +<p> + The husband kissed her good-bye, for he was starting for Chicago. Then + he stepped out into the dewy morning, and hurried along the silent + streets, witnesses of the crushed aspirations of the thousands who had + gone out from them. But he thought not of this. A gorgeous Aurora was + coming up the eastern heights: his lost love was found. He was going + home: all earth was glorified. +</p> +<p class="author">SARAH WINTER KELLOGG.</p> + + +<blockquote class="footnote"><a id="footnote1" name= +"footnote1"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> <a href= +"#footnotetag1">(return)</a> <p>While desirous of affording full scope to a talent for + realistic description, we must protest against allusions bordering on + personality.—ED.</p> +</blockquote> + + + <span class="pagenum">[pg 681]</span> +<a name="crisis"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + HISTORY OF THE CRISIS. +</h2> +<p> + The crisis of 1873 seems destined to be the most memorable of all the + purely financial panics in the history of the United States. Certainly + no panic, involving such widespread disturbance of the ordinary course + of business was ever before known, either in the Old World or the New, + on a paper-money basis, for the collapse of the speculative bubble at + Vienna a few months earlier was a mere trifle in comparison, although + it set us the example of throttling a panic by closing the avenue to + the exchange of securities. I mention Vienna as a case in point, for + Austrian finances are such that the nation is kept in a chronic state + of suspension, and I am not aware that any prominent <i>bourse</i> in + Europe except the one mentioned ever adopted a similar proceeding in a + like emergency. +</p> +<p> + This panic was not the result of paper-money inflation, nor of + inflated values, nor of reckless over-trading, nor of in-ordinate + speculation. The trade and commerce of the country were in a sound + and prosperous condition, and the prices of securities in Wall street + were, on the average, hardly in excess of real values, and in some + instances a little below them. It is true that the old trouble of + tight money was beginning to be felt, and the bears on the Stock + Exchange were trying to aggravate the natural monetary activity which + invariably attends the flow of currency westward to move the crops + early in the fall of the year, by "locking up" greenbacks and + otherwise. On the 6th of September the weekly return of the New York + banks, State and National, belonging to the Clearing-house, showed + that their legal-tender reserve had fallen to a little less than half + a million above the twenty-five per cent., which the National banks in + the large cities are required by the "National Currency Act" to + keep on hand against their deposits and notes; but this excited no + apprehension, and hardly occasioned surprise among those aware of the + drain of money for crop-moving purposes—the outward flow from Chicago + and Cincinnati to what I may call the agricultural districts having + been much larger than usual this season. After the four months of + unparalleled and continuous stringency experienced in the previous + winter and spring, when rates varying from a sixty-fourth to + seven-eighths of one per cent., per diem were paid in addition to + the legal seven per cent, per annum for call loans on first-class + collaterals—during all of which time stocks were firmly supported—it + is not to be supposed that Wall street or the general public felt much + uneasiness about the loan market or the financial prospect generally. + The deposits in the New York banks not only showed no falling off, but + were over two hundred and twelve millions against two hundred and nine + millions at the corresponding period in the previous year. The fall + trade had opened auspiciously; the earnings of the railways were + from five to fifteen per cent., larger than in 1872; the crops were + abundant—the cotton crop, in particular, being estimated at four + millions of bales—and it was supposed that the experience of + stringency just referred to had placed the banks, the speculative + community and the merchants in a conservative attitude, prepared + against a recurrence of dear money, and that therefore we should + escape a repetition of the painful ordeal. +</p> +<p> + The element of distrust, however, aroused by the suspension of + the Brooklyn Trust Company, and subsequently that of the New York + Warehouse Company, in connection with the failure of Francis Skiddy & + Co, and another old-established mercantile house similarly situated, + had not died out when the suspension of Kenyon Cox & Co., involving + that, also, of the Chicago and Canada Southern Railway Company, fell + like a thunderbolt on Wall street. This failure derived its importance + from the + <span class="pagenum">[pg 682]</span> +fact of Daniel Drew being a general partner in the house, + although originally he had gone into it as a special partner with + $300,000 capital, and from its being the financial agent of this new + but important enterprise—a line of large extent, and involving very + heavy expenditures in construction and equipment. Kenyon Cox & Co., + as financial agents, and Daniel Drew individually, as a director and + officer of the company, had approved its contracts and endorsed its + acceptances. A large amount of the latter became due on the 13th + of September, and a million and a half of them in amount would have + matured within thirty days afterward; but on the morning of that date + the firm formally suspended, and the joint obligations of the + house and the railway company went to protest. Fortunately for the + bondholders, the road had just previously been completed, although + much still remained to be done to put it in the condition originally + designed. Here comes the rub and the cause of the whole difficulty. + The company depended for its means of construction on the sale of its + bonds, as so many companies before it had done. The sale of the bonds + in this country fell far short of the expectations of the financial + agents, and they were equally disappointed in a market for them + abroad. They were thus caught in the unpleasant position of being + pledged to heavy obligations with little or no money coming in to + meet them with. Failing their ability to pay these out of their + own pockets, or relief in some way from the company, the result was + inevitable. As, however, Daniel Drew was believed to be a man of great + wealth, notwithstanding his loss of nearly a million and a half by + the North-western "corner" in November, 1872, the failure of his house + created much surprise and distrust. All new railway undertakings + and the bankers identified with them were immediately regarded with + suspicion, and that suspicion was fatal. +</p> +<p> + The effect on the Stock Exchange was immediate, though less visible in + the decline of prices than in a reversal of the current of speculation + in favor of the bears, in a disturbance of credits and in general + uneasiness. Jay Cooke & Co., who were known to be heavily involved in + that colossal undertaking, the construction of the Northern Pacific + Railway, and Fisk & Hatch, who had identified themselves with the + Central Pacific, and subsequently the Ohio and Chesapeake Road, as + financial agents, were the first to feel the shock in the shape of a + run on their deposits; and on the 18th of September the former firm + suspended simultaneously at its offices in New York, Philadelphia + and Washington, dragging down with it the First National Bank of + Washington, of which one of the partners, Ex-Governor H.D. Cooke, was + president. The downfall of this great house was regarded as little + less than a national misfortune, and the prevailing distrust was so + aggravated by the event that Wall street went wild over the news; and + "long" stocks were thrown overboard on the Exchange without regard to + price, while the bears were emboldened to put out fresh "shorts" with + a recklessness never before witnessed, the question of real values + being entirely unheeded in the excitement and demoralization that + prevailed. On the following morning the suspension of Fisk & Hatch—a + house only second in prominence—sent another thrill of consternation + through the street. Prices on the Stock Exchange continued to fall + rapidly, and during the day twenty-one additional failures occurred + among stock-houses and private bankers belonging to the Board, nearly + all of whom had been of good standing and accustomed to transact a + large business. Early on Saturday, the 20th, the Union Trust Company, + an institution with seven millions and a half of deposits, closed its + doors, and the National Trust Company, with about five millions of + deposits, did likewise; while the National Bank of the Commonwealth + failed, apparently with little hope of resumption, mainly in + consequence of having certified cheques for a private banking and + stock firm to the amount of $225,000 in excess of its balance. The + Bank of North America was temporarily embarrassed from a similar + cause, another stock firm having similarly defaulted to no less an + amount than $400,000. Here we have two conspicuous instances of the + danger attending the custom of certifying brokers' cheques for large + sums beyond the amount to their credit; and no greater warnings than + these should be needed by the banks to decline such risks, which are + neither justified by the profits resulting therefrom, nor just to + their stockholders and depositors, while they are clearly opposed to + the spirit of the National Banking Law. +</p> +<p> + Following the suspensions last referred to, Wall street grew still + wilder than before, and in the rush to sell securities many of the + brokers abandoned themselves to a state of frenzy, while rumors of + fresh failures passed from lip to lip with startling rapidity. The + fact that during the morning the associated banks, in accordance with + the recommendation of a committee of their own officers appointed on + the previous day, had agreed to issue to each other seven per cent. + certificates of deposit to the amount of ten millions, on the + security of government bonds at par and approved bills receivable at + seventy-five per cent. of their face value, as well as to equalize the + legal-tender notes held by all for their common benefit and security, + had no influence in tranquilizing the public mind, although it showed + a determination on their part to stand or fall together. As these + certificates were to run till the 1st of November, and to be used + as the equivalent of legal tenders in making the exchanges among + themselves, the importance, as well as the advisability, of the + measure, under the circumstances, was apparent, although the + limitation as to amount looked like the application of a standard + of measurement to that which could not be measured. The legal-tender + notes, when "stocked" preparatory to their equal division, amounted to + a fraction less than ten per cent. of the deposits. +</p> +<p> + The pressure of sales of stock was almost entirely for cash. No money + could be borrowed, either at the banks or elsewhere, on securities of + any kind, and + <span class="pagenum">[pg 683]</span> +loans—which the borrowers were unable to pay off—were + being called in in all directions. As compared with the quotations + current on the eve of Kenyon Cox & Co.'s failure, the stock-list + showed a decline of from twelve to thirty per cent. +</p> +<p> + At noon the distraction was so great, and the sacrifices being made + were so enormous, that universal ruin appeared to be impending; and + the seeming impossibility of doing business any longer in such a + condition of affairs without bringing about a state of chaos, and + involving the banks in the general destruction, made itself manifest + to the president and governing committee of the Stock Exchange, + who yielded to the solicitations of the banks and closed the Stock + Exchange at half-past twelve until further notice. +</p> +<p> + The reeling crowd paused to take breath, and felt a sense of relief in + this sudden stoppage of the course of business, although accomplished + by a proceeding so unexpected and revolutionary. The usual Saturday + bank statement was omitted, and men left Wall street that evening only + to gather in a dense crowd at the Fifth Avenue Hotel to discuss the + situation. +</p> +<p> + Meanwhile, the failure of Jay Cooke & Co. in Philadelphia was quickly + followed there by the suspension of several prominent private banking + and stock firms and some small ones, a panic in stocks, and a run upon + the banks, involving the failure of two of their number—the Citizens' + and the Union Banking Company. Advices of a few suspensions of banks + and banking-houses in different parts of the country had also been + received, none of much importance, but all serving to deepen the + prevailing gloom, and make men fear that the worst was still to come. + Representative bankers and merchants had been telegraphing to the + government at Washington for some measure of relief from the moment + of Jay Cooke & Co.'s suspension, but none had as yet been extended, + except in the shape of an order, on Saturday, to buy ten millions + of United States bonds, of which the assistant treasurer was, in + consequence of the excitement, only able to + <span class="pagenum">[pg 684]</span> +buy less than two millions + and a half at the equivalent of par in gold, the price to which he was + limited. +</p> +<p> + The President, who had been on his way from Pittsburg to Long Branch + on Saturday, was, in company with the Secretary of the Treasury, at + the Fifth Avenue Hotel on Sunday, the 21st, and gave audience to a + large number of leading merchants and bankers, who urged upon him the + necessity of immediate action on the part of the Treasury to save + the country from further disaster, the issue of the "reserve" of + forty-four millions of greenbacks as a loan to, or deposit with, the + banks being the remedy generally suggested. The President, however, + was firmly opposed to this, and suggested that a week of Sundays would + probably afford more relief than anything else, but promised to do + whatever seemed advisable within the limits of the law. On the next + morning the assistant treasurer gave notice that he would continue + the purchase of bonds, paying for them at the average prices of the + Saturday previous. This he did until Thursday morning, when he ceased + buying, twelve millions in all having been bought up to that time, and + the available currency balance in the Treasury, without encroaching on + the forty-four millions of unissued greenbacks, being exhausted. +</p> +<p> + On Monday there was a run on most of the city savings banks, which was + met by an agreement among their officers to avail themselves of + their legal privilege to require thirty or sixty days' notice of + the intended withdrawal of deposits; and this being announced by the + respective institutions, the run, as a natural consequence, ceased, + and, fortunately, without the slightest popular disturbance. On + the 22d the Security Trust Company and a private banking-house in + Pittsburg, Pa., suspended, as also a banking-firm at Wilmington, Del. + The failure of Henry Clews & Co. on the afternoon of Tuesday, the + 23d, followed by that of Clews, Habicht & Co., London, caused fresh + uneasiness. This house, being the financial agent of the Burlington + and Cedar Rapids Railway, a new line, had been run upon for some days + previously, and it showed much strength in holding out so long. The + news was almost simultaneously received that the Baltimore banks had + agreed upon the issue of six per cent. certificates in the manner + adopted by the New York association, and that five National banks in + Petersburg, Va., had closed their doors. On the morning of the + 24th Howes & Macy, known to be a very strong and conservative + banking-house, suspended, and this added fuel to the flame of + excitement, and wild rumors of impending failures were again afloat. + The steady but quiet run which had been kept up on the banks now + increased, and they decided upon the issue of another ten millions of + certificates, and a third issue of a like amount, if required. + They also agreed to certify cheques "payable only through the + Clearing-house" until the first of November, the payment of currency + for cheques, for the accommodation of their dealers, to be optional in + the interval with each individual bank. This involved a suspension of + currency payments by all the banks in the association. The failure of + the Dollar Savings Bank and a private banking-house at Richmond, + Va., was reported on the same day, as also that of a banking-firm at + Baltimore, and another at Wilkesbarre, Pa. On the 25th there was no + change in the situation in New York, but the banks of Cincinnati, + Chicago and New Orleans suspended currency payments, as those of + Baltimore had done previously, and two banks at Memphis, Tenn., three + at Augusta, Ga., all those at Danville, Va., and a savings bank at + Selma, Ala., closed their doors. On the 26th six National banks at + Chicago suspended, and a trust company, and two banks at Charleston, + S.C., in addition to a banking-house at Washington; and the last day + of the week, the 27th, opened on anything but an encouraging prospect. + The telegrams from Europe reported an unsettled market for American + securities; gold for a short time rose to 115-1/2; seven of the + Louisville banks suspended, and the Boston and Washington banks voted + to suspend currency payments, and (those of each city) to issue ten + millions of certificates on the New York basis. But toward the close + of the day favorable rumors were circulated regarding settlements + on the street; and a petition for reopening the Stock Exchange was + circulated, while stocks, which had been informally quoted very low, + advanced several per cent. +</p> +<p> + During all this week there had been a dead-lock in business in Wall + street, although a crowd of persons not belonging to the Exchange + gathered on Broad street daily to buy or sell stocks for cash on + delivery, the sellers forced by their necessities, and the buyers + eager to secure stocks at lower prices than had been known for years. + But there were so few persons provided with "the sinews of war" + that the aggregate of transactions was small. The usual weekly bank + statement was again omitted by the Clearing-house from motives of + policy, but it transpired that the whole of the New York associated + banks held on the morning of the 27th only twelve millions two hundred + thousand of greenbacks, an aggregate still further reduced, at one + time, to a point below ten millions, against nearly thirty-five + millions—bank average—on the 20th, the date of the last statement + issued. Their determination to sustain each other was, however, + so strong that it tended to inspire confidence in their ability to + weather the storm. It was also made known that they had agreed, on the + resumption of business by the Stock Exchange, not to certify cheques + except against actual balances while any certificates of their own + issue remained outstanding. Twenty millions of these had been issued + up to this time, and the additional ten millions before referred to + were ordered to be issued in like manner, as required. The Treasury + paid out during that week, including the previous Saturday, in New + York and elsewhere, about thirty-five millions of greenbacks—namely, + twenty-two millions in exchange for $5000 and $10,000 certificates of + deposit—used as legal tenders at the Clearing-house, and presented + by the banks for redemption, for + <span class="pagenum">[pg 685]</span> +which there is a special reserve of + notes in the Treasury—and about thirteen millions for the purchase + of the twelve millions of bonds already mentioned. It also sent to + the National banks in the West and South three millions of new + notes, issued under the act of July, 1870, authorizing an addition + of fifty-four millions to the three hundred millions of bank-note + circulation previously outstanding, nearly the whole of which has now + been issued. +</p> +<p> + The bank failures West and South, and the pressing requirements to + move produce to the ports, led to very urgent demands for currency in + Wall street, and certified bank-cheques were quoted at a discount of + from two to four per cent. as compared with greenbacks, while fears + were entertained that the continued suspension of business would be + only productive of harm. Hence, when the governing committee decided + to reopen the Stock Exchange on the morning of Tuesday, the 30th, a + feeling of positive relief was experienced. +</p> +<p> + On Monday, the 29th, only two unimportant country-bank failures + were reported, and encouraging accounts were received from the West, + although the suspension of a wool-manufacturing company in New York + and an iron-manufacturing company in Massachusetts—each employing + some hundreds of men—and the discharge of more than a thousand men + from the locomotive works at Paterson, N.J., showed that the crisis + had already affected labor. On all sides an anxiety to retrench + was shown, and large numbers, in the aggregate, were thrown out of + employment all over the country. The retail trade was very unfavorably + affected, the losses sustained by the crisis, combined with the + scarcity of currency, causing people to expend as little as possible; + and this feature, resulting from the crisis, is likely to be a marked + one for a considerable time to come. +</p> +<p> + During the previous week bills on Europe had been, as a rule, + unsalable, and rates of exchange were depressed to a very low point, + bankers' sterling at sixty days being quoted on Friday at 103 @ + <span class="pagenum">[pg 686]</span> +105, + and merchants' bills at 101 @ 102-1/2. The difficulty or impossibility + of selling exchange greatly embarrassed shippers and retarded the + movement of produce from the West; but owing to a heavy reduction + by the steamship lines of the rates of freight to induce shipments, + strenuous efforts were made to take advantage of it, and the exports + from New York for each of the two weeks noticed were valued at about + six millions and a half, while for the week ending October 4 the + valuation was unusually large—namely, $8,378,130. This was the most + encouraging feature of the time, especially in view of the previous + heavy preponderance of the exports over the imports at New York, the + value of the former having increased forty-eight millions during the + first nine months of 1873, as compared with the corresponding period + in 1872, while the latter were twenty-seven millions less, and while + our exports of specie were also seventeen and a half millions smaller. + The receipts for customs duties, however, fell far short of the usual + amount, and the movement of goods out of bond was correspondingly + light. Under the improved feeling visible on Monday, the 29th, the + foreign exchange market became less unsettled, and rates began to + improve rapidly; so that on Tuesday bankers' bills on England at + sixty days had risen to 106-1/2 @ 106-3/4, and mercantile to 104-1/2 + @ 105-1/2. Before this, however, the Bank of England had advanced its + rate of discount from three to four per cent., and again from four to + five per cent., and we had received cable advices of the shipment of + about eight millions of gold from England for the United States, with + further shipments in anticipation, partly the proceeds of American + negotiations previous to the panic, and partly to make grain payments. + The shippers of cotton and general produce were cheered by this + opening of a market for their bills at such a decided improvement + in rates, and on the Produce Exchange the return of confidence was + marked, while quotations, which had been depressed, showed an upward + tendency. +</p> +<p> + Meanwhile, the Stock Exchange opened punctually at the appointed time, + and the opening prices were higher than those previously current in + the informal market on the street. But it would have been too much to + expect a settled market after such demoralization as had prevailed + and such ruinous sacrifices as had been made. The improvement was + not sustained, and prices were depressed from two to eight per cent., + during the next three days, chiefly under sales to make settlements + between parties on the street. +</p> +<p> + Occasional failures, both among stock and banking-houses and the + mercantile and manufacturing community, and in as well as out of New + York, were still reported, including three large city dry-goods firms; + and the pressure for greenbacks to send to the country continued to + be so severe that from three to four per cent., was paid for them, + as compared with certified bank-cheques, for several days, though the + premium dwindled to one-half and one per cent., before the end of the + week, advancing a week later, however, to one and one and a half. The + difficulty of moving produce from the West also continued very great, + owing to the almost total dead-lock in the domestic exchanges, but + otherwise the excitement and alarm attending the crisis seemed to have + passed away, leaving only its depressing effects still visible. Money + became comparatively accessible to first-class borrowers on call. But + the bank statement was again omitted on the following Saturday, and + it was announced that none would be made until after the banks had + resumed greenback payments, and till the certificates of their own + creation had been withdrawn. The deposits held by the banks at the + close of business on that day, October 4, had been reduced to about a + hundred and fifty-three millions, against over two hundred and seven + millions and a quarter on September 13. +</p> +<p> + Before the middle of the month the continued drain of gold to the + United States—the shipment from England of about sixteen millions of + dollars having been reported from the beginning of the crisis to the + 18th of October—caused the Bank of England to further advance its + discount rate to six per cent., and shortly afterward to seven per + cent. But, notwithstanding, the price of gold gradually declined to + 107-3/4, a lower point than it had touched since 1861. The New York + banks meanwhile lost rather than gained strength, and their aggregate + of greenbacks under control of the Clearing-house was reduced to + less than six millions, although this fact was not published. It was, + however, at the same time believed that three or four millions more + were distributed among them, of which they made no return to the + association. Currency during the latter half of the month began to + return somewhat rapidly from the West in the shape of collections by + the merchants, and this, in turn, led to remittances to the South, + where it was greatly needed for the cotton crop, the movement of which + had been almost entirely arrested. Affairs on the Stock Exchange were, + in the interval, unsettled, and enormously heavy sacrifices were made + in order to adjust differences between brokers, as well as by outside + parties in pressing need of cash. On Tuesday, the 14th of October, + almost another panic prevailed, and prices touched a lower point than + they had before reached. New York Central sold down to 82, Lake Shore + to 57-1/2, Western Union to 45, Rock Island to 80-1/2, Pacific Mail + to 25, Wabash to 32-3/4, Ohio and Mississippi to 21, Union Pacific to + 15-1/2, North-western to 32, St. Paul to 23, St. Paul Preferred to 50, + and Harlem to 100, while the feeling of the street was worse than at + any time during the crisis; but a quick recovery took place from the + extreme point of depression, and the resumption of greenback payments + by the Cincinnati banks, following that of the Chicago banks, led + to an improved feeling in both financial and commercial circles. The + National Trust Company of New York also, about the same time, resumed + payment. It was noticeable, however, that little or none of the money + reported by the express companies as coming from the West was received + by + <span class="pagenum">[pg 687]</span> +the New York banks—a natural result of their suspension of + currency payments, which virtually forced individuals and corporations + to be their own bankers. The banks had ceased to perform this + function: they were utterly unable to maintain their reserve, cash + cheques or discount commercial paper for their customers, and so far + the National banking system had failed. +</p> +<br /> +<p> + Having reviewed the disastrous course of this crisis up to the date + of writing, I will briefly consider its causes. It may be traced + remotely, in some degree, to the distrust of American railway + securities in Europe which attended the reckless administration of + the Erie Railway under Fisk and Gould, and which lingered after their + overthrow, indisposing capitalists, as well as small investors, to + have anything to do with American railways. It is true that a market + still remained there for these securities, but it was a much more + limited one than it probably would have been but for the Erie scandal, + and within the last year or two it was entirely glutted. Financial + agents found it impossible to float a new American railway loan even + where the security offered was a first mortgage bond. Thus, Jay Cooke + & Co. were greatly disappointed with respect to the sale of their + Northern Pacific bonds abroad, and nearly as much so in the demand for + them at home; but they were pledged to the undertaking, their + solvency became dependent on its success, and they were sanguine that + confidence in the great enterprise would grow with every mile of new + road constructed. +</p> +<p> + Mr. Jay Cooke undoubtedly looked forward to a subsidy from Congress + for carrying the mails over the new line, and in all likelihood would + have obtained it but for the Credit Mobilier <i>exposé</i>, which caused + both Congress and the people to "shut down," not only on everything + having the appearance of a "job," but on much besides. The ill odor + into which that investigation brought the Union Pacific Railway and + all who had been connected with its construction was a heavy blow at + new enterprises of a similar + <span class="pagenum">[pg 688]</span> +character where government land-grants + were involved; and the vexatious suit which Congress authorized + against the Union Pacific Company and all concerned was another blow + at confidence in the same direction. +</p> +<p> + The formation and rapid spread of the Grangers' association in the + West, and its avowed design to make war upon the railway interest with + a view of securing cheap transportation to the seaboard, was another + disturbing element, undermining confidence in railway property. + But the greatest and the immediate cause of the crisis was the + over-building of railways; and hard indeed are likely to be the + fortunes of the unfinished enterprises of this character arrested by + its blighting influence; for capital for years to come will be very + slow in finding its way into the bonds of roads to be built by the + proceeds of their sale. It was a false and dangerous system—and the + event has proved its unsoundness—for new companies to rely from + the outset upon this source for the means of construction. It was a + hand-to-mouth policy, resting upon so precarious a foundation that, in + the light of experience, we can only wonder that eminent and otherwise + conservative bankers should have adopted it to the extent they did, + thereby not only jeopardizing their own position, but imperiling the + whole financial community. About six thousand miles of new railways + were constructed in the United States in 1872, of which it may be + estimated that at least seven-eighths were in advance of the national + requirements. Not a few of those now unfinished or just completed + will, like the New York and Oswego Midland, be forced into bankruptcy, + and it will be long before all the ruins left by the crisis will be + cleared away. A shock has been given to the entire railway interest of + the country, the full effect of which has not yet been felt; and those + who expect the prices of railway securities to rule as high, for a + considerable period to come, as they did before the panic, are + likely to be disappointed. After all panics we have had more or less + wearisome stagnation and depression, growing out of impoverishment + and distrust of new ventures; and this last one will hardly prove an + exception to the rule. The mercantile interest, too, will probably + continue for some time to suffer in consequence of the monetary + derangements resulting from it and the want of adequate banking—or + rather currency—facilities for bringing forward cotton and general + produce from the West and South for shipment; and here and there + houses that have so far withstood the strain will break down under it. + But in a rapidly growing country, with inexhaustible resources, like + this, recovery from such disasters is, fortunately, far quicker than + among the less progressive nations of Europe. +</p> +<p> + One eminently satisfactory feature of the panic in securities was, + that it did not extend to United States bonds, greenbacks or National + bank-notes. Bonds were of course depressed in sympathy with the + scarcity of money and the demoralization prevailing in the general + stock market, but there was not the slightest loss of confidence in + them among holders, nor any pressure to sell, except to relieve urgent + necessities among the banks and others having need of currency. The + paper money of the country proved itself the most valuable kind of + property that any one could possess; whereas under like circumstances, + in former times, when banks under the State laws could practically + issue as many notes as they chose, much of it would have been left + worthless and the remainder depreciated. But our currency system is + defective in one essential particular: it is not elastic. It is, so + to speak, hide-bound at seven hundred and ten millions of paper, + exclusive of fractional currency, three hundred and fifty-six millions + of which are legal-tender notes, and three hundred and fifty-four + millions National bank-notes. The safety-valve of a country's + circulating medium is its elasticity, and the sooner Congress + authorizes free National banking on the present basis of ninety per + cent. of currency to the par of United States bonds deposited with the + Treasury, or devises some other means of affording relief, the better + for the interests of the nation. The law requiring the banks in the + large cities to keep always on hand a reserve in greenbacks equal to + twenty-five per cent. of their deposits and circulation, and those in + the country a reserve of fifteen per cent., should also be amended, + the percentage being too high by one-half. It is for the interest + of every bank to keep a reserve adequate to its own requirements and + safety, and the existing restriction instead of being an element of + strength is a source of weakness. Then, again, as National + bank-notes are guaranteed by a pledge of United States bonds at the + before-mentioned rate of ninety per cent. of notes to the par of the + former, the banks ought not to be required to redeem their own notes + in greenbacks on demand; and each bank should be allowed to count the + notes of other banks—but not its own nor specie, except on a specie + basis—as a portion of its reserve. To require the banks to redeem + their notes with legal tenders, on presentation, when there are only + two millions more of the latter than of the former in circulation, + is to demand of them what they would find it impossible to do in the + remote but nevertheless possible contingency of the bank currency, + or any large portion of it, being simultaneously presented for + redemption. +</p> +<p> + As a measure looking to the resumption of specie payments, however, + it would be well to abolish the National bank circulation altogether. + This could be done by Congress authorizing the Treasury—through an + amendment to the Bank act—to replace the National bank-notes with new + greenbacks, and cancel an equivalent amount of the bonds pledged for + the redemption of the former. After that was accomplished we should + have a circulation based directly upon the undoubted credit of the + United States, and the government would be saved the twenty millions + (more or less) of coin per annum which it now pays to the National + banks as interest on three hundred and fifty-four millions of the + bonds thus deposited, for it could withdraw these, by purchase + with the + <span class="pagenum">[pg 689]</span> +greenbacks thus issued in substitution for the surrendered + National bank currency, as fast as the exchange of the one for the + other might be made. This saving of interest alone would strengthen + the government for a return to the gold standard, which could be + effected without any contraction of the volume of paper money, except + to the extent of the coin thrown into circulation: and the resumption + of specie payments by the Treasury—greenbacks to be convertible into + coin only at the Treasury and sub-treasuries—would be resumption by + the entire country, for gold would no longer command a premium. The + National banks thus deprived of their own notes would have to bank on + greenbacks, just as the State banks—which have no circulation—do at + present. +</p> +<p> + It is obvious that resumption could be accomplished in this way on + a very much smaller reserve of coin than would be necessary if each + individual bank had also to resume simultaneously with the Treasury, + as would be the case under the present mixed currency system, for + the whole of the reserve would be concentrated in the hands of the + government, instead of being scattered among the banks all over + the country. The credit of the government would, of course, be much + stronger than that of any individual bank, and the demand for gold + in exchange for greenbacks would probably be very small in comparison + with the amount of coin belonging to the Treasury, even at the + beginning of resumption, when the element of novelty in it, not + distrust, might induce conversion. The banks would then have no more + occasion for gold than they have now, greenbacks still retaining their + legal-tender character unaltered. +</p> +<p> + Had the country been on a specie basis when this crisis came upon us, + the twenty millions of coin held by the New York banks at that time + would have been available for their relief, and have formed a part of + the circulation; whereas for all practical purposes it was useless to + them, and consequently to the people, as money; and in like manner + <span class="pagenum">[pg 690]</span> +all + the heavy importations of gold which have since taken place, and + been converted into American coin, have failed to enter into the + circulation, as they would have done on the specie standard. The whole + of the forty-four millions of Treasury gold-notes, convertible + into coin on demand, held by the banks and the public on the 1st + of September would in that event have formed a part of the active + currency of the nation, instead of lying as dormant as the whole + eighty-seven millions of gold—part of which they represented—in the + Treasury. +</p> +<p> + That part of the currency of any country which is in specie is + necessarily elastic, because it is the money of the world, embodying + the value which it represents, and subject to that ebb and flow, in + accordance with the laws of trade, which attends the circulation of + gold and silver coin everywhere. Supply follows demand, and a nation + with a specie currency inevitably attracts the precious metals by + outbidding other nations in the rate of interest it offers for them. + Why, therefore, should we shut ourselves out from the advantages of + this form of communion with the commercial world by postponing the + resumption of specie payments a day longer than we are compelled to? +</p> +<p class="author">K. CORNWALLIS.