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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:42:57 -0700 |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/13796-0.txt b/13796-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..18a7fc8 --- /dev/null +++ b/13796-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3484 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13796 *** + +INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY MISCELLANY + +Of Literature, Art, and Science. + + * * * * * + +Vol. I. NEW YORK, AUGUST 19, 1850. No. 8. + + * * * * * + + +THE THEATER IN RUSSIA AND POLAND. + +The following interesting sketch of the Drama in the empire of +the Czar is translated for the _International_ from the Leipzig +_Grenzboten_. The facts it states are not only new to most readers, +but throw incidentally a good deal of light on the condition of that +vast empire, and the state of its population in respect of literature +and art in general: + + * * * * * + +The dramatic taste of a people, the strength of its productive +faculty, the gradual development of its most popular sphere of art, +the theater, contain the key to phases of its character which cannot +always be recognized with the same exactness from other parts of its +history. The tendencies and disposition of the mass come out very +plainly in their relations to dramatic art, and from the audience of +an evening at a theater some inference may be drawn as to the whole +political scope of the nation. In truth, however, this requires +penetration as well as cautious judgment. + +In the middle of the last century there were in the kingdom of Poland, +beside the royal art institutions at Warsaw, four strong dramatic +companies, of genuine Polish stamp, which gave performances in the +most fashionable cities. Two of them were so excellent that they +often had the honor to play before the court. The peculiarity of these +companies was that they never performed foreign works, but literally +only their own. The managers were either themselves poets, or had +poets associated with them in business. Each was guided by his poet, +as Wallenstein by his astrologer. The establishment depended on +its dramatic ability, while its performances were limited almost +exclusively to the productions of its poet. The better companies, +however, were in the habit of making contracts with each other, by +which they exchanged the plays of their dramatists. This limitation to +native productions perhaps grew partly out of the want of familiarity +with foreign literature, partly from national feeling, and partly from +the fact that the Polish taste was as yet little affected by that of +the Germans, French, or English. In these circumstances there sprung +up a poetic creative faculty, which gave promise of a good and really +national drama. And even now, after wars, revolutions, and the schemes +of foreign rulers have alternately destroyed and degraded the stage, +and after the Poles have become poetically as well as politically +mere satellites of French ideas and culture, there still exist, as +respectable remains of the good old time, a few companies of players, +which, like their ancient predecessors, have their own poets, and +perform only his pieces, or at least others of Polish origin that he +has arranged and adapted. Such a company, whose principal personage +is called Richlawski, is now in Little Poland, in the cities Radom, +Kielce, Opatow, Sandomir, &c. A second, which generally remains in the +Government of Kalisch, is under the direction of a certain Felinski, +and through his excellent dramatic compositions has gained a +reputation equal to that of the band of Strauss in music. Yet these +companies are only relics. The Polish drama in general has now a +character and destiny which was not to be expected a hundred years +since. + +The origin of the Russian theater is altogether more recent. It is +true that Peter the Great meddled a good deal with the theater as well +as with other things, but it was not till the Empress Catharine +that dramatic literature was really emancipated by the court. Under +Alexander and Nicholas the most magnificent arrangements have been +made in every one of the cities that from time to time is honored by +the residence of the Emperor, so that Russia boasts of possessing five +theaters, two of which excel everything in Europe in respect to size +and splendor, but yet possesses no sort of taste for dramatic art. The +stage, in the empire of the Muscovites, is like a rose-bush grafted on +a wild forest tree. It has not grown up naturally from a poetic want +in the people, and finds in the country little or nothing in the way +of a poetic basis. Accordingly, the theater in Russia is in every +respect a foreign institution. Not national in its origin, it has not +struck its roots into the heart of the people. Only here and there +a feeble germ of theatrical literature has made its way through the +obstinate barbarism of the Russian nature. The mass have no feeling +for dramatic poetry, while the cultivated classes exhibit a most +striking want of taste. + +But in Russia everything is inverted. What in other nations is +the final result of a long life, is there the beginning. A natural +development of the people appears to its rulers too circuitous, +and in fact would in many things require centuries of preparation. +Accordingly, they seek to raise their subjects to the level of other +races by forcing them outwardly to imitate their usages. Peter the +Great says in his testament: "Let there be no intermission in teaching +the Russian people European forms and customs." The theater in Russia +is one of these forms, and from this it is easy to understand the +condition it is in. + +It is true there are in the country a few independent companies +of players, but they are not Russian, or at least were formed as a +speculation by some foreigner. For example, Odessa has often two +such, and sometimes three. The Italian company is said to be good. The +Russian, which has now become permanent, has hitherto been under the +management of a German, and has been very poor. The company in Kiew +consists mostly of Poles, from the old Polish provinces incorporated +with Russia, and has a high reputation. In Poland it would be possible +in every little nest of a city to get together a tolerable company for +dramatic performance. In Russia it would be much easier to raise an +army. The ultimate reason of this striking contrast is the immense +dissimilarity in the character of the two nations. The Pole is +remarkably sanguine, fiery, enthusiastic, full of ideality and +inspiration; the Russian is through and through material, a lover of +coarse physical pleasures, full of ability to fight and cut capers, +but not endowed with a capacity quickly to receive impressions and +mentally elaborate them. + +In this respect, the mass and the aristocracy, the serfs and their +masters, are as alike as twins. The noble is quite as coarse as the +peasant. In Poland this is quite otherwise. The peasant may be called +a rough creature, but the noble is almost always a man of refinement, +lacking indeed almost always in scientific information, but never +in the culture of a man of the world. The reason of this is, that +his active, impetuous soul finds constant occasion for maintaining +familiarity with the world around him, and really needs to keep up a +good understanding with it. The Russians know no such want. + +Even in St. Petersburg the German was long much more successful than +the native theater, though the number of Russians there is seventeen +times larger than that of the Germans. The Russians who there +visit the theater are the richest and most prominent members of the +aristocracy. They however consider the drama as simply a thing of +fashion. Hence results the curious fact that it is thought a matter +of good taste to be present at the beginning but not to wait for the +end of a piece. It has happened that long before the performance was +over the house was perfectly empty, everyone following the fashion, +in order not to seem deficient in public manners. If there is ever +a great attraction at the theater, it is not the play, but some +splendid show. The Russian lady, in studying the _coiffure_ or the +trailing-robe of an actress, forgets entirely her part in this piece, +if indeed she has ever had an adequate conception of it. For this +reason, at St. Petersburg and Moscow the ballet is esteemed infinitely +higher than the best drama; and if the management should have +the command of the Emperor to engage rope-dancers and athletes, +circus-riders and men-apes, the majority of Russians would be of +opinion that the theater had gained the last point of perfection. This +was the case in Warsaw several years ago, when the circus company of +Tourniare was there. The theaters gave their best and most popular +pieces, in order to guard against too great a diminution of their +receipts. The Poles patriotically gave the preference for the drama, +but the Russians were steady adorers of Madame Tourniare and her +horse. In truth, the lady enjoyed the favor of Prince Paskiewich. +General O---- boasted that during the eleven months that the circus +staid he was not absent from a single performance. The Polish Count +Ledochowski, on the other hand, said that he had been there but once +when he went with his children, and saw nothing of the performance, +because he read Schiller's William Tell every moment. This was Polish +opposition to Russian favoritism, but it also affords an indication of +the national peculiarities of the two races. + +From deficiency in taste for dramatic art arises the circumstance that +talent for acting is incomparably scarce among the Russians. Great +as have been the efforts of the last emperors of Russia to add a new +splendor to their capitals by means of the theater, they have not +succeeded in forming from their vast nation artists above mediocrity, +except in low comedy. At last it was determined to establish dramatic +schools in connection with the theaters and educate players; but it +appears that though talent can be developed, it cannot be created at +the word of command. The Emperor Nicholas, or rather his wife, was, +as is said, formerly so vexed at the incapacity of the Russians +for dramatic art, that it was thought best to procure children in +Germany for the schools. The Imperial will met with hindrance, and he +contented himself with taking children of the German race from his own +dominions. The pride of the Russians did not suffer in consequence. + +While poetry naturally precedes dramatic art, the drama, on the other +hand, cannot attain any degree of excellence where the theater is in +such a miserable state. It is now scarcely half a century since the +effort was begun to remove the total want of scientific culture in +the Russian nation, but what are fifty years for such a purpose, in +so enormous a country? The number of those who have received the +scientific stimulus and been carried to a degree of intellectual +refinement is very small, and the happy accident by which a man of +genius appears among the small number must be very rare. And in this +connection it is noteworthy, that the Russian who feels himself +called to artistic production almost always shows a tendency to epic +composition. + +The difficulties of form appear terrible to the Russian. In +romance-writing the form embarrasses him less, and accordingly they +almost all throw themselves into the making of novels. + +As is generally the case in the beginning of every nation's +literature, any writer in Russia is taken for a miracle, and regarded +with stupor. The dramatist Kukolnik is an example of this. He has +written a great deal for the theater, but nothing in him is to be +praised so much as his zeal in imitation. It must be admitted that in +this he possesses a remarkable degree of dexterity. He soon turned to +the favorite sphere of romance writing, but in this also he manifests +the national weakness. In every one of his countless works the most +striking feature is the lack of organization. They were begun and +completed without their author's ever thinking out a plot, or its mode +of treatment. + +Kukolnik's "Alf and Adona," in which at least one hundred and fifty +characters are brought upon the stage, has not one whose appearance is +designed to concentrate the interest of the audience. Each comes in to +show himself, and goes out not to be in the way any longer. Everything +is described and explained with equal minuteness, from the pile of +cabbages by the wayside, to the murder of a prince; and instead of a +historical action there is nothing but unconnected details. The same +is the case with his "Eveline and Baillerole," in which Cardinal +Richelieu is represented as a destroyer of the aristocracy, and which +also is made up of countless unconnected scenes, that in part are +certainly done with some neatness. These remarks apply to the works +of Iwan Wanenko and I. Boriczewski, to I. Zchewen's "Sunshine", five +volumes strong; to the compositions of Wolkow, Czerujawski, Ulitinins, +Th. Van Dim, (a pseudonym,) in fact to everything that has yet +appeared. + +On the part of the Imperial family, as we have already said, +everything has been done for the Russian stage that could possibly be +done, and is done no where else. The extremest liberality favors the +artists, schools are provided in order to raise them from the domain +of gross buffoonery to that of true art, the most magnificent premiums +are given to the best, actors are made equal in rank to officers of +state, they are held only to twenty-five years' service, reckoning +from their debut,--and finally, they receive for the rest of their +lives a pension equal to their full salaries. High rewards are given +to Russian star-actors, in order if possible to draw talent of every +sort forth from the dry steppes of native art. The Russian actors are +compelled on pain of punishment to go regularly to the German theater, +with a view to their improvement, and in order to make this as +effective as may be, enormous compensations attract the best German +stars to St. Petersburg. And yet all this is useless, and the Russian +theater is not raised above the dignity of a workshop. Only the comic +side of the national character, a burlesque and droll simplicity, is +admirably represented by actors whose skill and the scope of whose +talents may he reckoned equal to the Germans in the same line. But +in the higher walks of the drama they are worthless. The people have +neither cultivation nor sentiment for serious works, while the poets +to produce them, and the actors to represent them, are alike wanting. + +Immediately after the submission of Poland in 1831, the theaters, +permanent and itinerant, were closed. The plan was conceived of not +allowing them to be reöpened until they could be occupied by Russian +performers. But as the Government recovered from its first rage, +this was found to be impracticable. The officers of the garrisons in +Poland, however numerous, could never support Russian theaters, and +besides, where were the performers to come from? In Warsaw, however, +it was determined to force a theater into existence, and a Russian +newspaper was already established there. The power of the Muscovites +has done great things, built vast fortresses and destroyed vaster, but +it could not accomplish a Russian theater at Warsaw. Even the paper +died before it had attained a regular life, although it cost a great +deal of money. + +Finally came the permission to reöpen the Polish theater, and indeed +the caprice which was before violent against it, was now exceedingly +favorable, but of course not without collateral purposes. The scanty +theater on the Krasinski place, which was alone in Warsaw, except the +remote circus and the little theater of King Stanislaus Augustus, +was given up, and the sum of four millions of florins ($1,600,000) +devoted to the erection of two large and magnificent theaters. The +superintendence of the work of building and the management of the +performances was, according to the Russian system, intrusted to one +General Rautenstrauch, a man seventy years old, and worn out both +in mind and body. The two theaters were erected under one roof, and +arranged on the grandest and most splendid scale. The edifice is +opposite the City Hall, occupies a whole side of the main public +place, and is above 750 feet in length. The pit in each is supported +by a series of immense, stupid, square pilasters, such as architecture +has seldom witnessed out of Russia. Over these pilasters stands +the first row of boxes supported by beautifully wrought Corinthian +columns, and above these rise three additional rows. The edifice is +about 160 feet high and is the most colossal building in Warsaw. As it +was designed to treat the actors in military fashion and according to +Russian style, the building was laid out like barracks and about seven +hundred persons live in it, most of them employed about the theater. +The two stages were built by a German architect under the inspection +of the General whose peremptory suggestions were frequent and +injurious. Both the great theater as it is called, which has four +rows of boxes, and can contain six thousand auditors, and the Varieté +theater which is very much smaller, are fitted out with all sorts of +apparatus that ever belonged to a stage. In fact, new machinery has +in many cases been invented for them and proved totally useless. The +Russian often hits upon queer notions when he tries to show his gifts. + +On one side a very large and strong bridge has been erected leading +from the street to the stage, to be used whenever the piece requires +large bodies of cavalry to make their appearance, and there are +machines that can convey persons with the swiftness of lightning down +from the sky above the stage, a distance of 56 feet. A machine for +which a ballet has been composed surpasses everything I ever saw in +its size; it serves to transport eighty persons together on a seeming +cloud from the roof to the foot-lights. I was astonished by it when I +first beheld it although I had seen the machines of the grand opera at +Paris: the second time I reflected that it alone cost 40,000 florins +[$16,000]. + +Under the management of two Russian Generals, who have hitherto been +at the head of the establishment, a vast deal has in this way been +accomplished for mere external show. + +The great Russian theatre of St. Petersburg has served for a model, +and accordingly nothing has really been improved except that part of +the performance which is farthest removed from genuine art, namely +the ballet. That fact is that out of Paris the ballet is nowhere +so splendid as in the great theater at Warsaw, not even at St. +Petersburg, for the reason that the Russian is inferior to the Pole in +physical beauty and grace. Heretofore the corps of the St. Petersburg +ballet has twice been composed of Poles, but this arrangement has been +abandoned as derogatory to the national honor. The sensual attractions +of the ballet render it the most important thing in the theater. A +great school for dancers has been established, where pupils may be +found from three to eighteen years old. It is painful to see the +little creatures, hardly weaned from their mothers' breasts--twisted +and tortured for the purposes of so doubtful an occupation as dancing. +The school contains about two hundred pupils, all of whom occasionally +appear together on the boards, in the ballet of Charis and Flora, for +instance, when they receive a trifling compensation. For the rest the +whole ballet corps are bound to daily practice. + +The taste of the Russians has made prominent in the ballet exactly +those peculiarities which are least to its credit. It must be +pronounced exaggerated and lascivious. Aside from these faults, which +may be overlooked as the custom of the country, we must admit that the +dancing is uncommonly good. + +The greater the care of the management for the ballet, the more +injurious is its treatment of the drama. This is melancholy for the +artists and especially those who have come to the imperial theater +from the provinces, who are truly respectable and are equally good in +comedy and tragedy. The former has been less shackled than the latter +for the reason that it turns upon domestic life. But tragedy is most +frightfully treated by the political censorship, so that a Polish +poet can hardly expect to see his pieces performed on the stage of +his native country. Hundreds of words and phrases such as freedom, +avenging sword, slave, oppression, father-land, cannot be permitted +and are stricken out. Accordingly nothing but the trumpery of mere +penny-a-liners is brought forward, though this sometimes assumes an +appearance of originality. These abortions remain on the stage only +through the talent of the artists, the habit of the public to expect +nothing beyond dullness and stupidity in the drama, and finally, the +severe regulation which forbids any mark of disapprobation under pain +of imprisonment. The best plays are translated from the French, but +they are never the best of their kind. To please the Russians only +those founded on civic life are chosen, and historical subjects are +excluded. Princely personages are not allowed to be introduced on +the stage, nor even high officers of state, such as ministers and +generals. In former times the Emperor of China was once allowed to +pass, but more recently the Bey of Tunis was struck out and converted +into an African nobleman. A tragedy is inadmissible in any case, and +should one be found with nothing objectionable but its name, it is +called drama. + +In such circumstances we would suppose that the actors would lose all +interest in their profession. But this is not the case. At least the +cultivated portion of the public at Warsaw never go to the theater to +see a poetic work of art, but only to see and enjoy the skill of the +performers. Of course there is no such thing as theatrical criticism +at Warsaw; but everybody rejoices when the actors succeed in causing +the wretchedness of the piece to be forgotten. The universal regret +for the wretched little theater on the Krasinski place, where +Suczkowska, afterward Mad. Halpert, founded her reputation in the +character of the Maid of Orleans, is the best criticism on the present +state of the drama. + +The Russians take great delight in the most trivial pieces. Even +Prince Paskiewich sometimes stays till the close of the last act. To +judge by the direction of his opera-glass, which is never out of his +hand, he has the fortune to discover poetry elsewhere than on the +stage. In truth the Warsaw boxes are adorned by beautiful faces. Even +the young princess Jablonowska is not the most lovely. + +The arrangements of the Warsaw theaters are exactly like those of the +Russian theater at St. Petersburg, but almost without exception, the +pupils of the dramatic school, of whom seventeen have come upon the +boards, have proved mere journeymen, and have been crowded aside by +performers from the provincial cities. None of the eminent artists of +late years have enjoyed the advantages of the school. The position +of the actors at Warsaw is just the same as at St. Petersburg. The +day after their first appearance they are regularly taken into duty +as imperial officials, take an oath never to meddle with political +affairs, nor join in any secret society, nor ever to pronounce on the +stage anything more or anything else than what is in the stamped parts +given them by the imperial management. + +Actors' salaries at Warsaw are small in comparison with those of other +countries. Forty or fifty silver rubles a month ($26 to $33) pass for +a very respectable compensation, and even the very best performers +rarely get beyond a thousand rubles a year ($650). Madame Halpert +long had to put up with that salary till once Taglioni said to Prince +Paskiewich that it was a shame for so magnificent an artist to be no +better paid than a writer. Her salary was thereupon raised one-half, +and subsequently by means of a similar mediation she succeeded in +getting an addition of a thousand rubles yearly under the head of +wardrobe expenses. This was a thing so extraordinary that the managing +General declared that so enormous a compensation would never again be +heard of in any imperial theatre. The pupils of the dramatic school +receive eighteen rubles monthly, and, according to their performances, +obtain permission every two years to ask an increase of salary. The +period of service extends to twenty-five years, with the certainty +of a yearly pension equal to the salary received at the close of the +period. + +For the artist this is a very important arrangement, which enables him +to endure a thousand inconveniences. + +There is no prospect of a better state of the Polish drama. Count +Fedro may, in his comedies, employ the finest satire with a view +to its restoration, but he will accomplish nothing so long as the +Generals ride the theater as they would a war horse. On the other +hand, no Russian drama has been established, because the conditions +are wanting among the people. That is a vast empire, but poor in +beauty; mighty in many things, but weak in artistic talents; powerful +and prompt in destruction, but incapable spontaneously and of itself +to create anything. + + * * * * * + + + +"DEATH'S JEST BOOK, OR THE FOOL'S TRAGEDY." + + +The _Examiner_, for July 20, contains an elaborate review, with +numerous extracts, of a play just published under this title in +London. "It is radiant," says the critic, "in almost every page with +passion, fancy, or thought, set in the most apposite and exquisite +language. We have but to discard, in reading it, the hope of any +steady interest of story, or consistent development of character: +and we shall find a most surprising succession of beautiful passages, +unrivaled in sentiment and pathos, as well as in terseness, dignity, +and picturesque vigor of language; in subtlety and power of passion, +as well as in delicacy and strength of imagination; and as perfect and +various, in modulation of verse, as the airy flights of Fletcher or +Marlowe's mighty line. + +"The whole range of the Elizabethan drama has not finer expression, +nor does any single work of the period, out of Shakspeare, exhibit so +many rich and precious bars of golden verse, side by side with such +poverty and misery of character and plot. Nothing can be meaner than +the design, nothing grander than the execution." + +In conclusion, the _Examiner_ observes--"We are not acquainted with +any living author who could have written the Fool's Tragedy; and, +though the publication is unaccompanied by any hint of authorship, +we believe that we are correct in stating it to be a posthumous +production of the author of the Bride's Tragedy; Mr. Thomas Lovell +Beddoes. Speaking of the latter production, now more than a quarter +of a century ago, (Mr. Beddoes was then, we believe, a student +at Pembroke College, Oxford, and a minor,) the _Edinburgh Review_ +ventured upon a prediction of future fame and achievement for the +writer, which an ill-chosen and ill-directed subsequent career +unhappily intercepted and baffled. But in proof of the noble natural +gifts which suggested such anticipation, the production before us +remains: and we may judge to what extent a more steady course and +regular cultivation would have fertilized a soil, which, neglected +and uncared for, has thrown out such a glorious growth of foliage and +fruit as this Fool's Tragedy." + +The following exquisite lyric is among the passages with which these +judgments are sustained: + + "If thou wilt ease thine heart + Of love and all its smart, + Then sleep, dear, sleep; + And not a sorrow + Hang any tear on your eyelashes; + Lie still and deep + Sad soul, until like sea-wave washes + The rim o' the sun to-morrow, + In eastern sky. + + But wilt thou cure thine heart + Of love and all its smart, + Then die, dear, die; + 'Tis deeper, sweeter, + Than on a rose bank to lie dreaming + With folded eye; + And then alone, amid the beaming + Of love's stars, thou'lt meet her + In eastern sky." + + * * * * * + + +WINTHROP MACKWORTH PRAED. + +Praed, it has always seemed to us, was the cleverest writer in his +way that has ever contributed to the English periodicals. His fugitive +lyrics and arabesque romances, half sardonic and half sentimental, +published with Hookham Frere's "Whistlecraft" and Macaulay's Roundhead +Ballads, in _Knight's Quarterly Magazine_, and after the suspension +of that work, for the most part in the annual souvenirs, are +altogether unequaled in the class of compositions described as +_vers de societie_.--Who that has read "School and School Fellows", +"Palinodia", "The Vicar", "Josephine", and a score of other pieces in +the same vein, does not desire to possess all the author has left us, +in a suitable edition? It has been frequently stated in the English +journals that such a collection was to be published, under the +direction of Praed's widow, but we have yet only the volume prepared +by a lover of the poet some years ago for the Langleys, in this city. +In the "Memoirs of Eminent Etonians," just printed by Mr. Edward +Creasy, we have several waifs of Praed's that we believe will be new +to all our readers. Here is a characteristic political rhyme: + +VERSES + +ON SEEING THE SPEAKER ASLEEP IN HIS CHAIR IN ONE OF THE DEBATES OF THE +FIRST REFORMED PARLIAMENT. + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, 'tis surely fair + If you mayn't in your bed, that you should in your chair. + Louder and longer now they grow, + Tory and Radical, Aye and Noe; + Talking by night and talking by day. + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker; slumber lies + Light and brief on a Speaker's eyes, + Fielden or Finn in a minute or two + Some disorderly thing will do; + Riot will chase repose away + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker. Sweet to men + Is the sleep that cometh but now and then, + Sweet to the weary, sweet to the ill, + Sweet to the children that work in the mill. + You have more need of repose than they-- + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, Harvey will soon + Move to abolish the sun and the moon; + Hume will no doubt be taking the sense + Of the House on a question of sixteen pence. + Statesmen will howl, and patriots bray-- + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, and dream of the time, + When loyalty was not quite a crime, + When Grant was a pupil in Canning's school, + And Palmerston fancied Wood a fool. + Lord, how principles pass away-- + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may. + +The following is a spirited version of a dramatic scene in the second +book of the Annals of Tacitus: + +ARMINIUS. + + Back, Back;--he fears not foaming flood + Who fears not steel-clad line:-- + No warrior thou of German blood, + No brother thou of mine. + Go earn Rome's chain to load thy neck, + Her gems to deck thy hilt; + And blazon honor's hapless wreck + With all the gauds of guilt. + + But wouldst thou have _me_ share the prey? + By all that I have done, + The Varian bones that day by day + Lie whitening in the sun; + The legion's trampled panoply + The eagle's shattered wing. + I would not be for earth or sky + So scorned and mean a thing, + + Ho, call me here the wizard, boy, + Of dark and subtle skill, + To agonize but not destroy, + To torture, not to kill. + When swords are out, and shriek and shout + Leave little room for prayer, + No fetter on man's arm or heart + Hangs half so heavy there. + + I curse him by the gifts the land + Hath won from him and Rome. + The riving axe, the wasting brand, + Rent forest, blazing home. + I curse him by our country's gods, + The terrible, the dark, + The breakers of the Roman rods, + The smiters of the bark. + + Oh, misery that such a ban + On such a brow should be! + Why comes he not in battle's van + His country's chief to be? + To stand a comrade by my side, + The sharer of my fame, + And worthy of a brother's pride, + And of a brother's name? + + But it is past!--where heroes press + And cowards bend the knee, + Arminius is not brotherless, + His brethren are the free. + They come around:--one hour, and light + Will fade from turf and tide, + Then onward, onward to the fight, + With darkness for our guide. + + To-night, to-night, when we shall meet + In combat face to face, + Then only would Arminius greet + The renegade's embrace. + The canker of Rome's guilt shall be + Upon his dying name; + And as he lived in slavery, + So shall he fall in shame. + + * * * * * + +CAMPBELL AND WASHINGTON IRVING. + +The Editor of _The Albion_, in noticing the republication by the +Harpers of the very interesting Life and Letters of Thomas Campbell, +by Dr. Beattie, has the following observations upon Mr. Irving's +introductory letter: + +"WASHINGTON IRVING, at the request of the publishers, contributed a +very interesting letter to themselves, directing public notice to the +value of this edition. He pays also a hearty and deserved tribute, +not only to the genius of Campbell, but to his many excellencies and +kindly specialities of character. The author of "Hohenlinden," and the +"Battle of the Baltic" stands in need of no man's praise as a lyric +poet--but this sort of testimony to his private worth is grateful +and well-timed. Here is an interesting passage from Mr. Irving's +introductory communication. He is alluding to Campbell's fame and +position, when he himself first made Campbell's acquaintance in +England. + + "'I had considered the early productions of Campbell as + brilliant indications of a genius yet to be developed, and + trusted that, during the long interval which had elapsed, + he had been preparing something to fulfill the public + expectation; I was greatly disappointed, therefore, to find + that, as yet, he had contemplated no great and sustained + effort. My disappointment in this respect was shared + by others, who took the same interest in his fame, and + entertained the same idea of his capacity. 'There he is + cooped up in Sydenham,' said a great Edinburgh critic to me, + 'simmering his brains to serve up a little dish of poetry, + instead of pouring out a whole caldron.' + + "'Scott, too, who took a cordial delight in Campbell's poetry, + expressed himself to the same effect. 'What a pity is it,' + said he to me 'that Campbell does not give full sweep to his + genius. He has wings that would bear him up to the skies, and + he does now and then spread them grandly, but folds them up + again and resumes his perch, as if afraid to launch away. The + fact is, he is a bugbear to himself. The brightness of his + early success is a detriment to all his future efforts. _He is + afraid of the shadow that his own fame casts before him_.' + + "'Little was Scott aware at the time that he, in truth, was + a 'bugbear' to Campbell. This I infer from an observation of + Mrs. Campbell's in reply to an expression of regret on my part + that her husband did not attempt something on a grand Scale. + 'It is unfortunate for Campbell,' said she, 'that he lives in + the same age with Scott and Byron.' I asked why. 'Oh,' said + she, 'they write so much and so rapidly. Now Campbell writes + slowly, and it takes him some time to get under way; and just + as he has fairly begun, out comes one of their poems, that + sets the world agog and quite daunts him, so that he throws by + his pen in despair.' + + "'I pointed out the essential difference in their kinds of + poetry, and the qualities which insured perpetuity to that of + her husband. 'You can't persuade Campbell of that,' said she. + 'He is apt to undervalue his own works, and to consider his + own lights put out, whenever they come blazing out with their + great torches.' + + "'I repeated the conversation to Scott sometime afterward, + and it drew forth a characteristic comment. 'Pooh!' said he, + good-humoredly, 'how can Campbell mistake the matter so + much. Poetry goes by quality, not by bulk. My poems are mere + cairngorms, wrought up, perhaps, with a cunning hand, and may + pass well in the market as long as cairngorms are the fashion; + but they are mere Scotch pebbles after all; now Tom Campbell's + are real diamonds, and diamonds of the first water.'" + +"The foregoing is new to us, and full of a double interest. It is +followed, however, by a statement, that needs a word of explanation. +Mr. Irving says: + + "'I have not time at present to furnish personal anecdotes of + my intercourse with Campbell, neither does it afford any of a + striking nature. Though extending over a number of years, it + was never very intimate. His residence in the country, and + my own long intervals of absence on the continent, rendered + our meetings few and far between. To tell the truth, I was + not much drawn to Campbell, having taken up a wrong notion + concerning him, from seeing him at times when his mind was + ill at ease, and preyed upon by secret griefs. I thought + him disposed to be querulous and captious, and had heard his + apparent discontent attributed to jealous repining at the + success of his poetical contemporaries. In a word, I knew + little of him but what might be learned in the casual + intercourse of general society; whereas it required the close + communion of confidential friendship, to sound the depth of + his character and know the treasures of excellence hidden + beneath its surface. Beside, he was dogged for years + by certain malignant scribblers, who took a pleasure in + misrepresenting all his actions, and holding him up in an + absurd and disparaging point of view. In what hostility + originated I do not know, but it must have given much + annoyance to his sensitive mind, and may have affected + his popularity. I know not to what else to attribute a + circumstance to which I was a witness during my last visit to + England. It was at an annual dinner of the Literary Fund, at + which Prince Albert presided, and where was collected much + of the prominent talent of the kingdom. In the course of + the evening Campbell rose to make a speech. I had not seen + him for years, and his appearance showed the effect of age + and ill-health; _it was evident, also, that his mind was + obfuscated by the wine he had been drinking_. He was confused + and tedious in his remarks; still, there was nothing but + what one would have thought would have been received with + indulgence, if not deference, from a veteran of his fame and + standing; a living classic. On the contrary, to my surprise, I + soon observed signs of impatience in the company; the poet was + repeatedly interrupted by coughs and discordant sounds, and + as often endeavored to proceed; the noise at length became + intolerable, and he was absolutely clamored down, sinking + into his chair overwhelmed and disconcerted. I could not have + thought such treatment possible to such a person at such a + meeting. Hallam, author of the Literary History of the Middle + Ages, who sat by me on this occasion, marked the mortification + of the poet, and it excited his generous sympathy. Being + shortly afterward on the floor to reply to a toast, he took + occasion to advert to the recent remarks of Campbell, and in + so doing called up in review all his eminent achievements in + the world of letters, and drew such a picture of his claims + upon popular gratitude and popular admiration, as to convict + the assembly of the glaring impropriety they had been guilty + of--to soothe the wounded sensibility of the poet, and send + him home to, I trust, a quiet pillow.' + +"Now, the very same facts are seen by different observers in a +different point of view. It so happened that we ourselves were present +at this dinner, which took place in 1842; and the painful circumstance +alluded to by Mr. Irving did not produce the effect on us, that it +appears to have produced on him. Without making a long story about +a trifle, we can call to mind no appearance of hostility or ill-will +manifested on that occasion; and on the contrary, recollect, in our +immediate neighborhood, a mournful sense of distress at the scene +exhibited, and sufficiently hinted in the few unpleasant words we +have italicized. A muster of Englishmen preferred coughing down their +favorite bard, to allowing him to mouth out maudlin twaddle, before +the Prince, then first formally introduced to the public, and before +a meeting whereat "was collected much of the prominent talent of the +kingdom." Mr. Irving, himself most deservedly a man of mark, looked +on with much, surprise. Looking on ourselves then, and writing now, +as one of the public, and as one of the many to whom Campbell's name +and fame are inexpressibly dear, we honestly think that of two evils +the lesser was chosen. We think Mr. Hallam's lecture must have been +inaudible to the greater part of the company." + + * * * * * + +The Archbishop of Lemburgh has prohibited his clergy from wearing long +hair like the peasants, and from smoking in public, "like demagogues +and sons of Baal." + + * * * * * + +The Persians have a saying, that "Ten measures of talk were sent down +upon the earth, and the women took nine." + + * * * * * + + + + +AUTHORS AND BOOKS + + * * * * * + +No man is more enshrined in the heart of the French people than the +poet BERANGER. A few weeks since he went one evening with one of his +nephews to the _Clos des Lilas_, a garden in the students' quarter +devoted to dancing in the open air, intending to look for a few +minutes upon a scene he had not visited since his youth, and then +withdraw. But he found it impossible to remain unknown and unobserved. +The announcement of his presence ran through the garden in a moment, +the dances stopped, the music ceased, and the crowd thronged toward +the point where the still genial and lovely old man was standing. At +once there rose from all lips the cry of _Vive Beranger!_ which was +quickly followed by that of _Vive la Republique!_ The poet whose +diffidence is excessive, could not answer a word, but only smiled and +blushed his thanks at this enthusiastic reception. The acclamations +continuing, an agent of the police invited him to withdraw, lest his +presence might occasion disorder. The illustrious songwriter at once +obeyed; by a singular coincidence the door through which he went out +opened upon the place where Marshal Ney was shot. If he were now in +the vein of writing, what a stirring lyric all these circumstances +might suggest. + + * * * * * + +AUDUBON AND WASHINGTON IRVING--THE PLAGUE OF RAILROADS.--The voyager +up the Hudson will involuntarily anathematize the invention of the +rail, when he sees how much of the most romantic beauty has been +defaced or destroyed by that tyranny which, disregarding all private +desire and justice, has filled up bays, and cut off promontories, and +leveled heights, to make way for the intrusive and noisy car. But the +effects of these so-called "improvements," upon the romantic in nature +will be forgotten if he considers the injury and wrong they cause to +persons, and particularly to those whose genius has contributed more +to human happiness than all the inventions in oeconomical art. + +The Nestor of our naturalists, and in his field, the greatest as well +as the oldest of our artists, AUDUBON, with the comparatively slight +gains of a long life of devotion to science, and of triumphs which had +made him world-renowned, purchased on the banks of the river, not far +from the city, a little estate which it was the joy as well as the +care of his closing years to adorn with everything that a taste so +peculiarly and variously schooled could suggest. He had made it a +pleasing gate-way to the unknown world, with beautiful walks leading +down to the river whose depth and calmness and solemn grandeur +symboled the waves through which he should pass to the reward of a +life of such toil and enviable glory. He had promise of an evening +worthy of his meridian--when the surveyors and engineers, with their +charter-privileges, invaded his retreat, built a road through his +garden, destroyed forever his repose, and--the melancholy truth is +known--made of his mind a ruin. + +WASHINGTON IRVING--now sixty-seven years of age--had found a +resting-place at _Wolfert's Roost_, close by the scenes which lie in +the immortal beauty that radiates from his pages, and when he thought +that in this Tusculum he was safe from all annoying, free to enjoy +the quietness and ease he had earned from the world, the same vandals +laid the track through his grounds, not only destroying all their +beauty and attraction, but leaving fens from which these summer heats +distilled contagion. He has therefore been ill for some weeks, and +as he had never a strong constitution, and has preserved his equable +but not vigorous health only by the most constant carefulness, his +physicians and friends begin to be alarmed for the result. Heaven +avert the end they so fearfully anticipate. He cannot go alone: The +honest Knickerbocker, the gentle Crayon, and the faithful brother +Agapida, with Washington Irving will forever leave the world, which +cannot yet resign itself to the loss of either. + + * * * * * + +Mr. SEBA SMITH, so well known as the author of the "Letters of Major +Jack Downing," and to a different sort of readers for his more serious +contributions to our literature, has just completed the printing of +an original and very remarkable work, upon which he has been engaged +about two years, entitled "New Elements of Geometry," and it will soon +be published in this city by Putnam, and in London by Bentley. It will +probably produce a sensation in the world of science. Its design is +the reconstruction of the entire methods of Geometry. All geometers, +from the dawn of the science, have built their systems upon these +definitions: _A line is length without breadth_, and _A surface is +length and breadth, without thickness_. Mr. Smith asserts that +these definitions are false, and sustains his position by numerous +demonstrations in the pure Euclidean style. He declares that every +mathematical line has a definite _breadth_, which is as measurable as +its length, and that every mathematical surface has a _thickness_, +as measurable as the contents of any solid. His demonstrations, on +diagrams, seem to be eminently clear, simple, and conclusive. The +effects of this discovery and these demonstrations are, to simplify +very much the whole subject of Geometry and mathematics, and to clear +it of many obscurities and difficulties. All geometers heretofore +have claimed that there are _three kinds_ of quantity in Geometry, +different in their _natures_, and requiring units of different natures +to measure them. Mr. Smith shows that there is but _one_ kind of +quantity in Geometry, and but one kind of unit; and that lines, +surfaces, and solids are always measured by the same identical unit. + +Besides the leading features of the work which we have thus briefly +described, it contains many new and beautiful demonstrations of +general principles in Geometry, to which the author was lead by his +new methods of investigation. Among these we may mention one, viz., +"The square of the hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle equals four +times the area of the triangle, plus the square of the difference of +the other two sides." This principle has been known to mathematicians +by means of arithmetic and algebra, but has never before, we believe, +been reduced to a geometrical demonstration. The demonstration of +this principle by Mr. Smith is one of the clearest, simplest, and +most beautiful in Geometry. The work is divided into three parts, +I. The Philosophy of Geometry, II. Demonstrations in Geometry, and +III. Harmonies of Geometry. The demonstrative character of it is +occasionally enlivened by philosophical and historical observations, +which will add much to its interest with the general reader. We have +too little skill in studies of this sort to be altogether confident +in our opinion, but certainly it strikes us from an examination of the +larger and more important portion of Mr. Smith's essay, that it is an +admirable specimen of statement and demonstration, and that it must +secure to its author immediately a very high rank in mathematical +science. We shall await