</p> + + + + +<a name="temptation"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + SAINT MARTIN'S TEMPTATION. +</h2> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">For forty-and-five long years</p> + <p class="i4">I have followed my Master, Christ,</p> + <p class="i2">Through frailty and toils and tears,</p> + <p class="i4"> Through passions that still enticed;</p> + <p class="i2"> Through station that came unsought,</p> + <p class="i4">To dazzle me, snare, betray;</p> + <p class="i2">Through the baits the Tempter brought</p> + <p class="i4">To lure me out of the way;</p> + <p class="i2">Through the peril and greed of power</p> + <p class="i4"> (The bribe that <i>he</i> thought most sure);</p> + <p class="i2"> Through the name that hath made me cower,</p> + <p class="i4">"<i>The holy bishop of Tours!</i>"</p> + <p class="i2"> Now, tired of life's poor show,</p> + <p class="i4"> Aweary of soul and sore,</p> + <p class="i2"> I am stretching my hands to go</p> + <p class="i4"> Where nothing can tempt me more.</p> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Ah, none but my Lord hath seen</p> + <p class="i4"> How often I've swerved aside—</p> + <p class="i2"> How the word or the look serene</p> + <p class="i4"> Hath hidden the heart of pride.</p> + <p class="i2"> When a beggar once crouched in need,</p> + <p class="i4">I flung him my priestly stole,</p> + <p class="i2"> And the people did laud the deed,</p> + <p class="i4"> Withholding the while their dole:</p> + <p class="i2"> Then I closed my lips on a curse,</p> + <p class="i4"> Like a scorpion curled within,</p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 691]</span> + <p class="i2">On such cheap charity. Worse</p> + <p class="i4"> Was even than theirs, my sin!</p> + <p class="i2"> And once when a royal hand</p> + <p class="i4"> Brake bread for the Christ's sweet grace,</p> + <p class="i2"> I was proud that a queen should stand</p> + <p class="i4"> And serve in the henchman's place.</p> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2"> But sorest of all bestead</p> + <p class="i4"> Was a night in my narrow cell,</p> + <p class="i2"> As I pondered with low-bowed head</p> + <p class="i4"> A purpose that pleased me well.</p> + <p class="i2"> 'Twas fond to the sense and fair,</p> + <p class="i4"> Attuned to the heart and will,</p> + <p class="i2"> And yet on its face it bare</p> + <p class="i4"> The look of a duty still;</p> + <p class="i2"> And I said, as my doubts took wing,</p> + <p class="i4"> "Where duty and choice accord,</p> + <p class="i2"> It is even a pleasant thing,</p> + <p class="i4"> <i>To the flesh</i>, to serve the Lord."</p> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> I turned and I saw a sight</p> + <p class="i4"> Wondrous and strange to see—</p> + <p class="i2"> A being as marvelous bright</p> + <p class="i4"> As the visions of angels be:</p> + <p class="i2"> His vesture was wrought of flame,</p> + <p class="i4"> And a crown on his forehead shone,</p> + <p class="i2"> With jewels of nameless name,</p> +<p class="i4"> Like the glory about the Throne.</p> +<p class="i2"> "Worship thou me," he said;</p> +<p class="i4"> And I sought, as I sank, to trace,</p> + <p class="i2"> Through his hands above me spread,</p> + <p class="i4"> The lineaments of his face.</p> + <p class="i2"> I pored on each palm to see</p> + <p class="i4"> The scar of the <i>stigma</i>, where</p> + <p class="i2"> They had fastened him to the Tree,</p> + <p class="i4"> But no print of the nails was there.</p> + <p class="i2">Then I shuddered, aghast of brow,</p> + <p class="i4"> As I cried, "Accurst! abhorred!</p> + <p class="i2"> Get thee behind me! for thou</p> + <p class="i4"> Art Satan, and not my Lord!"</p> + <p class="i2"> He vanished before the spell</p> + <p class="i4"> Of the Sacred Name I named,</p> + <p class="i2"> And I lay in my darkened cell</p> + <p class="i4"> Smitten, astonied, shamed.</p> + <p class="i2">Thenceforth, whatever the dress</p> + <p class="i4"> That a seeming duty wear,</p> + <p class="i2">I knew 'twas a wile, <i>unless</i></p> + <p class="i4"> <i>The print of the nail was there!</i></p> +</div></div> + +<p class="center">MARGARET J. PRESTON.</p> + + + +<span class="pagenum">[pg 692]</span> +<a name="ti"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + THE LONG FELLOW OF TI. +</h2> +<p> + Colman put down his book and looked about the parlors and piazzas of + the hotel, and went and spoke to the barkeeper: "Have you seen Mr. + Field lately?" +</p> +<p> + "No: he hasn't been in here since supper." +</p> +<p> + Colman went out and walked down toward the head of the lake. Passing + out of the shadow of the trees, the open shore was before him, and the + wharf at some distance, with the tiny steamer, the Wanita, lying by it + in the moonlight. There was some one coming along the sandy road, and + Colman leaned against a tree and waited for him. The dark side of the + boat was toward him, and though it was quite late, a light showed in + one of her windows. When the person on the beach came near Colman, he + turned and stood watching the light till it went out, and then came + on. Colman stepped out, and the comer said, "Halloa, Phil! is that + you? You startled me. Going in?" +</p> +<p> + Philip only nodded, and they walked back to the house together, Field + whistling absently. They went up to their room, and Field sat by the + window while Colman struck a light. +</p> +<p> + "Dan," said Philip abruptly, "I want you to come on with me + to-morrow." +</p> +<p> + Field was looking out through the trees toward the wharf and boats at + the head of the lake. He turned sharply and answered: "Phil, you're a + prig. I'll do nothing of the kind." +</p> +<p> + "We've been here long enough, Dan," Philip went on, taking no notice + of the rudeness except in his manner. "I shall go north in the + morning. I wish you would come with me." +</p> +<p> + "The deuce you do!" Field retorted. "You may do as you please. We came + to stay as long as we enjoyed it here, and there's nothing to go for, + that I know of." +</p> +<p> + No more was said. Colman went to bed, and Field sat smoking by the + window. After a while he forgot his cigar, and it went out. He heard + the wind whispering among the trees that almost brushed his face. + Through the branches he got glimpses of the lake placid under the + moon, and the black breadths of shadow below the opposite hills. He + sat a long while, and the house became still. He seemed alone with the + night, and the hush and awe of it touched him and moulded his thought. + It was very late when he got up at last. The lamp was still burning, + and Field had not taken off his hat. He went over and sat down on the + edge of the bed, and looked at his sleeping friend until the latter + opened his eyes. +</p> +<p> + "Phil," said Field, "you're not a prig, but I'm a fool. I'm coming + with you in the morning." +</p> +<p> + "All right, Dan," Philip answered. "I'm glad you are coming. + Good-night." +</p> +<p> + They went on north next day with no definite plan, came to the lower + lake and the old fort on the cliff, and, taking a great liking to the + place, lingered in the neighborhood from day to day. They happened + one evening upon a queer, secluded public-house across the lake, where + they fell in with a long, lean, leathery young native, who appeared + to be a guide and waterman, and told them stories of the hunting and + fishing among the lakes and mountains in a vein of unconscious humor + and a low, even, husky voice which the friends found very agreeable. + They met him again at a fair and horse-race at Scalp Point, and found + their liking for him increased. Finally, they were to go south at noon + on Friday, and then put it off till the night boat. After supper they + took out the skiff from the rocky landing for a last row. They pulled + round under the dark cliffs that rose sheer from the water and were + crowned with the wall of the old fort, the cliffs themselves seamed + across with strata of white, like mortar-lines of some Titanic + masonry. They gave chase to a tug puffing northward half a mile to the + right, towing two or three canal-boats through the still water and the + stiller night. Then a sail came ghostily out of the shadow astern, and + stole on them as they drew away and waited for it. By and by the boat + crept up, dropped away a little from the light wind, and passed close + to leeward. There was one man in her sitting in the stern, and the + whole made hardly a sound. They knew the man at the tiller: it was the + long fellow again. He took them in, and they talked as they drifted + on. The lights behind the locusts fell far astern. +</p> +<p> + "Come, come!" said Colman at last: "this won't do. We have a long pull + now, and we're to be off at two in the morning." +</p> +<p> + Field turned and asked the young fellow if he was engaged for a week + or two. No, not especially: he had been running parties a good deal + off and on, but they were getting pretty thin now, and there was not + much call for boats. +</p> +<p> + "Will you go with me on a gunning and fishing cruise through the + lakes?" asked Field; and the long fellow said he'd go with him + as soon as any other man, and when should they start? "To-morrow + morning," answered Field, "any time you like." +</p> +<p> + They got into the skiff, threw off the line, and pulled back to the + Fort House; that is, Field pulled and Colman lay in the stern and + listened to the water gurgling under the boat. They landed and climbed + up the rocks. +</p> +<p> + "So you're going back?" said Colman. "Dan, I wish you'd come home." +</p> +<p> + Field flushed and turned sharply. "Oh, hang your preaching, Phil!" + he snapped out. "You're too infernally flat. Who said anything about + going back?" +</p> +<p> + The steamer was due in three or four hours. They went straight to + bed, and it seemed about ten minutes afterward when Colman woke with + a start and saw Field striking a light: it was twenty minutes of two. + They waited an hour for the boat, walking about or sitting by + <span class="pagenum">[pg 693]</span> +the + fire. Then the landlord came in with a lantern and said the boat was + coming, and they went down to the wharf and waited for her. The bell + rang, the wheels ploughed in, the friends bade each other good-night, + gave a hearty grip of the hand, and then there was one left alone. + Field went back to bed. In the morning he made himself a rough outfit + of clothes and boots, and started on foot with his guide. He did not + know the guide's name, and called him "Long" to begin with, and the + guide answered as if that had been his name from his christening, only + glancing askance at Field the first time with a twinkle in his eye, + and would give no other name after that. "A name was only a handle to + a man, any way, and one was as good as another, or better." +</p> +<p> + It would be hard to define the motive that led Field to answer. "Well, + if it's the same to you, Long it is. You can call me Meadow when you + don't think of anything better." +</p> +<p> + Long had an evident admiration for his companion which increased every + day. Field was a good shot, as good a fisherman as himself, rowed + and walked and sailed with about equal strength and skill, could do + wonderful tricks of tossing balls and other feats, could eat + anything or go without, sleep anywhere, and be good-humored in any + circumstances; and Field found Long a trusty, self-contained, clever + fellow, and was much entertained by his dry humor and amusing stories + of bear-hunts and deer-hunts and queer adventures. They tramped that + region pretty thoroughly, camping out at nights or sleeping at the + nearest of the little settlements. +</p> +<p> + One morning they took a boat at the head of the lake and rowed down + toward a pond on the east side among the hills, where Long said the + ducks came "so thick you couldn't see through 'em, and where the water + was so shallow and the mud so deep that, when the ducks were shot, the + Devil couldn't get 'em 'thout he had a dog." After a while a wind + came swooping down on the quiet water through a dip in the hills, and + nearly blew the skiff's bows out of water. The + <span class="pagenum">[pg 694]</span> +sleeping lake woke up, + pitched and foamed, and beat upon the bows and dashed over the young + men till they were nearly as wet as the waves themselves. Field was + pulling to Long's stroke, the wind fluttering his hair in his eyes and + the water running down his back, but he would not say anything till + Long did. Presently Long looked round over his shoulder, and hailed, + "I guess we'd best throw up and get a tow: I hear the Wanita coming + down." +</p> +<p> + Presently the little steamer came along and threw them a line. Long + caught it and made it fast. They were nearly jerked out of the water + or flung into it, and then went boiling along in the steamer's wake. + A boat-hand drew in the line, and they climbed out, swaying and + floundering through a cloud of spray, and all the passengers crowding + back to see. They went forward and up on deck, and the captain spoke + to Long from the pilot-house, calling him Trapp. Long talked to him + through the window and introduced Field when he came along: "Mr. + Meadow, Cap'n Charner. I'm showing him bear-tracks and things around + the pond." +</p> +<p> + "How do you do, captain?" said Field. "Don't know me in the part of + Neptune, eh?" +</p> +<p> + "Oho!" said the captain, glancing aside from the wheel. "It's you, is + it? Where's your friend?—Trapp," he continued, "you'd better take + Mr. Meadow down and get Hess to dry his coat." They went down to the + little cabin, where a trim, plainly dressed, but very pretty girl was + busy with some sewing. She started and laughed when she saw Long and + how wet he was. Then she saw there was somebody else, and she blushed + a little. +</p> +<p> + "Mr. Meadow, Hess," and "Miss Hessie Charner, Meadow," introduced + Long; and he told her what the captain had bidden him. +</p> +<p> + The girl brought a coat of her father's for Field, and hung his up + to dry near the furnace, and the three chatted together till the boat + warped in to the wharf at her trip's end. +</p> +<p> + Long did not know how it was, but it happened constantly after that + that they fell in with the Wanita somewhere on her trip. He found that + accident pleasant enough at first, but somehow changed his mind before + long, and managed that they did not happen upon the boat the next day. + That afternoon Field had some business in Bee, and set off in that + direction, engaging to meet Long with traps and bear-bait at the + Hexagon Hotel the next morning. His business in Bee could not have + required much time, for when Long happened down at Leewell that + evening, Field was smoking with Captain Charner in the little cabin of + the Wanita, the captain's daughter sitting by with some sewing. Long + sat with them a while, but he would not smoke, and his conversation + could not be called brilliant or amusing. Field, on the other hand, + talked his best and was in the highest spirits. Long got up and went + away presently, with only a good-night to the captain. +</p> +<p> + One evening, a little later, two persons were looking out on the lake + and the dark hills beyond, and talking in low tones by the rail on the + lower deck of the Wanita as she lay at her wharf. A tall man passed + down along the shore, and went by without looking round. An hour + later Field was walking quickly along the shore-road in the moonlight, + crushing the gravel and whistling an air under his breath, when Long + came out of the shaded piece ahead and started past without any sign + of recognition. +</p> +<p> + On Thursday of that same week Field left Long at a point on the east + side of the lake, to go to Bee; and half an hour after arriving there + was out on the Leewell road, on horseback, galloping south, singing + a stave of a song as he dashed along. There was a dance that night at + the George Hotel, and Field was there, the handsomest and gayest + of men; and there was no prettier girl in the rooms than the one he + brought and danced so well with, and whom no one else knew. Late at + night, looking up from her flushed and happy face in a pause of the + dance, his eyes fell on another face, neither flushed nor happy, + looking at him from a door across the length of the saloon, and he was + doubly spirited and devoted after that. He did not see the face again, + but he was half conscious of being watched as the ball came at last to + an end, and he saw his charge home to the house of the friend in the + town with whom she was to spend the night. He turned away with a set + face when the door had closed upon her, and walked back quickly the + way he had come, peering into the shadows, but he saw nothing. He got + his horse from the stable and rode north along the shore as the gray + morning stole over the sky and the ever-sleeping hills and the broad, + calm, misty lake. He gave the black mare heel and rein, and brought + her white and panting into Bee. He did not put on the rough clothes + again, but went as he was to meet Long at the appointed place across + the lake. He ordered the boatman who rowed him to wait. Long was + waiting for him, lying on a grassy slope. He nodded when Field came + up. +</p> +<p> + "Long," said the latter, "I guess this is about played out." +</p> +<p> + "Just about," answered Long, looking at him steadily without moving. + "guess you'd best quit." +</p> +<p> + "Very well, come up to the Ti House at noon and we'll settle up." And + he turned and strode away. He was smoking on the porch of the Ti House + when Long came up about noon. He took down his feet from the rail, + threw away his cigar and went in with him. He sat down at a table, and + Long took a chair opposite without a word. Field made a calculation + on a scrap of paper, took out a roll of bills' and counted out the + amount. "There, Long," he said good-humoredly, "this week won't be up + till Monday, but we'll call it even time." +</p> +<p> + Something unpleasant came into the guide's eyes when Field said + "Long." "I'll trouble you," he said, "not to mention that there name + again, meaning me." +</p> +<p> + He put out his long arm and knuckled hand and drew the bills across + the board. He counted out part and pushed the rest back. "This is + mine," he said: "I'd ha' made about that on the lake, + <span class="pagenum">[pg 695]</span> +average luck. I + don't want to be beholden to you, nor you to me." +</p> +<p> + "As you please," answered Field, folding up the bills. He wrote on a + slip of paper, wrapped it round the roll and tied all with a bit of + string: "I'll keep this for you if you say so. When you want it, just + let me know. There is my number." +</p> +<p> + He twirled a card across the table, and it fell face down before Long. + He took it up without turning it over, tore it across and dropped it + on the floor. +</p> +<p> + "Stranger," he said, "you and me's quits. I don't know you and you + don't know me. But if I was a friend of yours, and advisin' you what + was best for you, I'd say to you, 'Go home.'" His skull-cap drawn + forward, and his face set and threatening, he leaned forward with his + powerful arms on the table and spoke in his usual low, unemphatic way, + and with his deliberate, huskily-musical voice. Field laughed: his + right arm was back upon the arm of his chair, and his fingers under + his coat played with something that clicked. +</p> +<p> + "Just so," Long went on, as if Field had spoken, perhaps a shade + darker in the face, but with the same even manner and voice. "Our + bears don't carry no coward's devil-fingers that kill by p'inting at + twenty foot, but they hev got teeth and claws." +</p> +<p> + Field started up and flushed like fire. "Did you say <i>coward</i>?" he + said. "By ——! that's more than I'll take from you!" And his voice + and his hand on the back of his chair shook a little as he spoke. +</p> +<p> + Long lay back in his chair, folded his arms and nodded: "You heard + what I said. Maybe it ain't York English, but it's such as we hev in + these parts." +</p> +<p> + Field stood a minute looking at him. Then he drew out a silver-mounted + revolver from his pocket and laid it on the table. +</p> +<p> + "There," he said, "I make you a present of it. Be careful: it is + loaded and cocked." +</p> +<p> + Long looked up with something like admiration in his face. He took the + pistol in his hand, went to the window + <span class="pagenum">[pg 696]</span> +and fired the six barrels, one + after the other. The landlord came in to see what it was. +</p> +<p> + "Mr. Wannock," said Long, "lockup this pistol till Mr. Meadow calls + for it." +</p> +<p> + "It is not mine," said Field: "I gave it to you, and you took it." +</p> +<p> + Long went out without a word. +</p> +<p> + Field did not go home. He was back and forth about the lakes, mostly + about the upper one, for a week or two after that. He turned up in all + sorts of places, fished in deep water and shoal, rowed and shot and + climbed the mountains. He fell in with the Wanita and her people very + often. One evening—it was Thursday, the twentieth—he was in the + village of Ti, and walked out with his cigar, alone. He strolled + up the road to the high levels and walked on. The moon was high and + bright, and the country about him surpassingly peaceful and beautiful + under the white sheen. He came at last to the old fort and wandered + through the ruins, ghostly and weird in the calm moonlight. A flock + of sheep was lying under the trembling old walls. "Peace and war," + he muttered to himself, and leaned against a crumbling wall a little + while, looking at the dreamy picture. He got up on the old ramparts + and picked his way out till he stood on the outermost point of the + star, where the massive wall stands almost as solid as when the + Frenchmen built it a century and a half ago. This outer angle of the + fort rises sheer from the edge of the perpendicular cliff whose foot + is washed by the waters of the lake. +</p> +<p> + Field sat down on the stones with his feet hanging over, and looked + down and around. The still, bright water, the hills bright and black + in light or shadow, and the serene sky made a scene exceedingly solemn + and impressive. Below, in the sombre shadow of the cliff, Field heard + the faint, musical bubble of the water among the rocks, and a sheep + bleated once behind the ruined fort: those were the only sounds. He + dropped the end of his cigar, and watched the spark till it went out + suddenly far down. +</p> +<p> + The scene very naturally reminded him of his friend. Down there they + had rowed together—twice was it, or three times? Strange that he had + forgotten already, but it seemed a long time since. Below this wall on + the left they had stood the first day they were here, and chipped bits + of mortar and stone for mementoes. He remembered how Phil had hunted + the whole place for a flower without finding one—he wondered whether + it was for any one in particular that he had wanted it so much. Yes, + it seemed an age since that day, and how everything had changed! Under + the cliff there to the left—he could not see it, but he knew it + was there—was the little wooden wharf where he had parted from Phil + between night and morning. And he wished to God he had gone home with + him. +</p> +<p> + He heard a crunching sound behind him, and looked round sharply. + Then he turned and got up on his feet, and stood with his back to + the precipice. The long fellow stood in the path facing him, with his + hands in his pockets and his dark face in the shadow. A glance told + Field, what he knew already, that there was only one way to go back. + His face was white, but there was no more tremor in his voice than if + he had leaned against a pyramid instead of a hundred feet of thin air, + when he said, "Well?" +</p> +<p> + There was something just a little strained and by no means pleasant + to hear in the familiar, husky voice that answered, "Ain't it kind o' + dangerous out there? Suppose you was to fall off there?" +</p> +<p> + "I don't choose to suppose it," was the steady answer. "Let's talk + about something else." +</p> +<p> + "It ain't pleasant to think of, is it?" the huskily-musical voice + went on. "It must be something like a hundred foot to the rocks down + there." He paused and began again: "Moonshine's a queerish light, + though, ain't it? Makes you look as white now as if you was scared." +</p> +<p> + "That's very strange, isn't it?" Field replied. "Do you think it would + have the same effect on you if you stood in my place?" +</p> +<p> + "I'm —— if I don't!" Long broke out, with a twitching motion of his + head, and trembling as he spoke; "and I'd be so cold my teeth would + chatter and my veins grog." +</p> +<p> + "Come," Field said sternly, beginning to feel that if he stood much + longer on that spot he should grow dizzy and fall, "let's have no more + of this. Have you anything you wish to propose? If you haven't, I'll + trouble you to move on and let me pass." +</p> +<p> + "I propose," replied the other, with a twist of his head, as if there + was something in his throat hard to swallow, speaking slowly and + repeating the words—"I propose to throw you over." +</p> +<p> + Field knew that the fellow united the strength of the bear and the + agility of the wild-cat. He knew that, even if he had not the terrible + disadvantage of position, he would stand no chance in a struggle. + Glancing down, he caught the flash of a wave upon the black rocks + far below. But he only bit his lip and stood still, a little whiter + perhaps, but his eyes never flinching from the other's face. When he + did not speak, Long asked, "Do you know what that means?" +</p> +<p> + The answer came straight and startling, "Yes, it means death." +</p> +<p> + "I guess you're about right," Long continued. "And I calculate you're + about as well prepared as you'll 'most ever be." +</p> +<p> + Field began to show the strain upon his nerves and the sense of his + desperate state, but only by the evident tension of the muscles of the + jaw and the unnatural calm of his manner and low, forced tone. "Very + likely," he said; and added slowly, "but I'll not go alone." +</p> +<p> + "Maybe not. I don't much care," was the sullen reply. "This place + or that since you come, there ain't much choice. But if you've got + anything on your mind that you'd like to have off before you quit, + you'd best have it up." +</p> +<p> + "I have only one thing to say to you," was the reply: "you are not + going to throw me over." There was a dimness in his young eyes then + and a rising in his throat. He thought of a great many things and + people in a very brief space, + <span class="pagenum">[pg 697]</span> +and the world and a score of friendly + faces seemed very sweet and hard to let go. And yet at the same time + another and sterner self steadfastly put all that aside, and triumphed + over the shrinking of the flesh from the dreadful certainty, and of + the spirit from the dread unknown; and to the long fellow's advance + and fierce question, "Who'll hinder me?" he cried aloud, "I will." He + turned and shut his eyes, gathered himself together, and sprang out + into the awful abyss. With his arms by his side and his feet together, + swift and straight as an arrow, he dropped through the moonlight + and through the black shadow, and struck with a quick, keen plunge a + moment afterward a dizzy distance down. +</p> +<p> + Lying on his face, looking down with staring eyes, and clinging + fiercely to the stones for a great fear that took hold of him and + shook him, the long fellow suddenly heard the shock of an oar, and + saw round to the left a boat slide out of the black shadow under the + cliffs and into the calm stretch of moonlit water. He rose up then and + fled for miles like a hunted hare. +</p> +<p> + Field was quickly missed, and suspicion immediately set upon long Bill + Trapp. More people knew of the little drama they and one more had + been playing than either had any idea of. A boy from the Ti House had + passed Field up near the old battle-ground, and coming back from the + village soon after had followed Trapp and seen him turn up toward + the old fort. A handkerchief was found on the top of the cliff marked + "D.F.," and Field's hat was found among the rocks along the shore. A + warrant was issued for Trapp's arrest, and he was hunted high and low + by a posse of constables, but not taken. And meanwhile Field was lying + unconscious in an old farm-house by the lake-side a mile or two north. + Old Trapp had been out that night, looking for his son—he and + Bill's mother had been a good deal worried about him the last week + or two—and the old man had been down to Ti inquiring for him, having + heard nothing of him for some days. He was pulling out, on his + way home, from under + <span class="pagenum">[pg 698]</span> +the rocks below the fort, and saw the two men + standing out in the angle of the wall high up. He saw the awful leap + and plunge, rowed round and fished out the limp shape of a young man + he had never seen, worked the water out of him, rowed him home and + carried him and laid him in bed. He left him there, breathing but + unconscious, and went for Dr. Niedever of Rawdon. He must have struck + his head in some way: there was a cut on his forehead, but no other + serious injury that could be seen. If he had struck sidewise, it would + not have mattered much whether it was water or rock that he struck; + but his leap had carried him beyond the debris at the cliff's foot, + and, coming down perfectly straight as he did, ten feet deeper water + would have let him off little the worse. As it was, he was unconscious + for some time. When he came to himself he was extremely weak and + hungry, and perfectly contented to let them do with him as they + pleased. The doctor's daily visits, the movements of the queer old + couple as they came in and out, fed him and gave his draughts, the + homely old place and the placid expanse of the lake which he saw by + turning his head, were as much and no more to him than his own body + lying there day after day. They were parts of a pantomime, of which he + was actor and spectator, but in which he had no special interest, and + which he was perfectly happy to go to sleep and leave. Gradually his + brain cleared, and slowly he got back the thread of recollection where + it had broken so sharply, and began to spin again; and among the first + clear new ideas that took shape out of his scattered wits was one, + that the queer old couple had been exceedingly good to him, and that + they had no special reason for kindness in his case; and, second, + that this gruff, ruddy, Indian-haired doctor was a man of skill and + decision, and one not too fond of Mr. Daniel Field. +</p> +<p> + The second Sunday afternoon Field was lying quietly looking out on the + lake from the bed, and thinking in a mood uncommonly serious for + him, not very complacent nor very proud. Some feelings that had been + stronger than he cared to resist these last few weeks had grown vague + and intermittent—some new ones had come into their place. +</p> +<p> + Dr. Niedever came in and looked at him, giving him no greeting and + treating him brusquely enough. He took a turn about the room, and + faced round. "Well, young man," he said, "we pulled you through a + pretty tight place." +</p> +<p> + The manner and tone angered Field. "That's your trade, isn't it?" he + answered. "I suppose money will pay you." +</p> +<p> + "Money!" roared the old doctor. "Of course you'll pay, and pay well. + But do you think I've done it for your sake, or your money? Look here: + he served you right when he threw you over." +</p> +<p> + "I suppose he'd hang as well as another," answered Field. +</p> +<p> + "He wouldn't hang. There's no evidence but hearsay and surmise against + him. If you had died, your body would never have been found. A hundred + good men would testify to his character, and I'd have been one. He + stands a worse chance now than if you were anchored to the bottom of + the lake. I haven't saved your life for his sake nor for yours: I have + done it for this old man. You owe me nothing but money, but everything + you've got, and all you'll ever have, and the chance of redeeming + yourself, you owe to old Joe Trapp; and I wish him joy of his debtor!" +</p> +<p> + "Now, old man," Field answered, "you can go. You needn't come back. I + haven't the money now, but old Trapp will give you my card out of my + coat. Send your bill to that address and I'll pay you when I can." +</p> +<p> + The doctor stood looking at him a minute with his hands in his + pockets, his red face scowling savagely. He muttered something, turned + on his heel and went down. Old Trapp was away at the time, and came + home an hour later. He came up and into Field's room with his queer + gait and face and stooping old figure. +</p> +<p> + "My friend," said Field, "I'll trouble you to bring me my clothes: I'm + going to get up." +</p> +<p> + The old man went down and brought them, helped him to dress and come + down stairs, and set him by the fire in an easy-chair. The old wife + brought and laid on the table a knife, a bunch of keys, a letter, a + card-case and cigar-case, a handkerchief newly washed and ironed, + a pair of soiled gloves, some pennies and trifles, and two rolls of + bills. +</p> +<p> + "They was wet, you know, and we had to dry 'em separate," said the old + man, "but you'll find 'em right, I guess." +</p> +<p> + Field flushed up when he saw one of the rolls: it was tied with a + string, and a bit of paper about it was marked in pencil, partly + obliterated, "Long Fellow of Ti." He put that package into his pocket + with the' other things, and left the other roll of money on the table. +</p> +<p> + "You two people have done uncommonly neighborly by me," he said. "I + should like to know your reason." "I guess most anybody'd done it, + stranger," answered Trapp. "Like's you'd be done by, you know, ef + you'd ha' been me, wouldn't you?" +</p> +<p> + "No, I'll be hanged if I would!" broke out Field. "But look here, + friends: you think he threw me down. He did not: I jumped off myself. + He did not touch me." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, God bless you!" cried the bowed old wife, her worn face turning + radiant upon him and bright drops starting in the dull old eyes. They + were almost the first words he had heard her speak. Though she had + been very attentive to him all along, she had done it almost in + silence and with an averted face. Her voice was high and almost sweet. + Field talked on then, and told them several things at which they both + fell to crying like children. He took out one bill from the roll on + the table and made the old man take the rest. "I do not pretend that + money can pay what I owe you," he said, "but what I have you must let + me give you for my own satisfaction." +</p> +<p> + During the next few days, while he gathered his strength, our friend + sat about the house in the sunny places and took a strong liking for + the simple, kind old wife, and told her by degrees the + <span class="pagenum">[pg 699]</span> +story of his + life and his friends. In that wonderful air he rallied like magic. + He took longer and longer walks, keeping well out of sight of prying + eyes, though the place was retired enough, for that. Thursday morning + of that week he borrowed some clothes of the farmer and made a bundle + of his own. He bade the old couple good-bye, not without regret on + either side. As the Wanita ploughed up the lake that day on her return + trip, a man came down from the hurricane-deck into the cabin, sat by + the table and took up a magazine lying there and turned it over. + He was dressed in coarse, ill-fitting, homespun clothes, and had a + newly-healed scar on his forehead. His upper lip was roughly shorn, + and the rest of his face covered with a two or three weeks' beard. He + was not an attractive-looking person, certainly, and yet the pretty + girl sewing by the window, her face quite wan and worn-looking now, + glanced at him many times in a flurried, nervous way; and when he was + gone she went and took up the old magazine, opened it where a leaf was + turned down, and read these lines of an old-fashioned ballad: +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p>Oh, alone and alorn, as the night came down,</p> + <p class="i2"> Sir Reginald walked on the wet sea-sands;</p> + <p>And all as he walked came Marianne,</p> + <p class="i2"> King's daughter of all those lands.</p> +</div> +<p> + That evening, as the dusk was coming on, Hester Charner walked on the + path along the lake, round toward the forest, and suddenly in a shaded + place she met the unkempt stranger of the boat She started back and + almost screamed. His face had a dark look that scared her. +</p> +<p> + "Is it you, Mr. Meadow?" she entreated. +</p> +<p> + "No," he answered: "Meadow's dead—drowned in the lake for ever, I + hope to God." +</p> +<p> + The girl drew back with a little cry. "Then he did kill him?" she + wailed. "Oh, I wish I might die! I wish he'd killed me!" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, you false girl!" Field broke out. "But he did not kill him. I + killed him myself. He would if I hadn't, and served him right, too. + But he did not put a finger on him. I saved him from + <span class="pagenum">[pg 700]</span> +murder—him and + me. Yes, <i>you</i>—don't shrink—you drove him to it; and you would have + been the guiltier of the two. You were as good as promised to him—you + know you were—and you should have been proud to be. He would have + given his life for you any day, and you broke your faith for a + smooth—faced, brazen fop, who played with you to your peril, and + despised you in his heart all the while for a false jade. You may + thank Trapp all your life for cutting that short when he did, and + thank God you can yet be an honest wife to an honest man." +</p> +<p> + As he thus spoke there came a watery feeling into his eyes, and a + yearning to take the girl to his heart and brave all the world for her + sake. He hated the long fellow as he had never done before, and cursed + him in his heart while he praised him with his lips. But he kept his + thoughts upon a picture of a gray old farm-house by the water-side, + and a bent old man and woman therein, and went on playing his game, + and won it. +</p> +<p> + Her face paled, and she clasped her hands. "Where is he?" she asked + eagerly. +</p> +<p> + "He's lying to-night in Aleck Jarley's cabin, back of the haystack." +</p> +<p> + She was turning away, but he stopped her. "Wait a minute," he said. + "Here is some money belonging to Trapp: you can give it to him." +</p> +<p> + The money was in her hand before he had finished speaking. She folded + her shawl across her breast and turned away in the direction he had + indicated. +</p> +<p> + The next morning Field started for home. He had just one dollar in his + pocket and two hundred miles of ground to get over. He walked, caught + a ride now and then, got a lift on a canal-boat two or three times, + ate bread and drank water and slept in barns or under grain-stacks. + He came walking into Colman's office one morning looking cheerful but + somewhat disreputable. Colman did not know him at first. When they had + shaken hands. Colman looked in his friend's shaggy face and asked, "Is + it all square, Dan?" +</p> +<p> + "All square, Phil," answered Field, looking the other as straight in + the eyes; +</p> +<p> + "Well, I'm glad you pulled through, Dan," said Colman; "but you'd + better have come home with me." +</p> +<p> + "Well, I don't know, Phil," Field answered musingly: "I'm not sure + whether I'm sorry or glad." +</p> + +<p class="author">J.T. McKAY.</p> + + +<a name="problem"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + THE PROBLEM. +</h2> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2"> Two parted long, and yearning long to meet,</p> + <p class="i2"> Within an hour the life of months repeat;</p> + <p class="i2"> Then come to silence, as if each had poured</p> + <p class="i2"> Into the other's keeping all his hoard.</p> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2"> And when the life seems drained of all its store,</p> + <p class="i2"> Each inly wonders why he says no more.</p> + <p class="i2"> Why, since they've met, does mutual need seem small,</p> + <p class="i2"> And what avails the presence, after all?</p> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2"> Though silent thought with those we love is sweet,</p> + <p class="i2"> The heart finds every meeting incomplete;</p> + <p class="i2"> And with the dearest there must sometimes be</p> + <p class="i2"> The wide and lonely silence of the sea.</p> +</div></div> + +<center> + CHARLOTTE F. BATES. +</center> + + + +<span class="pagenum">[pg 701]</span> +<a name="monaco"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + MONACO. +</h2> +<p> + There are three ways of reaching Monaco from Nice—by sea, by rail, + and by carriage <i>viâ</i> the Corniche road. This last is the longest, but + by far the most interesting route. The railroad takes you to Monaco in + about an hour, and the steamer employs pretty nearly the same time. A + carriage, on the other hand, requires not less than five hours for + the journey, but then the scenery passed through is perhaps the most + striking in Southern Europe. I have often gone on foot, leaving Nice + early in the morning, and arriving in Monaco at about four in the + afternoon, having been able to rest fully two hours on the way. Once + beyond the town, the road begins to ascend what is called the Montée + de Villefranche, and at every step the views become more and more + varied and picturesque. Presently an olive wood is traversed, and the + town is lost to sight until the summit of the mountain which separates + the Bay of Nice from that of Villefranche is attained. This olive wood + is of great antiquity, and, like almost all similar thickets in this + part of the country, doubtless owes its origin to the Romans, who are + said to have introduced the tree into the Maritime Alps and the south + of France. Many of the trees are very large, and their trunks are + black and much twisted, their branches long and weird-looking, but + the exceeding delicacy of their foliage, which is dark green on the + outside and silver gray on the inner, lends them a very fascinating + appearance, especially on a moonlight night, when the arching boughs + of an olive grove look exactly as if covered with shawls of rich black + lace. The leaf of the olive tree, which is an evergreen, is attached + to the bough by a very slender stalk, so that the slightest wind + sets it in motion, as it does that of the quivering aspen. The fruit + resembles an acorn without its cup, and is brown and dingy. The flower + is very insignificant. +</p> +<p> + The olive trees at Nice are cultivated on terraces cut like deep steps + up the mountain-side. All the earth which fills these terraces + has been placed there by human labor; and when it is taken into + consideration that many hundreds of miles of mountain-side have been + thus redeemed from waste, that the work dates back at least fifteen + centuries, and was performed at a period when agricultural implements + were of the rudest, they must be acknowledged as among the most + gigantic of undertakings. They are from ten to twenty feet high, about + a quarter of a mile long, and from fifteen to twenty-five feet wide. + In order to form them the rock had to be cut away, blasting being of + course unknown at the time, and every handful of earth brought up from + the plain below, often to a height of two thousand feet. The Provençal + writers consider them the work of the Moors, but it is probable that + they were commenced under the Phoceans and the Romans and continued by + the Arabs. I have been shown several terraces the masonry of which + was undoubtedly Roman, and coins bearing the effigies of the earlier + Cæsars have been often found in the brick work. Corn is grown on them + under the shadow of the olive trees, to whose branches the vine is + frequently twined. I have seen two wheat-harvests gathered in one year + on these narrow terraces, and nothing can be imagined more charming + than their appearance late in autumn. Then the golden corn waves + beneath garlands of vine heavily laden with luscious fruit, the olive + tree, emblem of peace, waves its silvery foliage overhead, the peach + is ripe, and so are the bright green October figs, and there is a + mellowness in the air that makes one almost inclined to believe that + the age of gold has returned to earth. +</p> +<p> + As the summit of the mountain is approached vegetation becomes less + luxuriant, and finally disappears altogether. +<span class="pagenum">[pg 702]</span> +Mont Borron, for so is + the mountain in question called, is about two thousand five hundred + feet high, and the plateau at its top is barren and rocky, though the + short tufty thyme and myrtle grow in great abundance, to the delight + of the sheep and bees. The view obtained hence is amongst the most + beautiful in the world. Facing you is the deep blue Thyranean Sea, + sparkling with sails, and often on a clear day with the hazy outline + of the island of Corsica distinctly visible on its horizon. To the + right lies Nice, with all her domes, towers, churches, hotels, quays + and the interminable line of her palatial villas traced out as in a + map. Then range after range of mountains of every shape and nature, + grass grown, rocky, forest-covered, barren, rise one above the other + until the mists of distance alone efface them from sight. Along the + coast of France can be counted, from this point, not less than fifteen + separate bays and as many peninsulas and capes. Wherever the eye + lingers it is sure to discover enchanting districts—gardens of + surpassing loveliness, where grow groves of orange and lemon trees + white with blossom or golden with fruit; stately palms of many + varieties; the two-leaved eucalyptus; rose-bushes whose flowers are + far more numerous than their leaves; magnolia and camellia trees + capable of producing a thousand flowers; villas of Venetian, English, + Swiss, Italian, and Oriental architecture. Here by the sea is one of + such perfectly classical appearance that every moment one expects to + see issue from its marble peristyle the gracefully shaped Ione, Julia + or Lydia; there is a sweet little cottage, half buried in banksia + roses, which might have been transported from the Branch, Cape May or + the Isle of Wight. But if the view to your right is beautiful for its + luxuriant fertility, that to the left surpasses it in grandeur. Below + you is the pretty village of Villefranche, with its old church + and forts half hidden amongst the palms, which, together with the + innumerable aloe-plants of colossal proportions, give the scene a + truly African character. Villefranche reflects herself and her palms + upon the surface of the most mirror-like of bays, for even in the + stormiest weather no ripple stirs its waters—waters so deep that + the largest ships of war can anchor in them close to the shore. + The American frigates cruising in the Mediterranean usually make + Villefranche their winter resort, and the stately presences of the + Richmond, Plymouth, Shenandoah and Juniata are often to be seen here, + giving life to a scene which otherwise would lack animation. Beyond + Villefranche the long hilly peninsula of Beaulieu and St. Hospice + stretches for fully three miles out into the bay, as green as an + emerald, with some twenty pleasure-boats usually clustering about its + shores, for the cork woods of St. Hospice are famous for picnics and + merrymaking, and its little hotel is renowned throughout Europe for + its fish-dinners. +</p> +<p> + Behind Villefranche, and continuing for fully fifty miles along the + Italian coast, rise the majestic mountains of the Riviera. Nothing + can be imagined more awe-striking than their appearance: their weird + shapes, their gloomy ravines, their fearful precipices, beetling over + the sea many thousand feet, their crags, peaks, chasms and desolate + grandeur produce a panorama of unsurpassed magnificence. But what + impresses one most is perceiving that, however barren they seem, they + are nevertheless thickly peopled. Towns, villages, convents, villas + and towers cover them in all directions, and in positions often truly + astonishing. Yonder is quite a large town clustering round the extreme + peak of a mountain at least three thousand feet high, and utterly bald + of vegetation; there is Eza perched upon a rock rising perpendicularly + from the sea, so that a stone thrown from the church-tower would fall + straight into the waves below through fifteen hundred feet of space; + far away in the distance, and close upon the shore, looking as white + as a band of pearls, are the villas of Mentone, and just in front of + them the castle-crowned heights of Monaco; yonder, almost touching the + clouds, is the famous sanctuary of Laghetto, and there is Augustus's + monument at La Tarbia—a solitary round tower, so solidly built that + it has resisted the ravages of eighteen centuries. +</p> +<p> + But what pen can describe the splendor of this scene? what brush + reproduce its ever-changing hues, its delicate mists, its broad + shadows, the deep blue of the sea, the rosy tint which Aurora casts + over all, or the vivid purples and crimsons which glow upon the + mountain-crags and strew the indigo of the Mediterranean with + jasper, ruby, Sapphire and gold when the sun falls to rest behind the + beautiful Cape of Antibes? Nature defies Art in such a spot as this, + and seems to triumph in bewildering our delighted senses with the + infinite variety of her products. Here her sea and mountains are + sublime in their grandeur, and at our feet are wild violets and heath + and rosemary and thyme, each, too, sublime in its way. She defies us + with her colors, her odors, and even with her music, for overhead "the + lark at heaven's gate sings," and the bees go buzzing home laden with + honey stolen from the wild honeysuckle, caper and myrtle which grow + abundantly around. +</p> +<p> + It was my fortune once to escort to this view the illustrious French + artist Paul Delaroche. His delight can be better imagined than + described. "Ah!" he exclaimed, "ceci c'est trop bien!" He assured me + that no painter could attempt it excepting perhaps Turner, and + vowed that although he had visited many lands he had never witnessed + anything to surpass it. Turner perhaps could have reproduced such a + scene, for he possessed the power of giving the general effects of + extended landscapes admirably, without entering too minutely into + their details. In the "Loreto necklace" and "Golden bough" he has + painted two marvelously varied views full of ranges of mountains, + rivers, lakes and classic buildings, without confusion, and with great + skill displayed in portraying various and vaporous distances. +</p> +<p> + But it is high time that we leave the fine arts and hasten on to + Monaco. Space, like time, is limited, and much as I should love to + conduct my readers all the long way on foot, to show them +<span class="pagenum">[pg 703]</span> +the monster + olive tree at Beaulieu, which is seven yards in circumference, and + reputed the largest of its species in the world, to pause a little + amidst the Roman ruins of La Tarbia and the Saracenic remains of Eza + and Roccabruna, I must hasten on to the capital of the Liliputian + dominions of his Serene Highness Prince Florestan II. +</p> +<p> + Let me entertain you with a very brief account of the history of this + singular little princedom. Monaco is one of the most ancient places in + Europe. Five hundred years before our Blessed Lord came to redeem the + world, Hecate of Melites wrote an account of the city, which he called + <i>Monoikos</i> (the "isolated dwelling"), and declared it to be even then + so old a town that the people had lost all tradition of its origin, + except that some of their priests asserted Hercules to have founded it + after his feat of slaying Geryon and the brigands before he left Italy + for Spain. The Romans, in fact, called it <i>Portus Herculis Monceci</i>, + and for short "<i>Portus Monceci</i>." During the Middle Ages Hercules + was entirely cast aside, and the town was spoken of as Monaco. The + tradition of its original foundation is carefully preserved in the + civic coat-of-arms, which represents a gigantic monk with a club in + his hand—Hercules in a friar's robe. In the days of Charlemagne + the Moors invaded Monaco, and remained there until A.D. 968, when a + Genoese captain named Grimaldi volunteered to assist the Christian + inhabitants in driving the infidels from their shores. He was + victorious, and was rewarded for his bravery and skill by being + proclaimed prince of Monaco. In the family of his descendants the + little territory still remains. +</p> +<p> + The Grimaldis were powerful rulers, wise and brave, and having secured + independence, they maintained it at all cost through centuries of + trouble. Fifty-eight sieges has Monaco sustained from either the + French or the Genoese, but she never lost her independence excepting + for a few years at a time. In 1428 a terrible tragedy of great + dramatic interest occurred in the castle. John Grimaldi was prince, + and married to a +<span class="pagenum">[pg 704]</span> +Fieschi Adorno of Genoa, a lovely lady, but a + faithless. She had not long been a wife ere she fixed her affections + on her husband's younger brother, Lucian, and induced him to murder + his brother and usurp the throne. Accordingly, Lucian, aided by his + mistress, stabbed John Grimaldi in his bed, and having thrown the body + into the sea, proclaimed himself prince. He reigned but a short time. + Bartolomeo Doria, nephew of the Genoese doge, Andrea Doria the Great, + murdered him at a masquerade given in his palace to celebrate his + infamous sister-in-law's birthday. The galleys of the doge awaited + the assassin without the port, and transported him back in safety to + Genoa—a circumstance which gave rise to a suspicion that Andrea was + himself privy to the deed. As to the wicked lady, she was banished to + the castle of Roccabruna, where she died miserably, abandoned by all. + A legend says she went distracted, and in a fit of insanity flung + herself headlong over the rocks into the sea. +</p> +<p> + In 1792 the French Republic destroyed the principality, but it was + restored through the interest of Talleyrand in 1815. A revolution + broke out in 1848, which obliged the prince to declare Monaco a free + town, and which also deprived His Highness of Mentone and Roccabruna. + When the French annexed Nice they also added the two last-mentioned + towns to their dominions, but had to pay Prince Florestan four + millions of francs for his feudal right. +</p> +<p> + If Monaco is not a very large principality, it is in a pecuniary sense + exceedingly flourishing. In 1863 His Highness made the acquaintance of + M. Blanc, the famous gambling-saloon "organizer" of Homburg, and, on + the receipt of the trifling consideration of twelve million francs and + an annual tax of one hundred and fifty thousand, consented to allow + him to establish the world-famous saloons at Monte Carlo, about a mile + and a half from the capital. +</p> +<p> + The people of Monaco pay few taxes, enjoy many privileges, like and + laugh at their sovereign, and by no means desire annexation either to + France or Italy. By law they are strictly prohibited from gambling, + and are a quiet, thrifty, peace-loving set, kept in order by an army + of sixty-one men, ten officers and a colonel, of whom more anon. Just + at present the court of "Liliput" has given room for a great deal + of gossip. His Serene Highness the hereditary prince, and Her Serene + Highness the princess, after a few months of matrimonial bliss, have + quarreled and separated. It happened on this wise. (The information I + give I know to be correct, as it was communicated to me by an intimate + friend of the young princess, and I was at Nice myself when the affair + occurred.) About four years ago the young prince of Monaco married, + through the influence of the empress Eugenie, the Lady Mary Douglas, + sister of the duke of Hamilton and daughter of H.I.H. the princess + Mary of Baden, duchess of Hamilton, and grand-daughter of the + celebrated Prince Eugene Beauharnois. The wedding was magnificent, and + the bride and bridegroom appeared exceedingly well pleased with each + other. After a brief honeymoon both their highnesses returned to + Monaco to reside with the reigning prince and princess. Very soon + afterward the young lady commenced making bitter complaints to + her friends of the court etiquette, which she declared was utterly + unendurable, especially to a free-born Englishwoman. An instance will + suffice: One morning Her Serene Highness came down to breakfast before + the whole family was assembled. To her amusement, she beheld on each + plate an egg labeled "For His Serene Highness, the reigning prince," + "For H.S.H. the reigning princess," "For H.S.H. the hereditary + prince," "For H.S.H. the hereditary princess." Being in a hurry and + hungry, "Her Serene Highness the hereditary princess" sat herself + down and ate her own egg and the eggs of her neighbors. Horror! Court + etiquette was over-thrown. The egg destined for the august prince + Florestan II. had been eaten by his own daughter-in-law! The outraged + majesty of Monaco was indignant, and the youthful aspirant to the + throne by no means mild in his reproaches. However, true Douglas as + she is, the old blood of Archibald Bell-the-cat boiled over, and the + princess Mary is reported to have read the serene family a famous + lecture. Matters went on in this way until the poor girl could stand + it no longer, and one fine day escaped from "jail," ran down to the + station and took the first train for Nice. A telegram was sent to + the gendarmerie at Nice to arrest her as soon as she got out of the + carriage. Accordingly, to her terror, when she put her foot on terra + firm a there stood two gendarmes ready to pounce upon her. It was, + however, no joke to arrest an imperial princess, for such Lady Mary + is by birth. The men hesitated, but not so the princess. Brought up + at Nice, she knew all the roads and bypaths of the place by heart. + Tucking up her petticoats, instead of going out by the ordinary exit + she made off as fast as her heels could carry her out of the station + to the fence which separates the lines from the road, climbed over it + and ran as swiftly as a hunted deer through the fields, pursued by + the two gendarmes, who, however, soon gave up the chase. Her Serene + Highness finally reached the Villa Arson, almost two miles distant, + terribly frightened and with her clothes pretty nearly torn off + her back. Here she found that noble-hearted and Christian woman her + mother, from whom she has never since separated. Nor has she yielded + up to her husband her little son, born soon after the flight from + Monaco. Vain have been the young man's attempts to induce her to + return to him, vain his appeals to the pope to use his influence, vain + even the threats of law. Last winter the prince induced the king + of Italy to permit an attempt to abduct the child from the princess + whilst she was staying in Florence with the grand duchess Marie of + Russia, but the guards of the imperial lady prevented the emissaries + of the Florentine syndic from even entering the palace, and the next + day the princess of Monaco fled with her child to Switzerland. What + the future developments of this singular affair will be +<span class="pagenum">[pg 705]</span> +time will + show. The husband seems determined not to yield, and has recently + employed the celebrated lawyer M. Grandperret as his counsel. It + is stated that undue influence of a malicious kind has been used to + prejudice both the duchess of Hamilton and her daughter against the + prince, but all who know the truly lofty mind of the duchess will be + sure that, although the reason for the princess's conduct has never + transpired, it must be a very good one, or her mother would never + uphold her as she does. Not the slightest blame is attributable to + the princess of Monaco, and her reputation remains utterly above + suspicion. +</p> +<p> + The station of Monaco is about ten minutes' walk from the town, which + we now see is built upon a lofty rock forming a kind of peninsula + jutting out from the mainland in the shape of a three-cornered hat. It + is about two hundred feet high, and rises almost perpendicularly from + the water on three sides, and that which joins the rest of the coast + is ascended by a winding and steep road which passes under several + very curious old gates and arches, originally belonging to the castle. + The castle crowns the centre of the rock, and is a most romantic + construction, possessing bastions, towers, portcullises, drawbridges + and all the paraphernalia of a genuine mediæval fortress. It was built + upon the site of a much more ancient edifice in 1542, and is a very + remarkable specimen of the military architecture of the fifteenth and + sixteenth centuries. During the French Revolution it was used as a + hospital for wounded soldiers, and subsequently fell into a state of + pitiable decay. It has, however, been repaired with great taste by the + present prince within the last few years. Internally, it possesses + a magnificent marble staircase and some fine apartments. One long + gallery is said to have been painted in fresco by Michael Angelo, but + it has been so much restored that the original design alone remains. + Another gallery is covered with good pictures by the Genoese artist + Carlone. Five doors open on this latter gallery—one leading to the + private chambers of the prince; another to +<span class="pagenum">[pg 706]</span> +those of the princess; a + third into a room where the duke of York, brother of George IV., was + carried to die; a fourth to the famous Grimaldi hall; and the fifth + to the room where Lucian Grimaldi was murdered, as already related, + by Bartolomeo Doria. This chamber was walled up immediately after + the crime, and only reopened in 1869, after a lapse of three hundred + years. The Grimaldi hall, or state chamber, is a large square + apartment of good proportions and handsomely decorated. Its chief + attraction is the chimney-piece, one of the finest specimens of + Renaissance domestic architecture now extant. It is very vast, lofty + and deep, constructed of pure white marble and covered with the most + exquisite bas-reliefs imaginable. Under Napoleon I. it was taken + down to be removed to Paris, but was replaced in 1815. The chapel is + handsome, and covered with good frescoes and splendid Roman mosaics. + The gardens are very delightful, abounding with shady bowers and + beautiful tropical plants. In one of the alleys is a tomb of the time + of Cæsar, bearing this inscription: +</p> + <center>JUL. CASAR</center> +<center>AUGUSTUS IMP.</center> + <center>TRIBUNITIA</center> + <center>POTESTATE</center> + <center>DCI.</center> +<p> + The streets of Monaco are very narrow, and possess but few handsome + houses. The little shops are very neat and the place is exceedingly + clean. The principal church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, is very + ancient, and possesses two or three good pre-Raphaelite pictures. It + is attached to a recently-restored Benedictine abbey, the mitred abbot + of which does the duties of bishop. He is an exceedingly pleasant + old gentleman, very chatty and unassuming. The Jesuits have a superb + college and convent in Monaco, which is the residence of the Father + Provincial of Piedmont and California. This may appear a somewhat + extensive jurisdiction, but California was placed under the direction + of the provincial of Piedmont when it was first discovered and only + a missionary station. The port (<i>Portus Hercults</i>) is small, but well + situated: about eight hundred and fifty little vessels and steamers + enter it annually. Surrounding the port are some excellent bathing + establishments, and not far from it rises Monte Carlo with its + magnificent casino. +</p> +<p> + I cannot bid adieu to Monaco without relating a little anecdote in + which I was an involuntary actor. It chanced that one day in 1870 + business took me to Monaco, and I arrived in that capital on the + anniversary of the birthday of the reigning princess. The little town + was decorated with flags and banners; a <i>Te Deum</i> was sung in the + abbey church, and after high mass a review of the "army" took place + in front of the castle, on the Grande Place. Now I happened to be well + acquainted with the captain, who, the instant he saw me watching the + manoeuvres, took the opportunity to come over and invite me to dine + with the officers that evening, when they were to be regaled at a + banquet at the expense of the princess. I of course accepted, and was, + at about four in the afternoon, taken over the guard-house, which + is exquisitely clean and neatly furnished, and contains a handsome + chapel, a billiard-room and a well-supplied reading-room. Dinner was + served at five o'clock, and a very good one it was. The dining-room + had been, in days of yore the refectory of an ancient convent, and the + men sat at two long white-wood tables placed facing each other in the + centre of the chamber, while the officers were accommodated with a + table to themselves at the top of the room. During the repast a good + deal of jesting went on, toasts were drunk and wine circulated freely. + Some hot heads amongst the youngsters began to turn, and it became + pretty evident that it was more prudent to consign the men to the + barracks than to allow them to go out after dark through the town. The + colonel consequently gave the captain a hint to that effect. It soon + got noised about, however, and when the colonel retired to his private + room to smoke, his key was suddenly turned from without, and he + was locked in. The same thing happened to the captain and myself. + Presently the most awful noises resounded through the building: "the + army" was in a state of insubordination. Some dozen young fellows came + up to the colonel's door and declared that they would not release him + unless he granted the extra leave which was theirs by right. Furious + was the gallant colonel, and no less so my friend the captain. They + swore terrible vengeance, but the "army" cared little for their + threats. Over each door throughout the whole building is a circular + window, just large enough for a man to put his head through. Wishing + to see what was going on, I got up on a chair and looked out. Down + the corridor was a tide of upturned excited faces. Out of the + next loophole to mine appeared the infuriated face of the colonel. + Presently some bright wit in the lower part of the house was inspired + with the brilliant idea of firing off a gun. This decided matters, + and, making a terrible effort, the colonel burst open his door, and + rushing down the corridor with drawn sword, soon intimidated the + revolutionists. By and by the captain and myself were released from + durance vile, and before twenty minutes elapsed the "revolt" was + over. Decided as was the action of the colonel, it was as kindly + as possible. He treated his men as they deserved—like unruly + boys—locked them up for the night, and promised them a holiday when + they were good. +</p> +<p> + When I left the guard-house that night it was already long after dark: + the last trains from Monte Carlo were due within half an hour of each + other. I hastened to the station. Almost at its entrance I met an + old friend whose face, I noticed, was deadly pale. He was a man of + considerable influence, and I at once concluded that he had received + bad news from the seat of war. I asked eagerly what was the matter. + "Can you keep a secret?" "Of course I can," I answered. "If you + divulge this one it may have serious consequences for yourself," he + returned gravely. "I promise to keep silent." "Well, then, there has + been a fight before Sedan. Napoleon III. has laid his sword at the + feet of William of Prussia." "My God!" I +<span class="pagenum">[pg 707]</span> +cried, "is it possible?" "It + is but too true. I have just seen a ciphered telegram which came <i>viâ</i> + Cologne and Turin. It is not known in Nice, and will not be so for + hours yet. Do not say a word about it: if you do it may cost you dear. + No one will believe you, and they will take you for a spy, a Prussian + or a pessimist." I understood at once the prudence of this advice. + Presently the train came up, we parted, and I took my place. The + third-class carriages were full of volunteers, recruits and conscripts + from Mentone. They were singing <i>à tue tête</i> the Marsellaise. I + shall never forget the terrible impression the song made on me. The + triumphant words shouted out by the men seemed more sorrowful than + those of the <i>De profundis</i>: +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2">Allons, enfants de la patrie,</p> + <p class="i2">Le jour de gloire est arrivé.</p> +</div> +<p> + "The day of glory" indeed <i>had</i> arrived. On we went as fast as the + wind, and the singing continued uninterruptedly until we reached Nice. + Here I found the station full of soldiers preparing to start by the + 2 A.M. train. When we entered the station, hearing the shouts of "Le + jour de gloire," they joined in enthusiastically. The next morning by + daybreak the official despatch arrived. To describe the consternation + it produced would be impossible, or the frantic glee with which + the Republic was proclaimed. The next day the mob tore down all the + imperial eagles and bees from the public buildings; M. Gavini, the + Bonapartist prefect, had to escape the best way he could over the + frontier, and madame his wife made her way to the station under a + shower of potatoes, eggs and carrots, and a volley of insults and + coarse epithets; Gambetta's father, a fine white-headed old gentleman, + a grocer, was carried in triumph through the streets; the timid + trembled for their lives; the wildest reports were circulated; the + town was placed in a state of siege; but "le jour de gloire" did not + arrive. It has not arrived yet, and may not do so for some time to + come; but it must arrive sooner or later, or there will be no such + thing as peace in Europe. +</p> +<p class="author">R. DAVEY.