with much interest the judgments of the +professors. It makes a handsome octavo of some 200 pages. + + * * * * * + +M. FLANDIN, an eminent dilettante and designer attached to the French +embassy in Persia, has published in the last number of the _Revue des +Deux Mondes_ an interesting memoir of the ruins of Persepolis, under +the title of "An Archaiological Journey in Persia." On his route +to the ruins he witnessed melancholy evidence, in the condition of +the surface and population, of the improvidence and noxiousness of +Oriental despotism. He tells us that the remains of the magnificent +palace of Darius are dispersed over an immense _plateau_, which looks +down on the plain of Merdacht. "Assuredly, they are not much, compared +with what they must have been in the time of the last Prince who +sheltered himself under the royal roof. Nevertheless, what is now +found of them still excites astonishment, and inspires a sentiment of +religious admiration for a civilization that could create monuments so +stupendous; impress on them a character of so much grandeur; and give +them a solidity which has prereserved the most important parts until +our days, through twenty-two centuries, and all the revolutions +by which Persia has been devastated. The pillars are covered with +European names deeply cut in the stone. English are far the most +numerous. Very few, however, are of celebrated travelers. We observed, +with satisfaction, those of Sir John Malcolm and Mr. Morier, both of +whom have so successfully treated Persian subjects." + + * * * * * + +EMILE GIRARDIN states in his journal that he paid for the eleven +volumes of Chateaubriand's Posthumous Memoirs as they appeared, +piecemeal, in his _feuilleton_, the sum of ninety-seven thousand +one hundred and eight francs. They occupied a hundred and ninety-two +_feuilletons_, and cost him thus more than a franc a line. Alfred de +Broglie has made these memoirs the test of a paper entitled "Memoirs +de Chateaubriand, a Moral and Political Study," in the _Revue des Deux +Mondes_. It is a severe analysis of the book and the man. He concludes +that Chateaubriand was one of the most vainglorious, selfish and +malignant of his tribe. He, indeed, betrayed himself broadly, but +surviving writers, who knew intimately his private life--such as St. +Beuve--have disclosed more of his habitual libertinism. The Radical +journals, and some of the Legitimists, turn to account the portraits +left in these memoirs of Louis Philippe, Thiers, Guizot, and other +statesmen of the Orleans monarchy. They are effusions of personal and +political spite. Chateaubriand hated the whole Orleans dynasty, and +has not spared the elder Bourbons. + + * * * * * + +GUIZOT has been for thirty years in political life, many of them +a minister, and was long at the head of the government of Louis +Philippe, but is now a poor man. Recently, on the marriage of his +two daughters with two brothers De Witt, the descendants of the great +Hollander, he was unable to give them a cent in the way of marriage +portions. This fact proves the personal integrity of the man more +than a score of arguments. Not only has the native honesty of his +character forbidden him to take advantage of his eminent position +to gain a fortune, but the indomitable pride which is his leading +characteristic, has never stooped to the attractions of public plunder +or the fruits of official speculation. Guizot is not up to the times, +and hence his downfall, but future historians will do justice alike to +his great talents and the uprightness of his intentions. + + * * * * * + +One of the best works yet produced on the History of Art, is by +Schnaase, of Düsseldorf. The first three volumes have been published +and translated into French and English, and have met with great +success in both those languages. The fourth volume is just announced +in Germany. Artists and other competent persons at Düsseldorf who +have seen the proof-sheets, speak in the highest terms not only of its +historical merits, but of the excellence of its criticisms. + + * * * * * + +The fifth volume of the _History of Spain_, by Rousseau St. Hilaire, +includes the period from 1336 to 1649. The professor has been employed +ten years on his enterprise; he is lauded by all the critics for his +research, method, and style. We have recently spoken of this work at +some length in _The International_. The PARIS ACADEMY OF INSCRIPTIONS +and Belles Lettres is constantly sending forth the most valuable +contributions; to the history of the middle ages especially. It is +now completing the publication of the sixth volume of the Charters, +Diplomas, and other documents relating to French History. This volume, +which was prepared by M. Pardessus, includes the period from the +beginning of 1220 to the end of 1270, and comprehends the reign of St. +Louis. The seventh volume, coming down some fifty years later, is also +nearly ready for the printer. Its editor is M. Laboulaye. The first +volume of the Oriental Historians of the Crusaders, translated into +French, is now going through the press, and the second is in course +of preparation. The greater part of the first volume of the Greek +Historians of the same chivalrous wars is also printed, and the work +is going rapidly forward. The Academy is also preparing a collection +of Occidental History on the same subject. When these three +collections are published, all the documents of any value relating +to the Crusades will be easily accessible, whether for the use of the +historian or the romancer. The Academy is also now engaged in getting +out the twenty-first volume of the History of the Gauls and of France, +and the nineteenth of the Literary History of France, which brings the +annals of French letters down to the thirteenth century. It is also +publishing the sixteenth volume of its own memoirs, which contains the +history of the Academy for the last four years, and the work of Freret +on Geography, besides several other works of less interest. From +all this some idea may be formed of the labors and usefulness of the +institution. + + * * * * * + +M. LEVERRIER, the astronomer, has published a long and able argument +in support of the free and universal use of the electric telegraph. +He has supplied a most instructive and interesting exposition of the +employment and utility of the invention, in all the countries in which +it has been established. The American and the several European tariffs +of charge are appended. He explains the different systems, scientific +and practical, in detail, and gives the process and proceeds. He +observes that the practicability of laying the wires _under_ ground +along all the great roads of France, which will protect them from +accidents and mischief, will yield immense advantage to the Government +and to individuals. He appears to prefer Bain's Telegraph, for +communication, to any other, and minutely traces and develops its +mechanism. A bill before the French chambers, which he advocates, +opens to the public the use of the telegraph, but with various +restrictions calculated to prevent _revolutionary_ or seditious +abuses; to prevent illicit speculations in the public funds, and +other bad purposes to which a free conveyance might be applied. The +director of the telegraph is to be empowered to refuse to transmit +what he shall deem repugnant to public order and good morals, and the +government to suspend at will all private correspondence, on one or +many lines. + + * * * * * + +THE WORKS OF REV. LEONARD WOODS, D.D., lately Professor of Theology in +the Congregational Seminary of Andover, are in course of publication, +and the third and fourth volumes have just appeared, completing the +theological lectures of the venerable Professor, making in all one +hundred and twenty-eight. In these, the student is furnished with +a complete body of divinity as generally received by the orthodox +denominations in New England, and has presented in a clear, condensed +manner, the matured results of a long life of thought and study +devoted to these subjects. + +The fourth volume is occupied with theological letters. The first +121 pages contain those to Unitarians; next follows the Reply to +Dr. Ware's Letters to Unitarians and Calvinists, and Remarks on Dr. +Ware's Answer, a series remarkable for courtesy and kindness toward +opponents, and clearness and faithfulness in the expression of what +was regarded as truth. Following these, are eight letters to Dr. +Taylor of New Haven; An Examination of the Doctrine of Perfection, +as held by Mr. Mahan and others, and a letter to Mr. Mahan; A +Dissertation on Miracles, and the Course of Theological Study as +pursued at the Seminary at Andover. One more volume will complete the +works of this long active and eminent divine. + + * * * * * + +THE REV. ORVILLE DEWEY, D.D., we learn from the correspondence of the +_Christian Inquirer_, is living upon the farm where he was born, in +Sheffield, Massachusetts, having, in the successive improvements of +many years, converted the original house into an irregular but most +comfortable and pleasant dwelling. The view from the back piazza is +as fine as can be commanded anywhere in Berkshire, and should the +shifting channel of the Housatonic only be accommodating enough to +wind a little nearer the house, or even suffer some not impossible +stoppage which would convert the marshy meadow in front into a lake, +nothing can be conceived of which could then improve the situation. In +this lovely retirement, Dr. Dewey endeavors to unite labor and study; +working with his own hands, with hoe and rake, in a way to surprise +those who only know how he can handle a pen. He is preparing, in a +leisurely way, for a course of Lectures for the Lowell Institute, upon +a theme admirably suited to his previous studies, and in which it is +evident his whole mind and heart are bound up. We are glad to know +that it is not until winter after next that this work must be taken +from the anvil. + + * * * * * + +DR. HOOKER, we learn, has again proceeded to a new and unexplored +region in India, in the prosecution of his important botanical labors. +THE AUTHOR OF THE AMBER WITCH, the Pomeranian pastor, Meinhold, +has been condemned to three months' imprisonment, and a fine of one +hundred thalers, besides costs, for slander against another clergyman +named Stosch, in a communication published in the _New Prussian +Zeitung_. The sentence was rendered more severe than usual in such +cases by the fact that Meinhold, who appears to possess more talent +than temper, had previously been condemned for the same offense +against another party. The _Amber Witch_ is one of the "curiosities of +literature", for in the last German edition the author is obliged to +prove that it is entirely a work of imagination, and not, as almost +all the German critics believed it to be when it appeared, the reprint +of an old chronicle. It was, in fact, written as a trap for the +disciples of Strauss and his school, who had pronounced the Scriptures +of the Old and New Testaments to be a collection, of legends, from +historical research, assisted by "internal evidence". Meinhold did +not spare them when they fell into the snare, and made merry with the +historical knowledge and critical acumen that could not detect +the contemporary romancer under the mask of the chronicler of two +centuries ago, while they decided so positively as to the authority of +the most ancient writings in the world. He has been in prison before. + + * * * * * + +"THE NIGHT SIDE OF NATURE[1]", by Catharine Crowe, so well known as +one of the cleverest of the younger set of literary women in England, +we have already mentioned as in the press of Mr. Redfield; it is +now published, and we commend it as one of the most entertaining and +curious works that has ever appeared on the "wonders of the invisible +world". We quote from the judicious critic of the _Tribune_ the +following paragraphs in regard to it: + +[Footnote 1: The Night side of Nature; or, Ghosts and Ghost Seers. By +Catherine Crowe. New York. J.S. Redfield.] + +"The author of this work is an accomplished German scholar. Without +being a slave to the superstitious love of marvels and prodigies, her +mind evidently leans toward the twilight sphere, which lies beyond +the acknowledged boundaries of either faith or knowledge. She seems +to be entirely free from the sectarian spirit; she can look at facts +impartially, without reference to their bearing on favorite dogmas; +nor does she claim such a full, precise and completely-rounded +acquaintance with the mysteries of the spiritual world, whether from +intuition or revelation, as not to believe that there may be more +"things in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophy." +In this respect, it must be owned that she has not the advantage of +certain religious journals in this city, like the _Christian Inquirer_ +and _The Independent_, for instance--which have been so fully +initiated into the secrets of universal truth as to regard all inquiry +into such subjects either as too vulgar for a Christian gentleman, +_comme il faut_, or as giving a "sanction to the atheistic +delusion that there may be a spiritual or supernatural agency" in +manifestations which are not accounted for by the New-England Primer. +Mrs. Crowe, on the contrary, supposes that there may be something +worthy of philosophical investigation in those singular phenomena, +which, surpassing the limits of usual experience, have not yet found +any adequate explanation. + +"The phrase 'Night Side of Nature' is borrowed from the Germans, who +derive it from the language of astronomers, designating the side of +a planet that is turned from the sun, as its night side. The Germans +draw a parallel between our vague and misty perceptions, when deprived +of the light of the sun, and the obscure and uncertain glimpses we +obtain of the vailed department of nature, of which, though comprising +the solution of the most important questions, we are in a state of +almost total ignorance. In writing a book on these subjects, the +author disclaims the intention of enforcing any didactic opinions. She +wishes only to suggest inquiry and stimulate observation, in order to +gain all possible light on our spiritual nature, both as it now exists +in the flesh and is to exist hereafter out of it. + +"It is but justice to say, that the present volume is a successful +realization of the purpose thus announced. It presents as full a +collection of facts on the subject as is probably to be found in any +work in the English language, furnishing materials for the formation +of theoretic views, and illustrating an obscure but most interesting +chapter in the marvelous history of human nature. It is written +with perfect modesty, and freedom from pretense, doing credit to the +ability of the author as a narrator, as well as to her fairness and +integrity as a reasoner." + + * * * * * + +MR. MILNE EDWARDS presented at a recent meeting of the _Academy of +Sciences_, in the name of the Prince of Canino, (C. Bonaparte), the +first part of the Prince's large work, _Conspectus Generum Avium_. + + * * * * * + +M. GUIZOT has addressed a long letter to each of the five classes +of the Institute of France, to declare that he cannot accept the +candidateship offered him for a seat in the Superior Council of Public +Instruction. + + * * * * * + +SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON is to be a candidate for the House +of Commons, with Col. Sibthorp, for Lincoln. He has a new play +forthcoming for the Princess's Theatre. + + * * * * * + +MISS STRICKLAND has in preparation a series of volumes on the Queens +of Scotland, as a companion to her, interesting and successful work on +the Queens of England. + + * * * * * + +THE MARQUIS DE FOUDRAS has published _Un Caprice de Grande +Dame_--clever, but as corrupt as her other works. + + * * * * * + +MR. HERBERT'S NEW BOOKS.--The _Southern Quarterly Review_ for July +has the following notice of "Frank Forester's Fish and Fishing in the +United States and British Provinces," recently published by Stringer & +Townsend: + +"There are few of our writers so variously endowed and accomplished as +Mr. Herbert; of a mind easily warmed and singularly enthusiastic, the +natural bent of his talent inclines him to romance. He has accordingly +given us several stories abounding in stately scenes, and most +impressive portraiture. Well skilled in the use of the mother tongue, +as in the broad fields of classical literature, he has written essays +of marked eloquence, and criticisms of excellent discrimination and a +keen and thorough insight. His contributions to our periodicals have +been even more happy than his fictions. With a fine imagination, he +inherits a _penchant_ and a capacity for poetry, which has enabled him +to throw off, without an effort, some of the most graceful fugitive +effusions which have been written in America. His accomplishments are +as various as his talents. He can paint a landscape as sweetly as +he can describe it in words. He is a sportsman of eager impulse, and +relishes equally well the employments of the fisherman and hunter. +He is a naturalist, as well as a sportsman, and brings, to aid his +practice and experience, a large knowledge, from study, of the habits +of birds, beasts and fishes. He roves land and sea in this pursuit, +forest and river, and turns, with equal ease and readiness, from +a close examination of Greek and Roman literature, to an emulous +exercise of all the arts which have afforded renown to the aboriginal +hunter. The volume before us--one of many which he has given to this +subject--is one of singular interest to the lover of the rod and +angle. It exhibits, on every page, a large personal knowledge of +the finny tribes in all the northern portions of our country, and +well deserves the examination of those who enjoy such pursuits and +pastimes. The author's pencil has happily illustrated the labors of +his pen. His portraits of the several fishes of the United States are +exquisitely well done and truthful. It is our hope, in future pages, +to furnish an ample review of this, and other interesting volumes, of +similar character, from the hand of our author. We have drawn to them +the attention of some rarely endowed persons of our own region, who, +like our author, unite the qualities of the writer and the sportsman; +from whom we look to learn in what respects the habits and characters +of northern fish differ from our own, and thus supply the deficiency +of the work before us. The title of this work is rather too general. +The author's knowledge of the fish, and of fishing, in the United +States, is almost wholly confined to the regions north of the +Chesapeake, and he falls into the error, quite too common to the +North, of supposing this region to be the whole country. Another +each volume as that before us will be necessary to do justice to the +Southern States, whose possessions, in the finny tribes of sea and +river, are of a sort to shame into comparative insignificance all the +boasted treasures of the North. It would need but few pages in our +review, from the proper hands, to render this very apparent to the +reader. Meanwhile, we exhort him to seek the book of Mr. Herbert, as a +work of much interest and authority, so far as it goes." + + * * * * * + +MR. PUTNAM is preparing some elegantly embellished works for the +holiday season. Among others, an edition, in octavo, of Miss Fenimore +Cooper's charming _Rural Hours_, embellished by twenty finely-colored +drawings of birds and flowers; _The Picturesque Souvenir_, or Letters +of a Traveler in Europe and America, by Bryant, embellished by +a series of finely-executed engravings; and _The Alhambra_, by +Washington Irving, with designs by Darley, uniform with the splendid +series of Mr. Irving's Illustrated Works, some time in course +of publication. We have also seen a specimen copy of a superbly +illustrated edition of _The Pilgrim's Progress_, printed on +cream-colored paper, as smooth as ivory; and the exquisite designs by +Harvey, nearly three hundred in number, are among the most effective +ever attempted for the elucidation of this first of all allegories. +Professor Sweetser's new work, _Menial Hygiene_, or an Examination of +the Intellect and Passions, designed to illustrate their Influence on +Health and the Duration of Life, will be published in the course +of the present month. Professor Church's _Treatise on Integral and +Differential Calculus_, a revised edition; _The Companion_, or _After +Dinner Table Talk_, by Chelwood Evelyn, with a fine portrait of Sydney +Smith; _The History of Propellers, and Steam Navigation_, illustrated +by engravings: a manual, said to combine much valuable information on +the subjects, derived from the most authentic sources, by Mr. Robert +MacFarlane, editor of the _Scientific American_; and Mr. Ridner's +_Artist's Chromatic Hand-Book, or Manual of Colors_, will also be +speedily issued by the same publisher. Mr. Putnam's own production, +_The World's Progress, or Dictionary of Dates_, containing a +comprehensive manual of reference in facts, or epitome of historical +and general statistical knowledge, with a corrected chronology, &c., +is expected to appear in a few weeks. Mr. Theodore Irving's _Conquest +of Florida_ is also in progress. + + * * * * * + +It is said that Meyerbeer has already completed a grand opera with the +title of _L'Africaine_, and is now engaged on a comic opera. This is +probably nothing more than one of the trumpets which this composer +knows so well how to blow beforehand. Meyerbeer is not greater in +music than in the art of tickling public expectation and keeping the +public aware of his existence. + + * * * * * + +The _Lorgnette_ has just appeared in a volume. + + * * * * * + + + + +RECENT DEATHS. + + * * * * * + +AUGUSTUS WILLIAM NEANDER. + +OF this most eminent Christian scholar of the nineteenth century, +_The Tribune_ furnishes the following brief sketch. "The name of +JOHANN AUGUST WILHELM NEANDER is familiar to a large number of our +countrymen, both on account of his important contributions to the +science of theology, and his personal intimacy with many of our +eminent scholars, who have enjoyed the benefit of his instructions, +or who have made his acquaintance while pursuing their travels in +Germany. Although he had attained a greater age than might have been +anticipated from his habits as a confirmed invalid, being in his +sixty-second year, his decease cannot be announced without causing an +emotion of surprise and regret to a numerous circle who recognized in +him one of the most faithful and conscientious Christian teachers of +the present day. + +"NEANDER, as it is well known, was descended from Jewish parents, +by whom he was instructed in the rudiments of religion, and at a +subsequent period of life became a convert to the Christian faith, by +personal inquiry and experience. He was born at Göttingen, in 1789, +but passed a considerable portion of his youth at Hamburg, where he +was initiated into the rudiments of a classical education. After he +had made a profession of Christianity, he continued his studies for +a short time at the Universities of Halle and Göttingen, returned to +Hamburg, and finally completed his University career at Heidelberg. +The following year he was called to the University of Berlin, as +Professor of Theology, where he soon gave promise of the brilliant +eminence which he has since attained. His first publications were +on special topics of ecclesiastical history, including treatises on +'The Emperor Julian and his Age,' 'St. Bernard and his Age,' 'The +Development of the Principal Systems of the Gnostics,' 'St. Chrysostom +and the Church in his Age,' and 'The Spirit of Tertullian,' with +an 'Introduction to his Writings.' These treatises are remarkable +monuments of diligence, accuracy, profoundness of research and breadth +of comprehension, showing the same intellectual qualities which +were afterward signally exhibited in the composition of his masterly +volumes on the history of the Christian Religion. His earliest +production in this department had for its object to present the