</p> + +<span class="pagenum">[pg 708]</span> +<a name="thule"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + A PRINCESS OF THULE. +</h2> +<h3> + BY WILLIAM BLACK, AUTHOR OF "THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF A PHAETON." +</h3> +<a name="thulechxxii"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + CHAPTER XXII. +</h2> +<h3> + "LIKE HADRIANUS AND AUGUSTUS." +</h3> +<p> + The island of Borva lay warm and green and bright under a blue sky; + there were no white curls of foam on Loch Roag, but only the long + Atlantic swell coming in to fall on the white beach; away over there + in the south the fine grays and purples of the giant Suainabhal shone + in the sunlight amid the clear air; and the beautiful sea-pyots flew + about the rocks, their screaming being the only sound audible in the + stillness. The King of Borva was down by the shore, seated on a stool, + and engaged in the idyllic operation of painting a boat which had been + hauled up on the sand. It was the Maighdean-mhara. He would let no + one else on the island touch Sheila's boat. Duncan, it is true, was + permitted to keep her masts and sails and seats sound and white, but + as for the decorative painting of the small craft—including a little + bit of amateur gilding—that was the exclusive right of Mr. Mackenzie + himself. For of course, the old man said; to himself, Sheila was + coming back to Borva one these days, and she would be proud to find + her own boat bright and sound. If she and her husband should resolve + to spend half the year in Stornoway, would not the small craft be of + use to her there? and sure he was that a prettier little vessel never + entered Stornoway Bay. Mr. Mackenzie was at this moment engaged in + putting a thin line of green round the white bulwarks that might have + been distinguished across Loch Roag, so keen and pure was the color. +</p> +<p> + A much heavier boat, broad-beamed, red-hulled and brown-sailed, was + slowly coming round the point at this moment. Mr. Mackenzie raised + his eyes from his work, and knew that Duncan was coming back from + Callernish. Some few minutes thereafter the boat was run in to her + moorings, and Duncan came along the beach with a parcel in his hand. + "Here wass your letters, sir," he said. "And there iss one of them + will be from Miss Sheila, if I wass make no mistake." +</p> +<p> + He remained there. Duncan generally knew pretty well when a letter + from Sheila was among the documents he had to deliver, and on such + an occasion he invariably lingered about to hear the news, which was + immediately spread abroad throughout the island. The old King of Borva + was not a garrulous man, but he was glad that the people about him + should know that his Sheila had become a fine lady in the South, and + saw fine things and went among fine people. Perhaps this notion of + his was a sort of apology to them—perhaps it was an apology to + himself—for his having let her go away from the island; but at all + events the simple folks about Borva knew that Miss Sheila, as they + still invariably called her, lived in the same town as the queen + herself, and saw many lords and ladies, and was present at great + festivities, as became Mr. Mackenzie's only daughter. And naturally + these rumors and stories were exaggerated by the kindly interest and + affection of the people into something far beyond what Sheila's + father intended; insomuch that many an old crone would proudly and + sagaciously wag her head, and say that when Miss Sheila came back to + Borva strange things might be seen, and it would be a proud day for + Mr. Mackenzie if he was to go down to the shore to meet Queen Victoria + herself, and the princes and princesses, and many fine people, all + come to stay at his house and have great rejoicings in Borva. +</p> +<p> + Thus it was that Duncan invariably lingered about when he brought + a letter from Sheila; and if her father happened to forget or be + preoccupied, Duncan would humbly but firmly remind him. On-this + occasion Mr. Mackenzie put down his paint-brush and took the bundle of + letters and newspapers Duncan had brought him. He selected that from + Sheila, and threw the others on the beach beside him. +</p> +<p> + There was really no news in the letter. Sheila merely said that she + could not as yet answer her father's question as to the time she might + probably visit Lewis. She hoped he was well, and that, if she could + not get up to Borva that autumn, he would come South to London for + a time, when the hard weather set in in the North. And so forth. But + there was something in the tone of the letter that struck the old man + as being unusual and strange. It was very formal in its phraseology. + He read it twice over very carefully, and forgot altogether that + Duncan was waiting. Indeed, he was going to turn away, forgetting + his work and the other letters that still lay on the beach, when he + observed that there was a postscript on the other side of the last + page. It merely said: "Will you please address your letters now to No. + —— Pembroke road, South Kensington, where I may be for some time?" +</p> +<p> + That was an imprudent postscript. If she had shown the letter to any + one, she would have been warned of the blunder she was committing. But + the child had not much cunning, and wrote and posted the letter in the + belief that her father would simply do as she asked him, and suspect + nothing and ask no questions. +</p> +<p> + When old Mackenzie read that postscript he could only stare at the + paper before him. +</p> +<p> + "Will there be anything wrong, sir?" said the tall keeper, whose keen + gray eyes had been fixed on his master's face. +</p> +<p> + The sound of Duncan's voice startled and recalled Mr. Mackenzie, who + immediately turned, and said lightly, "Wrong? What wass you thinking + would be wrong? Oh, there is nothing wrong whatever. But Mairi, she + will be greatly surprised, and she is going to write no letters until + she comes back to tell you what she has seen: that is the message + there will be for Scarlett. Sheila—she is very well." +</p> +<p> + Duncan picked up the other letters and newspapers. +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 709]</span> + "You may tek them to the house, Duncan," said Mr. Mackenzie; and then + he added carelessly, "Did you hear when the steamer was thinking of + leaving Stornoway this night?" +</p> +<p> + "They were saying it would be seven o'clock or six, as there was a + great deal of cargo to go on her." +</p> +<p> + "Six o'clock? I'm thinking, Duncan, I would like to go with her as far + as Oban or Glasgow. Oh yes, I will go with her as far as Glasgow. Be + sharp, Duncan, and bring in the boat." +</p> +<p> + The keeper stared, fearing his master had gone mad: "You wass going + with her this ferry night?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes. Be sharp, Duncan!" said Mackenzie, doing his best to conceal his + impatience and determination under a careless air. +</p> +<p> + "Bit, sir, you canna do it," said Duncan peevishly. "You hef no things + looked out to go. And by the time we would get to Callernish it wass a + ferry hard drive there will be to get to Stornoway by six o'clock; and + there is the mare, sir, she will hef lost a shoe—" +</p> +<p> + Mr. Mackenzie's diplomacy gave way. He turned upon the keeper with + a sudden fierceness and with a stamp of his foot: "—— —— you, Duncan + MacDonald! is it you or me that is the master? I will go to Stornoway + this ferry moment if I hef to buy twenty horses!" And there was a + light under the shaggy eyebrows that warned Duncan to have done with + his remonstrances. +</p> +<p> + "Oh. ferry well, sir—ferry well, sir," he said, going off to the + boat, and grumbling as he went. "If Miss Sheila was here, it would be + no going away to Glesca without any things wis you, as if you wass a + poor traffelin tailor that hass nothing in the world but a needle and + a thimble mirover. And what will the people in Styornoway hef to say, + and sa captain of sa steamboat, and Scarlett? I will hef no peace from + Scarlett if you wass going away like this. And as for sa sweerin, it + is no use sa sweerin, for I will get sa boat ready—oh yes, I will get + sa boat ready; but I do not understand why I will get sa boat ready." +</p> +<p> + By this time, indeed, he had got along +<span class="pagenum">[pg 710]</span> +to the larger boat, and his + grumblings were inaudible to the object of them. Mr. Mackenzie went to + the small landing-place and waited. When he got into the boat and sat + down in the stern, taking the tiller in his right hand, he still held + Sheila's letter in the other hand, although he did not need to reread + it. +</p> +<p> + They sailed out into the blue waters of the loch and rounded the point + of the island in absolute silence, Duncan meanwhile being both sulky + and curious. He could not make out why his master should so suddenly + leave the island, without informing any one, without even taking with + him that tall and roughly-furred black hat which he sometimes wore on + important occasions. Yet there was a letter in his hand, and it was a + letter from Miss Sheila. Was the news about Mairi the only news in it? +</p> +<p> + Duncan kept looking ahead to see that the boat was steering her right + course for the Narrows, and was anxious, now that he had started, to + make the voyage in the least possible time, but all the same his eyes + would come back to Mr. Mackenzie, who sat very much absorbed, steering + almost mechanically, seldom looking ahead, but instinctively guessing + his course by the outlines of the shore close by. "Was there any bad + news, sir, from Miss Sheila?" he was compelled to say at last. +</p> +<p> + "Miss Sheila!" said Mr. Mackenzie impatiently. "Is it an infant you + are, that you will call a married woman by such a name?" +</p> +<p> + Duncan had never been checked before for a habit which was common to + the whole island of Borva. +</p> +<p> + "There iss no bad news," continued Mackenzie impatiently. "Is it a + story you would like to tek back to the people of Borvabost?" +</p> +<p> + "It wass no thought of such a thing wass come into my head, sir," said + Duncan. "There iss no one in sa island would like to carry bad news + about Miss Sheila; and there iss no one in sa island would like to + hear it—not any one whatever—and I can answer for that." +</p> +<p> + "Then hold your tongue about it. There is no bad news from Sheila," + said Mackenzie; and Duncan relapsed into silence, not very well + content. +</p> +<p> + By dint of very hard driving indeed Mr. Mackenzie just caught the boat + as she was leaving Stornoway harbor, the hurry he was in fortunately + saving him from the curiosity and inquiries of the people he knew on + the pier. As for the frank and good-natured captain, he did not show + that excessive interest in Mr. Mackenzie's affairs that Duncan had + feared; but when the steamer was well away from the coast and bearing + down on her route to Skye, he came and had a chat with the King of + Borva about the condition of affairs on the west of the island; and he + was good enough to ask, too, about the young lady that had married the + English gentleman. Mr. Mackenzie said briefly that she was very well, + and returned to the subject of the fishing. +</p> +<p> + It was on a wet and dreary morning that Mr. Mackenzie arrived in + London; and as he was slowly driven through the long and dismal + thoroughfares with their gray and melancholy houses, their passers-by + under umbrellas, and their smoke and drizzle and dirt, he could not + help saying to himself, "My poor Sheila!" It was not a pleasant place + surely to live in always, although it might be all very well for a + visit. Indeed, this cheerless day added to the gloomy fore-bodings + in his mind, and it needed all his resolve and his pride in his own + diplomacy to carry out his plan of approaching Sheila. +</p> +<p> + When he got down to Pembroke road he stopped the cab at the corner and + paid the man. Then he walked along the thoroughfare, having a look + at the houses. At length he came to the number mentioned in Sheila's + letter, and he found that there was a brass plate on the door bearing + an unfamiliar name. His suspicions were confirmed. +</p> +<p> + He went up the steps and knocked: a small girl answered the summons. + "Is Mrs. Lavender living here?" he said. +</p> +<p> + She looked for a moment with some surprise at the short, thick-set + man, with his sailor costume, his peaked cap, and his voluminous gray + beard and shaggy eyebrows; and then she said that she would ask, and + what was his name? But Mr. Mackenzie was too sharp not to know what + that meant. +</p> +<p> + "I am her father. It will do ferry well if you will show me the room." +</p> +<p> + And he stepped inside. The small girl obediently shut the door, and + then led the way up stairs. The next minute Mr. Mackenzie had entered + the room, and there before him was Sheila bending over Mairi and + teaching her how to do some fancy-work. +</p> +<p> + The girl looked up on hearing some one enter, and then, when she + suddenly saw her father there, she uttered a slight cry of alarm and + shrunk back. If he had been less intent on his own plans he would have + been amazed and pained by this action on the part of his daughter, + who used to run to him, on great occasions and small, whenever she + saw him; but the girl had for the last few days been so habitually + schooling herself into the notion that she was keeping a secret from + him—she had become so deeply conscious of the concealment intended + in that brief letter—that she instinctively shrank from him when he + suddenly appeared. It was but for a moment. +</p> +<p> + Mr. Mackenzie came forward with a fine assumption of carelessness + and shook hands with Sheila and with Mairi, and said, "How do you do, + Mairi? And are you ferry well, Sheila? And you will not expect me this + morning; but when a man will not pay you what he wass owing, it wass + no good letting it go on in that way; and I hef come to London—". +</p> +<p> + He shook the rain-drops from his cap, and was a little embarrassed. +</p> +<p> + "Yes, I hef come to London to have the account settled up; for it wass + no good letting him go on for effer and effer. Ay, and how are you, + Sheila?" +</p> +<p> + He looked about the room: he would not look at her. She stood there + unable to speak, and with her face grown wild and pale. +</p> +<p> + "Ay, it wass raining hard all the last night, and there wass a good + deal of water came into the carriage; and it is +<span class="pagenum">[pg 711]</span> +a ferry hard bed you + will make of a third-class carriage. Ay, it wass so. And this is a new + house you will hef, Sheila?" +</p> +<p> + She had been coming nearer to him, with her face down and the + speechless lips trembling. And then suddenly, with a strange sob, she + threw herself into his arms and hid her head, and burst into a wild + fit of crying. +</p> +<p> + "Sheila," he said, "what ails you? What iss all the matter?" +</p> +<p> + Mairi had covertly got out of the room. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, papa, I have left him," the girl cried. +</p> +<p> + "Ay," said her father quite cheerfully—"oh ay, I thought there was + some little thing wrong when your letter wass come to us the other + day. But it is no use making a great deal of trouble about it, Sheila, + for it is easy to have all those things put right again—oh yes, + ferry easy. And you have left your own home, Sheila? And where is Mr. + Lavender?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, papa," she cried, "you must not try to see him. You must promise + not to go to see him. I should have told you everything when I wrote, + but I thought you would come up and blame it all on him and I think it + is I who am to blame." +</p> +<p> + "But I do not want to blame any one," said her father. "You must not + make so much of these things, Sheila. It is a pity—yes, it is a ferry + great pity—your husband and you will hef a quarrel; but it iss no + uncommon thing for these troubles to happen; and I am coming to you + this morning, not to make any more trouble, but to see if it cannot be + put right again. And I do not want to know any more than that, and I + will not blame any one; but if I wass to see Mr. Lavender—" +</p> +<p> + A bitter anger had filled his heart from the moment he had learned how + matters stood, and yet he was talking in such a bland, matter-of-fact, + almost cheerful fashion that his own daughter was imposed upon, and + began to grow comforted. The mere fact that her father now knew of all + her troubles, and was not +<span class="pagenum">[pg 712]</span> +disposed to take a very gloomy view of them, + was of itself a great relief to her. And she was greatly pleased, too, + to hear her father talk in the same light and even friendly fashion of + her husband. She had dreaded the possible results of her writing home + and relating what had occurred. She knew the powerful passion of which + this lonely old man was capable, and if he had come suddenly down + South with a wild desire to revenge the wrongs of his daughter, what + might not have happened? +</p> +<p> + Sheila sat down, and with averted eyes told her father the whole + story, ingenuously making all possible excuses for her husband, and + intimating strongly that the more she looked over the history of the + past time the more she was convinced that she was herself to blame. It + was but natural that Mr. Lavender should like to live in the manner to + which he had been accustomed. She had tried to live that way too, and + the failure to do so was surely her fault. He had been very kind to + her. He was always buying her new dresses, jewelry, and what not, and + was always pleased to take her to be amused anywhere. All this she + said, and a great deal more; and although Mr. Mackenzie did not + believe the half of it, he did not say so. "Ay, ay, Sheila," he said, + cheerfully; "but if everything was right like that, what for will you + be here?" +</p> +<p> + "But everything was not right, papa," the girl said, still with her + eyes cast down. "I could not live any longer like that, and I had to + come away. That is my fault, and I could not help it. And there was + a—a misunderstanding between us about Mairi's visit—for I had said + nothing about it—and he was surprised—and he had some friends coming + to see us that day—" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, well, there iss no great harm done—none at all," said her father + lightly, and perhaps beginning to think that after all something was + to be said for Lavender's side of the question. "And you will not + suppose, Sheila, that I am coming to make any trouble by quarreling + with any one. There are some men—oh yes, there are ferry many—that + would have no judgment at such a time, and they would think only about + their daughter, and hef no regard for any one else, and they would + only make effery one angrier than before. But you will tell me, + Sheila, where Mr. Lavender is." +</p> +<p> + "I do not know," she said. "And I am anxious, papa, you should not go + to see him. I have asked you to promise that to please me." +</p> +<p> + He hesitated. There were not many things he could refuse his daughter, + but he was not sure he ought to yield to her in this. For were not + these two a couple of foolish young things, who wanted an experienced + and cool and shrewd person to come with a little dexterous management + and arrange their affairs for them? +</p> +<p> + "I do not think I have half explained the difference between us," said + Sheila in the same low voice. "It is no passing quarrel, to be mended + up and forgotten: it is nothing like that. You must leave it alone, + papa." +</p> +<p> + "That is foolishness, Sheila," said the old man with a little + impatience. "You are making big things out of ferry little, and you + will only bring trouble to yourself. How do you know but that he + wishes to hef all this misunderstanding removed, and hef you go back + to him?" +</p> +<p> + "I know that he wishes that," she said calmly. +</p> +<p> + "And you speak as if you wass in great trouble here, and yet you will + not go back?" he said in great surprise. +</p> +<p> + "Yes, that is so," she said. "There is no use in my going back to the + same sort of life: it was not happiness for either of us, and to me it + was misery. If I am to blame for it, that is only a misfortune." +</p> +<p> + "But if you will not go back to him, Sheila," her father said, "at + least you will go back with me to Borva." +</p> +<p> + "I cannot do that, either," said the girl with the same quiet yet + decisive manner. +</p> +<p> + Mr. Mackenzie rose with an impatient gesture and walked to the window. + He did not know what to say. He was very well aware that when Sheila + had resolved upon anything, she had thought it well over beforehand, + and was not likely to change her mind. And yet the notion of his + daughter living in lodgings in a strange town—her only companion a + young girl who had never been in the place before—was vexatiously + absurd. +</p> +<p> + "Sheila," he said, "you will come to a better understanding about + that. I suppose you wass afraid the people would wonder at you coming + back alone. But they will know nothing about it. Mairi she is a very + good lass: she will do anything you will ask of her: you hef no need + to think she will carry stories. And every one wass thinking you will + be coming to the Lewis this year, and it is ferry glad they will be to + see you; and if the house at Borvabost hass not enough amusement + for you after you hef been in a big town like this, you will live in + Stornoway with some of our friends there, and you will come over to + Borva when you please." +</p> +<p> + "If I went up to the Lewis," said Sheila, "do you think I could live + anywhere but in Borva? It is not any amusements I will be thinking + about. But I cannot go back to the Lewis alone." +</p> +<p> + Her father saw how the pride of the girl had driven her to this + decision, and saw, too, how useless it was for him to reason with her + just at the present moment. Still, there was plenty of occasion here + for the use of a little diplomacy merely to smooth the way for the + reconciliation of husband and wife; and Mr. Mackenzie concluded in + his own mind that it was far from being injudicious to allow Sheila to + convince herself that she bore part of the blame of this separation. + For example, he now proposed that the discussion of the whole question + should be postponed for the present, and that Sheila should take him + about London and show him all that she had learned; and he suggested + that they should then and there get a hansom cab and drive to some + exhibition or other. +</p> +<p> + "A hansom, papa?" said Sheila. "Mairi must go with us, you know." +</p> +<p> + This was precisely what he had angled for, and he said, with a show of + impatience, "Mairi! How can we take + <span class="pagenum">[pg 713]</span> +about Mairi to every place? Mairi + is a ferry good lass—oh yes—but she is a servant-lass." +</p> +<p> + The words nearly stuck in his throat; and indeed had any other + addressed such a phrase to one of his kith and kin there would have + been an explosion of rage; but now he was determined to show to Sheila + that her husband had some cause for objecting to this girl sitting + down with his friends. +</p> +<p> + But neither husband nor father could make Sheila forswear allegiance + to what her own heart told her was just and honorable and generous; + and indeed her father at this moment was not displeased to see her + turn round on himself with just a touch of indignation in her voice. + "Mairi is my guest, papa," she said. "It is not like you to think of + leaving her at home." +</p> +<p> + "Oh. it wass of no consequence," said old Mackenzie carelessly: indeed + he was not sorry to have met with this rebuff. "Mairi is a ferry + good girl—oh yes—but there are many who would not forget she is a + servant-lass, and would not like to be always taking her with them. + And you hef lived a long time in London—" +</p> +<p> + "I have not lived long enough in London to make me forget my friends + or insult them," Sheila said with proud lips, and yet turning to the + window to hide her face. +</p> +<p> + "My lass, I did not mean any harm whatever," her father said gently: + "I wass saying nothing against Mairi. Go away and bring her into the + room, Sheila, and we will see what we can do now, and if there is a + theatre we can go to this evening. And I must go out, too, to buy some + things; for you are a ferry fine lady now, Sheila, and I was coming + away in such a hurry—" +</p> +<p> + "Where is your luggage, papa?" she said suddenly. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, luggage!" said Mackenzie, looking round in great embarrassment. + "It was luggage you said, Sheila? Ay, well, it wass a hurry I wass + in when I came away—for this man he will have to pay me at once + whatever—and there wass no time for any luggage—oh no, there + <span class="pagenum">[pg 714]</span> +wass no + time, because Duncan he wass late with the boat, and the mare she had + a shoe to put on—and—and—oh no, there was no time for any luggage." +</p> +<p> + "But what was Scarlett about, to let you come away like that?" Sheila + said. +</p> +<p> + "Scarlett? Well, Scarlett did not know, it was all in such a hurry. + Now go and bring in Mairi, Sheila, and we will speak about the + theatre." +</p> +<p> + But there was to be no theatre for any of them that evening. Sheila + was just about to leave the room to summon Mairi when the small girl + who had let Mackenzie into the house appeared and said, "Please, m'm, + there is a young woman below who wishes to see you. She has a message + to you from Mrs. Paterson." +</p> +<p> + "Mrs. Paterson?" Sheila said, wondering how Mrs. Lavender's + hench-woman should have been entrusted with any such commission. "Will + you ask her to come up?" +</p> +<p> + The girl came up stairs, looking rather frightened and much out of + breath. +</p> +<p> + "Please, m'm, Mrs. Paterson has sent me to tell you, and would you + please come as soon as it is convenient? Mrs. Lavender has died. It + was quite sudden—only she recovered a little after the fit, and then + sank: the doctor is there now, but he wasn't in time, it was all so + sudden. Will you please come round, m'm?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes—I shall be there directly," said Sheila, too bewildered and + stunned to think of the possibility of meeting her husband there. +</p> +<p> + The girl left, and Sheila still stood in the middle of the room + apparently stupefied. That old woman had got into such a habit of + talking about her approaching death that Sheila had ceased to believe + her, and had grown to fancy that these morbid speculations were + indulged in chiefly for the sake of shocking bystanders. But a dead + man or a dead woman is suddenly invested with a great solemnity; and + Sheila with a pang of remorse thought of the fashion in which she had + suspected this old woman of a godless hypocrisy. She felt, too, that + she had unjustly disliked Mrs. Lavender—that she had feared to go + near her, and blamed her unfairly for many things that had happened. + In her own way that old woman in Kensington Gore had been kind to her: + perhaps the girl was a little ashamed of herself at this moment that + she did not cry. +</p> +<p> + Her father went out with her, and up to the house with the dusty ivy + and the red curtains. How strangely like was the aspect of the house + inside to the very picture that Mrs. Lavender had herself drawn of + her death! Sheila could remember all the ghastly details that the old + woman seemed to have a malicious delight in describing; and here they + were—the shutters drawn down, the servants walking about on tiptoe, + the strange silence in one particular room. The little shriveled + old body lay quite still and calm now; and yet as Sheila went to the + bedside, she could hardly believe that within that forehead there was + not some consciousness of the scene around. Lying almost in the same + position, the old woman, with a sardonic smile on her face, had spoken + of the time when she should be speechless, sightless and deaf, while + Paterson would go about stealthily as if she was afraid the corpse + would hear. Was it possible to believe that the dead body was not + conscious at this moment that Paterson was really going about in + that fashion—that the blinds were down, friends standing some little + distance from the bed, a couple of doctors talking to each other in + the passage outside? +</p> +<p> + They went into another room, and then Sheila, with a sudden shiver, + remembered that soon her husband would be coming, and might meet her + and her father there. +</p> +<p> + "You have sent for Mr. Lavender?" she said calmly to Mrs. Paterson. +</p> +<p> + "No, ma'am," Paterson said with more than her ordinary gravity and + formality: "I did not know where to send for him. He left London some + days ago. Perhaps you would read the letter, ma'am." +</p> +<p> + She offered Sheila an open letter. The girl saw that it was in her + husband's handwriting, but she shrank from it as though she were + violating the secrets of the grave. +</p> +<p> + "Oh no," she said, "I cannot do that." +</p> +<p> + "Mrs. Lavender, ma'am, meant you to read it, after she had had her + will altered. She told me so. It is a very sad thing, ma'am, that she + did not live to carry out her intentions; for she has been inquiring, + ma'am, these last few days as to how she could leave everything to + you, ma'am, which she intended; and now the other will—" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, don't talk about that!" said Sheila. It seemed to her that the + dead body in the other room would be laughing hideously, if only it + could, at this fulfillment of all the sardonic prophecies that Mrs. + Lavender used to make. +</p> +<p> + "I beg your pardon, ma'am," Paterson said in the same formal way, as + if she were a machine set to work in a particular direction, "I only + mentioned the will to explain why Mrs. Lavender wished you to read + this letter." +</p> +<p> + "Read the letter, Sheila," said her father. +</p> +<p> + The girl took it and carried it to the window. While she was there, + old Mackenzie, who had fewer scruples about such matters, and who + had the curiosity natural to a man of the world, said to Mrs. + Paterson—not loud enough for Sheila to overhear—"I suppose, then, + the poor old lady has left her property to her nephew?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh no, sir," said Mrs. Paterson, somewhat sadly, for she fancied she + was the bearer of bad news. "She had a will drawn out only a short + time ago, and nearly everything is left to Mr. Ingram." +</p> +<p> + "To Mr. Ingram?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes," said the woman, amazed to see that Mackenzie's face, so + far from evincing displeasure, seemed to be as delighted as it was + surprised. +</p> +<p> + "Yes, sir," said Mrs. Paterson: "I was one of the witnesses. But Mrs. + Lavender changed her mind, and was very anxious that everything should + go to your daughter, if it could be done; and Mr. Appleyard, sir, was + to come here to-morrow forenoon." +</p> +<p> + "And has Mr. Lavender got no money whatever?" said Sheila's father, + with an air that convinced Mrs. Paterson that he was a revengeful man, + and was glad his + <span class="pagenum">[pg 715]</span> +son-in-law should be so severely punished. +</p> +<p> + "I don't know, sir," she replied, careful not to go beyond her own + sphere. +</p> +<p> + Sheila came back from the window. She had taken a long time to read + and ponder over that letter, though it was not a lengthy one. This was + what Frank Lavender had written to his aunt: +</p> +<blockquote> + <p> + "MY DEAR AUNT LAVENDER: I suppose when you read this you will think I + am in a bad temper because of what you said to me. It is not so. But + I am leaving London, and I wish to hand over to you, before I go, the + charge of my house, and to ask you to take possession of everything + in it that does not belong to Sheila. These things are yours, as you + know, and I have to thank you very much for the loan of them. I have + to thank you for the far too liberal allowance you have made me for + many years back. Will you think I have gone mad if I ask you to stop + that now? The fact is, I am going to have a try at earning something, + for the fun of the thing; and, to make the experiment satisfactory, + I start to-morrow morning for a district in the West Highlands, where + the most ingenious fellow I know couldn't get a penny loaf on credit. + You have been very good to me, Aunt Lavender: I wish I had made a + better use of your kindness. So good-bye just now, and if ever I come + back to London again I shall call on you and thank you in person. +</p> +<p> + "I am your affectionate nephew, +</p> + + <p class="author">"FRANK LAVENDER."</p> +</blockquote> +<p> + So far the letter was almost business-like. There was no reference + to the causes which were sending him away from London, and which had + already driven him to this extraordinary resolution about the money + he got from his aunt. But at the end of the letter there was a brief + postscript, apparently written at the last moment, the words of which + were these: "Be kind to Sheila. Be as kind to her as I have been cruel + to her. In going away from her I feel as though I were exiled by man + and forsaken by God." +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 716]</span> + She came back from the window the letter in her hand. +</p> +<p> + "I think you may read it too, papa," she said, for she was anxious + that her father should know that Lavender had voluntarily surrendered + this money before he was deprived of it. Then she went back to the + window. +</p> +<p> + The slow rain fell from the dismal skies on the pavement and the + railings and the now almost leafless trees. The atmosphere was filled + with a thin white mist, and the people going by were hidden under + umbrellas. It was a dreary picture enough; and yet Sheila was thinking + of how much drearier such a day would be on some lonely coast in the + North, with the hills obscured behind the rain, and the sea beating + hopelessly on the sand. She thought of some small and damp Highland + cottage, with narrow windows, a smell of wet wood about, and the + monotonous drip from over the door. And it seemed to her that a + stranger there would be very lonely, not knowing the ways or the + speech of the simple folk, careless perhaps of his own comfort, and + only listening to the plashing of the sea and the incessant rain on + the bushes and on the pebbles of the beach. Was there any picture of + desolation, she thought, like that of a sea under rain, with a slight + fog obscuring the air, and with no wind to stir the pulse with the + noise of waves? And if Frank Lavender had only gone as far as the + Western Highlands, and was living in some house on the coast, how sad + and still the Atlantic must have been all this wet forenoon, with the + islands of Colonsay and Oronsay lying remote and gray and misty in the + far and desolate plain of the sea! +</p> +<p> + "It will take a great deal of responsibility from me, sir," Mrs. + Paterson said to old Mackenzie, who was absently thinking of all the + strange possibilities now opening out before him, "if you will tell + me what is to be done. Mrs. Lavender had no relatives in London except + her nephew." +</p> +<p> + "Oh yes," said Mackenzie, waking up—"oh yes, we will see what is to + be done. There will be the boat wanted for the funeral—" He recalled + himself with an impatient gesture. "Bless me!" he said, "what was I + saying? You must ask some one else—you must ask Mr. Ingram. Hef you + not sent for Mr. Ingram? +</p> +<p> + "Oh yes, sir, I have sent to him; and he will most likely come in the + afternoon." +</p> +<p> + "Then there are the executors mentioned in the will—that wass + something you should know about—and they will tell you what to do. As + for me, it is ferry little I will know about such things." +</p> +<p> + "Perhaps your daughter, sir," suggested Mrs. Paterson, "would tell me + what she thinks should be done with the rooms. And as for luncheon, + sir, if you would wait—" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, my daughter?" said Mr. Mackenzie, as if struck by a new idea, + but determined all the same that Sheila should not have this new + responsibility thrust on her—"My daughter?—well, you was saying, + mem, that my daughter would help you? Oh yes, but she is a ferry young + thing, and you wass saying we must hef luncheon? Oh yes, but we will + not give you so much trouble, and we hef luncheon ordered at the other + house whatever; and there is the young girl there that we cannot leave + all by herself. And you hef a great experience, mem, and whatever you + do, that will be right: do not have any fear of that. And I will come + round when you want me—oh yes, I will come round at any time—but my + daughter, she is a ferry young thing, and she would be of no use to + you whatever—none whatever. And when Mr. Ingram comes you will send + him round to the place where my daughter is, for we will want to + see him, if he hass the time to come. Where is Shei—where is my + daughter?" +</p> +<p> + Sheila had quietly left the room and stolen into the silent chamber + in which the dead woman lay. They found her standing close by the + bedside, almost in a trance. +</p> +<p> + "Sheila," said her father, taking her hand, "come away now, like a + good girl. It is no use your waiting here; and Mairi—what will Mairi + be doing?" +</p> +<p> + She suffered herself to be led away, and they went home and had + luncheon; but the girl could not eat for the notion that somewhere or + other a pair of eyes were looking at her, and were hideously laughing + at her, as if to remind her of the prophecy of that old woman, that + her friends would sit down to a comfortable meal and begin to wonder + what sort of mourning they would have. +</p> +<p> + It was not until the evening that Ingram called. He had been greatly + surprised to hear from Mrs. Paterson that Mr. Mackenzie had been + there, along with his daughter; and he now expected to find the old + King of Borva in a towering passion. He found him, on the contrary, as + bland and as pleased as decency would admit of in view of the tragedy + that had occurred in the morning; and indeed, as Mackenzie had never + seen Mrs. Lavender, there was less reason why he should wear the + outward semblance of grief. Sheila's father asked her to go out of + the room for a little while; and when she and Mairi had gone, he said + cheerfully, "Well, Mr. Ingram, and it is a rich man you are at last." +</p> +<p> + "Mrs. Paterson said she had told you," Ingram said with a shrug. "You + never expected to find me rich, did you?" +</p> +<p> + "Never," said Mackenzie frankly. "But it is a ferry good thing—oh + yes, it is a ferry good thing—to hef money and be independent of + people. And you will make a good use of it, I know." +</p> +<p> + "You don't seem disposed, sir, to regret that Lavender has been robbed + of what should have belonged to him?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, not at all," said Mackenzie, gravely and cautiously, for he did + not want his plans to be displayed prematurely. "But I hef no quarrel + with him; so you will not think I am glad to hef the money taken away + for that. Oh no: I hef seen a great many men and women, and it was no + strange thing that these two young ones, living all by themselves in + London, should hef a quarrel. But it will come all right again if we + do not make too much about it. If they like one another, they will + soon come together again, tek my word for it, Mr. + <span class="pagenum">[pg 717]</span> +Ingram; and I hef + seen a great many men and women. And as for the money—well, as for + the money, I hef plenty for my Sheila, and she will not starve when I + die—no, nor before that, either; and as for the poor old woman that + has died, I am ferry glad she left her money to one that will make a + good use of it, and will not throw it away whatever." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, but you know, Mr. Mackenzie, you are congratulating me without + cause. I must tell you how the matter stands. The money does not + belong to me at all: Mrs. Lavender never intended it should. It was + meant to go to Sheila—" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, I know, I know," said Mr. Mackenzie with a wave of his hand. "I + wass hearing all that from the woman at the house. But how will you + know what Mrs. Lavender intended? You hef only that woman's story of + it. And here is the will, and you hef the money, and—and—" Mackenzie + hesitated for a moment, and then said with a sudden vehemence, "—and, + by Kott, you shall keep it!" +</p> +<p> + Ingram was a trifle startled. "But look here, sir," he said in a tone + of expostulation, "you make a mistake. I myself know Mrs. Lavender's + intentions. I don't go by any story of Mrs. Paterson's. Mrs. Lavender + made over the money to me with express injunctions to place it at the + disposal of Sheila whenever I should see fit. Oh, there's no mistake + about it, so you need not protest, sir. If the money belonged to me, I + should be delighted to keep it. No man in the country more desires + to be rich than I; so don't fancy I am flinging away a fortune out of + generosity. If any rich and kind-hearted old lady will send me five + thousand or ten thousand pounds, you will see how I shall stick to it. + But the simple truth is, this money is not mine at all. It was never + intended to be mine. It belongs to Sheila." +</p> +<p> + Ingram talked in a very matter-of-fact way: the old man feared what he + said was true. +</p> +<p> + "Ay, it is a ferry good story," said Mackenzie cautiously, "and maybe + it is all true. And you wass saying you would like to hef money?" +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 718]</span> + "I most decidedly should like to have money." +</p> +<p> + "Well, then," said the old man, watching his friend's face, "there iss + no one to say that the story is true, and who will believe it? And + if Sheila wass to come to you and say she did not believe it, and she + would not hef the money from you, you would hef to keep it, eh?" +</p> +<p> + Ingram's sallow face blushed crimson. "I don't know what you mean," he + said stiffly. "Do you propose to pervert the girl's mind and make me a + party to a fraud?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, there is no use getting into an anger," said Mackenzie suavely, + "when common sense will do as well whatever. And there wass no + perversion and there wass no fraud talked about. It wass just this, + Mr. Ingram, that if the old lady's will leaves you her property, who + will you be getting to believe that she did not mean to give it to + you?" +</p> +<p> + "I tell you now whom she meant to give it to," said Ingram, still + somewhat hotly. +</p> +<p> + "Oh yes—oh yes, that is ferry well. But who will believe it?" +</p> +<p> + "Good Heavens, sir! who will believe I could be such a fool as to + fling away this property if it belonged to me?" +</p> +<p> + "They will think you a fool to do it now—yes, that is sure enough," + said Mackenzie. +</p> +<p> + "I don't care what they think. And it seems rather odd, Mr. Mackenzie, + that you should be trying to deprive your own daughter of what belongs + to her." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, my daughter is ferry well off whatever: she does not want any + one's money," said Mackenzie. And then a new notion struck him: "Will + you tell me this, Mr. Ingram? If Mrs. Lavender left you her property + in this way, what for did she want to change her will, eh?" +</p> +<p> + "Well, to tell you the truth, I refused to take the responsibility. + She was anxious to have this money given to Sheila, so that Lavender + should not touch it; and I don't think it was a wise intention, for + there is not a prouder man in the world than Lavender, and I know that + Sheila would not consent to hold a penny that did not equally belong + to him. However, that was her notion, and I was the first victim of + it. I protested against it, and I suppose that set her to inquiring + whether the money could not be absolutely bequeathed to Sheila direct. + I don't know anything about it myself; but that's how the matter + stands, as far as I am concerned." +</p> +<p> + "But you will think it over, Mr. Ingram," said Mackenzie quietly—"you + will think it over, and be in no hurry. It is not every man that hass + a lot of money given to him. And it is no wrong to my Sheila at all, + for she will hef quite plenty; and she would be ferry sorry to take + the money away from you, that is sure enough; and you will not be + hasty, Mr. Ingram, but be cautious and reasonable, and you will see + the money will do you far more good than it would do Sheila." +</p> +<p> + Ingram began to think that he had tied a millstone round his neck. +</p> + + +<a name="thulechxxiii"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + CHAPTER XXIII. +</h2> +<h3> + IN EXILE. +</h3> +<p> + One evening in the olden time Lavender and Sheila and Ingram and + old Mackenzie were all sitting high up on the rocks near Borvabost, + chatting to each other, and watching the red light pale on the bosom + of the Atlantic as the sun sank behind the edge of the world. Ingram + was smoking a wooden pipe. Lavender sat with Sheila's hand in his. The + old King of Borva was discoursing of the fishing populations round the + western coasts, and of their various ways and habits. +</p> +<p> + "I wish I could have seen Tarbert," Lavender was saying, "but the Iona + just passes the mouth of the little harbor as she comes up Loch + Fyne. I know two or three men who go there every year to paint the + fishing-life of the place. It is an odd little place, isn't it?" +</p> +<p> + "Tarbert?" said Mr. Mackenzie—"you wass wanting to know about + Tarbert? Ah, well, it is getting to be a better place now, but a year + or two ago it wass ferry like hell. Oh yes it wass, Sheila, so you + need not say anything. And this wass the way of it, Mr. Lavender, that + the trawling was not made legal then, and the men they were just like + devils, with the swearing and the drinking and the fighting that went + on; and if you went into the harbor in the open day, you would find + them drunk and fighting, and some of them with blood on their faces, + for it wass a ferry wild time. It wass many a one will say that the + Tarbert-men would run down the police-boat some dark night. And what + was the use of catching the trawlers now and again, and taking their + boats and their nets to be sold at Greenock, when they went themselves + over to Greenock to the auction and bought them back? Oh, it was a + great deal of money they made then: I hef heard of a crew of eight men + getting thirty pounds each man in the course of one night, and that + not seldom mirover." +</p> +<p> + "But why didn't the government put it down?" Lavender asked. +</p> +<p> + "Well, you see," Mackenzie answered with the air of a man well + acquainted with the difficulties of ruling—"you see that it wass not + quite sure that the trawling did much harm to the fishing. And the + Jackal—that was the government steamer—she was not much good in + getting the better of the Tarbert-men, who are ferry good with their + boats in the rowing, and are ferry cunning whatever. You know, the + buying boats went out to sea, and took the herring there, and then the + trawlers they would sink their nets and come home in the morning as + if they had not caught one fish, although the boat would be white with + the scales of the herring. And what is more, sir, the government knew + ferry well that if trawling was put down, then there would be a ferry + good many murders; for the Tarbert-men, when they came home to drink + whisky, and wash the whisky down with porter, they were ready to fight + anybody." +</p> +<p> + "It must be a delightful place to live in," Lavender said. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, but it is ferry different now," Mackenzie continued—"ferry + different. The men they are nearly all Good + <span class="pagenum">[pg 719]</span> +Templars now, and there is + no drinking whatever, and there is reading-rooms and such things, and + the place is ferry quiet and respectable." +</p> +<p> + "I hear," Ingram remarked, "that good people attribute the change to + moral suasion, and that wicked people put it down to want of money." +</p> +<p> + "Papa, this boy will have to be put to bed," Sheila said. +</p> +<p> + "Well," Mackenzie answered, "there is not so much money in the place + as there wass in the old times. The shop-keepers do not make so much + money as before, when the men were wild and drunk in the daytime, and + had plenty to spend when the police-boat did not catch them. But the + fishermen, they are ferry much better without the money; and I can + say for them, Mr. Lavender, that there is no better fishermen on the + coast. They are ferry fine, tall men, and they are ferry well dressed + in their blue clothes, and they are manly fellows, whether they are + drunk or whether they are sober. Now look at this, sir, that in the + worst of weather they will neffer tek whisky with them when they go + out to the sea at night, for they think it is cowardly. And they are + ferry fine fellows, and gentlemanly in their ways, and they are ferry + good-natured to strangers." +</p> +<p> + "I have heard that of them on all hands," Lavender said, "and some day + I hope to put their civility and good-fellowship to the proof." +</p> +<p> + That was merely the idle conversation of a summer evening: no one paid + any further attention to it, nor did even Lavender himself think again + of his vaguely-expressed hope of some day visiting Tarbert. Let us now + shift the scene of this narrative to Tarbert itself. +</p> +<p> + When you pass from the broad and blue waters of Loch Fyne into the + narrow and rocky channel leading to Tarbert harbor, you find before + you an almost circular bay, round which stretches an irregular line + of white houses. There is an abundance of fishing-craft in the harbor, + lying in careless and picturesque groups, with their brown hulls and + spars sending a ruddy reflection down on the lapping water, which is + green under the + <span class="pagenum">[pg 720]</span> +shadow of each boat. Along the shore stand the tall + poles on which the fishermen dry their nets, and above these, on the + summit of a rocky crag, rise the ruins of an old castle, with the + daylight shining through the empty windows. Beyond the houses, again, + lie successive lines of hills, at this moment lit up by shafts of + sunlight that lend a glowing warmth and richness to the fine colors + of a late autumn. The hills are red and brown with rusted bracken and + heather, and here and there the smooth waters of the bay catch a tinge + of other and varied hues. In one of the fishing-smacks that lie almost + underneath the shadow of the tall crag on which the castle ruins + stand, an artist has put a rough-and-ready easel, and is apparently + busy at work painting a group of boats just beyond. Some indication + of the rich colors of the craft—their ruddy sails, brown nets and + bladders, and their varnished but not painted hulls—already appears + on the canvas; and by and by some vision may arise of the far hills + in their soft autumnal tints and of the bold blue and white sky moving + overhead. Perhaps the old man who is smoking in the stern of one of + the boats has been placed there on purpose. A boy seated on some nets + occasionally casts an anxious glance toward the painter, as if to + inquire when his penance will be over. +</p> +<p> + A small open boat, with a heap of stones for ballast, and with no + great elegance in shape of rigging, comes slowly in from the mouth of + the harbor, and is gently run alongside the boat in which the man + is painting. A fresh-colored young fellow, with voluminous and + curly brown hair, who has dressed himself as a yachtsman, calls out, + "Lavender, do you know the White Rose, a big schooner yacht?—about + eighty tons I should think." +</p> +<p> + "Yes," Lavender said, without turning round or taking his eyes off the + canvas. +</p> +<p> + "Whose is she?" +</p> +<p> + "Lord Newstead's." +</p> +<p> + "Well, either he or his skipper hailed me just now and wanted to know + whether you were here, I said you were. The fellow asked me if I + was going into the harbor. I said I was. So he gave me a message for + you—that they would hang about outside for half an hour or so, if you + would go out to them and take a run up to Ardishaig." +</p> +<p> + "I can't, Johnny." +</p> +<p> + "I'd take you out, you know." +</p> +<p> + "I don't want to go." +</p> +<p> + "But look here, Lavender," said the younger man, seizing hold of + Lavender's boat and causing the easel to shake dangerously: "he asked + me to luncheon, too." +</p> +<p> + "Why don't you go, then?" was the only reply, uttered rather absently. +</p> +<p> + "I can't go without you." +</p> +<p> + "Well, I don't mean to go." +</p> +<p> + The younger man looked vexed for a moment, and then said in a tone of + expostulation, "You know it is very absurd of you going on like this, + Lavender. No fellow can paint decently if he gets out of bed in the + middle of the night and waits for daylight to rush up to his easel. + How many hours have you been at work already to-day? If you don't give + your eyes a rest, they will get color-blind to a dead certainty. Do + you think you will paint the whole place off the face of the earth, + now that the other fellows have gone?" +</p> +<p> + "I can't be bothered talking to you. Johnny. You'll make me throw + something at you. Go away." +</p> +<p> + "I think it's rather mean, you know," continued the persistent Johnny, + "for a" fellow like you, who doesn't need it, to come and fill the + market all at once, while we unfortunate devils can scarcely get a + crust. And there are two heron just round the point, and I have my + breech-loader and a dozen cartridges here." +</p> +<p> + "Go away, Johnny!" That was all the answer he got. +</p> +<p> + "I'll go out and tell Lord News, tead that you are a cantankerous + brute. I suppose he'll have the decency to offer me luncheon, and I + dare say I could get him a shot at these heron. You are a fool not to + come, Lavender;" and so saying the young man put out again, and he was + heard to go away talking to himself about obstinate idiots and greed + and the certainty of getting a shot at the heron. +</p> +<p> + When he had quite gone, Lavender, who had scarcely raised his eyes + from his work, suddenly put down his palette and brushes—he almost + dropped them, indeed—and quickly put up both his hands to his head, + pressing them on the side of his temples. The old fisherman in the + boat beyond noticed this strange movement, and forthwith caught + a rope, hauled the boat across a stretch of water, and then came + scrambling over bowsprit, lowered sails and nets to where Lavender had + just sat down. +</p> +<p> + "Wass there anything the matter, sir?" he said with much evidence of + concern. +</p> +<p> + "My head is a little bad, Donald," Lavender said, still pressing his + hands on his temples, as if to get rid of some strange feeling. "I + wish you would pull in to the shore and get me some whisky." +</p> +<p> + "Oh ay," said the old man, hastily scrambling into the little black + boat lying beside the smack; "and it is no wonder to me this will come + to you, sir, for I hef never seen any of the gentlemen so long at the + pentin as you—from the morning till the night; and it is no wonder + to me this will come to you. But I will get you the whushky: it is a + grand thing, the whushky." +</p> +<p> + The old fisherman was not long in getting ashore and running up to the + cottage in which Lavender lived, and getting a bottle of whisky and a + glass. Then he got down to the boat again, and was surprised that he + could nowhere see Mr. Lavender on board the smack. Perhaps he had lain + down on the nets in the bottom of the boat. +</p> +<p> + When Donald got out to the smack he found the young man lying + insensible, his face white and his teeth clenched. With something of a + cry the old fisherman jumped into the boat, knelt down, and proceeded + in a rough and ready fashion to force some whisky into Lavender's + mouth. "Oh ay, oh yes, it is a grand thing, the whushky," he muttered + to himself. "Oh yes, sir, you must hef some more: it is no matter + if you will choke. It is ferry good whushky, and will do you no harm + whatever; + <span class="pagenum">[pg 721]</span> +and oh yes, sir, that is ferry well, and you are all right + again, and you will sit quite quiet now, and you will hef a little + more whushky." +</p> +<p> + The young man looked round him: "Have you been ashore, Donald? Oh + yes—I suppose so. Did I tumble? Well, I am all right now: it was + the glare of the sea that made me giddy. Take a dram for yourself, + Donald." +</p> +<p> + "There is but the one glass, sir," said Donald, who had picked up + something of the notions of gentlefolks, "but I will just tek the + bottle;" and so, to avoid drinking out of the same glass (which was + rather a small one), he was good enough to take a pull, and a strong + pull, at the black bottle. Then he heaved a sigh, and wiped the top of + the bottle with his sleeve. "Yes, as I was saying, sir, there was none + of the gentlemen I hef effer seen in Tarbert will keep at the pentin + so long ass you; and many of them will be stronger ass you, and will + be more accustomed to it whatever. But when a man iss making money—" + and Donald shook his head: he knew it was useless to argue. +</p> +<p> + "But I am not making money, Donald," Lavender said, still looking a + trifle pale. "I doubt whether I have made as much as you have since I + came to Tarbert." +</p> +<p> + "Oh yes," said Donald contentedly, "all the gentlemen will say that. + They never hef any money. But wass you ever with them when they could + not get a dram because they had no money to pay for it?" +</p> +<p> + Donald's test of impecuniosity could not be gainsaid. Lavender + laughed, and bade him get back into the other boat. +</p> +<p> + "'Deed I will not," said Donald sturdily. +</p> +<p> + Lavender stared at him. +</p> +<p> + "Oh no: you wass doing quite enough the day already, or you would not + hef tumbled into the boat whatever. And supposing that you was to hef + tumbled into the water, you would have been trooned as sure as you + wass alive." +</p> +<p> + "And a good job, too, Donald," said the younger man, idly looking at + the lapping green water. +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 722]</span> + Donald shook his head gravely: "You would not say that if you had + friends of yours that was trooned, and if you had seen them when they + went down in the water." +</p> +<p> + "They say it is an easy death, Donald." +</p> +<p> + "They neffer tried it that said that," said the old fisherman + gloomily. "It wass one day the son of my sister wass coming over from + Saltcoats—But I hef no wish to speak of it; and that wass but one + among ferry many that I have known." +</p> +<p> + "How long is it since you were in the Lewis, did you say?" Lavender + asked, changing the subject. Donald was accustomed to have the talk + suddenly diverted into this channel. He could not tell why the young + English gentleman wanted him continually to be talking about the + Lewis. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, it is many and many a year ago, as I hef said; and you will know + far more about the Lewis than I will. But Stornoway, that is a fine + big town; and I hef a cousin there that keeps a shop, and is a very + rich man whatever, and many's the time he will ask me to come and see + him. And if the Lord be spared, maybe I will some day." +</p> +<p> + "You mean if you be spared, Donald." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, ay: it is all wan," said Donald. +</p> +<p> + Lavender had brought with him some bread and cheese in a piece of + paper for luncheon; and this store of frugal provisions having been + opened out, the old fisherman was invited to join in—an invitation he + gravely but not eagerly accepted. He took off his blue bonnet and said + grace: then he took the bread and cheese in his hand and looked round + inquiringly. There was a stone jar of water in the bottom of the boat: + that was not what Donald was looking after. Lavender handed him the + black bottle he had brought out from the cottage, which was more + to his mind. And then, this humble meal despatched, the old man was + persuaded to go back to his post, and Lavender continued his work. +</p> +<p> + The short afternoon was drawing to a close when young Johnny Eyre came + sailing in from Loch Fyne, himself and a boy of ten or twelve managing + that crank little boat with its top-heavy sails. "Are you at work yet, + Lavender?" he said. "I never saw such a beggar. It's getting quite + dark." +</p> +<p> + "What sort of luncheon did Newstead give you, Johnny?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, something worth going for, I can tell you. You want to live in + Tarbert for a month or two to find out the value of decent cooking + and good wine. He was awfully surprised when I described this place to + him. He wouldn't believe you were living here in a cottage: I said + a garret, for I pitched it hot and strong, mind you. I said you were + living in a garret, that you never saw a razor, and lived on oatmeal + porridge and whisky, and that your only amusement was going out at + night and risking your neck in this delightful boat of mine. You + should have seen him examining this remarkable vessel. And there were + two ladies on board, and they were asking after you, too." +</p> +<p> + "Who were they?" +</p> +<p> + "I don't know. I didn't catch their names when I was introduced; but + the noble skipper called one of them Polly." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, I know." +</p> +<p> + "Ain't you coming ashore, Lavender? You can't see to work now." +</p> +<p> + "All right! I shall put my traps ashore, and then I'll have a run with + you down Loch Fyne if you like, Johnny." +</p> +<p> + "Well, I don't like," said the handsome lad frankly, "for it's looking + rather squally about. It seems to me you're bent on drowning yourself. + Before those other fellows went, they came to the conclusion that you + had committed a murder." +</p> +<p> + "Did they really?" Lavender said with little interest. +</p> +<p> + "And if you go away and live in that wild place you were talking of + during the winter, they will be quite sure of it. Why, man, you'd come + back with your hair turned white. You might as well think of living by + yourself at the Arctic Pole." +</p> +<p> + Neither Johnny Eyre nor any of the men who had just left Tarbert knew + anything of Frank Lavender's recent history, and Lavender himself was + not disposed to be communicative. They would know soon enough when + they went up to London. In the mean time they were surprised to find + that Lavender's habits were very singularly altered. He had grown + miserly. They laughed when he told them he had no money, and he + did not seek to persuade them of the fact; but it was clear, at all + events, that none of them lived so frugally or worked so anxiously + as he. Then, when his work was done in the evening, and when they met + alternately at each other's rooms to dine off mutton and potatoes, + with a glass of whisky and a pipe and a game of cards to follow, what + was the meaning of those sudden fits of silence that would strike in + when the general hilarity was at its pitch? And what was the meaning + of the utter recklessness he displayed when they would go out of + an evening in their open sailing boats to shoot sea-fowl, or make a + voyage along the rocky coast in the dead of night to wait for the + dawn to show them the haunts of the seals? The Lavender they had met + occasionally in London was a fastidious, dilettante, self-possessed, + and yet not disagreeable fellow: this man was almost pathetically + anxious about his work, oftentimes he was morose and silent, and then + again there was no sort of danger or difficulty he was not ready to + plunge into when they were sailing about that iron-bound coast. They + could not make it out, but the joke among themselves was that he had + committed a murder, and therefore he was reckless. +</p> +<p> + This Johnny Eyre was not much of an artist, but he liked the society + of artists: he had a little money of his own, plenty of time, and + a love of boating and shooting, and so he had pitched his tent at + Tarbert, and was proud to cherish the delusion that he was working + hard and earning fame and wealth. As a matter of fact, he never earned + anything, but he had very good spirits, and living in Tarbert is + cheap. +</p> +<p> + From the moment that Lavender had come to the place, Johnny Eyre made + him his special companion. He had a + <span class="pagenum">[pg 723]</span> +great respect for a man who could + shoot anything anywhere; and when he and Lavender came back together + from a cruise, there was no use saying which had actually done + the brilliant deeds the evidence of which was carried ashore. But + Lavender, oddly enough, knew little about sailing, and Johnny was + pleased to assume the airs of an instructor on this point; his only + difficulty being that his pupil had more than the ordinary hardihood + of an ignoramus, and was rather inclined to do reckless things even + after he had sufficient skill to know that they were dangerous. +</p> +<p> + Lavender got into the small boat, taking his canvas with him, but + leaving his easel in the fishing-smack. He pulled himself and Johnny + Eyre ashore: they scrambled up the rocks and into the road, and then + they went into the small white cottage in which Lavender lived. The + picture was, for greater safety, left in Lavender's bed-room, which + already contained about a dozen canvases with sketches in various + stages on them. Then he went out to his friend again. +</p> +<p> + "I've had a long day to-day, Johnny. I wish you'd go out with me: the + excitement of a squall would clear one's brain, I fancy." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, I'll go out if you like," Eyre said, "but I shall take very good + care to run in before the squall comes, if there's any about. I don't + think there will be, after all. I fancied I saw a flash of lightning + about half an hour ago down in the south, but nothing has come of it. + There are some curlew about, and the guillemots are in thousands. You + don't seem to care about shooting guillemots, Lavender." +</p> +<p> + "Well, you see, potting a bird that is sitting on the water—" said + Lavender with a shrug. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, it isn't as easy as you might imagine. Of course you could kill + them if you liked, but everybody ain't such a swell as you are with a + gun; and mind you, it's uncommonly awkward to catch the right moment + for firing, when the bird goes bobbing up and down on the waves, + disappearing altogether every second second. I think it's very good + <span class="pagenum">[pg 724]</span> + fun myself. It is very exciting when you don't know the moment the + bird will dive, and whether you can afford to go any nearer. And as + for shooting them on the water, you have to do that, for when do you + get a chance of shooting them flying?" +</p> +<p> + "I don't see much necessity for shooting them at any time," said + Lavender as he and Eyre went down to the shore again, "but I am glad + to see you get some amusement out of it. Have you got cartridges with + you? Is your gun in the boat?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes. Come along. We'll have a run out, any how." +</p> +<p> + When they pulled out again to that cockle-shell craft with its stone + ballast and big brown mainsail, the boy was sent ashore and the two + companions set out by themselves. By this time the sun had gone down, + and a strange green twilight was shining over the sea. As they got + farther out the dusky shores seemed to have a pale mist hanging around + them, but there were no clouds on the hills, for a clear sky shone + overhead, awaiting the coming of the stars. Strange indeed was the + silence out here, broken only by the lapping of the water on the sides + of the boat and the calling of birds in the distance. Far away the + orange ray of a lighthouse began to quiver in the lambent dusk. The + pale green light on the waves did not die out, but the shadows grew + darker, so that Eyre, with his gun close at hand, could not make out + his groups of guillemots, although he heard them calling all around. + They had come out too late, indeed, for any such purpose. +</p> +<p> + Thither on those beautiful evenings, after his day's work was over, + Lavender was accustomed to come, either by himself or with his + present companion. Johnny Eyre did not intrude on his solitude: he was + invariably too eager to get a shot, his chief delight being to get to + the bow, to let the boat drift for a while silently through the waves, + so that she might come unawares on some flock of sea-birds. Lavender, + sitting in the stern with the tiller in his hand, was really alone in + this world of water and sky, with all the majesty of the night and the + stars around him. +</p> +<p> + And on these occasions he used to sit and dream of the beautiful time + long ago in Loch Roag, when nights such as these used to come over the + Atlantic, and find Sheila and himself sailing on the peaceful waters, + or seated high up on the rocks listening to the murmur of the tide. + Here was the same strange silence, the same solemn and pale light in + the sky, the same mystery of the moving plain all around them that + seemed somehow to be alive, and yet voiceless and sad. Many a time his + heart became so full of recollections that he had almost called aloud + "Sheila! Sheila!" and waited for the sea and the sky to answer him + with the sound of her voice. In these bygone days he had pleased + himself with the fancy that the girl was somehow the product of all + the beautiful aspects of Nature around her. It was the sea that was in + her eyes, it was the fair sunlight that shone in her face, the breath + of her life was the breath of the moorland winds. He had written + verses about this fancy of hers; and he had conveyed them secretly to + her, sure that she, at least, would find no defects in them. And many + a time, far away from Loch Roag and from Sheila, lines of this conceit + would wander through his brain, set to the saddest of all music, + the music of irreparable loss. What did they say to him, now that + he recalled them like some half-forgotten voice out of the strange + past?— +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2">For she and the clouds and the breezes were one.</p> + <p class="i2"> And the hills and the sea had conspired with the sun</p> + <p class="i2"> To charm and bewilder all men with the grace</p> + <p class="i2"> They combined and conferred on her wonderful face.</p> +</div> +<p> + The sea lapped around the boat, the green light on the waves grew + somehow less intense; in the silence the first of the stars came out, + and somehow the time in which he had seen Sheila in these rare and + magical colors seemed to become more and more remote: +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2">An angel in passing looked downward and smiled,</p> + <p class="i2">And carried to heaven the fame of the child;</p> + <p class="i2">And then what the waves and the sky and the sun</p> + <p class="i2">And the tremulous breath of the hills had begun,</p> + <p class="i2">Required but one touch. To finish the whole,</p> + <p class="i2">God loved her and gave her a beautiful soul.</p> +</div> +<p> + And what had he done with this rare treasure entrusted to him? His + companions, jesting among themselves, had said that he had committed + a murder: in his own heart there was something at this moment of a + murderer's remorse. +</p> +<p> + Johnny Eyre uttered a short cry. Lavender looked ahead and saw that + some black object was disappearing among the waves. +</p> +<p> + "What a fright I got!" Eyre said with a laugh. "I never saw the fellow + come near, and he came up just below the bowsprit. He came heeling + over as quiet as a mouse. I say, Lavender, I think we might as well + cut it now: my eyes are quite bewildered with the light on the water. + I couldn't make out a kraken if it was coming across our bows." +</p> +<p> + "Don't be in a hurry, Johnny. We'll put her out a bit, and then let + her drift back. I want to tell you a story." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, all right," he said; and so they put her head round, and soon she + was lying over before the breeze, and slowly drawing away from those + outlines of the coast which showed them where Tarbert harbor cut into + the land. And then once more they let her drift, and young Eyre took + a nip of whisky and settled himself so as to hear Lavender's story, + whatever it might be. +</p> +<p> + "You knew I was married?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes." +</p> +<p> + "Didn't you ever wonder why my wife did not come here?" +</p> +<p> + "Why should I wonder? Plenty of fellows have to spend half the + year apart from their wives: the only thing in your case I couldn't + understand was the necessity for your doing it. For you know that's + all nonsense about your want of funds." +</p> +<p> + "It isn't nonsense, Johnny. But now, if you like, I will tell you why + my wife has never come here." +</p> +<p> + Then he told the story, out there under the stars, with no thought of + interruption, for there was a world of moving water around them. It + was the first time he had let any one into his confidence, and perhaps + the darkness aided his revelations; but at any rate he went over all + the old time, until it seemed to his companion + <span class="pagenum">[pg 725]</span> +that he was talking to + himself, so aimless and desultory were his pathetic reminiscences. He + called her Sheila, though Eyre had never heard her name. He spoke of + her father as though Eyre must have known him. And yet this rambling + series of confessions and self-reproaches and tender memories did form + a certain sort of narrative, so that the young fellow sitting quietly + in the boat there got a pretty fair notion of what had happened. +</p> +<p> + "You are an unlucky fellow," he said to Lavender. "I never heard + anything like that. But you know you must have exaggerated a good deal + about it: I should like to hear her story. I am sure you could not + have treated her like that." +</p> +<p> + "God knows how I did, but the truth is just as I have told you; and + although I was blind enough at the time, I can read the whole story + now in letters of fire. I hope you will never have such a thing + constantly before your eyes, Johnny." +</p> +<p> + The lad was silent for some time, and then he said, rather timidly, + "Do you think, Lavender, she knows how sorry you are?" +</p> +<p> + "If she did, what good would that do?" said the other. +</p> +<p> + "Women are awfully forgiving, you know," Johnny said in a hesitating + fashion. "I—I don't think it is quite fair not to give her a + chance—a chance of—of being generous, you know. You know, I think + the better a woman is, the more inclined she is to be charitable to + other folks who mayn't be quite up to the mark, you know; and you see, + it ain't every one who can claim to be always doing the right thing; + and the next best thing to that is to be sorry for what you've done + and try to do better. It's rather cheeky, you know, my advising you, + or trying to make you pluck up your spirits; but I'll tell you what + it is, Lavender, if I knew her well enough I'd go straight to her + to-morrow, and I'd put in a good word for you, and tell her some + things she doesn't know; and you'd see if she wouldn't write you a + letter, or even come and see you." +</p> +<p> + "That is all nonsense, Johnny, though + <span class="pagenum">[pg 726]</span> +it's very good of you to think + of it. The mischief I have done isn't to be put aside by the mere + writing of a letter." +</p> +<p> + "But it seems to me," Johnny said with some warmth, "that you are as + unfair to her as to yourself in not giving her a chance. You don't + know how willing she may be to overlook everything that is past." +</p> +<p> + "If she were, I am not fit to go near her. I couldn't have the cheek + to try, Johnny." +</p> +<p> + "But what more can you be than sorry for what is past?" said the + younger fellow persistently. "And you don't know how pleased it makes + a good woman to give her the chance of forgiving anybody. And if we + were all to set up for being archangels, and if there was to be no + sort of getting back for us after we had made a slip, where should we + be? And in place of going to her and making it all right, you start + away for the Sound of Islay; and, by Jove! won't you find out what + spending a winter under these Jura mountains means! I have tried it, + and I know." +</p> +<p> + A flash of lightning, somewhere down among the Arran hills, + interrupted the speaker, and drew the attention of the two young men + to the fact that in the east and south-east the stars were no longer + visible, while something of a brisk breeze had sprung up. +</p> +<p> + "This breeze will take us back splendidly," Johnny said, getting ready + again for the run in to Tarbert. +</p> +<p> + He had scarcely spoken when Lavender called attention to a + fishing-smack that was apparently making for the harbor. With all + sails set she was sweeping by them like some black phantom across the + dark plain of the sea. They could not make out the figures on board of + her, but as she passed some one called out to them. +</p> +<p> + "What did he say?" Lavender asked. +</p> +<p> + "I don't know," his companion said, "but it was some sort of warning, + I suppose. By Jove, Lavender, what is that?" +</p> +<p> + Behind them there was a strange hissing noise that the wind brought + along to them, but nothing could be seen. +</p> +<p> + "Rain, isn't it?" Lavender said. +</p> +<p> + "There never was rain like that," his companion said. "That is a + squall, and it will be here presently. We must haul down the sails. + For God's sake, look sharp, Lavender!" +</p> +<p> + There was certainly no time to lose, for the noise behind them was + increasing and deepening into a roar, and the heavens had grown black + overhead, so that the spars and ropes of the crank little boat could + scarcely be made out. They had just got the sails down when the first + gust of the squall struck the boat as with a blow of iron, and sent + her staggering forward into the trough of the sea. Then all around + them came the fury of the storm, and the cause of the sound they had + heard was apparent in the foaming water that was torn and scattered + abroad by the gale. Up from the black south-east came the fierce + hurricane, sweeping everything before it, and hurling this creaking + and straining boat about as if it were a cork. They could see little + of the sea around them, but they could hear the awful noise of it, and + they knew they were being swept along on those hurrying waves toward a + coast which was invisible in the blackness of the night. +</p> +<p> + "Johnny, we'll never make the harbor: I can't see a light," Lavender + cried, "Hadn't we better try to keep her up the loch?" +</p> +<p> + "We <i>must</i> make the harbor," his companion said: "she can't stand this + much longer." +</p> +<p> + Blinding torrents of rain were now being driven down by the force + of the wind, so that all around them nothing was visible but a wild + boiling and seething of clouds and waves. Eyre was up at the bow, + trying to catch some glimpse of the outlines of the coast or to make + out some light that would show them where the entrance to Tarbert + harbor lay. If only some lurid shaft of lightning would pierce the + gloom! for they knew that they were being driven headlong on an + iron-bound coast; and amid all the noise of the wind and the sea they + listened with a fear that had no words for the first roar of the waves + along the rocks. +</p> +<p> + Suddenly Lavender heard a shrill scream, almost like the cry that a + hare gives when it finds the dog's fangs in its neck, and at the same + moment, amid all the darkness of the night, a still blacker object + seemed to start out of the gloom right ahead of them. The boy had no + time to shout any warning beyond that cry of despair, for with a wild + crash the boat struck on the rocks, rose and struck again, and was + then dashed over by a heavy sea, both of its occupants being thrown + into the fierce swirls of foam that were dashing in and through the + rocky channels. Strangely enough, they were thrown together; and + Lavender, clinging to the sea-weed, instinctively laid hold of his + companion just as the latter appeared to be slipping into the gulf + beneath. +</p> +<p> + "Johnny," he cried, "hold on!—hold on to me—or we shall both go in a + minute." +</p> +<p> + But the lad had no life left in him, and lay like a log there, while + each wave that struck and rolled hissing and gurgling through the + channels between the rocks seemed to drag at him and seek to suck him + down into the darkness. With one despairing effort, Lavender struggled + to get him farther up on the slippery sea-weed, and succeeded. But his + success had lost him his own vantage-ground, and he knew that he was + going down into the swirling waters beneath, close by the broken boat + that was still being dashed about by the waves. +</p> + + +<a name="thulechxxiv"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + CHAPTER XXIV. +</h2> +<h3> + "HAME FAIN WOULD I BE." +</h3> +<p> + Unexpected circumstances had detained Mrs. Kavanagh and her daughter + in London long after everybody else had left, but at length they were + ready to start for their projected trip into Switzerland. On the day + before their departure Ingram dined with them—on his own invitation. + He had got into a habit of letting them know when it would suit him to + devote an evening to their instruction; and it was difficult indeed to + say which of the two ladies submitted the + <span class="pagenum">[pg 727]</span> +more readily and meekly + to the dictatorial enunciation of his opinions. Mrs. Kavanagh, it is + true, sometimes dissented in so far as a smile indicated dissent, but + her daughter scarcely reserved to herself so much liberty. Mr. Ingram + had taken her in hand, and expected of her the obedience and respect + due to his superior age. +</p> +<p> + And yet, somehow or other, he occasionally found himself indirectly + soliciting the advice of this gentle, clear-eyed and clear-headed + young person, more especially as regarded the difficulties surrounding + Sheila; and sometimes a chance remark of hers, uttered in a timid + or careless or even mocking fashion, would astonish him by the rapid + light it threw on these dark troubles. On this evening—the last + evening they were spending in London—it was his own affairs which he + proposed to mention to Mrs. Lorraine, and he had no more hesitation in + doing so than if she had been his oldest friend. He wanted to ask her + what he should do about the money that Mrs. Lavender had left him; and + he intended to be a good deal more frank with Mrs. Lorraine than with + any of the others to whom he had spoken about the matter. For he was + well aware that Mrs. Lavender had at first resolved that he should + have at least a considerable portion of her wealth, or why should she + have asked him how he would like to be a rich man? +</p> +<p> + "I do not think," said Mrs. Lorraine quietly, "that there is any use + in your asking me what you should do, for I know what you will do, + whether it accords with any one's opinion or no. And yet you would + find a great advantage in having money." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, I know that," he said readily. "I should like to be rich beyond + anything that ever happened in a drama; and I should take my chance of + all the evil influences that money is supposed to exert. Do you know, + I think you rich people are very unfairly treated." +</p> +<p> + "But we are not rich," said Mrs. Kavanagh, passing at the time. + "Cecilia and I find ourselves very poor sometimes." +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 728]</span> + "But I quite agree with Mr. Ingram, mamma," said Cecilia—as if any + one had had the courage to disagree with Mr. Ingram!—"rich people are + shamefully ill-treated. If you go to a theatre, now, you find that all + the virtues are on the side of the poor, and if there are a few vices, + you get a thousand excuses for them. No one takes account of the + temptations of the rich. You have people educated from their infancy + to imagine that the whole world was made for them, every wish they + have gratified, every day showing them people dependent on them and + grateful for favors; and no allowance is made for such a temptation to + become haughty, self-willed and overbearing. But of course it stands + to reason that the rich never have justice done them in plays and + stories, for the people who write are poor." +</p> +<p> + "Not all of them." +</p> +<p> + "But enough to strike an average of injustice. And it is very hard. + For it is the rich who buy books and who take boxes at the theatres, + and then they find themselves grossly abused; whereas the humble + peasant who can scarcely read at all, and who never pays more than + sixpence for a seat in the gallery, is flattered and coaxed and + caressed until one wonders whether the source of virtue is the + drinking of sour ale. Mr. Ingram, you do it yourself. You impress + mamma and me with the belief that we are miserable sinners if we are + not continually doing some act of charity. Well, that is all very + pleasant and necessary, in moderation; but you don't find the poor + folks so very anxious to live for other people. They don't care much + what becomes of us. They take your port wine and flannels as if + they were conferring a favor on you, but as for <i>your</i> condition and + prospects in this world and the next, they don't trouble much about + that. Now, mamma, just wait a moment." +</p> +<p> + "I will not. You are a bad girl," said Mrs. Kavanagh severely. "Here + has Mr. Ingram been teaching you and making you better for ever so + long back, and you pretend to accept his counsel and reform yourself; + and then all at once you break out, and throw down the tablets of the + law, and conduct yourself like a heathen." +</p> +<p> + "Because I want him to explain, mamma. I suppose he considers it + wicked of us to start for Switzerland to-morrow. The money we shall + spend in traveling might have despatched a cargo of muskets to some + missionary station, so that—" +</p> +<p> + "Ceilia!" +</p> +<p> + "Oh no," Ingram said carelessly, and nursing his knee with both his + hands as usual, "traveling is not wicked: it is only unreasonable. A + traveler, you know, is a person who has a house in one town, and who + goes to live in a house in another town, in order to have the pleasure + of paying for both." +</p> +<p> + "Mr. Ingram," said Mrs. Kavanagh, "will you talk seriously for one + minute, and tell me whether we are to expect to see you in the Tyrol?" +</p> +<p> + But Ingram was not in a mood for talking seriously, and he waited to + hear Mrs. Lorraine strike in with some calmly audacious invitation. + She did not, however, and he turned round from her mother to question + her. He was surprised to find that her eyes were fixed on the ground + and that something like a tinge of color was in her face. He turned + rapidly away again. "Well, Mrs. Kavanagh," he said with a fine air + of indifference, "the last time we spoke about that I was not in the + difficulty I am in at present. How could I go traveling just now, + without knowing how to regulate my daily expenses? Am I to travel with + six white horses and silver bells, or trudge on foot with a wallet?" +</p> +<p> + "But you know quite well," said Mrs. Lorraine warmly—"you know you + will not touch that money that Mrs. Lavender has left you." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, pardon me," he said: "I should rejoice to have it if it did not + properly belong to some one else. And the difficulty is, that Mr. + Mackenzie is obviously very anxious that neither Mr. Lavender nor + Sheila should have it. If Sheila gets it, of course she will give it + to her husband. Now, if it is not to be given to her, do you think I + should regard the money with any particular horror and refuse to touch + it? That would be very romantic, perhaps, but I should be sorry, you + know, to give my friends the most disquieting doubts about my sanity. + Romance goes out of a man's head when the hair gets gray." +</p> +<p> + "Until a man has gray hair," Mrs. Lorraine said, still with some + unnecessary fervor, "he does not know that there are things much more + valuable than money. You wouldn't touch that money just now, and all + the thinking and reasoning in the world will never get you to touch + it." +</p> +<p> + "What am I to do with it?" he said meekly. +</p> +<p> + "Give it to Mr. Mackenzie, in trust for his daughter," Mrs. Lorraine + said promptly; and then, seeing that her mother had gone to the end + of the drawing-room to fetch something or other, she added quickly, + "I should be more sorry than I can tell you to find you accepting this + money. You do not wish to have it. You do not need it. And if you did + take it, it would prove a source of continual embarrassment and regret + to you, and no assurances on the part of Mr. Mackenzie would be able + to convince you that you had acted rightly by his daughter. Now, if + you simply hand over your responsibilities to him, he cannot refuse + them, for the sake of his own child, and you are left with the sense + of having acted nobly and generously. I hope there are many men who + would do what I ask you to do, but I have not met many to whom I + could make such an appeal with any hope. But, after all, that is only + advice. I have no right to ask you to do anything like that. You asked + me for my opinion about it. Well, that is it. But I should not have + asked you to act on it." +</p> +<p> + "But I will," he said in a low voice; and then he went to the other + end of the room, for Mrs. Kavanagh was calling him to help her in + finding something she had lost. +</p> +<p> + Before he left that evening Mrs. Lorraine said to him, "We go by the + night-mail to Paris to-morrow night, and we + <span class="pagenum">[pg 729]</span> +shall dine here at five. + Would you have the courage to come up and join us in that melancholy + ceremony?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh yes," he said, "if I may go down to the station to see you away + afterward." +</p> +<p> + "I think if we got you so far we should persuade you to go with us," + Mrs. Kavanagh said with a smile. +</p> +<p> + He sat silent for a minute. Of course she could not seriously mean + such a thing. But at all events she would not be displeased if he + crossed their path while they were actually abroad. +</p> +<p> + "It is getting too late in the year to go to Scotland now," he said + with some hesitation. +</p> +<p> + "Oh most certainly," Mrs. Lorraine said. +</p> +<p> + "I don't know where the man in whose yacht I was to have gone may be + now. I might spend half my holiday in trying to catch him." +</p> +<p> + "And during that time you would be alone," Mrs. Lorraine said. +</p> +<p> + "I suppose the Tyrol is a very nice place," he suggested. +</p> +<p> + "Oh most delightful," she exclaimed. "You know, we should go round by + Switzerland, and go up by Luzerne and Zurich to the end of the Lake + of Constance. Bregenz, mamma, isn't that the place where we hired that + good-natured man the year before last?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, child." +</p> +<p> + "Now, you see, Mr. Ingram, if you had less time than we—if you + could not start with us to-morrow—you might come straight down by + Schaffhausen and the steamer, and catch us up there, and then mamma + would become your guide. I am sure we should have some pleasant days + together till you got tired of us, and then you could go off on a + walking-tour if you pleased. And then, you know, there would be no + difficulty about our meeting at Bregenz, for mamma and I have plenty + of time, and we should wait there for a few days, so as to make sure." +</p> +<p> + "Cecilia," said Mrs. Kavanagh, "you must not persuade Mr. Ingram + against his will. He may have other duties—other friends to see, + perhaps." +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 730]</span> + "Who proposed it, mamma?" said the daughter calmly. +</p> +<p> + "I did, as a mere joke. But of course, if Mr. Ingram thinks of going + to the Tyrol, we should be most pleased to see him there." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, I have no other friends whom I am bound to see," Ingram said with + some hesitation, "and I should like to go to the Tyrol. But—the fact + is—I am afraid—" +</p> +<p> + "May I interrupt you?" said Mrs. Lorraine. "You do not like to leave + London so long as your friend Sheila is in trouble. Is not that the + case? And yet she has her father to look after her. And it is clear + you cannot do much for her when you do not even know where Mr. + Lavender is. On the whole, I think you should consider yourself a + little bit now, and not get cheated out of your holidays for the + year." +</p> +<p> + "Very well," Ingram said, "I shall be able to tell you to-morrow." +</p> +<p> + To be so phlegmatic and matter-of-fact a person, Mr. Ingram was sorely + disturbed on going home that evening, nor did he sleep much during the + night. For the more that he speculated on all the possibilities that + might arise from his meeting those people in the Tyrol, the more + pertinaciously did this refrain follow these excursive fancies: "If + I go to the Tyrol I shall fall in love with that girl, and ask her to + marry me. And if I do so, what position should I hold, with regard to + her, as a penniless man with a rich wife?" +</p> +<p> + He did not look at the question in such light as the opinion of the + world might throw on it. The difficulty was what she herself might + afterward come to think of their mutual relations. True it was, that + no one could be more gentle and submissive to him than she appeared + to be. In matters of opinion and discussion he already ruled with an + autocratic authority which he fully perceived himself, and exercised, + too, with some sort of notion that it was good for this clear-headed + young woman to have to submit to control. But of what avail would this + moral authority be as against the consciousness she would have that it + was her fortune that was supplying both with the means of living? +</p> +<p> + He went down to his office in the morning with no plans formed. The + forenoon passed, and he had decided on nothing. At mid-day he suddenly + be-thought him that it would be very pleasant if Sheila would go and + see Mrs. Lorraine; and forthwith he did that which would have driven + Frank Lavender out of his senses—he telegraphed to Mrs. Lorraine + for permission to bring Sheila and her father to dinner at five. + He certainly knew that such a request was a trifle cool, but he had + discovered that Mrs. Lorraine was not easily shocked by such audacious + experiments on her good nature. When he received the telegram in + reply he knew it granted what he had asked. The words were merely, + "Certainly, by all means, but not later than five." +</p> +<p> + Then he hastened down to the house in which Sheila lived, and + found that she and her father had just returned from visiting some + exhibition. Mr. Mackenzie was not in the room. +</p> +<p> + "Sheila," Ingram said, "what would you think of my getting married?" +</p> +<p> + Sheila looked up with a bright smile and said, "It would please me + very much—it would be a great pleasure to me; and I have expected it + for some time." +</p> +<p> + "You have expected it?" he repeated with a stare. +</p> +<p> + "Yes," she said quietly. +</p> +<p> + "Then you fancy you know—" he said, or rather stammered, in great + embarrassment, when she interrupted him by saying, +</p> +<p> + "Oh yes, I think I know. When you came down every evening to tell me + all the praises of Mrs. Lorraine, and how clever she was, and kind, + I expected you would come some day with another message; and now I + am very glad to hear it. You have changed all my opinions about her, + and—" +</p> +<p> + Then she rose and took both his hands, and looked frankly into his + face. +</p> +<p> + "—And I do hope most sincerely you will be happy, my dear friend." +</p> +<p> + Ingram was fairly taken aback at the consequences of his own + imprudence. He had never dreamed for a moment that any one would have + suspected such a thing; and he had thrown out the suggestion to Sheila + almost as a jest, believing, of course, that it compromised no one. + And here, before he had spoken a word to Mrs. Lorraine on the subject, + he was being congratulated on his approaching marriage. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, Sheila," he said, "this is all a mistake. It was a joke of mine. + If I had known you would think of Mrs. Lorraine, I should not have + said a word about it." +</p> +<p> + "But it is Mrs. Lorraine?" Sheila said. +</p> +<p> + "Well, but I have never mentioned such a thing to her—never hinted it + in the remotest manner. I dare say if I had she might laugh the matter + aside as too absurd." +</p> +<p> + "She will not do that," Sheila said. "If you ask her to marry you, + she will marry you: I am sure of that from what I have heard, and she + would be very foolish if she was not proud and glad to do that. And + you—what doubt can you have, after all that you have been saying of + late?" +</p> +<p> + "But you don't marry a woman merely because you admire her cleverness + and kindness," he said; and then he added suddenly, "Sheila, would you + do me a great favor? Mrs. Lorraine and her mother are leaving for the + Continent to-night. They dine at five, and I am commissioned to ask + you and your papa if you would go up with me and have some dinner with + them, you know, before they start. Won't you do that, Sheila?" +</p> +<p> + The girl shook her head, without answering. She had not gone to any + friend's house since her husband had left London, and that + house, above all others, was calculated to awaken in her bitter + recollections. +</p> +<p> + "Won't you, Sheila?" he said. "You used to go there. I know they + like you very much. I have seen you very well pleased and comfortable + there, and I thought you were enjoying yourself." +</p> +<p> + "Yes, that is true," she said; and then she looked up, with a strange + sort of smile on her lips, "But 'what made the assembly shine?'" +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 731]</span> + That forced smile did not last long: the girl suddenly burst into + tears, and rose and went away to the window. Mackenzie came into the + room: he did not see his daughter was crying: "Well, Mr. Ingram, and + are you coming with us to the Lewis? We cannot always be staying in + London, for there will be many things wanting the looking after in + Borva, as you will know ferry well. And yet Sheila she will not go + back; and Mairi too, she will be forgetting the ferry sight of her own + people; but if you wass coming with us, Mr. Ingram, Sheila she would + come too, and it would be ferry good for her whatever." +</p> +<p> + "I have brought you another proposal. Will you take Sheila to see the + Tyrol, and I will go with you?" +</p> +<p> + "The Tyrol?" said Mr. Mackenzie. "Ay, it is a ferry long way away, but + if Sheila will care to go to the Tyrol—oh yes, I will go to the Tyrol + or anywhere if she will go out of London, for it is not good for + a young girl to be always in the one house, and no company and no + variety; and I was saying to Sheila what good will she do sitting by + the window and thinking over things, and crying sometimes? By Kott, it + is a foolish thing for a young girl, and I will hef no more of it!" +</p> +<p> + In other circumstances Ingram would have laughed at this dreadful + threat. Despite the frown on the old man's face, the sudden stamp of + his foot and the vehemence of his words, Ingram knew that if Sheila + had turned round and said that she wished to be shut up in a dark + room for the rest of her life, the old King of Borva would have + said, "Ferry well, Sheila," in the meekest way, and would have been + satisfied if only he could share her imprisonment with her. +</p> +<p> + "But first of all, Mr. Mackenzie, I have another proposal to make to + you," Ingram said; and then he urged upon Sheila's father to accept + Mrs. Lorraine's invitation. +</p> +<p> + Mr. Mackenzie was nothing loath: Sheila was living by far too + monotonous a life. He went over to the window to her and said, + "Sheila, my lass, you was + <span class="pagenum">[pg 732]</span> +going nowhere else this evening; and it + would be ferry convenient to go with Mr. Ingram, and he would see + his friends away, and we could go to a theatre then. And it is no new + thing for you to go to fine houses and see other people; but it is new + to me, and you wass saying what a beautiful house it wass many a + time, and I hef wished to see it. And the people they are ferry kind, + Sheila, to send me an invitation; and if they wass to come to the + Lewis, what would you think if you asked them to come to your house + and they paid no heed to it? Now, it is after four, Sheila, and if you + wass to get ready now—" +</p> +<p> + "Yes, I will go and get ready, papa," she said. +</p> +<p> + Ingram had a vague consciousness that he was taking Sheila up to + introduce to her Mrs. Lorraine in a new character. Would Sheila + look at the woman she used to fear and dislike in a wholly different + fashion, and be prepared to adorn her with all the graces which he had + so often described to her? Ingram hoped that Sheila would get to like + Mrs. Lorraine, and that by and by a better acquaintance between them + might lead to a warm and friendly intimacy. Somehow, he felt that if + Sheila would betray such a liking—if she would come to him and say + honestly that she was rejoiced he meant to marry—all his doubts would + be cleared away. Sheila had already said pretty nearly as much as + that, but then it followed what she understood to be an announcement + of his approaching marriage, and of course the girl's kindly nature at + once suggested a few pretty speeches. Sheila now knew that nothing + was settled: after looking at Mrs. Lorraine in the light of these + new possibilities, would she come to him and counsel him to go on and + challenge a decision? +</p> +<p> + Mr. Mackenzie received with a grave dignity and politeness the + more than friendly welcome given him both by Mrs. Kavanagh and her + daughter, and in view of their approaching tour he gave them to + understand that he had himself established somewhat familiar relations + with foreign countries by reason of his meeting with the ships and + sailors hailing from those distant shores. He displayed a profound + knowledge of the habits and customs and of the natural products of + many remote lands which were much farther afield than a little bit of + inland Germany. He represented the island of Borva, indeed, as a + sort of lighthouse from which you could survey pretty nearly all the + countries of the world, and broadly hinted that so far from insular + prejudice being the fruit of living in such a place, a general + intercourse with diverse peoples tended to widen the understanding and + throw light on the various social experiments that had been made by + the lawgivers, the philanthropists, the philosophers of the world. +</p> +<p> + It seemed to Sheila, as she sat and listened, that the pale, calm and + clear-eyed young lady opposite her was not quite so self-possessed + as usual. She seemed shy and a little self-conscious. Did she suspect + that she was being observed, Sheila wondered? and the reason? When + dinner was announced she took Sheila's arm, and allowed Mr. Ingram to + follow them, protesting, into the other room, but there was much more + of embarrassment and timidity than of an audacious mischief in her + look. She was very kind indeed to Sheila, but she had wholly abandoned + that air of maternal patronage which she used to assume toward the + girl. She seemed to wish to be more friendly and confidential with + her, and indeed scarcely spoke a word to Ingram during dinner, so + persistently did she talk to Sheila, who sat next her. +</p> +<p> + Ingram got vexed. "Mrs. Lorraine," he said, "you seem to forget that + this is a solemn occasion. You ask us to a farewell banquet, but + instead of observing the proper ceremonies you pass the time in + talking about fancy-work and music, and other ordinary, every—day + trifles." +</p> +<p> + "What are the ceremonies?" she said. +</p> +<p> + "Well," he answered, "you need not occupy the time with crochet—" +</p> +<p> + "Mrs. Lavender and I are very well pleased to talk about trifles." +</p> +<p> + "But I am not," he said bluntly, "and I am not going to be shut out by + a conspiracy. Come, let us talk about your journey." +</p> +<p> + "Will my lord give his commands as to the point at which we shall + start the conversation?" +</p> +<p> + "You may skip the Channel." +</p> +<p> + "I wish I could," she remarked with a sigh. +</p> +<p> + "We shall land you in Paris. How are we to know that you have arrived + safely?" +</p> +<p> + She looked embarrassed for a moment, and then said, "If it is of any + consequence for you to know, I shall be writing in any case to Mrs. + Lavender about some little private matter." +</p> +<p> + Ingram did not receive this promise with any great show of delight. + "You see," he said, somewhat glumly, "if I am to meet you anywhere, I + should like to know the various stages of your route, so that I could + guard against our missing each other." +</p> +<p> + "You have decided to go, then?" +</p> +<p> + Ingram, not looking at her, but looking at Sheila, said, "Yes;" and + Sheila, despite all her efforts, could not help glancing up with + a brief smile and blush of pleasure that were quite visible to + everybody. +</p> +<p> + Mrs. Lorraine struck in with a sort of nervous haste: "Oh, that will + be very pleasant for mamma, for she gets rather tired of me at times + when we are traveling. Two women who always read the same sort of + books, and have the same opinions about the people they meet, and + have precisely the same tastes in everything, are not very amusing + companions for each other. You want a little discussion thrown in." +</p> +<p> + "And if we meet Mr. Ingram we are sure to have that," Mrs. Kavanagh + said benignly. +</p> +<p> + "And you want somebody to give you new opinions and put things + differently, you know. I am sure mamma will be most kind to you if you + can make it convenient to spend a few days with us, Mr. Ingram." +</p> +<p> + "And I have been trying to persuade Mr. Mackenzie and this young lady + to come also," said Ingram. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, that would be delightful!" Mrs. Lorraine cried, suddenly taking + <span class="pagenum">[pg 733]</span> + Sheila's hand. "You will come, won't you? We should have such a + pleasant party. I am sure your papa would be most interested; and we + are not tied to any route: we should go wherever you pleased." +</p> +<p> + She would have gone on beseeching and advising, but she saw something + in Sheila's face which told her that all her efforts would be + unavailing. +</p> +<p> + "It is very kind of you," Sheila said, "but I do not think I can go to + the Tyrol." +</p> +<p> + "Then you shall go back to the Lewis, Sheila," her father said. +</p> +<p> + "I cannot go back to the Lewis, papa," she said simply; and at this + point Ingram, perceiving how painful the discussion was for the girl, + suddenly called attention to the hour, and asked Mrs. Kavanagh if all + her portmanteaus were strapped up. +</p> +<p> + They drove in a body down to the station, and Mr. Ingram was most + assiduous in supplying the two travelers with an abundance of + everything they could not possibly want. He got them a reading-lamp, + though both of them declared they never read in a train. He got them + some eau-de-cologne, though they had plenty in their traveling-case. + He purchased for them an amount of miscellaneous literature that would + have been of benefit to a hospital, provided the patients were strong + enough to bear it. And then he bade them good-bye at least half a + dozen times as the train was slowly moving out of the station, and + made the most solemn vows about meeting them at Bregenz. +</p> +<p> + "Now, Sheila," he said, "shall we go to the theatre?" +</p> +<p> + "I do not care to go unless you wish," was the answer. +</p> +<p> + "She does not care to go anywhere now," her father said; and then the + girl, seeing that he was rather distressed about her apparent want of + interest, pulled herself together and said cheerfully, "Is it not too + late to go to a theatre? And I am sure we could be very comfortable + at home. Mairi, she will think it unkind if we go to the theatre by + ourselves." +</p> +<p> + "Mairi!" said her father impatiently, for he never lost an opportunity + of + <span class="pagenum">[pg 734]</span> +indirectly justifying Lavender. Mairi has more sense than you, + Sheila, and she knows that a servant-lass has to stay at home, and she + knows that she is ferry different from you; and she is a ferry good + girl whatever, and hass no pride, and she does not expect nonsense in + going about and such things." +</p> +<p> + "I am quite sure, papa, you would rather go home and sit down and have + a talk with Mr. Ingram, and a pipe and a little whisky, than go to any + theatre." +</p> +<p> + "What I would do! And what I would like!" said her father in a vexed + way. "Sheila, you have no more sense as a lass that wass still at the + school. I want you to go to the theatre and amuse yourself, instead + of sitting in the house and thinking, thinking, thinking. And all for + what?" +</p> +<p> + "But if one has something to be sorry for, is it not better to think + of it?" +</p> +<p> + "And what hef you to be sorry for?" said her father in amazement, and + forgetting that, in his diplomatic fashion, he had been accustoming + Sheila to the notion that she too might have erred grievously and been + in part responsible for all that had occurred. +</p> +<p> + "I have a great deal to be sorry for, papa," she said; and then she + renewed her entreaties that her two companions should abandon their + notion of going to a theatre, and resolve to spend the rest of the + evening in what she consented to call her home. +</p> +<p> + After all, they found a comfortable little company when they sat round + the fire, which had been lit for cheerfulness rather than for warmth, + and Ingram at least was in a particularly pleasant mood. For Sheila + had seized the opportunity, when her father had gone out of the room + for a few minutes, to say suddenly, "Oh, my dear friend, if you care + for her, you have a great happiness before you." +</p> +<p> + "Why, Sheila!" he said, staring. +</p> +<p> + "She cares for you more than you can think: I saw it to-night in + everything she said and did." +</p> +<p> + "I thought she was just a trifle saucy, do you know. She shunted me + out of the conversation altogether." +</p> +<p> + Sheila shook her head and smiled: "She was embarrassed. She suspects + that you like her, and that I know it, and that I came to see her. If + you ask her to marry you, she will do it gladly." +</p> +<p> + "Sheila," Ingram said with a severity that was not in his heart, "you + must not say such things. You might make fearful mischief by putting + these wild notions into people's heads." +</p> +<p> + "They are not wild notions," she said quietly. "A woman can tell what + another woman is thinking about better than a man." +</p> +<p> + "And am I to go to the Tyrol and ask her to marry me?" he said with + the air of a meek scholar. +</p> +<p> + "I should like to see you married—very, very much indeed," Sheila + said. +</p> +<p> + "And to her?" +</p> +<p> + "Yes to her," the girl said frankly. "For I am sure she has great + regard for you, and she is clever enough to put value on—on—But I + cannot flatter you, Mr. Ingram." +</p> +<p> + "Shall I send you word about what happens in the Tyrol?" he said, + still with the humble air of one receiving instructions. +</p> +<p> + "Yes." +</p> +<p> + "And if she rejects me, what shall I do?" +</p> +<p> + "She will not reject you." +</p> +<p> + "Shall I come to you for consolation, and ask you what you meant by + driving me on such a blunder?" +</p> +<p> + "If she rejects you," Sheila said with a smile, "it will be your own + fault, and you will deserve it. For you are a little too harsh with + her, and you have too much authority, and I am surprised that she + will be so amiable under it. Because, you know, a woman expects to + be treated with much gentleness and deference before she has said she + will marry. She likes to be entreated, and coaxed, and made much of, + but instead of that you are very overbearing with Mrs. Lorraine." +</p> +<p> + "I did not mean to be, Sheila," he said, honestly enough. "If anything + of the kind happened it must have been in a joke." +</p> +<p> + "Oh no, not a joke," Sheila said; "and I have noticed it before—the + very first evening you came to their house. And perhaps you did not + know of it yourself; and then Mrs. Lorraine, she is clever enough to + see that you did not mean to be disrespectful. But she will expect you + to alter that a great deal if you ask her to marry you; that is, until + you are married." +</p> +<p> + "Have I ever been overbearing to you, Sheila?" he asked. +</p> +<p> + "To me? Oh no. You have always been very gentle to me; but I know how + that is. When you first knew me I was almost a child, and you treated + me like a child; and ever since then it has always been the same. + But to others—yes, you are too unceremonious; and Mrs. Lorraine will + expect you to be much more mild and amiable, and you must let her have + opinions of her own." +</p> +<p> + "Sheila, you give me to understand that I am a bear," he said in tones + of injured protest. +</p> +<p> + Sheila laughed: "Have I told you the truth at last? It was no matter + so long as you had ordinary acquaintances to deal with. But now, if + you wish to marry that pretty lady, you must be much more gentle if + you are discussing anything with her; and if she says anything that + is not very wise, you must not say bluntly that it is foolish, but you + must smooth it away, and put her right gently, and then she will be + grateful to you. But if you say to her, 'Oh, that is nonsense!' as + you might say to a man, you will hurt her very much. The man would not + care—he would think you were stupid to have a different opinion from + him; but a woman fears she is not as clever as the man she is talking + to, and likes his good opinion; and if he says something careless + like that, she is sensitive to it, and it wounds her. To-night you + contradicted Mrs. Lorraine about the <i>h</i> in those Italian words, and + I am quite sure you were wrong. She knows Italian much better than you + do, and yet she yielded to you very prettily." +</p> +<p> + "Go on, Sheila, go on," he said with a resigned air. "What else did I + do?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh, a great many rude things. You + <span class="pagenum">[pg 735]</span> +should not have contradicted Mrs. + Kavanagh about the color of an amethyst." +</p> +<p> + "But why? You know she was wrong; and she said herself a minute + afterward that she was thinking of a sapphire." +</p> +<p> + "But you ought not to contradict a person older than yourself," said + Sheila sententiously. +</p> +<p> + "Goodness gracious me! Because one person is born in one year, and one + in another, is that any reason why you should say that an amethyst + is blue? Mr. Mackenzie, come and talk to this girl. She is trying to + pervert my principles. She says that in talking to a woman you have to + abandon all hope of being accurate, and that respect for the truth is + not to be thought of. Because a woman has a pretty face she is to be + allowed to say that black is white, and white pea-green. And if you + say anything to the contrary, you are a brute, and had better go and + bellow by yourself in a wilderness." +</p> +<p> + "Sheila is quite right," said old Mackenzie at a venture. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, do you think so?" Ingram asked coolly. "Then I can understand how + her moral sentiment has been destroyed, and it is easy to see where + she has got a set of opinions that strike at the very roots of a + respectable and decent society." +</p> +<p> + "Do you know," said Sheila seriously, "that it is very rude of you to + say so, even in jest? If you treat Mrs. Lorraine in this way—" +</p> +<p> + She suddenly stopped. Her father had not heard, being busy among + his pipes. So the subject was discreetly dropped, Ingram reluctantly + promising to pay some attention to Sheila's precepts of politeness. +</p> +<p> + Altogether, it was a pleasant evening they had, but when Ingram had + left, Mr. Mackenzie said to his daughter, "Now, look at this, Sheila. + When Mr. Ingram goes away from London, you hef no friend at all then + in the place, and you are quite alone. Why will you not come to the + Lewis, Sheila? It is no one there will know anything of what has + happened here; and Mairi she is a good girl, and she will hold her + tongue." +</p> +<p> + "They will ask me why I come back + <span class="pagenum">[pg 736]</span> +without my husband," Sheila said, + looking down. +</p> +<p> + "Oh, you will leave that all to me," said her father, who knew he + had surely sufficient skill to thwart the curiosity of a few simple + creatures in Borva. "There is many a girl hass to go home for a time + while her husband he is away on his business; and there will no one + hef the right to ask you any more than I will tell them; and I will + tell them what they should know—oh yes, I will tell them ferry + well—and you will hef no trouble about it. And, Sheila, you are a + good lass, and you know that I hef many things to attend to that is + not easy to write about—" +</p> +<p> + "I do know that, papa," the girl said, "and many a time have I wished + you would go back to the Lewis." +</p> +<p> + "And leave you here by yourself? Why, you are talking foolishly, + Sheila. But now, Sheila, you will see how you could go back with me; + and it would be a ferry different thing for you running about in the + fresh air than shut up in a room in the middle of a town. And you are + not looking ferry well, my lass, and Scarlett she will hef to take the + charge of you." +</p> +<p> + "I will go to the Lewis with you, papa, when you please," she said, + and he was glad and proud to hear her decision; but there was no happy + light of anticipation in her eyes, such as ought to have been awakened + by this projected journey to the far island which she had known as her + home. +</p> +<p> + And so it was that one rough and blustering afternoon the Clansman + steamed into Stornoway harbor, and Sheila, casting timid and furtive + glances toward the quay, saw Duncan standing there, with the wagonette + some little distance back under charge of a boy. Duncan was a proud + man that day. He was the first to shove the gangway on to the vessel, + and he was the first to get on board; and in another minute Sheila + found the tall, keen-eyed, brown-faced keeper before her, and he was + talking in a rapid and eager fashion, throwing in an occasional scrap + of Gaelic in the mere hurry of his words. +</p> +<p> + "Oh yes, Miss Sheila, Scarlett she is ferry well whatever, but there + is nothing will make her so well as your coming back to sa Lewis; and + we wass saying yesterday that it looked as if it wass more as three or + four years, or six years, since you went away from sa Lewis, but now + it iss no time at all, for you are just the same Miss Sheila as we + knew before; and there is not one in all Borva but will think it iss a + good day this day that you will come back." +</p> +<p> + "Duncan," said Mackenzie with an impatient stamp of his foot, "why + will you talk like a foolish man? Get the luggage to the shore, + instead of keeping us all the day in the boat." +</p> +<p> + "Oh, ferry well, Mr. Mackenzie," said Duncan, departing with an + injured air, and grumbling as he went, "it iss no new thing to you to + see Miss Sheila, and you will have no thocht for any one but yourself. + But I will get out the luggage—oh yes, I will get out the luggage." +</p> +<p> + Sheila, in truth, had but little luggage with her, but she remained on + board the boat until Duncan was quite ready to start, for she did + not wish just then to meet any of her friends in Stornoway. Then she + stepped ashore and crossed the quay, and got into the wagonette; and + the two horses, whom she had caressed for a moment, seemed to know + that they were carrying Sheila back to her own country, from the + speed with which they rattled out of the town and away into the lonely + moorland. +</p> +<p> + Mackenzie let them have their way. Past the solitary lakes they + went, past the long stretches of undulating morass, past the lonely + sheilings perched far up on the hills; and the rough and blustering + wind blew about them, and the gray clouds hurried by, and the old, + strong-bearded man who shook the reins and gave the horses their heads + could have laughed aloud in his joy that he was driving his daughter + home. But Sheila—she sat there as one dead; and Mairi, timidly + regarding her, wondered what the impassable face and the bewildered, + sad eyes meant. Did she not smell the sweet strong smell of the + heather? Had she no interest in the great birds that were circling in + the air over by the Barbhas mountains? Where was the pleasure she used + to exhibit in remembering the curious names of the small lakes they + passed? +</p> +<p> + And lo! the rough gray day broke asunder, and a great blaze of fire + appeared in the west, shining across the moors and touching the blue + slopes of the distant hills. Sheila was getting near to the region of + beautiful sunsets and lambent twilights and the constant movement and + mystery of the sea. Overhead the heavy clouds were still hurried on + by the wind; and in the south the eastern slopes of the hills and the + moors were getting to be of a soft purple; but all along the west, + where her home was, lay a great flush of gold, and she knew that + Loch Roag was shining there, and the gable of the house at Borvabost + getting warm in the beautiful light. +</p> +<p> + "It is a good afternoon you will be getting to see Borva again," her + father said to her; but all the answer she made was to ask her father + not to stop at Garrana-hina, but to drive straight on to Callernish. + She would visit the people at Garra-na-hina some other day. +</p> +<p> + The boat was waiting for them at Callernish, and the boat was the + Maighdean-mhara. +</p> +<p> + "How pretty she is! How have you kept her so well, Duncan?" said + Sheila, her face lighting up for the first time as she went down the + path to the bright-painted little vessel that scarcely rocked in the + water below. +</p> +<p> + "Bekaas we neffer knew but that it was this week, or the week before, + or the next week you would come back, Miss Sheila, and you would want + your boat; but it wass Mr. Mackenzie himself, it wass he that did all + the pentin of the boat; and it iss as well done as Mr. McNicol could + have done it, and a great deal better than that mirover." +</p> +<p> + "Won't you steer her yourself, Sheila?" her father suggested, glad to + see that she was at last being interested and pleased. +</p> +<p> + "Oh yes, I will steer her, if I have not forgotten all the points that + Duncan taught me." +</p> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 737]</span> + "And I am sure you hef not done that, Miss Sheila," Duncan said, "for + there wass no one knew Loch Roag better as you, not one, and you hef + not been so long away; and when you tek the tiller in your hand it + will all come back to you, just as if you wass going away from Borva + the day before yesterday." +</p> +<p> + She certainly had not forgotten, and she was proud and pleased to see + how well the shapely little craft performed its duties. They had a + favorable wind, and ran rapidly along the opening channels, until in + due course they glided into the well-known bay over which, and shining + in the yellow light from the sunset, they saw Sheila's home. +</p> +<p> + Sheila had escaped so far the trouble of meeting friends, but she + could not escape her friends in Borvabost. They had waited for her for + hours, not knowing when the Clansman might arrive at Stornoway; and + now they crowded down to the shore, and there was a great shaking + of hands, and an occasional sob from some old crone, and a thousand + repetitions of the familiar "And are you ferry well, Miss Sheila?" + from small children who had come across from the village in defiance + of mothers and fathers. And Sheila's face brightened into a wonderful + gladness, and she had a hundred questions to ask for one answer she + got, and she did not know what to do with the number of small brown + fists that wanted to shake hands with her. +</p> +<p> + "Will you let Miss Sheila alone?" Duncan called out, adding something + in Gaelic which came strangely from a man who sometimes reproved his + own master for swearing. "Get away with you, you brats: it wass better + you would be in your beds than bothering people that wass come all the + way from Styornoway." +</p> +<p> + Then they all went up in a body to the house, and Scarlett, who had + neither eyes, ears nor hands but for the young girl who had been the + very pride of her heart, was nigh driven to distraction by Mackenzie's + stormy demands for oatcake and glasses and whisky. Scarlett angrily + remonstrated with her husband for allowing this rabble of people to + interfere + <span class="pagenum">[pg 738]</span> +with the comfort of Miss Sheila; and Duncan, taking her + reproaches with great good-humor, contented himself with doing her + work, and went and got the cheese and the plates and the whisky, while + Scarlett, with a hundred endearing phrases, was helping Sheila to take + off her traveling things. And Sheila, it turned out, had brought + with her in her portmanteau certain huge and wonderful cakes, not of + oatmeal, from Glasgow; and these were soon on the great table in the + kitchen, and Sheila herself distributing pieces to those small folks + who were so awestricken by the sight of this strange dainty that they + forgot her injunctions and thanked her timidly in Gaelic. +</p> +<p> + "Well, Sheila my lass," said her father to her as they stood at the + door of the house and watched the troop of their friends, children + and all, go over the hill to Borvabost in the red light of the sunset, + "and are you glad to be home again?" +</p> +<p> + "Oh yes," she said heartily enough; and Mackenzie thought that things + were going on favorably. +</p> +<p> + "You hef no such sunsets in the South, Sheila," he observed, loftily + casting his eye around, although he did not usually pay much attention + to the picturesqueness of his native island. "Now look at the light + on Suainabhal. Do you see the red on the water down there, Sheila? Oh + yes, I thought you would say it wass ferry beautiful—it is a ferry + good color on the water. The water looks ferry well when it is red. + You hef no such things in London—not any, Sheila. Now we must go + in-doors, for these things you can see any day here, and we must not + keep our friends waiting." +</p> +<p> + An ordinary, dull-witted or careless man might have been glad to have + a little quiet after so long and tedious a journey, but Mr. Mackenzie + was no such person. He had resolved to guard against Sheila's first + evening at home being in any way languid or monotonous, and so he had + asked one or two of his especial friends to remain and have supper + with them. Moreover, he did not wish the girl to spend the rest of + the evening out of doors when the melancholy time of the twilight + drew over the hills and the sea began to sound remote and sad. Sheila + should have a comfortable evening in-doors; and he would himself, + after supper, when the small parlor was well lit up, sing for her one + or two songs, just to keep the thing going, as it were. He would let + nobody else sing. These Gaelic songs were not the sort of music to + make people cheerful. And if Sheila herself would sing for them? +</p> +<p> + And Sheila did. And her father chose the songs for her, and they were + the blithest he could find, and the girl seemed really in excellent + spirits. They had their pipes and their hot whisky and water in this + little parlor; Mr. Mackenzie explaining that although his daughter was + accustomed to spacious and gilded drawing-rooms where such a thing + was impossible, she would do anything to make her friends welcome and + comfortable, and they might fill their glasses and their pipes with + impunity. And Sheila sang again and again, all cheerful and sensible + English songs, and she listened to the odd jokes and stories her + friends had to tell her; and Mackenzie was delighted with the success + of his plans and precautions. Was not her very appearance now a + triumph? She was laughing, smiling, talking to every one: he had not + seen her so happy for many a day. +</p> +<p> + In the midst of it all, when the night had come apace, what was this + wild skirl outside that made everybody start? Mackenzie jumped to his + feet, with an angry vow in his heart that if this "teffle of a piper + John" should come down the hill playing "Lochaber no more" or "Cha + till mi tualadh" or any other mournful tune, he would have his chanter + broken in a thousand splinters over his head. But what was the wild + air that came nearer and nearer, until John marched into the house, + and came, with ribbons and pipes, to the very door of the room, which + was flung open to him? Not a very appropriate air, perhaps, for it was +</p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 739]</span> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2"> The Campbells are coming, oho! oho!</p> + <p class="i2">The Campbells are coming, oho! oho!</p> + <p class="i2">The Campbells are coming to bonny Lochleven!</p> + <p class="i2"> The Campbells are coming, oho! oho!</p> +</div> +<p> + But it was, to Mr. Mackenzie's rare delight, a right good joyous tune, + and it was meant as a welcome to Sheila; and forthwith he caught the + white-haired piper by the shoulder and dragged him in, and said, "Put + down your pipes and come into the house, John—put down your pipes and + tek off your bonnet, and we shall hef a good dram together this night, + by Kott! And it is Sheila herself will pour out the whisky for you, + John; and she is a good Highland girl, and she knows the piper was + never born that could be hurt by whisky, and the whisky was never yet + made that could hurt a piper. What do you say to that, John?" +</p> +<p> + John did not answer: he was standing before Sheila with his bonnet in + his hand, but with his pipes still proudly over his shoulder. And he + took the glass from her and called out "Shlainte!" and drained every + drop of it out to welcome Mackenzie's daughter home. +</p> +<p class="center">[TO BE CONTINUED.]</p> + + + +<a name="gossip"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + OUR MONTHLY GOSSIP +</h2> +<h3> +<a name="bulwer"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + MR. E. LYTTON BULWER. +</h3> +<p> + In looking over, not very long since, a long—neglected, thin + portfolio of my twin-brother, the late Willis Gaylord Clark of + Philadelphia, I came across a sealed parcel endorsed "London + Correspondence." It contained letters to him from many literary + persons of more or less eminence at that time in the British + metropolis; among others, two from Miss Landon ("L.E.L."); two + from Mrs. S. C. Hall, the versatile and clever author of <i>Tales + and Sketches of the Irish Peasantry</i>, cordial, closely—written and + recrossed to the remotest margin; one from her husband, Mr. S.C. Hall; + three or four from Mr. Chorley; and lastly, five or six elaborate + letters from Mr. E. Lytton Bulwer, sent through his American + publishers, the Brothers Harper, by Washington Irving, then secretary + of legation to the American embassy "near the court of St. James." + Enclosed with these last-mentioned letters was a communication from + Miss Fanny Kemble, to whom they had been sent for perusal, and who, + in returning them, did not hesitate to say that she did Not share his + young American correspondent's admiration for the author of <i>Pelham</i>. + She had met him frequently in London society, and regarded his manners + as affected and himself as a reflex of his own conceited model of + a gentleman—a style which Thackeray perhaps did not too grossly + caricature when he made Chawls Yellowplush announce, from his + own lips, his sounding name and title to a distinguished London + drawing-room as "Sa-wa-Edou-wah'd-à-Lyttod-à-Bulwig!" +</p> +<p> + The poems which my brother had written for two London journals at + the time of their first appearance and sudden popularity, the + <i>London Literary Gazette</i> and, I believe, the <i>Athenæum</i>, led to the + correspondence I have mentioned; and from the letters of Mr. Bulwer I + have extracted a few passages, as somewhat personal in their nature, + besides being characteristic of his tone of thought and manner of + expression at that period of his career: +</p> +<p> + "An author who has a just confidence in his attainments and powers, + who knows that his mind is imperishable and capable of making daily + additions to its own strength, is always more desirous of seeing the + censures (if not <i>mere</i> abuse) than the praises of those who aspire to + judge him; and any suggestions or admonitions thus bestowed are seldom + disregarded. But if he is to profit by criticism, the <i>motive</i> must + be known to him. It is by no means natural to take the + <span class="pagenum">[pg 740]</span> +advice of an + enemy. When the critic enters his department of literature in the + false guise of urbanity and candor merely to conceal an incapable and + huckstering soul, he only awakens for himself the irrevocable contempt + of the very mind that he would gall or subdue; since that mind, under + such circumstances, invariably rises <i>above</i> its detractor, and leaves + him exposed on the same creaking gibbet that he has prepared for the + object of his fear or envy." +</p> +<p> + "Seldom indeed is it that injustice fails to be seen through, or that + the policy of interested condemnation escapes undetected. They first + produce the excitements, then furnish the triumphs, of genius." +</p> +<p> + "There is a charm in writing for the pure and intelligent young worth + all the plaudits of sinister or hypocritical wisdom. At a certain age, + and while the writings that please have a gloss of novelty about + them, hiding the blemishes that may afterward be discovered as + their characteristics,—<i>then</i> it is that the young convert their + approbation into enthusiasm. An author benefits in a wide and + most pleasing range of public opinion by this natural and common + disposition in the young; and the only cloud thrown athwart the rays + of pleasure thus saluting his spirit is flung from the thought that + they who are thus moved by the movings of his own mind may come in + a few years to look upon his pages with hearts less ardent in their + sympathies, and with altered eyes, which have acquired additional + keenness by looking longer upon the world." +</p> +<p> + "The competent American <i>littérateur</i> has a glorious career + before him. So much is there in your magnificent country, hitherto + undescribed and unexpressed, in scenery, manners, morals, that all + may be wells from which he may be the first to drink. Yet it cannot be + expected—for it has passed to a proverb that escape from persecution + and detraction can never and nowhere be the lot of literature—that + there will not be many instances, even in America, where every attempt + on the part of gifted writers (and young writers especially, who are + commonly regarded with eyes of invidious jaundice by the elders, + whose waning reputations they may through industry either supplant or + explode) will be rendered an uneasy struggle, and sometimes almost a + curse, by the envy of those who deny approval while blind to success, + and the affected disdain of those who exaggerate demerit. Yet + these obstacles warm the spirit of honest ambition, and enhance its + inevitable conquests." +</p> +<p> + "It is a sight of gratification and pride to behold a laborer in the + vineyard of letters escaping from the envy, the jealousy, the rivalry, + the leaven of all uncharitableness, with which literary intercourse + is so often polluted. The writers of England have been tardy in + their justice, not only to the progress, circumstances and customs + of America, but to her intellectual offspring; and the time is not + remote—nay, has already dawned—when, in this regard, the spirit of + Change wields his wand and finds obedience to his prerogatives." +</p> +<p> + "'No hostility between nations affects the arts:' so said the old + maxim, but it has rarely been found a truism. They who feel it, feel + also the virtue which dictated the aphorism. Men whose object is to + enlighten the nations or exalt the judgment or (the least ambition) to + refine the tastes of others—men who feel that this object is dearer + to them than a petty and vain ambition—feel also that all who labor + in the same cause are united with them in a friendship which exists + in one climate as in another—in a I republic or in a despotism: these + are the best cosmopolites, the truest citizens of the world." +</p> +<p> + The foregoing extracts will make it obvious that Mr. Bulwer was + at that time sore at the treatment he had received at the hands + of certain of his critics, who were by no means unanimous in their + estimation of his genius. He was very sensitive at all times of + adverse comment upon his writings. Thackeray wounded him woefully when + he made "Chawls Yellowplush" review him characteristically in <i>Punch</i>. + These most amusing papers ought to have been included in Thackeray's + published miscellaneous writings, but they were not, although Bulwer + is humorously travestied in <i>Punch's</i> "Prize Novelists," together with + Lover, Ainsworth, and Disraeli. The subjoined will show the style + of the "littery" footman, who, as a critic, "sumtimes gave kissis, + sumtimes kix": +</p> +<p> + "One may objeck to an immence deal of your writings, witch, betwigst + you and me, contain more sham sentiment, sham morallaty and sham potry + than you'd like to own; but in spite of this, there's the <i>stuf</i> + you; you've a kind and loyal heart in your buzm, bar'net—a trifle + deboshed, praps: a keen i, igspecially for what is comick (as for your + tragady, it's mighty flatchulent), and a ready pleasn't pen. The man + who says you're an As, is an As himself. Dont b'lieve him, bar'net: + not that I suppose you will; for, if I've formed a correck opinion of + you from your wuck, you think your small beear as good as most men's. + Every man does—and wy not? We brew, and we love our own tap—amen; + but the pint betwigst us is this steupid, absudd way of crying out + because the public don't like it too. Wy <i>should</i> they, my dear + bar'net? You may vow that they are fools, or that the critix are your + enemies, or that the world should judge your poams by <i>your</i> critikle + rules, and not by their own. You may beat your brest, and vow that + you are a martyr, but you won't mend the matter." +</p> +<p> + After these general remarks, the critic-footman takes up the subject + of style, and argues with a good deal of ingenuity and force in favor + of simplicity and terseness, especially in his performance of <i>The + Sea-Captain</i>: +</p> +<p> + "Sea-captings should not be eternly spowting, and invoking gods, hevn, + starz, and angels, and other silestial influences. We can all do it, + bar'net: no-think in life is easier. I can compare my livery buttons + to the stars, or the clouds of my backr pipe to the dark vollums that + ishew from Mount Hetna; or I can say that angles are looking down from + them, and the tobacco-silf, like a happy soil released, is circling + round + <span class="pagenum">[pg 741]</span> +and upwards, and shaking sweetness down. All this is as easy as + to drink; but it's not potry, bar'net, nor natral. Pipple, when their + mothers reckonise them, don't howl about the suckumambient air, and + paws to think of the happy leaves a-rustling—leastways, one mistrusts + them if they do...Look at the neat grammaticle twist of Lady Arundel's + spitch too, who in the cors of three lines has made her son a prince, + a lion with a sword and coronal, and a star. Wy gauble, and sheak up + metafers in this way, bar'net? One simile is quite enuff in the best + of sentences; and I preshume I need not tell you that it's as well to + have it <i>like</i> while you are about it. Take my advice, honrabble sir: + listen to an umble footman: it's genrally best in potry to understand + perffickly what you mean yourself, and to igspress your meaning + clearly affterward: the simpler the words the better, praps. You may, + for instans, call a coronet an 'ancestral coronal,' if you like, as + you might call a hat a 'swart sombrero,' a glossy four-and-nine, + a 'silken helm, to storm impermeable,' and 'lightsome as a breezy + gossamer;' but in the long run it's as well to call it a hat. It <i>is</i> + a hat, and that name is quite as poeticle as another." +</p> +<p> + The remarks of Mr. Yellowplush upon some of the segregated passages + are amusing enough. Take the following, for example: +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i24">Girl, beware!</p> + <p class="i2">The love that trifles round the charm it gilds,</p> + <p class="i2">Oft ruins while it shines.</p> +</div> +<p> + Igsplane this, men and angles! I've tried every way; backards, + forards, and all sorts of trancepositions: +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2">The love that ruins round the charm it shines</p> + <p class="i2">Gilds while it trifles oft,</p> +</div> +<p> + or— +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2">The charm that gilds around the love it ruins,</p> + <p class="i2">Oft trifles while it shines,</p> +</div> +<p> + or— +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2"> The ruins that love gilds and shines around</p> + <p class="i2">Oft trifles while it charms,</p> +</div> +<p> + or— +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2">Love while it charms shines round and ruins oft</p> + <p class="i2">The trifles that it gilds,</p> +</div> +<p> + or— +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2">The love that trifles, gilds and ruins oft</p> + <p class="i2">While round the charm it shines.</p> +</div> +<p> + <span class="pagenum">[pg 742]</span> + All witch are as sen sable as the ferst passadge. Sir Mr. Bullwig, + ain't I right? Such, barring the style, was the tenor of many of the + critiques upon Bulwer's writings which appeared about that period, and + which, as is now well known, "wrought him much annoy," versatile and + powerful as his genius has since proved itself. +</p> +<p class="author">L. GAYLORD CLARK.</p> + + +<a name="othello"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h3> + SALVINI'S OTHELLO. +</h3> +<p> + It might have been supposed that whatever the fate of the stage among + other races, it would always maintain its position as one of the great + instruments of popular culture with the English-speaking nations, + linked as it is inseparably with the immortal name of Shakespeare in + his double capacity of author and actor, and possessing as it does + in his works a body of dramatic literature supreme alike in all + intellectual qualities and in fitness for scenic representation. Yet + it is but the other day that we were reminded by the announcement of + Macready's death of the long interval that had elapsed since the last + of the English tragedians had dropped a sceptre which there was no + one to take up; and now it is an actor of another race, speaking a + different language, who presents himself to fill the vacant place, and + to interpret for us anew creations which we study indeed more closely + than ever in the printed page, but of which we had ceased to ask for + any adequate palpable embodiment. Our impression, however, of a drama + is and must be incomplete until we have seen it on the stage: it must + be put in action before our eyes ere we can hope fully to understand + it. The amount of thoughtful and learned criticism to which + Shakespeare's plays have been subjected makes us forget at times that + the ultimate test of their excellence is to be found on the boards, + and that they were meant, above all things, to be acted. +</p> +<p> + Taking Othello as Salvini presents him to us, and merely in the + light of a dramatic performance, having cast from out our minds the + recollection of all that we have ever heard, read or thought about the + character—more than this, forgetting our native English and knowing + Shakespeare only through the libretto in our hands (of which, however, + we must forbear to speak slightingly, for from it, we are told, + Salvini himself has gained his knowledge of the part),—putting + ourselves in this mental attitude, the performance may safely be said + to defy criticism, or rather to be above it, except such criticism + as accords with enthusiastic admiration. It is absolutely without + a shortcoming, seen from this standpoint. His majestic bearing, + his beautiful elocution, his pure voice, his graceful, expressive + gestures, and above all his perfect freedom from affectation or + self-consciousness, delight us throughout; and when to these qualities + are added the marvelous vigor of expression and force of passion with + which he shakes his audience from the middle of the play on, one feels + as if there were nothing more to ask of acting. No description, in + fact, can do justice to the perfect consistency and harmony of his + conception, or to the marvelous delicacy of his points, which are + yet as penetrating as they are subtle, and which never fail of their + effect, whether rendered by a gesture whose power of expression seems + to make words superfluous, as when in reply to Iago's hypocritically + sympathetic "I see this has a little dashed your spirits," which + is answered in the play by "Not a jot, not a jot," Salvini tries to + speak, but chokes with the words, and lifting his hand with a motion + of denial and deprecation, tells us what he would fain say, but + cannot; or by an intonation of voice, as when in answer to Iago's + "You would be satisfied?" he replies, marking the difference between + conditional and imperative with a tone that would of itself betray him + born to command— +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2">Vorrei, che dico—io voglio</p> + <p class="i2">(Would?—Nay, I <i>will</i>).</p> +</div> +<p> + And when in his desperate pain and fury, maddened by the poison + working within, he drags Iago to the front of the stage, and holding + him by the throat speaks Shakespeare's meaning, if not Shakespeare's + words, thick and fast, as if he were not an actor, but Othello + himself, and while his audience listen with bated breath and + quick-beating hearts, he hurls him to the ground, and in the uncurbed + fury of his mood raises his foot to spurn him like a dog,—then he + rises far above ordinary dramatic effect: his art does "hold the + mirror up to Nature." We feel that we have seen Othello. +</p> +<p> + Again, in the fourth act, when Iago brings home to him the realization + of his wife's infidelity, what can be finer than the sharpening of + his voice from stress of pain, changing from the full roundness of + its usual masculine robustness to a high womanish key, as he asks the + fatal questions, "Che disse? Che? Che fece?" What words could have + said so much as the dumb show with which he signifies that terrible + fact of which he can neither ask nor hear in words? And who can doubt + when he hears that cry of agony that bursts from his lips at Iago's + gross confirmation of his suggestion that it is the cry of a man + stabbed to the heart? His suffering is as real to us as the agony of + a lion would be if we stood by and saw some one drive a knife into the + beast up to the hilt. It equals in reality any exhibition of simple + unfeigned bodily pain, with all its intensity of violence. The word + "rant" never once comes into our minds. +</p> +<p> + Salvini expresses everything. He demands nothing from his audience but + eyes and ears; he <i>acts</i> the part in every detail; he does just what + he aims to do. His motion is as unconscious and unfettered as that of + a deer or a tiger: whether he paces with a stealthy, restless tread up + and down the back of the stage, reminding us irresistibly of a caged + wild beast, or whether he half crouches, then drags himself along, and + then darts upon Iago in the last scene, it is always plain that his + body is the servant of his mind: he moves in harmony with his mood. +</p> +<p> + Despite, therefore, the natural tendency to scrutinize closely + the claims of a foreigner seeking to rule over our hearts as the + vicegerent of Shakespeare's sovreignty, there has been, and happily + can + <span class="pagenum">[pg 743]</span> +be, no question in regard to one essential point. That Salvini is + a born actor, a great tragedian, none will be bold enough to dispute. + In that rare combination of intellectual and physical qualities without + which no particular gift would justify his pretensions—intensity of + emotion, subtlety of perception, a power of impersonation implying of + itself the union of all the natural requirements with a mastery in their + display attainable only by consummate art—it is hard to believe that he + can ever have been excelled; though doubtless the mingled fire and + pathos of Kean transcended in their effect any like exhibition ever + witnessed on the stage. Except for the few—if any still survive—who can + remember the Othello of Kean, living recollection affords no opportunity + for a judgment founded on comparison. +</p> +<p> + The only question therefore which it is possible to raise relates to + Salvini's conception of the character—a question such as must always + exist in the case of any representation of Shakespeare, with whose + creations no actor can ever hope to identify himself, however he may + modify our former impressions. Let it be remembered, too, that an + actor's conception of a character must never be vague, undefined or + shadowy, as that of a mere reader may well be, and probably will be in + the exact degree in which he is a keen and appreciative student. The + actor must not strive to suggest all possible solutions, but must + hold firmly to one, and that the most dramatic; he must seize upon + the salient points; his subtleties must not be too subtle for gesture, + glance and tone to express; he must choose which meaning out of many + meanings he shall enforce, which mood out of many moods he shall make + predominate. +</p> +<p> + The exceptions which have been taken to Salvini's performance all rest + upon the notion that he has misconceived the character. It is superb, + we are told, but it is not Shakespeare. It is a representation not of + Othello the Moor, but of a Moor named Othello. The idea that dominates + throughout is that of race: + <span class="pagenum">[pg 744]</span> +the character loses its individuality + and becomes a mere type, an embodiment of the tropical nature, an + illustration of Byron's lines: +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i2">Africa is all the sun's,</p> + <p class="i2">And as her earth her human clay is kindled.</p> +</div> +<p> + The unbridled passion, the revengeful fury, is that of a savage. The + anguish and indignation of a noble spirit believing itself outraged + and wronged are transformed into the blind rage and capricious fury of + a wild beast. +</p> +<p> + This objection seems to us to spring from the state of mind often + induced by long familiarity with a subject, in which the gain of + minute knowledge is accompanied by a loss of the force and vividness + of the first impression. People study Shakespeare as they study + the Bible, softening whatever they find revolting until they have + convinced themselves that it does not exist. Actors in general share + in this sentiment or strive to gratify it. Othello's complexion is + forgotten in the reading, and becomes in the representation such + that the spectator feels no repugnance to his marriage with the fair + Desdemona. Betrayed through the mere openness and generosity of his + nature, he acts only as a sensitive and vehement nature would be + compelled to act in so terrible a complication, and the emotions + kindled by his demeanor and conduct are never those of horror and + repulsion, but only of pity and admiration. +</p> +<p> + But, however noble and pathetic such a rendering may be, it consorts + better with the ideas and demands of the present time than with those + of the Elizabethan age. The dramatist who began by writing <i>Titus + Andronicus</i> had at least no instinctive distaste to repulsive + subjects, no fear of shocking his audience by an exhibition of untamed + barbarity. Othello is "of a free and open nature," he is "great of + heart," he is above doing wrong without provocation, real or supposed. + But his nature admits no possibility of self-control, of reason in + the midst of doubts, of patience under injury. His temperament betrays + itself in physical exhibitions wild and portentous. "You are fatal + <i>then</i> when your eyes roll so," is the suggestive cry of Desdemona. In + his perplexity and fury he swoons and foams. He overhears an insult to + Venice and slays the traducer. His language to the wife whom he + still loves while believing himself dishonored by her is such that "a + beggar, in his drink, could not have laid such terms upon his callet." + He outrages her kinsman and a throng of attendants by striking her in + their presence. Her protestations of innocence serve only to inflame + him, and he cuts short her last pleadings with his murderous hand in + a way which would have forced M. Dumas <i>fils</i> himself to cry out, "Ne + tue la <i>pas</i>!" +</p> +<p> + How are this fury and this credulity, both equally insensate, to + be explained, how are they to be reconciled with traits that + compel sympathy and admiration, except as the workings of a nature + essentially uncivilized? The object of a great drama is to exhibit men + not as they appear in the ordinary affairs of life, but while subject + to those fiery tests under which all that is foreign or acquired melts + away, and the primal components of the character are revealed in their + bareness and in their depths. Othello's race is the hinge on which + the tragedy turns. It throws a fatality on that marriage which seems + unnatural even to those who yet do not suspect that the discordancy + lies deeper than in the complexion. It makes him the easy victim of a + plot which would otherwise only have ensnared its concoctor. It sweeps + away all impediments to the catastrophe, making it swift, inevitable + and dire. And it is by seizing upon this central fact that Salvini has + been enabled to render his performance artistically perfect. Were the + conception radically false, there could not be the same unity in the + execution, the same harmony in the details. We shall not assert + that his is the ideal Othello, or that such an Othello is possible. + Shakespeare's creations cannot be bounded by the limit of another + idiosyncrasy. But we hold that, if he does not put into the character + all that belongs to it, he puts nothing into it that does not belong + to it. We may miss in the accents of his despair a pathos capable of + assuaging our horror; but this latter emotion, equally legitimate, + is commonly stifled altogether, leaving us more disposed to linger + lovingly beside the dead than to shudder and exclaim with Ludovico, + "The object poisons sight;—let it be hid." +</p> +<p class="author">A.F.