most +important facts in Church history, in a form adapted to the great mass +of readers, without aiming at scientific precision or completeness. +This attempt was eminently successful. The first volume of his +great work entitled 'General History of the Church and the Christian +Religion,' was published in 1825, and it was not till twenty years +afterward that the work was brought to a close. The appearance of this +work formed a new epoch in ecclesiastical history. It at once betrayed +the power of a bold and original mind. Instead of consisting of a +meager and arid collection of facts, without scientific order, without +any vital coherence or symmetry, and without reference to the cardinal +elements of Christian experience, the whole work, though singularly +chaste and subdued in its tone, throbs with the emotions of genuine +life, depicting the influence of Christianity as a school for the +soul, and showing its radiant signatures of Divinity in its moral +triumphs through centuries. + +"His smaller work on the first development of Christianity in the +Apostolic Age is marked by the same spirited characteristics, while +his 'Life of Jesus' is an able defense of the historical verity of +the sacred narrative against the ingenious and subtle suggestions of +Strauss. + +"The writings and theological position of NEANDER have been fully +brought before the American public by Profs. ROBINSON, TORREY, +McCLINTOCK, SEARS, and other celebrated scholars who have done much to +diffuse a knowledge of the learned labors of Germany among intelligent +thinkers in our own country. NEANDER was free from the reproach which +attaches to so many of his fellow laborers, of covertly undermining +the foundation of Christianity, under the pretense of placing it on a +philosophical basis. His opinions are considered strictly evangelical, +though doubtless embodied in a modified form. In regard to the extent +and soundness of his learning, the clearness of his perceptions, +and the purity and nobleness of his character, there can be but one +feeling among those who are qualified to pronounce a judgment on the +subject. + +"NEANDER was never married. He was the victim of almost constant ill +health. In many of his personal habits he was peculiar and eccentric. +With the wisdom of a sage, he combined the simplicity of a child. Many +amusing anecdotes are related of his oddities in the lecture-room, +which will serve to enliven the biography that will doubtless be +prepared at an early date. We have received no particulars concerning +his death, which is said to have been announced by private letters to +friends in Boston." + + * * * * * + +JACOB JONES, U.S.N. + +COMMODORE JACOB JONES, of the United States Navy, died in Philadelphia +on the 6th inst. He was born in Smyrna, Kent county, Delaware, in +the year 1770, and was therefore, eighty years of age. He was of +an eminently respectable family, and commenced life as a physician, +having studied the profession at the University of Pennsylvania. He +afterward became clerk of the Supreme Court of Delaware for his native +county. When about twenty-nine years old he entered the navy, and made +his first cruises under Commodore Barry. He was a midshipman on board +the frigate United States, when she bore to France Chief Justice +Ellsworth and General Davie, as envoys extraordinary to the French +Republic. He was next appointed to the Ganges as midshipman. On the +breaking out of the war with Tripoli, he was stationed on the frigate +Philadelphia, under Commodore Bainbridge. The disaster which befell +that ship and her crew before Tripoli, forms a solemn page in our +naval history; atoned, however, by the brilliant achievements to which +it gave rise. Twenty months of severe captivity among a barbarous +people, and in a noxious climate, neither broke the spirit nor +impaired the constitution of Jones. Blest by nature with vigorous +health and an invincible resolution, when relieved from bondage by the +bravery of his countrymen, he returned home full of life and ardor. +He was soon after promoted to a lieutenancy. He was now for some time +employed on the Orleans station, where he conducted himself with +his usual judgment and propriety, and was a favorite in the polite +circles of the Orleans and Mississippi territories. He was shortly +after appointed to the command of the brig Argus, stationed for the +protection of our commerce on the southern maritime frontier. In this +situation he acted with vigilance and fidelity, and though there were +at one time insidious suggestions to the contrary, it has appeared +that he conformed to his instructions, promoted the public interest, +and gave entire satisfaction to the government. In 1811, he was +transferred to the command of the sloop-of-war Wasp, mounting eighteen +twenty-four pound carronades, and dispatched, in the spring of 1812, +with communications to the courts of St. Cloud and St. James. Before +he returned, war had been declared against Great Britain. He refitted +his ship with all possible dispatch, and repaired to sea, but met with +no other good fortune than the capture of an inconsiderable prize. He +next sailed from Philadelphia on the 13th of October, and on the 18th +of the same month encountered a heavy gale, during which the Wasp +lost her jibboom and two seamen. On the following night, the watch +discovered five strange sail steering eastward. The Wasp hauled to +the windward and closely watched their movements until daylight next +morning, when it was found that they were six large merchant vessels +under convoy of a sloop of war. The former were well manned, two +of them mounting sixteen guns each. Notwithstanding the apparent +disparity of force. Captain Jones determined to hazard an attack; +and as the weather was boisterous, and the swell of the sea unusually +high, he ordered down top-gallant yards, closely reefed the top-sails, +and prepared for action. We cannot give a detail of this brilliant +engagement, which resulted in the capture of the Frolic. It was one of +the most daring and determined actions in our naval history. The force +of the Frolic consisted of sixteen thirty-two pound carronades, four +twelve-pounders on the maindeck, and two twelve-pound carronades. +Both vessels had more men than was essential to their efficiency; but +while there was an equality of strength in the crews, there was an +inequality in the number of guns and weight of metal--the Frolic +having four twelve-pounders more than the Wasp. The exact number of +killed and wounded on board the Frolic could not be ascertained with +any degree of precision; but, from the admissions of the British +officers, it was supposed that their loss in killed was about thirty, +including two officers, and in wounded, between forty and fifty. The +captain and every other officer on board were more or less severely +wounded. The Wasp sustained a loss of only five men killed, and five +wounded. + +While erecting jurymasts on board the Frolic, soon after, a suspicious +sail was seen to windward, upon which Captain Jones directed +Lieutenant Biddle to shape her course for Charleston, or any other +port of the United States, while the Wasp should continue upon +her cruise. The sail coming down rapidly, both vessels prepared +for action, but it was soon discovered, to the mortification of +the victors in this well-fought action, that the new enemy was a +seventy-four, which proved to be the Poictiers, commanded by Admiral +Beresford. Firing a shot over the Frolic, she passed her, and soon +overhauled the Wasp, which, in her crippled state, was unable to +escape. Both vessels were thus captured, and carried into Bermuda. +After a few weeks, a cartel was proposed by which the officers +and crew of the Wasp were conveyed to New York. On the return of +Captain Jones to the United States, he was everywhere received with +demonstrations of respect for the skill and gallantry displayed in his +combat with the enemy. The legislature of Delaware gave him a vote +of thanks, and a piece of plate. On the motion of James A. Bayard, +of Delaware, Congress appropriated twenty-five thousand dollars, as +a compensation to the commander, his officers, and crew, for the loss +they had sustained by the recapture of the Frolic. They also voted +a gold medal to the Captain, and a silver medal to each of his +commissioned officers. As a farther evidence of the confidence of +government, Captain Jones was ordered to the command of the frigate +Macedonian, recently captured from the British by Decatur. She was +rapidly fitted out under his direction, in the harbor of New York, +and proposed for one of Decatur's squadron, which was about to sail on +another expedition. In May 1811, the squadron attempted to put to +sea, but, in sailing up Long Island Sound, encountered a large British +force, which compelled the United States vessels to retreat into +New London. In this situation the enemy continued an uninterrupted +blockade during the war. Finding it impossible to avoid the vigilance +of Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded the blockading fleet, the +government ordered Captain Jones to proceed with his officers and crew +to Sackett's Harbor, and report to Commodore Chauncey, as commander of +the frigate Mohawk, on lake Ontario. There the Americans maintained +an ascendency, and continued to cruise until October, when the British +squadron, under Sir James Yeo, left Kingston, with a greatly superior +force, which caused the United States squadron to return to Sackett's +Harbor. It seemed, indeed, that the contest now depended on the +exertions of the ship carpenters. Two line of battle ships were placed +on the stocks, and were advancing rapidly to completion, when, in +February 1815, the news of peace arrived, with orders to suspend +further operations on these vessels. A few weeks after the peace was +announced, Captain Jones with his officers and crew was ordered to +repair to the seaboard, and again to take command of the Macedonian, +to form part of the force against the Algerines, then depredating on +our commerce in the Mediterranean. As soon as the Algerian Regency was +informed that war existed between the United States and Great Britain, +the Dey dispatched his cruisers to capture all American merchant +vessels. To punish these freebooters, nine or ten vessels were fitted +out and placed under Decatur. This armament sailed from New York in +May, 1815, and when off Cadiz was informed that the Algerines were +along the southern coast of Spain. Two days after reaching the +Mediterranean, the United States squadron fell in with and captured +the Algerine frigate Messuado, mounting forty-six guns, and the next +day captured a large brig of war, both of which were carried into the +port of Carthagena, in Spain. The American squadron then proceeded to +the bay of Algiers, where its sudden and unexpected appearance excited +no slight surprise and alarm in the Regency. The Dey reluctantly +yielded to every demand to him; he restored the value of the property +belonging to American merchants which he had seized, released all the +prisoners he had captured, and relinquished forever all claims on the +annual tribute which he had received. After having thus terminated +the war with Algiers, and formed an advantageous treaty, the +squadron proceeded to other Barbary capitals, and adjusted some minor +difficulties, which, however, were of importance to our merchants. +After touching at several of the islands in the Mediterranean, at +Naples, and at Malaga, the entire force came back to the United States +early in December. From this period till his death, no event of +much importance distinguished the career of Commodore Jones. He was, +however, almost constantly employed in various responsible positions, +his appointment to which evinced the confidence government placed +in his talents and discretion. In 1821, he took the command of a +squadron, for the protection of our trade in the Mediterranean, in +which he continued for three years. On his return he was offered a +seat in the Board of Navy Commissioners, but, finding bureau duties +irksome, he accepted, in 1826, the command of our navy in the +Pacific, where he also continued three years, Afterward he was placed +in command of the Baltimore station, where he remained, with the +exception of a short interval, until transferred to the harbor of +New York. Since 1847, he had held the place of Governor of the United +States Naval Asylum, on the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia. + + * * * * * + +JULIA BETTERTON GLOVER. + +An actress who has been admired and respected by three generations of +play-goers has quitted the stage of life in the person of Mrs. Glover. +The final exit was somewhat sudden, as it seemed to the general +public; but it was anticipated by her friends. A friendly biographer +in the _Morning Chronicle_ explains the circumstances; first referring +to the extraordinary manifestations of public feeling which attended +Mrs. Glover's last farewell, at Drury-Lane Theater, on Friday, the +12th of July. + +"In our capacity of spectators we did not then see occasion to mention +what had otherwise come to our knowledge--that the evidences of +extreme suffering manifested by Mrs. Glover on that evening--her +inability to go through her part, except as a mere shadow of her +former self, and the substitution of an apologetic speech from Mr. +Leigh Murray for the address which had been written for her by a +well-known and talented amateur of the drama--arose not merely from +the emotion natural on a farewell night, after more than half a +century of active public service, but also from extreme physical +debility, the result of an attack of illness of a wasting character, +which had already confined that venerable lady to her bed for many +days. In fact, it was only the determination of Mrs. Glover herself +not to disappoint the audience, who had been invited and attracted for +many weeks before, that overruled the remonstrances of her friends +and family against her appearing at all. She was then utterly unfit +to appear on the stage in her professional character, and the most +serious alarm was felt lest there should be some sudden and fatal +catastrophe. The result of the struggle of feeling she then underwent, +superadded as it was to the physical causes which had undermined her +strength, was, that Mrs. Glover sunk under the disease which had been +consuming her, and quitted this life on Monday night." + +Mrs. Glover, born Julia Betterton, was daughter of an actor named +Betterton, who held a good position on the London stage toward +the close of the last century. She is said to have been a lineal +descendant of the great actor of the same name. Her birthday was +the 8th January, 1781. Brought up, as most of our great actors and +actresses have been, "at the wings," she was even in infancy sent on +the stage in children's parts. She became attached to the company of +Tate Wilkinson, for whom she played, at York, the part of the _Page_ +in _The Orphan_; and she also exercised her juvenile talents in the +part of _Tom Thumb_, for the benefit of George Frederick Cooke, who on +the occasion doffed his tragic garb and appeared in the character of +_Glumdalcar_. Another character which she played successfully with +Cooke was that of the little _Duke of York_ in _Richard the Third_; +into which, it is recorded, she threw a degree of spirit and childish +roguishness that acted as a spur on the great tragedian himself, who +never performed better than when seconded by his childish associate. +In 1796 she had attained such a position in the preparatory school +of the provincial circuits, chiefly at Bath, that she was engaged at +Covent Garden; in the first instance at £10 a week, and ultimately for +five years at £15 a week, rising to £20; terms then thought "somewhat +extraordinary and even exorbitant". Miss Betterton first appeared in +London in October 1797, fifty-three years ago, as _Elvira_, in Hannah +More's tragedy of _Percy_. Her success was great; and in a short time +she had taken such a hold of popular favor, that when Mrs. Abington +returned for a brief period to the stage, Miss Betterton held her +ground against the rival attraction, and even secured the admiration +of Mrs. Abington herself. Her subsequent engagements were at +Drury-Lane and Covent-Garden alternately, till she made that long +engagement at the Haymarket, during which she has become best known to +the present generation of playgoers. Her more recent brief engagement +with Mr. Anderson, at Drury-Lane, and her last one with Mr. W. Farren, +at the Strand Theater, whither she contributed so much to attract +choice audiences, are fresh in the memory of metropolitans. Looking +back to Mrs. Glover's "long and brilliant career upon the stage, we +may pronounce her one of the most extraordinary women and accomplished +actresses that have ever graced the profession of the drama." Mrs. +Glover had a daughter, Phillis, a very clever young actress, at the +Haymarket Theater, who has been dead several years. Her two sons are +distinguished, the one as a popular musical composer, and the other as +a clever tragedian--the latter with considerable talent, also, as an +amateur painter. + +A London correspondent of the _Spirit of the Times_ gives an +interesting account of the Glover benefit, and the "last scenes." + + * * * * * + +MADAME GAVAUDAN is dead. To many it will be necessary to explain +that Madame Gavaudan was, in her time, one of the most favorite +singing-actresses and acting songstresses belonging to the _Opéra +Comique_ of Paris; and that, after many years of popularity, she +retired from the stage in 1823. + + * * * * * + +GENERAL BERTHAND, Baron de Sivray, died early in July at Luc, in +France, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. He was an officer before +the first revolution, and served through all the wars of the Republic +and the Empire. + + * * * * * + +ROBERT R. BAIRD, a son of the Rev. Dr. Baird, and a young man of +amiable character and considerable literary abilities, which had been +illustrated for the most part, we believe, in translation, was drowned +in the North River at Yonkers on Tuesday evening, the 6th instant, +about seven o'clock. The deceased had gone into the water to bathe in +company with several others, and was carried by the rising tide into +deep water, where, as he could swim but little, he sunk to rise no +more, before help could reach him. This premature and sudden death has +overwhelmed his parents and friends in the deepest distress. He was +twenty-five years old. + + * * * * * + +THE DEATH OF MR. S. JOSEPH, the sculptor, known by his statue of +Wilberforce in Westminster Abbey and his statue of Wilkie in the +National Gallery, is mentioned in the English papers. His busts +exhibit a fine perception of character, and many a delicate grace in +the modeling. Mr. Joseph was long a resident in Edinburgh. He modeled +a bust of Sir Walter Scott about the same time that Chantrey modeled +his--that bust which best preserves to us the features and character +of the great novelist. + + * * * * * + +JAMES WRIGHT, author of the _Philosophy of Elocution_ and other works +chiefly of a religious character, died at Brighton, England, on the +9th of July, aged 68. + + * * * * * + +SIR THOMAS WILDE, who has just been promoted to the Woolsack, as Baron +Truro, we learn from the _Illustrated News_, was born in 1782. After +practicing as an attorney, he was called to the bar by the Honorable +Society of the Inner Temple, the 7th February, 1817. He joined +the Western Circuit, and soon rose into considerable practice. His +knowledge of the law, combined with his great eloquence, made him one +of the most successful advocates of his time. He was for many years +the confidential and legal adviser of the late Alderman Sir Matthew +Wood, and his connection with that gentleman caused him to be engaged +as one of the senior counsel for the Queen on the celebrated trial of +Queen Caroline. Though surrounded by rivals of the highest eminence +and the brightest fame, Wilde always stood among the foremost, +and obtained briefs in some of the greatest causes ever tried. For +instance, he was engaged on the winning side in the famous action +of Small v. Atwood, in which his fees are said to have amounted to +something enormous. In 1824 he became a sergeant-at-law; and he was +appointed King's Sergeant in 1827, and Solicitor-General in 1839, +when he received the honor of knighthood. In 1841 he first became +Attorney-General; and after a second time holding that office, he +succeeded the late Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal, as Lord Chief +Justice of the Common Pleas. His recent appointment as Lord Chancellor +places him at the very summit of his profession. + + * * * * * + +[FROM THE _LONDON LADIES' COMPANION_.] + +THE MORNING SONG. + +BY BARRY CORNWALL. + +A new "English Song," by Barry Cornwall, is now--more's the pity--a +too rare event in the musical year. We are at once doing our readers +a pleasure, and owning a welcome kindness, in publishing, by the +author's permission, these words, set by M. Benedict, and sung by +Madame Sontag. + + The world is waking into light; + The dark and sullen night hath flown: + Life lives and re-assumes its might, + And nature smiles upon her throne. + And the Lark, + Hark! + _She_ gives welcome to the day, + In a merry, merry, lay, + Tra la!--lira, lira, lira, la! + + Soft sounds are sailing through the air; + Sweet sounds are springing from the stream; + And fairest things, where all is fair, + Join gently in the grateful theme. + And the Lark, &c., &c. + + The morn, the morn is in the skies; + The reaper singeth from the corn; + The shepherd on the hills replies; + And all things now salute the morn, + Even the Lark, &c., &c. + + * * * * * + +[FROM ELIZA COOK'S JOURNAL.] + +A LESSON. + +If society ever be wholly corrupted, it will be by the idea that it is +already so. Some cynics believe in virtue, sincerity, and happiness, +only as traditions of the past, and by ridicule seek to propagate the +notion. This vain and pedantic philosophy would turn all hearts to +stone, and arm every man with suspicion against all others, declaiming +against the romance of life, as empty sentimentalism; against the +belief in goodness, as youth's sanguine folly; and the hope of pure +happiness, as a fanciful dream, created by a young imagination, to be +dissipated by the teaching of a few years' struggle with the world. + +If this be wisdom, I am no philosopher, and I never wish to be one; +for sooner would I float upon the giddy current of fancy, to fall +among quicksands at last, than travel through a dull and dreary world, +without confidence in my companions. That we may be happy, that we +may find sincere friends, that we may meet the good, and enjoy the +beautiful on earth, is a creed that will find believers in all hearts +unsoured by their own asceticism. Virtue will sanctify every fireside +where we invite her to dwell, and if the clouds of misfortune darken +and deform the whole period of our existence, it is a darkness that +emanates from ourselves, and a deformity created by us to our own +unhappiness. + +Yet this is not relating the little story which is the object of my +observations. The axiom which I wish to lay down, to maintain, and to +prove correct, is, that married life may be with most people, should +be with all, and is with many, a state of happiness. The reader +may smile at my boldness, but the history of the personages I shall +introduce to walk their hour on this my little stage, will justify my +adopting the maxim. + +M. Pierre Lavalles, owner of a vineyard, near a certain village +in the south of France, wooed and wedded Mdlle. Julie Gouchard. +Exactly where they dwelt, and all the precise circumstances of their +position, I do not mean to indicate, and if I might offer a hint to +my contemporaries, it would be a gentle suggestion that they occupy +too much time, paper, and language in geographical and genealogical +details, very wearisome, because very unnecessary. Monsieur Pierre +Lavalles then lived in a pretty house, near a certain village in a +vine-growing district of the south of France, and when he took his +young wife home, he showed her great stores of excellent things, +calculated well for the comfortable subsistence of a youthful and +worthy couple. Flowers and blossoming trees shed odor near the lattice +windows, verdure soft and green was spread over the garden, and the +mantling vine "laid forth the purple grape," over a rich and sunny +plantation near at hand. The house was small, but neat, and well +furnished in the style of the province, and Monsieur and Madame Pierre +Lavalles lived very happily in plenty and content. + +Here I leave them, and introduce the reader to Monsieur Antoine +Perron, notary in the neighboring village. + +Let me linger over a notice of this individual. He was a good man, and +what is more curious an honest lawyer. Indeed, in spite of my happy +theory, I may say that such a good man, and such a good lawyer you +could seldom meet. All the village knew him; he mixed up in every +one's quarrels; not, as is usually the case, to make confusion worse +confounded by a double-tongued hypocrisy, but to produce conciliation; +he mingled in every one's affairs, not to pick up profit for himself, +but to prevent the villagers from running into losses and imprudent +speculations; he talked much, yet, it was not slander, but advice; he +thought more, yet it was not over mischief, but on schemes of good; +he was known to everybody, yet none that knew him respected him the +less on that account. He was a little, spare, merry-looking man, that +sought to appear grave when he was most inclined to merriment, and +if he considered himself a perfect genius in his plans for effecting +good, his vanity may be pardoned, because of the food it fed on. + +M. Antoine Perron considered himself very ingenious, and if he had a +fault, it was his love of originality. He never liked to perform any +action in a common way, and never chuckled so gaily to himself, as +when he had achieved some charitable end by some extraordinary means. + +It was seven months after the marriage of M. Pierre Lavalles, M. +Antoine Perron sat in his little parlor, and gazed with a glad eye +upon the cheerful fire, for the short winter was just terminating. +Leaning forward in his chair, he shaded his face with his hands, and +steadily perused the figures among the coals with a most pleasant +countenance. The room was small, neat, and comfortable, for the notary +prospered, in his humble way and seeking only comfort found it, and +was content. + +Suddenly a violent knocking at the door aroused him from his reverie, +and he heard his old servant rushing to open it. In a moment, two +persons were ushered into the room, and the notary leaped to his +feet in astonishment at the extraordinary scene before him. Had a +thunderbolt cloven the roof, and passed through his hearth to its +grave in the center of the globe, or had the trees that nodded their +naked branches without the window commenced a dance upon the snowy +ground, he had not been more surprised. + +Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, and Madame Pierre Lavalles stood just inside +the doorway. Never had Monsieur Perron seen them before, as he saw +them now. Like turtle-doves, with smiling eyes, and affectionate +caress, they had lived in happy harmony during the seven months of +their married life, and motherly dames, when they gave their daughters +away, bade them prosper and be pleasant in their union, as they had +been joyous in their love, pleasant and joyous, as neighbor Lavalles +and his wife. + +Now, Pierre stood red and angry, with his right arm extended, +gesticulating toward his wife. Julie stood red and angry, with her +left arm extended, gesticulating toward her husband. Eyes, that had +only radiated smiles, flashed with fierce passion, as the turtle doves +remained near the door, each endeavoring to anticipate the other in +some address to the worthy notary. He, aghast and perplexed, waited +for the _denouement_. + +"Madame," said Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, "allow me to speak." + +"Monsieur," said Madame Pierre Lavalles. "I insist--" + +"But, Madame, it is my--" + +"But, Monsieur, I say I will." + +"And yet I will." + +"But no--" + +"Madame, I shall." + +"Then be careful what you do; M. Perron, M. Lavalles is mad." + +Then the lady, having thus emphatically declared herself, resigned the +right of speech to her husband, who began to jerk out in disconnected +phrases a statement of his case. Seven days ago he had annoyed his +wife by some incautious word; she had annoyed him by an incautious +answer; he had made matters worse by an aggravating retort; and she +had widened the breach by a bitter reply. This little squall was +succeeded by a cool calm, and that by a sullen silence, until some +sudden friction kindled a new flame, and finally, after successive +storms and lulls, there burst forth a furious conflagration, and +in the violent collision of their anger, the seven-months' married +pair vowed to separate, and with that resolve had visited M. Perron. +Reconciliation they declared was beyond possibility, and they +requested the notary at once to draw up the documents that should +consign them to different homes, to subsist on a divided patrimony, +in loveless and unhappy marriage. Each told a tale in turn, and the +manner of relation added fuel to the anger of the other. The man and +the woman seemed to have leaped out of their nature in the accession +of their passion. Pity that a quarrel should ever dilate thus, from a +cloud the size of a man's hand to a thunder-storm that covers heaven +with its black and dismal canopy. + +Neither would listen to reason. The duty of the notary was to prepare +the process by which they were to be separated. + +"Monsieur," he said, "I will arrange the affair for you; but you are +acquainted with the laws of France in this respect!" + +"I know nothing of the law," replied M. Pierre Lavalles. + +"Madame," said the notary, "your wish shall be complied with. But you +know what the law says on this head?" + +"I never read a law book," sharply ejaculated Madame Pierre Lavalles. + +"Then," resumed the notary, "the case is this. You must return to +your house, and I will proceed to settle the proceedings with the +Judicatory Court at Paris. They are very strict. You must furnish me +with all the documents relative to property." + +"I have them here," put in the husband, by way of parenthesis. + +"And the whole affair including correspondence, preparations of +instruments, &c., will be settled in less than three months." + +"Three months?" + +"Three months. Yes, in less than three months." + +"Then I will live with a friend at the village, until it is finished," +said Madame Lavalles, in a decided, peremptory tone, usual with ladies +when they are a little ashamed of themselves, or any one else. + +"Oh, very well, Madame,--oh, very well." + +"Not at all well, Madame; not at all well, Monsieur," said the notary, +with a solid, immovable voice. "You must live as usual. If you doubt +my knowledge of the law, you will, by reading through these seven +books, find that this fact is specified." + +But the irritated couple were not disposed to undertake the +somniferous task, and shortly left the house, as they had come, +walking the same way, but at a distance of a yard or so one from +another. + +Two months and twenty-seven days had passed, when the notary issued +from his house, and proceeded toward the house where Monsieur and +Madame Lavalles dwelt. Since the fatal night I have described, he +had not encountered them, and he now, with a bland face and confident +head, approached the dwelling. + +It was a pretty place. Passing through the sunny vineyards where the +spring was just calling out the leaves, and the young shoots in their +tints of tender green were sprouting in the warmth of a pleasant day; +the notary entered a garden. Here the flowers, in infant bloom, had +prepared the earth for the coming season, for summer in her gay attire +was tripping from the south, and as she passed, nature wove garlands +to adorn her head, and wreathe about her arms. Early blossoms lent +sweetness to the breath of the idle winds that loitered in this +delightful spot, and the fair young primrose was sown over the +parterres, with other flowers of spring, the most delicate and softly +fragrant, that come out to live their hour in modesty and safety, +while the earth affords them room, and before the bright and gaudy +bloom of a riper season eclipses their beauty, bidding them, blushing, +close their petals. + +Early roses twined on either side the porch, and as the notary +entered, nothing struck him more than the neat and cheerful appearance +of the place. A demoiselle ushered him into a little parlor, where +Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, and Madame Julie Lavalles, had just sat down +to partake breakfast. + +A small table was drawn up close to the open window, and vernal +breezes found welcome in the chamber. A snowy cloth hung down to the +well-polished floor, and tall white cups were placed upon it to rival +it in purity and grace. Cakes of bread, such bread as is only had in +France, with delicious butter, and rich brown foaming coffee frothed +with cream, were spread before them, and a basket of fresh spring +flowers, sparkling with dew and beautifully odorous, scented the whole +chamber with a delicate perfume. + +The husband and wife sat side by side, with pleasant looks, and so +engaged in light and amiable conversation, that they hardly noticed +the entrance of the notary. The storm had vanished and left no trace. +Flushes of anger, flashes of spite, quick breathings, and disordered +looks--all these had passed, and now smiles, and eyes lit only with +kindness, and bosoms beating with calm content, and looks all full of +love, were alone to be observed. + +When M. Antoine Perron entered, they started; at length, and then +recollecting his mission, blushed crimson, looked one at another, and +then at the ground, awaiting his address. + +"Monsieur, and Madame," said the notary, "according to your desires +I come with all the documents necessary for your separation, and the +division of your property. They only want your signature, and we will +call in your servant to be witness." + +"Stay," exclaimed Madame Julie, laughing at her husband, "Pierre, +explain to M. Perron." + +"Ah, Monsieur Perron," said Monsieur Antoine Lavalles, "we had +forgotten that, and hoped you had also. Say not a word of it to any +one." + +"No, not a word," said Madame Julie. "We never quarreled but once +since we married, and we never mean to quarrel again." + +"Not unless you provoke it," said Monsieur Lavalles, audaciously. "But +M. Perron, you will take breakfast with us?" + +"You're a wicked wretch," said Madame Julie, tapping him on the cheek. +"After breakfast, M. Perron, we will sign the papers." + +"After breakfast," said M. Pierre Lavalles, "we will burn them." + +"We shall see," said the notary. "Sign them or burn them. Madame Julie +Lavalles, your coffee is charming." + + * * * * * + +After seven months' harmony, do not let seven days' quarrel destroy +the happiness of home. Do not follow the directions of a person in a +passion. Allow him to cool and consider his purpose. + + * * * * * + +[FROM DICKENS'S HOUSEHOLD WORDS.] + +DUST; + +OR UGLINESS REDEEMED. + +On a murky morning in November, wind north-east, a poor old woman +with a wooden leg was seen struggling against the fitful gusts of the +bitter breeze, along a stony zigzag road, full of deep and irregular +cart-ruts. Her ragged petticoat was blue, and so was her wretched +nose. A stick was in her left hand, which assisted her to dig and +hobble her way along; and in her other hand, supported also beneath +her withered arm, was a large rusty iron sieve. Dust and fine ashes +filled up all the wrinkles in her face; and of these there were a +prodigious number, for she was eighty-three years old. Her name was +Peg Dotting. + +About a quarter of a mile distant, having a long ditch and a +broken-down fence as a foreground, there rose against the muddled-gray +sky, a huge Dust-heap of a dirty black color, being, in fact, one +of those immense mounds of cinders, ashes, and other emptyings +from dust-holes and bins, which have conferred celebrity on certain +suburban neighborhoods of a great city. Toward this dusky mountain old +Peg Dotting was now making her way. + +Advancing toward the Dust-heap by an opposite path, very narrow, and +just reclaimed from the mud by a thick layer of freshly-broken flints, +there came at the same time Gaffer Doubleyear, with his bone-bag slung +over his shoulder. The rags of his coat fluttered in the east-wind, +which also whistled keenly round his almost rimless hat, and troubled +his one eye. The other eye, having met with an accident last week, he +had covered neatly with an oyster-shell, which was kept in its place +by a string at each side, fastened through a hole. He used no staff +to help him along, though his body was nearly bent double, so that his +face was constantly turned to the earth, like that of a four-footed +creature. He was ninety-seven years of age. As these two patriarchal +laborers approached the great Dust-heap, a discordant voice hallooed +to them from the top of a broken wall. It was meant as a greeting of +the morning, and proceeded from little Jem Clinker, a poor deformed +lad, whose back had been broken when a child. His nose and chin were +much too large for the rest of his face, and he had lost nearly +all his teeth from premature decay. But he had an eye gleaming with +intelligence and life, and an expression at once patient and hopeful. +He had balanced his misshapen frame on the top of the old wall, over +which one shriveled leg dangled, as if by the weight of a hob-nailed +boot that covered a foot large enough for a plowman. + +In addition to his first morning's salutation of his two aged friends, +he now shouted out in a tone of triumph and self-gratulation, in which +he felt assured of their sympathy-- + +"Two white skins, and a tor'shell-un!" + +It may be requisite to state that little Jem Clinker belonged to the +dead-cat department of the Dust-heap, and now announced that a prize +of three skins, in superior condition. had rewarded him for being +first in the field. + +He was enjoying a seat on the wall, in order to recover himself from +the excitement of his good fortune. + +At the base of the great Dust-heap the two old people now met their +young friend--a sort of great-grandson by mutual adoption--and they +at once joined the party who had by this time assembled as usual, and +were already busy at their several occupations. + +But besides all these, another individual, belonging to a very +different class, formed a part of the scene, though appearing only on +its outskirts. A canal ran along at the rear of the Dust-heap, and on +the banks of its opposite side slowly wandered by--with hands clasped +and hanging down in front of him, and eyes bent vacantly upon his +hands--the forlorn figure of a man, in a very shabby great-coat, which +had evidently once belonged to one in the position of a gentleman. And +to a gentleman it still belonged--but in _what_ a position! A scholar, +a man of wit, of high sentiment, of refinement, and a good fortune +withal--now by a sudden turn of law bereft of the last only, and +finding that none of the rest, for which (having his fortune) he +had been so much admired, enabled him to gain a livelihood. His +title-deeds had been lost or stolen, and so he was bereft of +everything he possessed. He had talents, and such as would have been +profitably available had he known how to use them for his new purpose; +but he did not; he was misdirected; he made fruitless efforts in his +want of experience; and he was now starving. As he passed the great +Dust-heap, he gave one vague, melancholy gaze that way, and then +looked wistfully into the canal. And he continued to look into the +canal as he slowly moved along, till he was out of sight. + +A Dust-heap of this kind is often worth thousands of pounds. The +present one was very large and very valuable. It was in fact a large +hill, and being in the vicinity of small suburb cottages, it rose +above them like a great black mountain. Thistles, groundsel, and rank +grass grew in knots on small parts which had remained for a long time +undisturbed; crows often alighted on its top, and seemed to put on +their spectacles and become very busy and serious; flocks of sparrows +often made predatory descents upon it; an old goose and gander might +sometimes he seen following each other up its side, nearly midway; +pigs rooted around its base,--and now and then, one bolder than the +rest would venture some way up, attracted by the mixed odors of some +hidden marrow-bone enveloped in a decayed cabbage-leaf--a rare event, +both of these articles being unusual oversights of the Searchers +below. + +The principal ingredient of all these Dust-heaps is fine cinders +and ashes; but as they are accumulated from the contents of all the +dust-holes and bins of the vicinity, and as many more as possible, +the fresh arrivals in their original state present very heterogeneous +materials. We cannot better describe them than by presenting a brief +sketch of the different departments of the Searchers and Sorters, +who are assembled below to busy themselves upon the mass of original +matters which are shot out from the carts of the dustmen. + +The bits of coal, the pretty numerous results of accident and +servants' carelessness, are picked out, to be sold forthwith; the +largest and best of the cinders are also selected, by another party, +who sell them to laundresses, or to braziers (for whose purposes coke +would do as well;) and the next sort of cinders, called the _breeze_, +because it is left after the wind has blown the finer cinders through +an upright sieve, is sold to the brick-makers. + +Two other departments, called the "soft-ware" and the "hard-ware," +are very important. The former includes all vegetable and animal +matters--everything that will decompose. These are selected and bagged +at once, and carried off as soon as possible, to be sold as manure +for plowed land, wheat, barley, &c. Under this head, also, the dead +cats are comprised. They are generally the perquisites of the women +searchers. Dealers come to the wharf, or dust-field, every evening; +they give sixpence for a white cat, fourpence for a colored cat, and +for a black one according to her quality. The "hard-ware" includes all +broken pottery pans, crockery, earthenware, oyster-shells, &c., which +are sold to make new roads. + +The bones are selected with care, and sold to the soap-boiler. He +boils out the fat and marrow first, for special use, and the bones are +then crushed and sold for manure. + +Of rags, the woollen rags are bagged and sent off for hop-manure; the +white linen rags are washed, and sold to make paper, &c. + +The "tin things" are collected and put into an oven with a grating at +the bottom, so that the solder which unites the parts melts, and runs +through into a receiver. This is sold separately; the detached pieces +of tin are then sold to be melted up with old iron, &c. + +Bits of old brass, lead, &c., are sold to be molted up separately, or +in the mixture of ores. + +All broken glass vessels, as cruets, mustard-pots, tumblers, +wine-glasses, bottles, &c., are sold to the old-glass shops. + +As for any articles of jewelry, silver spoons, forks, thimbles, or +other plate and valuables, they are pocketed off-hand by the first +finder. Coins of gold and silver are often found, and many "coppers." + +Meantime, everybody is hard at work near the base of the great +Dust-heap. A certain number of cart-loads having been raked and +searched for all the different things just described, the whole of it +now undergoes the process of sifting. The men throw up the stuff, and +the women sift it. + +"When I was a young girl," said Peg Dotting-- + +"That's a long while ago, Peggy," interrupted one of the sifters: but +Peg did not hear her. + +"When I was quite a young thing," continued she, addressing old John +Doubleyear, who threw up the dust into her sieve, "it was the fashion +to wear pink roses in the shoes, as bright as that morsel of ribbon +Sally has just picked out of the dust; yes, and sometimes in the +hair, too, on one side of the head, to set off the white powder and +salve-stuff. I never wore one of these head-dresses myself--don't +throw up the dust so high, John--but I lived only a few doors lower +down from those as did. Don't throw up the dust so high, I tell +'ee--the wind takes it into my face." + +"Ah! There! What's that?" suddenly exclaimed little Jem, running as +fast as his poor withered legs would allow him toward a fresh heap, +which had just been shot down on the wharf from a dustman's cart. He +made a dive and a search--then another--then one deeper still. "I'm +sure I saw it!" cried he, and again made a dash with both hands into a +fresh place, and began to distribute the ashes and dust and rubbish on +every side, to the great merriment of all the rest. + +"What did you see, Jemmy?" asked old Doubleyear, in a compassionate +tone. + +"Oh, I don't know," said the boy, "only it was like a bit of something +made of real gold!" + +A fresh burst of laughter from the company assembled followed this +somewhat vague declaration, to which the dustmen added one or two +elegant epithets, expressive of their contempt of the notion that they +could have overlooked a bit of anything valuable in the process of +emptying sundry dust-holes, and carting them away. + +"Ah," said one of the sifters, "poor Jem's always a-fancying something +or other good but it never comes." + +"Didn't I find three cats this morning?" cried Jem, "two on 'em white +'uns! How you go on!" + +"I meant something quite different from the like o' that," said the +other; "I was a-thinking of the rare sights all you three there have +had, one time and another." + +The wind having changed, and the day become bright, the party at work +all seemed disposed to be more merry than usual. The foregoing remark +excited the curiosity of several of the sifters, who had recently +joined the "company": the parties alluded to were requested to favor +them with the recital; and though the request was made with only a +half-concealed irony, still it was all in good-natured pleasantry, and +was immediately complied with. Old Doubleyear spoke first: + +"I had a bad night of it with the rats some years ago--they runn'd +all over the floor, and over the bed, and one on 'em come'd and guv a +squeak close into my ear--so I couldn't sleep comfortable. I wouldn't +ha' minded a trifle of it, but this was too much of a good thing. +So I got up before sunrise, and went out for a walk; and thinking I +might as well be near our work-place, I slowly come'd down this way! +I worked in a brick-field at that time, near the canal yonder. The sun +was just a rising up behind the Dust-heap as I got in sight of it, +and soon it rose above, and was very bright; and though I had two eyes +then, I was obligated to shut them both. When I opened them again, the +sun was higher up; but in his haste to get over the Dust-heap, he had +dropped something. You may laugh--I say he dropped something. Well +I can't say what it was, in course--a bit of his-self, I suppose. +It was just like him--a bit on him, I mean--quite as bright--just +the same--only not so big. And not up in the sky, but a-lying and +sparkling all on fire upon the Dust-heap. Thinks I--I was a younger +man then by some years than I am now--I'll go and have a nearer look. +Though you be a bit o' the sun, maybe you won't hurt a poor man. So +I walked toward the Dust-heap, and up I went, keeping the piece of +sparkling fire in sight all the while. But before I got up to it, the +sun went behind a cloud--and as he went out--like, so the young 'un +he had dropped, went out arter him. And I had to climb up the heap for +nothing, though I had marked the place vere it lay very percizely. But +there was no signs at all on him, and no morsel left of the light as +had been there. I searched all about; but found nothing 'cept a bit 'o +broken glass as had got stuck in the heel of an old shoe. And that's +my story. But if ever a man saw anything at all, I saw a bit o' the +sun; and I thank God for it. It was a blessed sight for a poor ragged +old man of threescore and ten, which was my age at that time." + +"Now, Peggy!" cried several voices, "tell us what you saw. Peg saw a +bit o' the moon." + +"No," said Mrs. Dotting, rather indignantly; "I'm no moon-raker. Not +a sign of the moon was there, nor a spark of a star the time I speak +on." + +"Well--go on, Peggy--go on." + +"I don't know as I will," said Peggy. + +But being pacified by a few good-tempered, though somewhat humorous, +compliments, she thus favored them with her little adventure: + +"There was no moon, or stars, or comet, in the 'versal heavens, nor +lamp nor lantern along the road, when I walked home one winter's night +from the cottage of Widow Pin, where I had been to tea with her and +Mrs. Dry, as lived in the almshouses. They wanted Davy, the son of +Bill Davy the milkman, to see me home with the lantern, but I wouldn't +let him, 'cause of his sore throat. Throat!--no it wasn't his throat +as was rare sore--it was--no, it wasn't--yes, it was--it was his toe +as was sore. His big toe. A nail out of his boot had got into it. I +_told_ him he'd be sure to have a bad toe, if he didn't go to church +more regular, but he wouldn't listen; and so my words come'd true. +But, as I was a-saying, I wouldn't let him by reason of his sore +throat--toe, I mean--and as I went along, the night seemed to grow +darker and darker. A straight road, though, and I was so used to it by +day-time, it didn't matter for the darkness. Hows'ever, when I come'd +near the bottom of the Dust-heap as I had to pass, the great dark +heap was so 'zackly the same as the night, you couldn't tell one +from t'other. So, thinks I to myself--_what_ was I thinking of at +this moment?--for the life o' me I can't call it to mind; but that's +neither here nor there, only for this--it was a something that led me +to remember the story of how the devil goes about like a roaring lion. +And while I was a-hoping he might not he out a-roaring that night, +what should I see rise out of one side of the Dust-heap, but a +beautiful shining star, of a violet color. I stood as still, as +stock-still as any I don't-know-what! There it lay, as beautiful as +a new-born babe, all a-shining in the dust! By degrees I got courage +to go a little nearer--and then a little nearer still--for, says I +to myself, I'm a sinful woman, I know, but I have repented, and do +repent constantly of all the sins of my youth and the backslidings +of my age--which have been numerous; and once I had a very heavy +backsliding--but that's neither here nor there. So, as I was a-saying, +having collected all my sinfulness of life, and humbleness before +Heaven, into a goodish bit of courage, forward I steps--a little +furder--and a leetle furder more--_un_-til I come'd just up to the +beautiful shining star lying upon the dust. Well, it was a long time I +stood a-looking down at it, before I ventured to do what I arterwards +did. But at last I did stoop down with both hands slowly--in case +it might burn, or bite--and gathering up a good scoop of ashes as +my hands went along. I took it up, and began a-carrying it home, all +shining before me, and with a soft blue mist rising up round about it. +Heaven forgive me! I was punished for meddling with what Providence +had sent for some better purpose than to be carried borne by an old +woman like me, whom it had pleased Heaven to afflict with the loss +of one leg, and the pain, ixpinse, and inconvenience of a wooden one. +Well, I _was_ punished; covetousness had its reward; for, presently, +the violet light got very pale, and then went out; and when I reached +home, still holding in both hands all I had gathered up, and when I +took it to the candle, it had burned into the red shell of a lobsky's +head, and its two black eyes poked up at me with a long stare--and I +may say, a strong smell, too--enough to knock a poor body known." + +Great applause, and no little laughter, followed the conclusion of old +Peggy's story, but she did not join in the merriment. She said it was +all very well for young folks to laugh, but at her age she had enough +to do to pray; and she had never said so many prayers, nor with so +much fervency, as she had done since she received the blessed sight +of the blue star on the Dust-heap, and the chastising rod of the +lobster's head at home. + +Little Jem's turn now came: the poor lad was, however, so excited by +the recollection of what his companions called "Jem's Ghost," that he +was unable to describe it in any coherent language. To his imagination +it had been a lovely vision,--the one "bright consummate flower" of +his life, which he treasured up as the most sacred image in his heart. +He endeavored, in wild and hasty words, to set forth, how that he had +been bred a chimney-sweep; that one Sunday afternoon he had left a set +of companions, most on 'em sweeps, who were all playing at marbles in +the church-yard, and he had wandered to the Dust-heap, where he had +fallen asleep; that he was awoke by a sweet voice in the air, which +said something about some one having lost her way!--that he, being now +wide awake, looked up, and saw with his own eyes a young Angel, with +fair hair and rosy cheeks, and large white wings at her shoulders, +floating about like bright clouds, rise out of the dust! She had on +a garment of shining crimson, which changed as he looked upon her +to shining gold. She then exclaimed, with a joyful smile, "I see the +right way!" and the next moment the Angel was gone! + +As the sun was just now very bright and warm for the time of year, +and shining full upon the Dust-heap in its setting, one of the men +endeavored to raise a laugh at the deformed lad, by asking him if he +didn't expect to see just such another angel at this minute, who had +lost her way in the field on the other side of the heap; but his jest +failed. The earnestness and devout emotion of the boy to the vision of +reality which his imagination, aided by the hues of sunset, had thus +exalted, were too much for the gross spirit of banter, and the speaker +shrunk back into his dust-shovel, and affected to be very assiduous in +his work. + +Before the day's work was ended, however, little Jem again had a +glimpse of the prize which had escaped him on the previous occasion. +He instantly darted, hands and head foremost, into the mass of cinders +and rubbish, and brought up a black mass of half-burnt parchment, +entwined with vegetable refuse, from which he speedily disengaged an +oval frame of gold, containing a miniature, still protected by its +glass, but half covered with mildew from the damp. He was in ecstacies +at the prize. Even the white catskins paled before it. In all +probability some of the men would have taken it from him, "to try +and find the owner," but for the presence and interference of his +friends Peg Dotting and old Doubleyear, whose great age, even among +the present company, gave them a certain position of respect and +consideration. So all the rest now went their way, leaving the three +to examine and speculate on the prize. + +These Dust-heaps are a wonderful compound of things. A banker's cheque +for a considerable sum was found in one of them. It was on Merries & +Farquhar, in 1847. But bankers' cheques, or gold and silver articles, +are the least valuable of their ingredients. Among other things, a +variety of useful chemicals are extracted. Their chief value, however, +is for the making of bricks. The fine cinder-dust and ashes are used +in the clay of the bricks, both for the red and gray stacks. Ashes +are also used as fuel between the layers of the clump of bricks, which +could not be burned in that position without them. The ashes burn +away, and keep the bricks open. Enormous quantities are used. In +the brickfields at Uxbridge, near the Drayton Station, one of the +brickmakers alone will frequently contract for fifteen or sixteen +thousand chaldrons of this cinder-dust, in one order. Fine coke, or +coke-dust, affects the market at times as a rival; but fine coal, or +coal-dust, never, because it would spoil the bricks. + +As one of the heroes of our tale had been originally--before his +promotion--a chimney-sweeper, it may be only appropriate to offer a +passing word on the genial subject of soot. Without speculating on +its origin and parentage, whether derived from the cooking of a +Christmas-dinner, or the production of the beautiful colors and odors +of exotic plants in a conservatory, it can briefly be shown to possess +many qualities both useful and ornamental. + +When soot is first collected, it is called "rough soot", which, +being sifted, is then called "fine soot", and is sold to farmers for +manuring and preserving wheat and turnips. This is more especially +used in Herefordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, &c. It is rather a costly +article, being fivepence per bushel. One contractor sells annually as +much as three thousand bushels; and he gives it as his opinion, that +there must be at least one hundred and fifty times this quantity (four +hundred and fifty thousand bushels per annum) sold in London. Farmer +Smutwise, of Bradford, distinctly asserts that the price of the soot +he uses on his land is returned to him in the straw, with improvement +also to the grain. And we believe him. Lime is used to dilute soot +when employed as a manure. Using it pure will keep off snails, slugs, +and caterpillars from peas and various other vegetables, as also from +dahlias just shooting up, and other flowers; but we regret to add that +we have sometimes known it kill or burn up the things it was intended +to preserve from unlawful eating. In short, it is by no means so +safe to use for any purpose of garden manure, as fine cinders and +wood-ashes, which are good for almost any kind of produce, whether +turnips or roses. Indeed, we should like to have one fourth or fifth +part of our garden-beds composed of excellent stuff of this kind. +From all that has been said, it will have become very intelligible +why these Dust-heaps are so valuable. Their worth, however, varies +not only with their magnitude, (the quality of all of them is much +the same,) but with the demand. About the year 1820, the Marylebone +Dust-heap produced between four thousand and five thousand pounds. In +1832, St. George's paid Mr. Stapleton five hundred pounds a year, not +to leave the Heap standing, but to carry it away. Of course he was +only too glad to be paid highly for selling his Dust. + +But to return. The three friends having settled to their satisfaction +the amount of money they should probably obtain by the sale of the +golden miniature-frame, and finished the castles which they had built +with it in the air, the frame was again infolded in the sound part of +the parchment, the rags and rottenness of the law were cast away, and +up they rose to bend their steps homeward to the little hovel where +Peggy lived, she having invited the others to tea, that they might +talk yet more fully over the wonderful good luck that had befallen +them. + +"Why, if there isn't a man's head in the canal!" suddenly cried little +Jem. "Looky there!--isn't that a man's head?--Yes; it's a drownded +man!" + +"A drownded man, as I live!" ejaculated old Doubleyear. + +"Let's get him out, and see!" cried Peggy. "Perhaps the poor soul's +not quite gone." + +Little Jem scuttled off to the edge of the canal, followed by the two +old people. As soon as the body had floated nearer, Jem got down into +the water, and stood breast-high, vainly measuring his distance, with +one arm out, to see if he could reach some part of the body as it was +passing. As the attempt was evidently without a chance, old Doubleyear +Managed to get down into the water behind aim, and holding him by one +hand, the boy was thus enabled to make a plunge forward as the body +was floating by. He succeeded in reaching it, but the jerk was too +much for his aged companion, who was pulled forward into the canal. A +loud cry burst from both of them, which was yet more loudly echoed by +Peggy on the bank. Doubleyear and the boy were now struggling almost +in the middle of the canal, with the body of the man twirling about +between them. They would inevitably have been drowned, had not old +Peggy caught up a long dust-rake that was close at hand--scrambled +down up to her knees in the canal--clawed hold of the struggling group +with the teeth of the rake, and fairly brought the whole to land. Jem +was first up the bank, and helped up his two heroic companions; after +which, with no small difficulty, they contrived to haul the body +of the stranger out of the water. Jem at once recognized in him the +forlorn figure of the man who had passed by in the morning, looking so +sadly into the canal as he walked along. + +It is a fact well known to those who work in the vicinity of these +great Dust-heaps, that when the ashes have been warmed by the sun, +cats and kittens that have been taken out of the canal and buried a +few inches beneath the surface, have usually revived; and the same has +often occurred in the case of men. Accordingly, the three, without a +moment's hesitation, dragged the body along to the Dust-heap, where +they made a deep trench, in which they placed it, covering it all over +up to the neck. + +"There now," ejaculated Peggy, sitting down with a long puff to +recover her breath, "he'll lie very comfortable, whether or no." + +"Couldn't lie better," said old Doubleyear, "even if he knew it." + +The three now seated themselves close by, to await the result. + +"I thought I'd a lost him," said Jem, "and myself too; and when I +pulled Daddy in arter me, I guv us all three up for this world." + +"Yes," said Doubleyear, "it must have gone queer with us if Peggy had +not come in with the rake. How d'yee feel, old girl? for you've had +a narrow escape too. I wonder we were not too heavy for you, and so +pulled you in to go with us." + +"The Lord be praised!" fervently ejaculated Peggy, pointing toward +the pallid face that lay surrounded with ashes. A convulsive twitching +passed over the features, the lips trembled, the ashes over the breast +heaved, and a low moaning sound, which might have come from the bottom +of the canal, was heard. Again the moaning sound, and then the eyes +opened, but closed almost immediately. + +"Poor dear soul," whispered Peggy, "how he suffers in surviving. Lift +him up a little. Softly. Don't be afeard. We're only your good angels, +like--only poor cinder-sifters--don'tee be afeard." + +By various kindly attentions and maneuvers such as these poor people +had been accustomed to practice on those who were taken out of the +canal, the unfortunate gentleman was gradually brought to his senses. +He gazed about him, as well he might--now looking in the anxious, +though begrimed, faces of the three strange objects, all in their +"weeds" and dust--and then up at the huge Dust-heap, over which the +moon was now slowly rising. + +"Land of quiet Death!" murmured he, faintly, "or land of Life, as dark +and still--I have passed from one into the other; but which of ye I am +now in, seems doubtful to my senses." + +"Here we are, poor gentleman," cried Peggy, "here we are, all friends +about you. How did'ee tumble into the canal?" + +"The Earth, then, once more!" said the stranger, with a deep sigh. "I +know where I am, now. I remember this great dark hill of ashes--like +Death's kingdom, full of all sorts of strange things, and put to many +uses." + +"Where do you live?" asked old Doubleyear. "Shall we try and take you +home, sir?" + +The stranger shook his head mournfully. All this time, little Jem had +been assiduously employed in rubbing his feet and then big hands; in +doing which, the piece of dirty parchment, with the miniature-frame, +dropped out of his breast-pocket. A good thought instantly struck +Peggy. + +"Run, Jemmy dear--run with that golden thing to Mr. Spikechin, the +pawnbroker's--get something upon it directly, and buy some nice +brandy--and some Godfrey's cordial--and a blanket, Jemmy--and call a +coach, and get up outside on it, and make the coachee drive back here +as fast as you can." + +But before Jemmy could attend to this, Mr. Waterhouse, the stranger +whose life they had preserved, raised himself on one elbow, and +extended his hand to the miniature-frame. Directly he looked at it he +raised himself higher up--turned it about once or twice--then caught +up the piece of parchment, and uttering an ejaculation which no +one could have distinguished either as of joy or of pain, sank back +fainting. + +In brief, this parchment was a portion of the title-deeds he had lost; +and though it did not prove sufficient to enable him to recover his +fortune, it brought his opponent to a composition, which gave him an +annuity for life. Small as this was, he determined that these poor +people, who had so generously saved his life at the risk of their +own, should be sharers in it. Finding that what they most desired was +to have a cottage in the neighborhood of the Dust-heap, built large +enough for all three to live together, and keep a cow, Mr. Waterhouse +paid a visit to Manchester Square, where the owner of the property +resided. He told his story, as far as was needful, and proposed to +purchase the field in question. + +The great Dust-Contractor was much amused, and his daughter--a very +accomplished young lady--was extremely interested. So the matter was +speedily arranged to the satisfaction and pleasure of all parties. The +acquaintance, however, did not end here. Mr. Waterhouse renewed his +visits very frequently, and finally made proposals for the young +lady's hand, she having already expressed her hopes of a propitious +answer from her father. + +"Well, Sir," said the latter, "you wish to marry my daughter, and she +wishes to marry you. You are a gentleman and a scholar, but you have +no money. My daughter is what you see, and she has no money. But I +have; and therefore, as she likes you and I like you, I'll make you +both an offer. I will give my daughter twenty thousand pounds,--or you +shall have the Dust-heap. Choose!" + +Mr. Waterhouse was puzzled and amused, and referred the matter +entirely to the young lady. But she was for having the money, and no +trouble. She said the Dust-heap might be worth much, but they did not +understand the business. + +"Very well," said her father, laughing, "then, there's the money." + +This was the identical Dust-heap, as we know from authentic +information, which was subsequently sold for forty thousand pounds, +and was exported to Russia to rebuild Moscow. + + * * * * * + +[FROM HOUSEHOLD WORDS.] + +AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY. + +In one of the dirtiest and most gloomy streets leading to the Rue +St. Denis, in Paris, there stands a tall and ancient house, the lower +portion of which is a large mercer's shop. This establishment is held +to be one of the very best in the neighborhood, and has for many years +belonged to an individual on whom we will bestow the name of Ramin. + +About ten years ago, Monsieur Ramin was a jovial red-faced man of +forty, who joked his customers into purchasing his goods, flattered +the pretty _grisettes_ outrageously, and now and then gave them a +Sunday treat at the barrier, as the cheapest way of securing their +custom. Some people thought him a careless, good-natured fellow, and +wondered how, with his off-hand ways, he contrived to make money so +fast, but those who knew him well saw that he was one of those who +"never lost an opportunity." Others declared that Monsieur Ramin's +own definition of his character was, that he was a "_bon enfant_," +and that "it was all luck." He shrugged his shoulders and laughed when +people hinted at his deep scheming in making, and his skill in taking +advantage of Excellent Opportunities. + +He was sitting in his gloomy parlor one fine morning in spring, +breakfasting from a dark liquid honored with the name of onion soup, +glancing at the newspaper, and keeping a vigilant look on the shop +through the open door, when his old servant Catharine suddenly +observed: + +"I suppose you know Monsieur Bonelle has come to live in the vacant +apartment on the fourth floor?" + +"What!" exclaimed Monsieur Ramin, in a loud key. + +Catharine repeated her statement, to which her master listened in +total silence. + +"Well!" he said at length, in his most careless tones, "what about +the old fellow?" and he once more resumed his triple occupation of +reading, eating, and watching. + +"Why," continued Catharine, "they say he is nearly dying, and that his +housekeeper, Marguerite, vowed he could never get up stairs alive. It +took two men to carry him up; and when he was at length quiet in bed, +Marguerite went down to the porter's lodge, and sobbed there a whole +hour, saying her poor master had the gout, the rheumatics, and a bad +asthma; that though he had been got up stairs, he would never come +down again alive; that if she could only get him to confess his sins +and make his will, she would not mind it so much; but that when +she spoke of the lawyer or the priest, he blasphemed at her like a +heathen, and declared that he would live to bury her and everybody +else." + +Monsieur Ramin heard Catharine with great attention, forgot to finish +his soup, and remained for five minutes in profound rumination, +without so much as perceiving two customers who had entered the shop +and were waiting to be served. When aroused, he was heard to exclaim: + +"What an excellent opportunity!" + +Monsieur Bonelle had been Ramin's predecessor. The succession of the +latter to the shop was a mystery. No one ever knew how it was that +this young and poor assistant managed to replace his patron. Some said +that he had detected Monsieur Bonelle in frauds which he threatened +to expose unless the business were given up to him as the price of his +silence; others averred, that having drawn a prize in the lottery, +he had resolved to set up a fierce opposition over the way, and +that Monsieur Bonelle, having obtained a hint of his intentions, had +thought it most prudent to accept the trifling sum his clerk offered, +and avoid a ruinous competition. Some charitable souls--moved no doubt +by Monsieur Bonelle's misfortune--endeavored to console and pump him; +but all they could get from him was the bitter exclamation, "To think +I should have been duped by _him_!" For Ramin had the art, though +then a mere youth, to pass himself off on his master as an innocent +provincial lad. Those who sought an explanation from the new mercer +were still more unsuccessful. "My good old master," he said in his +jovial way, "felt in need of repose, and so I obligingly relieved him +of all business and botheration." + +Years passed away; Ramin prospered, and neither thought nor heard +of his "good old master." The house, of which he tenanted the lower +portion, was offered for sale. He had long coveted it, and had almost +concluded an agreement with the actual owner, when Monsieur Bonelle +unexpectedly stepped in at the eleventh hour, and by offering a trifle +more secured the bargain. The rage and mortification of Monsieur Ramin +were extreme. He could not understand how Bonelle, whom he had thought +ruined, had scraped up so large a sum; his lease was out, and he +now felt himself at the mercy of the man he had so much injured. But +either Monsieur Bonelle was free from vindictive feelings, or those +feelings did not blind him to the expediency of keeping a good tenant: +for though he raised the rent until Monsieur Ramin groaned inwardly, +he did not refuse to renew the lease. They had met at that period, but +never since. + +"Well, Catharine," observed Monsieur Ramin to his old servant on the +following morning, "How is that good Monsieur Bonelle getting on?" + +"I dare say you feel very uneasy about him," she replied with a sneer. + +Monsieur Ramin looked up and frowned. + +"Catharine," said he, dryly, "you will have the goodness, in the first +place, not to make impertinent remarks: in the second place, you will +oblige me by going up stairs to inquire after the health of Monsieur +Bonelle, and say that I sent you." + +Catharine grumbled, and obeyed. Her master was in the shop, when she +returned in a few minutes, and delivered with evident satisfaction the +following gracious message: + +"Monsieur Bonelle desires his compliments to you, and declines to +state how he is; he will also thank you to attend to your own shop, +and not to trouble yourself about his health." + +"How does he look?" asked Monsieur Ramin, with perfect composure. + +"I caught a glimpse of him, and he appears to me to be rapidly +preparing for the good offices of the undertaker." + +Monsieur Ramin smiled, rubbed his hands, and joked merrily with a +dark-eyed _grisette_, who was cheapening some ribbon for her cap. That +girl made an excellent bargain that day. + +Toward dusk the mercer left the shop to the care of his attendant, and +softly stole up to the fourth story. In answer to his gentle ring, a +little old woman opened the door, and giving him a rapid look, said +briefly: + +"Monsieur is inexorable: he won't see any doctor whatever." + +She was going to shut the door in his face, when Ramin quickly +interposed, under his breath, with "I am not a doctor." + +She looked at him from head to foot. + +"Are you a lawyer?" + +"Nothing of the sort, my good lady." + +"Well then, are you a priest?" + +"I may almost say, quite the reverse." + +"Indeed, you must go away, Master sees no one." + +Once more she would have shut the door, but Ramin prevented her. + +"My good lady," said he in his most insinuating tones, "it is true +I am neither a lawyer, a doctor, nor a priest. I am an old friend, +a very old friend of your excellent master; I have come to see good +Monsieur Bonelle in his present affliction." + +Marguerite did not answer, but allowed him to enter, and closed the +door behind him. He was going to pass from the narrow and gloomy +ante-chamber into an inner room--whence now proceeded a sound of loud +coughing--when the old woman laid her hand on his arm, and raising +herself on tip-toe, to reach his ear, whispered: + +"For Heaven's sake, sir, since you are his friend, do talk to him: +do tell him to make his will, and hint something about a soul to be +saved, and all that sort of thing: do, sir!" + +Monsieur Ramin nodded and winked in a way that said "I will." He +proved however his prudence by not speaking aloud; for a voice from +within sharply exclaimed, + +"Marguerite, you are talking to some one! Marguerite! I will see +neither doctor nor lawyer; and if any meddling priest dare--" + +"It is only an old friend, sir;" interrupted Marguerite, opening the +inner door. + +Her master, on looking up, perceived the red face of Monsieur Ramin +peeping over the old woman's shoulder, and irefully cried out: + +"How dare you bring that fellow here? And you, sir, how dare you +come?" + +"My good old friend, there are feelings," said Ramin, spreading his +fingers over the left pocket of his waistcoat--"there are feelings," +he repeated, "that cannot be subdued. One such feeling brought me +here. The fact is, I am a good-natured easy fellow, and I never +bear malice. I never forget an old friend, but love to forget old +differences when I find one party in affliction." + +He drew a chair forward as he spoke, and composedly seated himself +opposite to his late master. + +Monsieur Bonelle was a thin old man, with a pale sharp face and keen +features. At first he eyed his visitor from the depths of his vast +arm-chair; but, as if not, satisfied with this distant view, he bent +forward, and laying both hands on his thin knees, he looked up into +Ramin's face with a fixed and piercing gaze. He had not, however, the +power of disconcerting his guest. + +"What did you come here for?" he at length asked. + +"Merely to have the extreme satisfaction of seeing how you are, my +good old friend. Nothing more." + +"Well, look at me--and then go." + +Nothing could be so discouraging: but this was an Excellent +Opportunity, and when Monsieur Ramin _had_ an excellent opportunity in +view, his pertinacity was invincible. Being now resolved to stay, it +was not in Monsieur Bonelle's power to banish him. At the same time +he had tact enough to render his presence agreeable. He knew that his +coarse and boisterous wit had often delighted Monsieur Bonelle of old, +and he now exerted himself so successfully as to betray the old man +two or three times into hearty laughter. "Ramin," said he at length, +laying his thin hand on the arm of his guest, and peering with his +keen glance into the mercer's purple face, "you are a funny fellow, +but I know you; you cannot make me believe you have called just to +see how I am, and to amuse me. Come, be candid for once; what do you +want?" + +Ramin threw himself back in his chair, and laughed blandly, as much as +to say, "Can you suspect me?" + +"I have no shop now out of which you can wheedle me," continued the +old man; "and surely you are not such a fool as to come to me for +money." + +"Money!" repeated the draper, as if his host had mentioned something +he never dreamt of. "Oh, no!" + +Ramin saw it would not do to broach the subject he had really come +about, too abruptly, now that suspicion seemed so wide awake--_the_ +opportunity had not arrived. + +"There is something up, Ramin, I know; I see it in the twinkle of your +eye; but you can't deceive me again." + +"Deceive _you_?" said the jolly schemer, shaking his head +reverentially. "Deceive a man of your penetration and depth? +Impossible! The bare supposition is flattery. My dear friend," he +continued, soothingly, "I did not dream of such a thing. The fact is, +Bonelle, though they call me a jovial, careless, rattling dog, I have +a conscience; and, somehow, I have never felt quite easy about the +way in which I became your successor down-stairs. It was rather sharp +practice, I admit." + +Bonelle seemed to relent. + +"Now for it," said the Opportunity-hunter to himself--"By-the-bye," +(speaking aloud,) "this house must be a great trouble to you in your +present weak state? Two of your lodgers have lately gone away without +paying--a great nuisance, especially to an invalid." + +"I tell you I'm as sound as a colt." + +"At all events, the whole concern must be a great bother to you. If I +were you, I would sell the house." + +"And if I were _you_," returned the landlord, dryly, "I would buy +it--" + +"Precisely," interrupted the tenant, eagerly. + +"That is, if you could get it. Pooh! I knew you were after something. +Will you give eighty thousand francs for it?" abruptly asked Monsieur +Bonelle. + +"Eighty thousand francs!" echoed Ramin. "Do you take me for Louis +Philippe or the Bank of France!" + +"Then we'll say no more about it--are you not afraid of leaving your +shop so long?" + +Ramin returned to the charge, heedless of the hint to depart. "The +fact is, my good old friend, ready money is not my strong point just +now. But if you wish very much to be relieved of the concern, what say +you to a life annuity? I could manage that." + +Monsieur Bonelle gave a short, dry, church-yard cough, and looked as +if his life were not worth an hour's purchase. "You think yourself +immensely clever, I dare say," he said. "They have persuaded you that +I am dying. Stuff! I shall bury you yet." + +The mercer glanced at the thin fragile frame, and exclaimed to +himself, "Deluded old gentleman!" "My dear Bonelle," he continued, +aloud, "I know well the strength of your admirable constitution: but +allow me to observe that you neglect yourself too much. Now, suppose +a good sensible doctor--" + +"Will you pay him?" interrogated Bonelle, sharply. + +"Most willingly," replied Ramin, with an eagerness that made the old +man smile. "As to the annuity, since the subject annoys you, we will +talk of it some other time." + +"After you have heard the doctor's report," sneered Bonelle. + +The mercer gave him a stealthy glance, which the old man's keen look +immediately detected. Neither could repress a smile: these good souls +understood one another perfectly, and Ramin saw that this was not the +Excellent Opportunity he desired, and departed. + +The next day Ramin sent a neighboring medical man, and heard it was +his opinion that if Bonelle held on for three months longer, it would +be a miracle. Delightful news! + +Several days elapsed, and although very anxious, Ramin assumed a +careless air, and did not call upon his landlord, or take any notice +of him. At the end of the week old Marguerite entered the shop to make +a trifling purchase. + +"And how are we getting on up-stairs?" negligently asked Monsieur +Ramin. + +"Worse and worse, my good sir," she sighed. "We have rheumatic pains +which often make us use expressions the reverse of Christian-like, and +yet nothing can induce us to see either the lawyer or the priest; the +gout is getting nearer to our stomach every day, and still we go on +talking about the strength of our constitution. Oh, sir, if you have +any influence with us, do, pray do, tell us how wicked it is to die +without making one's will or confessing one's sins." + +"I shall go up this very evening," ambiguously replied Monsieur Ramin. + +He kept his promise, and found Monsieur Bonelle in bed, groaning with +pain, and in the worst of tempers. + +"What poisoning doctor did you send?" he asked, with an ireful glance; +"I want no doctor, I am not ill; I will not follow his prescription; +he forbade me to eat; I _will_ eat." + +"He is a very clever man," said the visitor. "He told me that never +in the whole course of his experience has he met with what he called +so much 'resisting power' as exists in your frame. He asked me if you +were not of a long-lived race." + +"That is as people may judge," replied Monsieur Bonelle. "All I +can say is, that my grandfather died at ninety, and my father at +eighty-six." + +"The doctor owned that you had a wonderfully strong constitution." + +"Who said I hadn't?" exclaimed the invalid feebly. + +"You may rely on it, you would preserve your health better if you had +not the trouble of these vexatious lodgers. Have you thought about the +life annuity?" said Ramin as carelessly as he could, considering how +near the matter was to his hopes and wishes. + +"Why, I have scruples," returned Bonelle, coughing. "I do not wish to +take you in. My longevity would be the ruin of you." + +"To meet that difficulty," quickly replied the mercer, "we can reduce +the interest." + +"But I must have high interest," placidly returned Monsieur Bonelle. + +Ramin, on hearing this, burst into a loud fit of laughter, called +Monsieur Bonelle a sly old fox, gave him a poke in the ribs, which +made the old man cough for five minutes, and then proposed that they +should talk it over some other day. The mercer left Monsieur Bonelle +in the act of protesting that he felt as strong as a man of forty. + +Monsieur Ramin felt in no hurry to conclude the proposed agreement. +"The later one begins to pay, the better," he said, as he descended +the stairs. + +Days passed on, and the negotiation made no way. It struck the +observant tradesman that all was not right. Old Marguerite several +times refused to admit him, declaring her master was asleep: there +was something mysterious and forbidding in her manner that seemed to +Monsieur Ramin very ominous. At length a sudden thought occurred to +him: the housekeeper--wishing to become her master's heir--had heard +his scheme and opposed it. On the very day that he arrived at this +conclusion, he met a lawyer, with whom he had formerly had some +transactions, coming down the staircase. The sight sent a chill +through the mercer's commercial heart, and a presentiment--one of +those presentiments that seldom deceive--told him it was too late. He +had, however, the fortitude to abstain from visiting Monsieur Bonelle +until evening came; when he went up, resolved to see him in spite +of all Marguerite might urge. The door was half-open, and the old +housekeeper stood talking on the landing to a middle-aged man in a +dark cassock. + +"It is all over! The old witch has got the priests at him," thought +Ramin, inwardly groaning at his own folly in allowing himself to be +forestalled. + +"You cannot see Monsieur to-night," sharply said Marguerite, as he +attempted to pass. + +"Alas! is my excellent friend so very ill?" asked Ramin, in a mournful +tone. + +"Sir," eagerly said the clergyman, catching him by the button of his +coat, "if you are indeed the friend of that unhappy man, do seek to +bring him into a more suitable frame of mind. I have seen many dying +men, but never so much obstinacy, never such infatuated belief in the +duration of life." + +"Then you think he really _is_ dying," asked Ramin; and, in spite of +the melancholy accent he endeavored to assume, there was something so +peculiar in his tone, that the priest looked at him very fixedly as he +slowly replied, + +"Yes, air, I think he is." + +"Ah!" was all Monsieur Ramin said; and as the clergyman had now +relaxed his hold of the button, Ramin passed in spite of the +remonstrances of Marguerite, who rushed after the priest. He found +Monsieur Bonelle in bed and in a towering rage. + +"Oh! Ramin, my friend," he groaned, "never take a housekeeper, +and never let her know you have any property. They are harpies, +Ramin,--harpies! such a day as I have had; first, the lawyer, who +comes to write down 'my last testamentary dispositions,' as he calls +them; then the priest, who gently hints that I am a dying man. Oh, +what a day!" + +"And _did_ you make your will, my excellent friend?" softly asked +Monsieur Ramin, with a keen look. + +"Make my will?" indignantly exclaimed the old man; "make my will? what +do you mean, sir? do you mean to say I am dying?" + +"Heaven forbid!" piously ejaculated Ramin. + +"Then why do you ask me if I had been making my will?" angrily resumed +the old man. He then began to be extremely abusive. + +When money was in the way, Monsieur Ramin, though otherwise of a +violent temper, had the meekness of a lamb. He bore the treatment +of his host with the meekest patience, and having first locked the +door so as to make sure that Marguerite would not interrupt them, he +watched Monsieur Bonelle attentively, and satisfied himself that the +Excellent Opportunity he had been ardently longing for had arrived: +"He is going fast," he thought; "and unless I settle the agreement +to-night, and get it drawn up and signed to-morrow, it will be too +late." + +"My dear friend," he at length said aloud, on perceiving that the old +gentleman had fairly exhausted himself and was lying panting on his +back, "you are indeed a lamentable instance of the lengths to which +the greedy lust of lucre will carry our poor human nature. It is +really distressing to see Marguerite, a faithful, attached servant, +suddenly converted into a tormenting harpy by the prospect of a +legacy! Lawyers and priests flock around you like birds of prey, +drawn hither by the scent of gold! Oh, the miseries of having delicate +health combined with a sound constitution and large property!" + +"Ramin," groaned the old man, looking inquiringly into his visitor's +face, "you are again going to talk to me about that annuity--I know +you are!" + +"My excellent friend, it is merely to deliver you from a painful +position." + +"I am sure, Ramin, you think in your soul I am dying," whimpered +Monsieur Bonelle. + +"Absurd, my dear sir. Dying? I will prove to you that you have never +been in better health. In the first place you feel no pain." + +"Excepting from rheumatism," groaned Monsieur Bonelle. + +"Rheumatism! who ever died of rheumatism? and if that be all--" + +"No, it is not all," interrupted the old man with great irritability; +"what would you say to the gout getting higher and higher up every +day?" + +"The gout is rather disagreeable, but if there is nothing else--" + +"Yes, there is something else," sharply said Monsieur Bonelle. "There +is an asthma that will scarcely let me breathe, and a racking pain in +my head that does not allow me a moment's ease. But if you think I am +dying, Ramin, you are quite mistaken." + +"No doubt, my dear friend, no doubt; but in the meanwhile suppose we +talk of this annuity. Shall we say one thousand francs a year." + +"What!" asked Bonelle, looking at him very fixedly. + +"My dear friend, I mistook; I meant two thousand francs per annum," +hurriedly rejoined Ramin. + +Monsieur Bonelle closed his eyes, and appeared to fall into a gentle +slumber. The mercer coughed; the sick man never moved. + +"Monsieur Bonelle." + +No reply. + +"My excellent friend." + +Utter silence. + +"Are you asleep?" + +A long pause. + +"Well, then, what do you say to three thousand?" + +Monsieur Bonelle opened his eyes. + +"Ramin," said he, sententiously, "you are a fool; the house brings me +in four thousand as it is." + +This was quite false, and the mercer knew it; but he had his own +reasons for wishing to seem to believe it true. + +"Good Heavens!" said he, with an air of great innocence, "who could +have thought it, and the lodgers constantly running away. Four +thousand? Well, then, you shall have four thousand." + +Monsieur Bonelle shut his eyes once more, and murmured "The mere +rental--nonsense!" He then folded his hands on his breast, and +appeared to compose himself to sleep. + +"Oh, what a sharp man of business he is!" Ramin said, admiringly: +but for once omnipotent flattery failed in its effect: "So acute!" +continued he, with a stealthy glance at the old man, who remained +perfectly unmoved. + +"I see you will insist upon making it the other five hundred francs." + +Monsieur Ramin said this as if five thousand five hundred francs had +already been mentioned, and was the very summit of Monsieur Bonelle's +ambition. But the ruse failed in its effect; the sick man never so +much as stirred. + +"But, my dear friend," urged Monsieur Ramin in a tone of feeling +remonstrance, "there is such a thing as being too sharp, too acute. +How can you expect that I shall give you more when your constitution +is so good, and you are to be such a long liver?" + +"Yes, but I may be carried off one of these days," quietly observed +the old man, evidently wishing to turn the chance of his own death to +account. + +"Indeed, and I hope so," muttered the mercer, who was getting very +ill-tempered. + +"You see," soothingly continued Bonelle, "you are so good a man of +business, Ramin, that you will double the actual value of the house +in no time. I am a quiet, easy person, indifferent to money; otherwise +this house would now bring me in eight thousand at the very least." + +"Eight thousand!" indignantly exclaimed the mercer. "Monsieur Bonelle, +you have no conscience. Come now, my dear friend, do be reasonable. +Six thousand francs a year (I don't mind saying six) is really a very +handsome income for a man of your quiet habits. Come, be reasonable." +But Monsieur Bonelle turned a deaf ear to reason, and closed his eyes +once more. What between opening and shutting them for the next quarter +of an hour, he at length induced Monsieur Ramin to offer him seven +thousand francs. + +"Very well, Ramin, agreed," he quietly said; "you have made an +unconscionable bargain." To this succeeded a violent fit of coughing. + +As Ramin unlocked the door to leave, he found old Marguerite, who had +been listening all the time, ready to assail him with a torrent of +whispered abuse for duping her "poor dear innocent old master into +such a bargain." The mercer bore it all very patiently: he could make +all allowances for her excited feelings, and only rubbed his hands and +bade her a jovial good evening. + +The agreement was signed on the following day, to the indignation of +old Marguerite, and the mutual satisfaction of the parties concerned. + +Every one admired the luck and shrewdness of Ramin, for the old man +every day was reported worse; and it was clear to all that the first +quarter of the annuity would never be paid. Marguerite, in her wrath, +told the story as a grievance to every one; people listened, shook +their heads, and pronounced Monsieur Ramin to be a deuced clever +fellow. + +A month elapsed. As Ramin was coming down one morning from the attics, +where he had been giving notice to a poor widow who had failed in +paying her rent, he heard a light step on the stairs. Presently a +sprightly gentleman, in buoyant health and spirits, wearing the form +of Monsieur Bonelle, appeared. Ramin stood aghast. + +"Well, Ramin," gaily said the old man, "how are you getting on? Have +you been tormenting the poor widow up stairs? Why, man, we must live +and let live!" + +"Monsieur Bonelle," said the mercer, in a hollow tone; "may I ask +where are your rheumatics?" + +"Gone, my dear friend,--gone." + +"And the gout that was creeping higher and higher every day," +exclaimed Monsieur Ramin, in a voice of anguish. + +"It went lower and lower, till it disappeared altogether," composedly +replied Bonelle. + +"And your asthma--" + +"The asthma remains, but asthmatic people are proverbially long-lived. +It is, I have been told, the only complaint that Methusalah was +troubled with." With this Bonelle opened his door, shut it, and +disappeared. + +Ramin was transfixed on the stairs; petrified with intense +disappointment, and a powerful sense of having been duped. When he +was discovered, he stared vacantly, and raved about an Excellent +Opportunity of taking his revenge. + +The wonderful cure was the talk of the neighborhood, whenever Monsieur +Bonelle appeared in the streets, jauntily flourishing his cane. In the +first frenzy of his despair, Ramin refused to pay; he accused every +one of having been in a plot to deceive him; he turned off Catharine +and expelled his porter: he publicly accused the lawyer and priest of +conspiracy; brought an action against the doctor and lost it. He had +another brought against him for violently assaulting Marguerite, in +which he was cast in heavy damages. Monsieur Bonelle did not trouble +himself with useless remonstrances, but when his annuity was refused, +employed such good legal arguments, as the exasperated mercer could +not possibly resist. + +Ten years have elapsed, and MM. Ramin and Bonelle still live on. For a +house which would have been dear at fifty thousand francs, the draper +has already handed over seventy thousand. + +The once red-faced, jovial Ramin is now a pale haggard man, of sour +temper and aspect. To add to his anguish he sees the old man thrive on +that money which it breaks his heart to give. Old Marguerite takes a +malicious pleasure in giving him an exact account of their good cheer, +and in asking him if he does not think Monsieur looks better and +better every day. Of one part of this torment Ramin might get rid, by +giving his old master notice to quit, and no longer having him in his +house. But this he cannot do; he has a secret fear that Bonelle would +take some Excellent Opportunity of dying without his knowledge, and +giving some other person an Excellent Opportunity of persecuting him, +and receiving the money in his stead. + +The last accounts of the victim of Excellent Opportunities represent +him as being gradually worn down with disappointment. There seems +every probability of his being the first to leave the world; for +Bonelle is heartier than ever. + + * * * * * + +[FROM HOUSEHOLD WORDS.] + +THE OLD CHURCHWARD TREE. + +A PROSE POEM. + +There is an old yew tree which stands by the wall in a dark quiet +corner of the churchyard. + +And a child was at play beneath its wide-spreading branches, one fine +day in the early spring. He had his lap full of flowers, which the +fields and lanes had supplied him with, and he was humming a tune to +himself as he wove them into garlands. + +And a little girl at play among the tombstones crept near to listen; +but the boy was so intent upon his garland, that he did not hear the +gentle footsteps, as they trod softly over the fresh green grass. When +his work was finished, and all the flowers that were in his lap were +woven together in one long wreath, he started up to measure its length +upon the ground, and then he saw the little girl, as she stood with +her eyes fixed upon him. He did not move or speak, but thought to +himself that she looked very beautiful as she stood there with her +flaxen ringlets hanging down upon her neck. The little girl was so +startled by his sudden movement, that she let fall all the flowers she +had collected in her apron, and ran away as fast as she could. But the +boy was older and taller than she, and soon caught her, and coaxed her +to come back and play with him, and help him to make more garlands; +and from that time they saw each other nearly every day, and became +great friends. + +Twenty years passed away. Again, he was seated beneath the old yew +tree in the churchyard. + +It was summer now; bright, beautiful summer, with the birds singing, +and the flowers covering the ground, and scenting the air with their +perfume. + +But he was not alone now, nor did the little girl steal near on +tiptoe, fearful of being heard. She was seated by his side, and his +arm was round her, and she looked up into his face, and smiled as she +whispered: "The first evening of our lives we were ever together was +passed here; we will spend the first evening of our wedded life in the +same quiet, happy place." And he drew her closer to him as she spoke. + +The summer is gone; and the autumn; and twenty more summers and +autumns have passed away since that evening, in the old churchyard. + +A young man, on a bright moonlight night, comes reeling through the +little white gate, and stumbling over the graves. He shouts and he +sings, and is presently followed by others like unto himself, or +worse. So, they all laugh at the dark solemn head of the yew tree, and +throw stones up at the place where the moon had silvered the boughs. + +Those same boughs are again silvered by the moon, and they droop +over his mother's grave. There is a little stone which bears this +inscription:-- + +"HER HEART BRAKE IN SILENCE." + +But the silence of the churchyard is now broken by a voice--not of the +youth--nor a voice of laughter and ribaldry. + +"My son!--dost thou see this grave? and dost thou read the record in +anguish, whereof may come repentance?" + +"Of what should I repent?" answers the son; "and why should my young +ambition for fame relax in its strength because my mother was old and +weak?" + +"Is this indeed our son?" says the father, bending in agony over the +grave of his beloved. + +"I can well believe I am not;" exclaimeth the youth. "It is well +that you have brought me here to say so. Our natures are unlike; our +courses must be opposite. Your way lieth here--mine yonder!" + +So the son left the father kneeling by the grave. + +Again a few years are passed. It is winter, with a roaring wind and a +thick gray fog. The graves in the Church-yard are covered with snow, +and there are great icicles in the Church-yard. The wind now carries +a swathe of snow along the tops of the graves as though the "sheeted +dead" were at some melancholy play; and hark! the icicles fall with +a crash and jingle, like a solemn mockery of the echo of the unseemly +mirth of one who is now coming to his final rest. + +There are two graves near the old yew tree; and the grass has +overgrown them. A third is close by; and the dark earth at each side +has just been thrown up. The bearers come; with a heavy pace they +move along; the coffin heaveth up and down, as they step over the +intervening graves. + +Grief and old age had seized upon the father, and worn out his life; +and premature decay soon seized upon the son, and gnawed away his vain +ambition, and his useless strength, till he prayed to be borne, not +the way yonder that was most opposite to his father and his mother, +but even the same way they had gone--the way which leads to the Old +Churchyard Tree. + + * * * * * + +In dreamy hours the dormant imagination looks out and sees vague +significances in things which it feels can at an after time be vividly +conceived and expressed; the most familiar objects have a strange +double meaning in their aspects; the very chair seems to be +patiently awaiting there the expounder of its silent, symbolical +language.--_Boston Morning Post_. + + * * * * * + +[FROM BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY.] + +GREECE AND TURKEY.[2] + +Whatever Mr. AUBREY DE VERE sees, he picturesquely describes; and +so far as words can do so, he makes pictures of all the subjects he +writes upon; and had he painted as he has written, or used his pencil +equally well with his pen, two more delightful volumes, to any lover +of Greece, it would be difficult to name. With an evidently refined +taste, and a perfect acquaintance with the ancient history of the +country he traveled through, and the ever famous characters that +made its history what it is, his descriptions combine most pleasingly +together, the past with the present. He peoples the scenery with the +men whose deeds give to that scenery all its interest; and whether on +the plain of Marathon, or the site of Delphi or the Acropolis, he has +a store of things to say of their past glories, and links together, +with great artistic skill, that which is gone with that which remains. + +[Footnote 2: Picturesque Sketches of Greece and Turkey. By Aubrey De +Vere, 2 vols. [Philadelphia: A. Hart.]] + +By the scholar and the man of taste the volumes will be read with no +little delight, as they abound much more with reflections and sensible +observations, than with the commonplace incidents of travel. Indeed, +the author has left but small space for his accidents at sea and his +hardships on shore, since all the chapters but four are devoted to +Athens, Delphi, and Constantinople. The classical reader will prefer +the chapters on the two first-named places; the general reader will +find perhaps more interesting his sketches of the city of the Sultan, +and an anecdote which he gives of the present Sultan, and which +declares him to possess more of decision, and firmness of character, +and good sense, than the world gives him credit for. His description +of the Bosphorus will create in many a desire to see what he has seen, +and to look upon some, at least, of the fifty-seven palaces which the +sultans have raised upon its banks; and upon the hundreds of others, +which, while the Commander of the Faithful permits it, are the +property of his subjects. + +It argued far more of a wild spirit of adventure than of a sober +understanding in Aubrey de Vere, to go with that clever Frenchman to +the Turk's house, and to play off all those tricks in the presence of +its master and his ten unvailed wives. Rarely indeed, if ever before, +has an Englishman passed an hour so comfortably with the whole of +a rich man's harem, and seen them as de Vere saw them in all their +artlessness and beauty. We live, indeed, in strange times, when the +once scorned and loathed Giaours contrive to possess themselves +of such extraordinary privileges, and to escape unharmed from such +hitherto unheard-of enjoyments. + +Where one thought was given to Constantinople a hundred years since +from the west of the Dalmatian coast, ten thousand eyes are now +constantly directed to it, and with continually increasing anxiety. +The importance of that city is now understood by all the European +powers, and its future fate has become a subject of deep interest to +all the western states, in consequence of the determined set made upon +it by its powerful northern neighbor. With the Cossacks at Istamboul +instead of Turks, we should be very ill satisfied, and the whole charm +of this city on its seven hills would have departed: already is it on +the wane. Sultan Mahmoud's hostility to beards and to flowing robes, +to the turban and the jherid, has deprived his capital city of much +of its picturesqueness and peculiarity; but still enough remains of +eastern manners and costumes to make it one of the most interesting +cities in the world to visit and roam over. Such as, like ourselves, +may not hope to sport a caique on the Bosphorus, will do well to +acquaint themselves with the information Aubrey de Vere can give them, +and to suffer their imagination to transport them to scenes among +the fairest and the loveliest on the earth's surface, and which are +presented to them in these volumes as graphically as words can paint +them. + +By the possessor of Wordsworth's Greece, where every spot almost, of +the slightest historical interest, is given in a picture on its +pages, these "Picturesque Sketches" will be read with the highest +gratification that scenes and descriptions together can supply. +There is so much of mind in them; so much of sound philosophy in +the observations; such beautiful thoughts; so well, so elegantly +expressed; so many allusions to the past, that are continually placing +before us Pericles, Themistocles, or Demosthenes, that we are improved +while amused, and feel at every page that we are reading a work far +above the general works on such subjects; a work of lasting interest, +that may be read and re-read, and still with delight and advantage. + + * * * * * + +DEATH AND SLEEP. + +FROM THE GERMAN OF KRUMMACHER. + +In brotherly embrace walked the Angel of Sleep and the Angel of Death +upon the earth. + +It was evening. They laid themselves down upon a hill not far from the +dwelling of men. A melancholy silence prevailed around, and the chimes +of the evening-bell in the distant hamlet ceased. + +Still and silent, as was their custom, sat these two beneficent Genii +of the human race, their arms entwined with cordial familiarity, and +soon the shades of night gathered around them. + +Then arose the Angel of Sleep from his moss-grown couch, and strewed +with a gentle hand the invisible grains of slumber. The evening breeze +wafted them to the quiet dwelling of the tired husbandman, infolding +in sweet sleep the inmates of the rural cottage--from the old man upon +the staff, down to the infant in the cradle. The sick forgot their +pain: the mourners their grief; the poor their care. All eyes closed. + +His task accomplished, the benevolent Angel of Sleep laid himself +again by the side of his grave brother. "When Aurora awakes," +exclaimed he, with innocent joy, "men praise me as their friend and +benefactor. Oh! what happiness, unseen and secretly to confer such +benefits! How blessed are we to be the invisible messengers of the +Good Spirit! How beautiful is our silent calling!" + +So spake the friendly Angel of Slumber. + +The Angel of Death sat with still deeper melancholy on his brow, and +a tear, such as mortals shed, appeared in his large dark eyes. "Alas!" +said he, "I may not, like thee, rejoice in the cheerful thanks of +mankind; they call me upon the earth their enemy, and joy-killer." + +"Oh! my brother," replied the gentle Angel of Slumber, "and will +not the good man, at his awakening, recognize in thee his friend and +benefactor, and gratefully bless thee in his joy? Are we not brothers, +and ministers of one Father?" + +As he spake, the eyes of the Death-Angel beamed with pleasure, and +again did the two friendly Genii cordially embrace each other. + + * * * * * + +THE MODERN SCHOOLS OF ATHENS.--I visited, with equal surprise and +satisfaction, an Athenian school, which contained seven hundred +pupils, taken from every class of society. The poorer classes were +gratuitously instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and the +girls in needlework likewise. The progress which the children had made +was very remarkable; but what particularly pleased me was that air of +bright alertness and good-humored energy which belonged to them, and +which made every task appear a pleasure, not a toil. The greatest +punishment which can be inflicted on an Athenian child is exclusion +from school, though but for a day. About seventy of the children +belonged to the higher classes, and were instructed in music, drawing, +the modern languages, the ancient Greek, and geography. Most of them +were at the moment reading Herodotus and Homer. I have never seen +children approaching them in beauty; and was much struck by their +Oriental cast of countenance, their dark complexions, their flashing +eyes, and that expression, at once apprehensive and meditative, which +is so much more remarkable in children than in those of a more mature +age.--_De Vere_. + + * * * * * + +At Berlin, the Academy of Sciences has been holding a sitting, +according to its statutes, in honor of the memory of Leibnitz. In the +course of the oration delivered on the occasion, it was stated that +the 4th of August being the fiftieth anniversary of the admission +of Alexander Von Humboldt as a member of the Academy, it had been +resolved, in celebration of the event, to place a marble bust of the +"Nestor of Science" in the lecture room of the society. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The International Weekly Miscellany, +Volume I. No. 8, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13796 *** diff --git a/13796-h/13796-h.htm b/13796-h/13796-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dcb0138 --- /dev/null +++ b/13796-h/13796-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,4086 @@ +<!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>International Weekly Miscellany, August 19, + 1850.</title> + <style type="text/css"> + /*<![CDATA[*/ + + <!-- + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + p {text-align: justify;} + blockquote {text-align: justify;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center;} + pre {font-size: 0.7em;} + + hr {text-align: center; width: 50%;} + html>body hr {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;} + hr.full {width: 100%;} + html>body hr.full {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;} + hr.short {text-align: center; width: 20%;} + html>body hr.short {margin-right: 40%; margin-left: 40%; width: 20%;} + + .note + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + + p.author {text-align: right;} + + span.pagenum + {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 91%; font-size: 8pt;} + + .poem + {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 1em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i6 {margin-left: 3em;} + .poem p.i8 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem p.i10 {margin-left: 5em;} + + .figure, .figcenter, .figright, .figleft + {padding: 1em; margin: 0; text-align: center; font-size: 0.8em;} + .figure img, .figcenter img, .figright img, .figleft img + {border: none;} + .figure p, .figcenter p, .figright p, .figleft p + {margin: 0; text-indent: 1em;} + .figcenter {margin: auto;} + .figright {float: right;} + .figleft {float: left;} + + .footnote {font-size: 0.9em; margin-right: 10%; margin-left: 10%;} + + .side { float:right; + font-size: 75%; + width: 25%; + padding-left:10px; + border-left: dashed thin; + margin-left: 10px; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; + font-weight: bold; + font-style: italic;} + --> + /*]]>*/ + </style> +</head> + +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13796 ***</div> + + <h1>INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY MISCELLANY<br /> + Of Literature, Art, and Science.</h1> + <hr class="full" /> + + <table width="100%" + summary="Volume, Number, and Date"> + <tr> + <td align="left"><b>Vol. I.</b></td> + + <td align="center"><b>NEW YORK, AUGUST 19, + 1850.</b></td> + + <td align="right"><b>No. 8.</b></td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr class="full" /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page225" + id="page225"></a>[pg 225]</span> + + <h2>THE THEATER IN RUSSIA AND POLAND.</h2> + + <p>The following interesting sketch of the Drama in the empire + of the Czar is translated for the <i>International</i> from the + Leipzig <i>Grenzboten</i>. The facts it states are not only new + to most readers, but throw incidentally a good deal of light on + the condition of that vast empire, and the state of its + population in respect of literature and art in general:</p> + <hr class="short" /> + + <p>The dramatic taste of a people, the strength of its + productive faculty, the gradual development of its most popular + sphere of art, the theater, contain the key to phases of its + character which cannot always be recognized with the same + exactness from other parts of its history. The tendencies and + disposition of the mass come out very plainly in their + relations to dramatic art, and from the audience of an evening + at a theater some inference may be drawn as to the whole + political scope of the nation. In truth, however, this requires + penetration as well as cautious judgment.</p> + + <p>In the middle of the last century there were in the kingdom + of Poland, beside the royal art institutions at Warsaw, four + strong dramatic companies, of genuine Polish stamp, which gave + performances in the most fashionable cities. Two of them were + so excellent that they often had the honor to play before the + court. The peculiarity of these companies was that they never + performed foreign works, but literally only their own. The + managers were either themselves poets, or had poets associated + with them in business. Each was guided by his poet, as + Wallenstein by his astrologer. The establishment depended on + its dramatic ability, while its performances were limited + almost exclusively to the productions of its poet. The better + companies, however, were in the habit of making contracts with + each other, by which they exchanged the plays of their + dramatists. This limitation to native productions perhaps grew + partly out of the want of familiarity with foreign literature, + partly from national feeling, and partly from the fact that the + Polish taste was as yet little affected by that of the Germans, + French, or English. In these circumstances there sprung up a + poetic creative faculty, which gave promise of a good and + really national drama. And even now, after wars, revolutions, + and the schemes of foreign rulers have alternately destroyed + and degraded the stage, and after the Poles have become + poetically as well as politically mere satellites of French + ideas and culture, there still exist, as respectable remains of + the good old time, a few companies of players, which, like + their ancient predecessors, have their own poets, and perform + only his pieces, or at least others of Polish origin that he + has arranged and adapted. Such a company, whose principal + personage is called Richlawski, is now in Little Poland, in the + cities Radom, Kielce, Opatow, Sandomir, &c. A second, which + generally remains in the Government of Kalisch, is under the + direction of a certain Felinski, and through his excellent + dramatic compositions has gained a reputation equal to that of + the band of Strauss in music. Yet these companies are only + relics. The Polish drama in general has now a character and + destiny which was not to be expected a hundred years since.</p> + + <p>The origin of the Russian theater is altogether more recent. + It is true that Peter the Great meddled a good deal with the + theater as well as with other things, but it was not till the + Empress Catharine that dramatic literature was really + emancipated by the court. Under Alexander and Nicholas the most + magnificent arrangements have been made in every one of the + cities that from time to time is honored by the residence of + the Emperor, so that Russia boasts of possessing five theaters, + two of which excel everything in Europe in respect to size and + splendor, but yet possesses no sort of taste for dramatic art. + The stage, in the empire of the Muscovites, is like a rose-bush + grafted on a wild forest tree. It has not grown up naturally + from a poetic want in the people, and finds in the country + little or nothing in the way of a poetic basis. Accordingly, + the theater in Russia is in every respect a foreign + institution. Not national in its origin, it has not struck its + roots into the heart of the people. Only here and there a + feeble germ of theatrical literature has made its way through + the obstinate barbarism of the Russian nature. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page226" + id="page226"></a>[pg 226]</span> The mass have no feeling + for dramatic poetry, while the cultivated classes exhibit a + most striking want of taste.</p> + + <p>But in Russia everything is inverted. What in other nations + is the final result of a long life, is there the beginning. A + natural development of the people appears to its rulers too + circuitous, and in fact would in many things require centuries + of preparation. Accordingly, they seek to raise their subjects + to the level of other races by forcing them outwardly to + imitate their usages. Peter the Great says in his testament: + "Let there be no intermission in teaching the Russian people + European forms and customs." The theater in Russia is one of + these forms, and from this it is easy to understand the + condition it is in.</p> + + <p>It is true there are in the country a few independent + companies of players, but they are not Russian, or at least + were formed as a speculation by some foreigner. For example, + Odessa has often two such, and sometimes three. The Italian + company is said to be good. The Russian, which has now become + permanent, has hitherto been under the management of a German, + and has been very poor. The company in Kiew consists mostly of + Poles, from the old Polish provinces incorporated with Russia, + and has a high reputation. In Poland it would be possible in + every little nest of a city to get together a tolerable company + for dramatic performance. In Russia it would be much easier to + raise an army. The ultimate reason of this striking contrast is + the immense dissimilarity in the character of the two nations. + The Pole is remarkably sanguine, fiery, enthusiastic, full of + ideality and inspiration; the Russian is through and through + material, a lover of coarse physical pleasures, full of ability + to fight and cut capers, but not endowed with a capacity + quickly to receive impressions and mentally elaborate them.</p> + + <p>In this respect, the mass and the aristocracy, the serfs and + their masters, are as alike as twins. The noble is quite as + coarse as the peasant. In Poland this is quite otherwise. The + peasant may be called a rough creature, but the noble is almost + always a man of refinement, lacking indeed almost always in + scientific information, but never in the culture of a man of + the world. The reason of this is, that his active, impetuous + soul finds constant occasion for maintaining familiarity with + the world around him, and really needs to keep up a good + understanding with it. The Russians know no such want.</p> + + <p>Even in St. Petersburg the German was long much more + successful than the native theater, though the number of + Russians there is seventeen times larger than that of the + Germans. The Russians who there visit the theater are the + richest and most prominent members of the aristocracy. They + however consider the drama as simply a thing of fashion. Hence + results the curious fact that it is thought a matter of good + taste to be present at the beginning but not to wait for the + end of a piece. It has happened that long before the + performance was over the house was perfectly empty, everyone + following the fashion, in order not to seem deficient in public + manners. If there is ever a great attraction at the theater, it + is not the play, but some splendid show. The Russian lady, in + studying the <i>coiffure</i> or the trailing-robe of an + actress, forgets entirely her part in this piece, if indeed she + has ever had an adequate conception of it. For this reason, at + St. Petersburg and Moscow the ballet is esteemed infinitely + higher than the best drama; and if the management should have + the command of the Emperor to engage rope-dancers and athletes, + circus-riders and men-apes, the majority of Russians would be + of opinion that the theater had gained the last point of + perfection. This was the case in Warsaw several years ago, when + the circus company of Tourniare was there. The theaters gave + their best and most popular pieces, in order to guard against + too great a diminution of their receipts. The Poles + patriotically gave the