</p> + +<a name="letter"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h3> + A LETTER FROM NEW YORK. +</h3> + +<p> + I have come from the country. I have seen Salvini. All emotion has to + be expressed now in the above form, for Salvini rules. He is simply + the greatest actor since Rachel, and his troupe the most perfect ever + seen in this country. The whole plane of their acting is forty steps + higher than we are accustomed to; therefore it has been slow of + gaining appreciation, and the panic having burst over the devoted city + just as Salvini opened, the houses have been poor. He should play, too + (all actors should), in a smaller house than the Academy of Music. His + first great success may therefore date from a matinée at Wallack's, + where he had the most distinguished audience I have ever seen in + New York, on Saturday, October 11th. Salvini lunched while here with + Madame Botta, and expressed himself surprised that any one should care + to go to hear him who could not understand the language. "I am sure + I should not go," said the great actor. He thinks he has not had a + success, but he will not think so after he becomes accustomed to his + audiences. He is in private one of the most cultivated and intelligent + of men, and has brought to the practice of his art a scholar's study, + a soldier's experience and a gentleman's taste. I say a soldier's + experience, for Salvini has been a soldier, and fought for united + Italy in 1857 and earlier. +</p> +<p> + Nilsson is much improved by marriage. Her beauty is softer, she has + gained flesh—not to the detriment of that girlish outline, but to the + improvement of those somewhat aggressive cheek-bones. She sings better + than ever, with rounded voice. Never since the days of Salvi and + Steffanoni have we had such opera + <span class="pagenum">[pg 745]</span> +in New York. The orchestra is + better, Maurel is superb, Capoul is still better, and Campanini is + very admirable. We miss Jamet very much in Mephisto, but every one + else is better than before. The house is not gay—it misses many of + its old habitués. Five empty boxes in a row tell of the financial + troubles. It was the fashion to laugh at the Wall street men, but they + gave gayety and life and movement up town as well as down town. Many + of those whose names are recorded on the wrong side of the list were + our most generous givers and most amiable hosts. Their misfortunes + cause nothing but regrets. +</p> +<p> + The races at first felt the effects of the panic, but the crowd on + Saturday, the 11th of October, was immense. Somebody must get the + money that everybody loses; therefore somebody can still afford to go + to the races, and the last day was also very full. Two drags set the + English example of having the horses taken off and dining on the top + of the coach. The notes of a key-bugle from one of them seemed to + suggest Mr. Bob Sawyer and Mr. Ben Allen; but whether those young + gentlemen were of the party or not I did not hear. With our delicious + sky, and particularly this golden autumn, there seems to be no reason + why we should not adopt the fashions of Chantilly and Ascot. We are, + however, a gregarious people, and the tendency is to gather together + under the protection of the grand stand. +</p> +<p> + Poor Maretzek is always the first to go, and it is understood that + his opera is among the great unpaid. Every one is sorry for the poor + singers, always excepting Lucca, whose jealousy of Nilsson is so + aggressive that she has declared that she would sing her off the + boards of the Academy of Music. <i>She</i> is driven like a bad angel out + of Paradise, while the starry Nilsson in magnificent triumph sings + on superbly to constantly increasing houses at the Academy, and is + lunched and fêted to her heart's content. +</p> +<p> + The Evangelical Alliance has gone, and left behind it nothing but + animosities. It was really a vast movement of the Presbyterian Church: + Geneva and Calvin + <span class="pagenum">[pg 746]</span> +were the exclusive proprietors. Episcopalians, + Unitarians and Baptists, Methodists and Universalists, were requested + to stand aside. The communions were always at some Presbyterian + church. Perhaps <i>they</i> thought the Episcopal Church exclusive, as some + one said an Englishman carried his pride into his prayers, and said, + "O Lord, I do most <i>haughtily</i> beseech thee," and that the Unitarians + felt "that any man who had been born in Boston did not see the + necessity of being born again." +</p> +<p> + Every one is extremely well dressed, in spite of the panic. The hair + is worn plain and off the brow, let us thank the genius of Fashion, + so that every woman has a purer, better look. Nothing destroys the + expression of a good woman like breaking over that line which Nature + has made about the forehead. Our women have made themselves into + wicked Faustinas and vulgar Anonymas long enough with their frizzes + and short curls and "banging," as the square-cut straight lock on the + forehead is called. Let us see the Madonna brow once more. The high + ruff, the sleeve to the elbow, the dress cut to show the figure, all + bring-back the days of our great-grandmothers: the opera is filled + with Copley's portraits. The bonnets, too, are delightfully large, + with long feathers. Every new fashion brings out a new crop of + beauties, but I could not see what beauties were brought out by those + bold bonnets of last year, which were hung on at the back of the head. +</p> +<p> + We expect great fun from Dundreary rehearsing <i>Hamlet</i> for private + theatricals. Mr. Sothern has been asked to write down Dundreary, that + so great an eccentric conception may not be lost to the world. He + answers that he has twelve volumes of Dundreary literature! That shows + how much industry goes to even an "inconsiderate trifle." This fine + actor and most accomplished and agreeable man has been playing in two + of the poorest plays ever presented to a New York audience. Nothing + but a capital "make up," resembling one of the most fashionable men in + town, who is Sothern's particular friend, has given them point—even + <i>then</i> only to New Yorkers. Sothern's fondness for practical joking + has brought about so many false charges that he is getting very tired + of being fathered with every stupid trick which any one chooses to + play, and will probably drop that form of wit, so really unworthy of + his great genius and true refinement, for the man who could invent + Dundreary and who can play Garrick is a genius. +</p> +<p> + I assisted with four thousand others at the first representation + of the <i>Magic Flute</i> at the Grand Opera House, where the late James + Fisk's monogram is decently covered up by Gothic shields, hastily + improvised after <i>that</i> distinguished actor met the reward of + his crimes. I heard lima di Murska for the first time. She is an + unpleasant miracle, compelling your reluctant astonishment. Such vocal + gymnastics I never heard. The flute and the musical-box are left in + the background, but her voice is nasal and disagreeable at first. + Lucca's splendid, rich, full organ rang out gloriously by contrast, + although her constitutional jealousy showed itself unpleasantly in + some parts of the opera where Murska was so deliriously applauded. + Lucca, little woman, conquered herself at last, and handed the flowers + up to her rival with a pretty grace which was loudly applauded. It is + strange that the tact of woman, usually so apprehensive, does not more + often see the good effect of generosity. +</p> +<p> + One effect of the panic, it is to be hoped, will be to make the + dinners less magnificently heavy. I am sure every lady in New York who + was last winter constrained to sit from seven o'clock until eleven at + those monstrously elaborate and expensive dinners which have become so + much the fashion, will be glad to dine in a more simple manner, in + a shorter time, with less display, and with fewer courses, and fewer + excitements. One entertainer last winter introduced live swans and + small canaries to enliven his dinner. The swans splashed rather + disagreeably. +</p> +<p> + "Do you know why he had the swans?" said a lady to a gentleman. +</p> +<p> + "I suppose, he wanted the <i>Ledas</i> of society," said the gentleman. +</p> +<p> + "Well, yes," said the lady, "but I did not know, although he is as + rich as a Jew, that he was a Jupiter." +</p> +<p> + The faces of the "panicstricken" seem to look brighter, although + everybody talks of "shrinkage" and ruin. Meanwhile the beautiful + weather keeps the carriages going and Fifth Avenue looking gay. "I + shall fail, but my wife need not give up her horses," said a young + broker the other day. The old days of commercial morality, when people + reduced their style of living because they had failed, seem to have + gone out of fashion. +</p> +<p> + A letter from New York, this Queen of Commerce, is almost necessarily + mercantile, as is our conversation. +</p> +<p> + "How you all talk stocks and money!" said a gentleman just arrived + from a ten years' sojourn in Europe. "When I went away you were + talking of books, of art, of social ethics, of fine women, of good + dinners, of whist and bezique: now you are all talking of longs and + shorts, bulls and bears, a fraction of per cent., etc. etc.—all of + you, men, women and children." +</p> +<p> + We have a beautiful collection at the Art Museum in Fourteenth street + of jewelry, objets d'art, and a good ceramic display, all clustered + round the Di Cesnola sculptures and pottery. This collection, founded + on the idea of the South Kensington Museum, makes a most agreeable + lounging-place in the Kruger mansion, and is, in the absence of most + of the opulent owners of private picture-galleries and the closing of + the National Academy, almost our only artistic amusement at present. + But the first of December will throw open many hospitable doors, and + the new pictures and statues which have been accumulated during + the past summer will become in one sense the property of the gazing + public. +</p> +<p class="author">MARGARET CLAYSON.</p> + + +<a name="notes"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h3> + NOTES. +</h3> +<p> + Amongst the traditional scenes of the drama probably none plays a part + more useful than the village festival. This + <span class="pagenum">[pg 747]</span> + merrymaking appears twice + or thrice in an ordinary pantomime, regularly adorns the melodrama, is + almost an essential of the opera, could not be dispensed with in the + plays of the <i>Fanchon</i> type, and may even relieve the sombre tints of + dire tragedy. We all know the charming spectacle: peasant youths and + maidens, clad in all the wealth of the dramatic wardrobe, are skipping + around a Maypole; presently Baptiste and Lisette are discovered + kissing behind a pasteboard hedge, and are drawn out with universal + laughing, in the midst of which enters the recruiting-sergeant with + his squad and whisks off poor Baptiste to the wars. It is a pleasing + scene—a trifle monotonous now with repetition; and for this latter + reason it might be well to vary it by substituting the rural Feast of + the Onion, which a 'correspondent of the Cambrai <i>Gazette</i> witnessed + in the suburbs of Gouzeaucourt. Every year, between June 24th and July + 2d, the inhabitants of the two neighboring villages of Gouzeaucourt + and Gonnelieu perform the ceremony of "turning the onion"—that is to + say, they dance in a circle, joining hands, on the village green of + one or the other hamlet. Thanks to this ancient custom, the two French + communes raise the finest onions in the department, this vegetable + never failing, as carrots are apt to do in that locality: on the + contrary, the onions are well-grown, finely rounded, and in short, + magnificently "turned." On this festive occasion three or four hundred + persons of every age and condition dance around a well in Sunday best, + rigged out in ribbons and with smiling faces. The more they hop the + bigger the crop of onions; and naturally they skip and sing till out + of breath, always repeating the popular song, "Ah! qu'il est malaisé + d'être amoureux et sage." Surely, all this would form a pleasant + variety on the ordinary festal scene of the stage; and we hasten + to remind the fastidious that though this ceremony is the Feast + of Onions, yet it does not appear that that odorous esculent need + actually be present; besides, even if it were, surely a garland of + "well-turned" onions would + <span class="pagenum">[pg 748]</span> +add strength to the picturesque ropes of + theatrical paper roses. The well, too, would replace with a certain + grace the too familiar pole. And again, since all ages and conditions + assist at this feast, it would utilize that extraordinary company of + figurantes, varying from the longest and slimmest to the shortest + and plumpest, which every manager thinks it incumbent to put upon + the stage for the rural fête. Finally, to complete the tableau + satisfactorily, it appears that this year at Gonnelieu, at the height + of the dancing, half a dozen gendarmes rushed upon the scene, causing + a general stampede among the disciples of the onion and a hasty + adjournment of the festival. What law against irregular assemblages + was infringed by these onion-worshipers is not clear, for one can + hardly detect sedition lurking under the rustic ditty, and it is + equally difficult to suspect an Orsini bomb conspiracy of being + typified by the conjuring of prodigious prize onions. +</p> +<p> + It is a vast pity that so many excellent stories are "almost too good + to be true." Such a tale seems to be the one which explains the origin + of that prodigious collection of monkeys that forms so large a part of + the population of the Jardin d'Acclimation in Paris; and yet, as this + curious account has not been questioned, so far as we are aware, by + those who ought to know the facts, it is hardly gracious in us + to begin the relation of it by gratuitous skepticism. A Bordeaux + ship-owner, who is noted for insisting on a strict obedience to + instructions on the part of his captains, some time ago gave written + orders to one of the latter to bring back from Brazil, whither he was + going, one or two monkeys—"<i>Rapportez-moi 1 ou 2 singes</i>." The <i>ou</i> + was so badly written that the captain read "1002 singes;" and + the result was that the owner, three months after, found his ship + returning, to his utter stupefaction, overrun with monkeys from + keel to mast-head. However, inflexibly just even in his surprise, + he recognized the fault to be that of his own hasty handwriting, and + praised the scrupulous captain who had executed his apparent order + even to the odd pair of monkeys over the thousand. For a week apes + were a drug in the Bordeaux market, and, adds the story, the Jardin, + hearing the news, took care not to lose so good an opportunity of + laying in a large stock. +</p> +<p> + The traditional union of fidelity, obedience to orders, strict + discipline and stupidity in the old-fashioned military servant is + wittily illustrated in a story told by the <i>Gazette de Paris</i> at the + expense of a captain of the Melun garrison. This officer, who had been + invited to dine at a neighboring castle, sent his valet with a note + of "regrets," adding, as the boy started, "Be sure and bring me my + dinner, Auguste, when you have left the letter." The soldier took the + letter to the castle and was told, of course, "It's all right." "Yes, + but I want the dinner," said the lad: "the captain ordered me to bring + it back, and I always obey orders." The baroness, being informed + of the good fellow's blunder, carried out the joke by despatching a + splendid repast. The officer, too amused to make any explanation to + his servant, merely sent him back at once to buy a bouquet to carry + with his compliments to the baroness. Successfully accomplishing this + feat, the brilliant Auguste was handed a five-franc piece from the + lady. "That won't do," says the honest fellow: "I paid thirty francs + for the flowers." The difference was made up to him, and he returned + to the fort, quite proud at having so ably discharged his duty. We + think this incident will fairly match some of the experiences which + our own officers are fond of narrating, regarding the way in which + their servants have interpreted and executed their orders. +</p> + + <span class="pagenum">[pg 749]</span> +<a name="literature"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h2> + LITERATURE OF THE DAY. +</h2> +<blockquote> + Sub-Tropical Rambles in the Land of the Aphanapteryx. By Nicholas + Pike. New York: Harper & Brothers. +</blockquote> +<p> + The story of a bright and educated traveler is always a capital one, + and Mr. Pike has done wonders for Mauritius, which would seem in + itself to be one of the most deplorably dull and fatiguing prominences + on the face of the sea. An enthusiastic botanist and naturalist, as + well as an interested ethnologist, this lively observer relieves the + monotony of a seemingly easy consulate and repulsive population by + watching all the secrets of animated nature around him. It is a very + bloodthirsty island that his fates have guided him to: everything + bites or stings or poisons. When wading out into the sea for + shells, Mr. Pike is attacked by "a tazarre, a fish something like + a fresh-water pike," which comes right at him repeatedly, "like a + bulldog," and is only subdued by being speared in the head with a + harpoon. Creatures elsewhere the most evasive and timid are here + found fighting like gladiators: the eels bite everybody within their + reach—one of these combative eels caught by our author measured + twelve feet three inches; the fresh-water prawns "strike so sharply + with their tails as to draw blood if not carefully handled." The + exquisite polyps and anemones, whose painted beauty our author is + never weary of relating, have mostly poisoned weapons concealed under + their flounces, and treat the naturalist who would coquet with them + to a swelled arm or a lamed hand. Centipedes, scorpions and virulently + poisonous snakes animate the land, while the shoals, where the natives + declare there are "more fish than water," teem with every sort of + man-eating shark, and with the cuttle-fish watching for his prey from + each interstice of the coral-reef. The latter, often of immense size, + are caught and eaten, both fresh and salt, some fishermen collecting + nothing else: they dexterously turn the ugly stomach inside out and + thread it on a string slung round the neck. The horror of the lobster + for these cuttle-fish is something curious; and it affords a gauge for + the sensitiveness of crustaceae (and incidentally an argument against + those who maintain the greater reasonableness of fishing than of + hunting on account of the lower organization of the prey) to learn + that the lobster must not be taken to market in company with the + cuttle-fish, "or the flesh will be spoilt before he gets there, the + creature being literally sick from fright." Meantime, in the ooze + which forms a connecting link between sea and shore lurks the + mud-laff, indescribably hideous in shape, leprous-looking, slimy, and + darting a greenish poison through the spines on its back. Treading on + one of these, the poor naked fisherman is apt to die of lockjaw; + and Mr. Pike's kitten, having its paw touched with a single spine, + perished of convulsions in an hour. Some of the sea-carnivora, + however, are so beautiful that one is ready to forgive their more or + less Clytemnestra-like tempers. Of some gymnobranchiata the writer + observes: "I never saw any living animals with such gorgeous + colors—the most vivid carmine and pure white, mixed with golden + yellow in the bodies and mantles, and the gills of pale lemon-color + and lilac. No painting could give an idea of the harmony of the + shades as they blended into each other, or the undulating grace of the + movements of the mantles. I have sat for an hour at a time watching + them, lost in admiration, and frequently turning them over to see the + expert way they would contract the elegant gill-branches, and reopen + them as soon as they had righted themselves." Such are some of the + animated charms of Paul and Virginia's island. Of Bernardin Saint + Pierre's romance as an illustration of the spot, Mr. Pike dryly + observes that writers when about to draw largely on their imaginations + should be careful to conceal the actual whereabouts of their stories: + we live in an age of exploration that is sure to "display their + ridiculous side when reduced to fact." There was, however, a + foundation in fact, quite enough for the purpose of a prose poem, in + the loves and deaths of Paul and Virginia: it is doubtless the island + scenes alone that Mr. Pike would satirize. The great shipwreck was in + 1744, a year of famine, which the wise and prudent French + governor, the most able man who ever adorned the colony, M. Mahé de + Labourdonnais, + <span class="pagenum">[pg 750]</span> +was unable to avert. The ship St. Géran, sent with + provisions from France, was ignorantly driven on the reef shortly + before dawn, and all perished save nine souls. There were on board two + lovers, a Mademoiselle Mallet and Monsieur de Peramon, who were to + be united in marriage on arriving at the island, then called Isle de + France. The young man made a raft, and implored his mistress to remove + the heavier part of her garments and essay the passage. This the pure + young creature refused to do, with that exaggerated modesty which has + been called mawkishness in the story, but which in a real occurrence + looks very like heroism. Their bodies were soon washed ashore together + in the harbor, since called the Bay of Tombs. Two structures of + whitewashed brick under some beautiful palms and feathery bamboos, in + an inland garden called "Pamplemousses" (the Shaddocks), now cover the + remains of the ill-starred lovers. Mr. Pike appears to have visited + the site but once, when, as there had been heavy rains, he could not + reach the tombs. He is evidently more in his element when wading after + sea-urchins. His observations on such races as coolies, Chinese and + Malabar-men are all, however, to the purpose. The island is peopled + with these varieties, in addition to a mixed white population, the + Indians having been brought from Hindostan for the cane-fields since + the English occupation in 1810, and serving a good purpose. Their + manners illustrate the lower horrors of the Hindoo mythology, they + appearing to worship pretty exclusively a race of gods and goddesses + invented for robber tribes, who are appeased only by blood-curdling + rites: our author saw their young men running, with yells and + contortions, over a bed of live coals twenty-five feet across to earn + the favor of one such cruel goddess. The Chinese, though in worship + they exhibit the milder sacrificial spirit of offering sheets + of paper, yet in a more stolid way show an equal talent for + self-sacrifice. A neighbor of Mr. Pike's, an excellent quiet fellow, + having gambled with his own servant for his shop, stock and person, + was seen one morning sweeping and serving customers, whilst the + youngster sat leisurely smoking, the game having gone contrarily. + "There was no appearance of triumph on the boy's face: master and + servant reversed their places with the most perfect <i>sang-froid</i>." + Of the Creoles, we learn that they believe the presence of pieces of + coral in the house induces headache; of the women from Malabar, that + they can only wear toe-rings after marriage; of the handsomest Indian + tribe in the island, the Reddies, we are told that the boys marry + at five or six, their bride living with the father-in-law or other + husband's relative and rearing children to him: when the boy grows + up, his wife being then aged, he "takes up with some boy's wife in a + manner precisely similar to his own, and procreates children for the + boy-husband." The remaining wonder of Mauritius appears to be the + great Peter Both Mountain, so nearly inaccessible that a rage for + climbing it has been developed. The first successful attempt was + made by Claude Penthé, who planted the French flag on it in 1790, and + English ascents were made in 1832, 1848, 1858, 1864 and 1869. We must + not omit, however, the Aphanapteryx, though Mr. Pike does: it is a red + bird which in Mauritius has survived its whilom companion the dodo, + and which is to be described in a future volume. Mr. Pike has obliged + us with a book of admirable temper, inexhaustible research and fine + manly spirit: we could wish for our own sakes nothing better than + that all our sub-tropical and tropical consulships were filled by + his brothers, and that they would all make volumes out of their + experiences. +</p> +<blockquote> + Thoreau, the Poet-Naturalist. By William Ellery Ghanning. Boston: + Roberts Bros. +</blockquote> +<p> + Mr. Charming is a boon, and we would not have missed his lucubration + on any account. Now we know how Margaret Fuller talked and in what + dialect they wrote <i>The Dial</i>. It was with this sententiousness, + this solemn attitude over the infinitely little, this care to compose + paragraphs out of short sentences completely disconnected, that the + old Concord philosophy was enunciated. Nobody outside the circle ever + caught the exact accent except one of Dickens's characters—Mr. F.'s + aunt—who would interrupt a dinner conversation to observe, "There's + milestones on the Dover road." "Above our heads," says Mr. Channing, + "the nighthawk rips;" "see the frog bellying the world in the warm + pool;" "the rats scrabbling." This sententiousness is consistent, on + Mr. Channing's part, with the most stupefying ignorance of words and + things, as in the sentence, "forced to conceal the raveled sleeve of + care by buttoning up his outer garments." It is particularly imposing + in the judgments, nearly always severe, of individuals, and the reader + lays down the present book sure that here, at last, he has found a + truly superior person. Schoolcraft is simply "poor Schoolcraft," and + of course subsides; Miss Martineau is "that Minerva mediocre;" Carlyle + is "Thomas Carlyle with his bilious howls and bankrupt draughts + on hope." Hawthorne, he learns, though we cannot tell from whence, + "thought it inexpressibly ridiculous that any one should notice man's + miseries, these being his staple product," and was "swallowed up in + the wretchedness of life;" also, "the Concord novelist was a handsome, + bulky character, with a soft rolling gait; a wit said he seemed like a + <i>boned pirate</i>." From these more or less contemptuous views of mankind + at large Mr. Channing turns with a kind of somersault to an intense + admiration for Thoreau. Could he but write of him in his own + style—supposing him to have a style—he would have been in danger + of producing a sensible book, and <i>nous autres</i> would have lost one + delight; but it is the perfection of comedy to see the apocalyptic + trio—Emerson stepping off grandly and gladly into the clouds—Thoreau, + his principal disciple, following with a good imitation of the gait, but + with evident self-consciousness—and finally Mr. Channing— +</p> +<div class="poem"> + <p class="i24"> to see him's rare sport</p> + <p class="i2"> Step in Emerson's tracks with legs painfully short.</p> +</div> +<p> + It would be unfair to judge Henry D. Thoreau by the indiscreet + laudations of his friends. He was cut out more nearly in the pattern + of a hermit than any man of modern time. His love of solitude was + probably sincere, his surliness was his breeding, and he extracted + from his painful, unsocial habitudes the peculiar poetry which suits + with hardship. It was not for him to sing of summer and nectarines, + nor to honestly appreciate or kindly judge those who did so; but + he sang of winter, of crab-apples, of cranberries, of reptiles, of + field-mice, with just the right accent and with a tingling vibration + of life in his chords. The Bernard Palissy of literature, he modeled + his frogs and water-snakes so true that they seemed better than birds + of paradise. +</p> +<blockquote> + Babolain. From the French of Gustave Droz. New York: Henry Holt & Co. +</blockquote> +<p> + This is a tragical little romance which draws the reader along with + it by every line in every page, yet its power is derived from the + resources of caricature: it is rather the hollow side of a comic mask + than a true expression of pathos. Scientific and stupid, Professor + Babolain enters the world of Paris armed with his innocence, his + uncle's legacy, his deep learning and his utter ignorance. A couple + of adventuresses, mother and daughter, swoop down upon him as a lawful + prey, and he is quickly a doting husband and a terrified son-in-law. + The sole redeeming trait about the younger woman, who is a beauty and + who paints, is that she never makes the least pretence of loving + him: in his first moments of adoration she mystifies him heartlessly, + crushing him with her wit and confounding him with her art: + "Difficult? oh no! In the first place, you need rabbits' hair: that + is indispensable. If you had no rabbits, or if you were in a country + where rabbits had no hair, painting could not be thought of." She + never melts, except when he presents her with a rivière of diamonds, + and, after finding a leisure moment to give birth to a little girl, + rushes off to Italy with Count Vaugirau, followed promptly by a + certain Timoleon. This Timoleon, who loves her unsuccessfully, is the + beneficiary of poor Babolain, borrowing his money at the same time + that he tries to borrow his wife, and returning with outrageous + reproaches to the hero impoverished and desolate. This precious friend + is a specimen of all the rest. The very daughter, sole consolation + of her parent's straitened existence, but ill fulfills the rapturous + anticipations of early fatherhood. He is at first her nurse and + teacher: "I saw the satin-like skin of her little neck, and behind her + ear, fresh and pink like the petal of a flower, the soft curls upon + the nape of her neck, half hair, half down, sucking in with their + greedy roots the sweet juices of this living cream." He throws his + hat into the river to teach her the laws of gravity. But she grows up + ungrateful and estranged, and, having married an ambitious physician, + allows her father to live as a neglected pensioner under a part of her + roof. The details of Babolain's decline are exquisitely painful, but + partake of that style of exaggeration and caricature which causes even + the heartless beings who make up his world to seem more like grotesque + puppets with bosoms of wood than responsible beings to be really + execrated and condemned. As the abused victim, starving and ragged, + treads the road of sacrifice to death, our sympathy is checked by + the consciousness of his unmitigated and needless pliancy, until we + withhold the tribute of sorrow due to the misfortunes of a Lear or a + Père Goriot. The romance, however, though sketched out extravagantly + between hyperbole and parable, fairly scintillates with brilliancies + and good things: we could hardly indicate another imported novel of + the length actually containing so much. Nothing can be more comical + than the grand airs of the ladies, whether in their poor or rich + estate, or than the perpetual suite of victimizations endured by the + helpless Babolain: the muses of Comedy and Tragedy rush together over + the stage to crush this fly with their buskins. The translator of + <i>Babolain</i> reveals his quality by calling pantaloons, in several + places, <i>pants</i>, and by adopting an ugly locative common enough in New + York—"Perhaps I did not have that amount," for "perhaps I had not," + etc. The work revels in that buff binding which has given to the + <i>Leisure Hour Series</i> the popular sobriquet of the "Linen Duster + Series," a livery now well known as the certain indication of honest + entertainment and literary excellence. +</p> +<blockquote> + Impressions et Souvenirs. Par George Sand. Paris: Levy Frères; New + York: F.W. Christern. +</blockquote> +<p> + This little collection of papers is made from Madame Sand's private + journal, the extracts being sometimes recent and sometimes thirty + years old, sometimes short and sometimes improved into essays, and + in any case stitched together by the slightest of threads. A few + allusions, hardly important enough to be called anecdotes, reveal the + relations of the authoress with the great men of the time, and the + least momentous recital becomes charming from the assured ease and + native grace of this veteran artist's style. One amusing reminiscence + is the odd paradox of Théophile Gautier, that plants are unwholesome + absorbents of vital air, and that for him the ideal of a garden would + be a succession of asphaltum paths, with fine-cushioned seats, and + narghiles for ever burning in the guise of flowers and shrubbery. A + retort of Sainte-Betive's shows the sincerity of his free-thinking + opinions. Madame Sand having declared that she was sure we had + three souls—one for our bodily organs, one for society and one for + worship—the critic replied, "I wish we could be sure that we had + one." There is a delightful chapter, dated 1831, where Chopin and + Delacroix encounter each other at the author's Paris home, where the + painter explains the principle of reflections to Maurice Sand, and + Chopin plays the piano so entrancingly for his auditor that the + episode of a bed-room on fire passes by unnoticed. Of Maurice Sand, + gifted son of an inspired mother, there is an exquisite chapter of + literary criticism tempered with maternity. Other papers treat of + infantine instruction as practiced by the writer herself, and readers + are conscious of a thrill of envy at the thought of that little circle + of Dudevantine grandchildren learning the elements of spelling and + grammar from such a mistress of style, and with all the advantages + due to the noble teacher's genius for simplification. A chapter on + punctuation, which has been largely quoted both in French and English, + is incorporated, and there are eventless and fascinating records of + the wonderful drives around Nohant. The little brochure is a pure cup + of refreshment. +</p> + + + +<a name="books"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> +<h3> + <i>Books Received.</i> +</h3> +<p> + The Nesbits; or, A Mother's Last Request, and Other Tales. By Uncle + Paul. New York: Catholic Publication Society. +</p> +<p> + Rouge et Noir. From the French of Edmond About. By E.R. Philadelphia: + Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger. +</p> +<p> + Florida and South Carolina as Health Resorts. By William W. Morland, + M.D., Harv. Boston: James Campbell. +</p> +<p> + Third Annual Report of the Board of Education of the State of Rhode + Island. Providence: Providence Press Co. +</p> +<p> + High Life in New York. By Jonathan Slick. Illustrated. Philadelphia: + T.B. Peterson & Brothers. +</p> +<p> + Pay-day at Babel, and Odes. By Robert Burton Rodney, U.S.N. New York: + D. van Nostrand. +</p> +<p> + Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries of the State of New York. + Albany: The Argus Company. +</p> +<p> + Lord Hope's Choice. By Mrs. Ann S. Stephens. Philadelphia: T.B. + Peterson & Brothers. +</p> +<p> + The New Japan Primer. Number One. San Francisco: A.L. Bancroft & Co. +</p> +<p> + Miss Leslie's New Cook Book. Philadelphia: T.B. Peterson & Brothers. +</p> +<p> + Artiste: A Novel. By Maria M. Grant. Boston: Loring. +Artiste: A Novel. By Maria M. Grant. Boston: Loring. +</p> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13770 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |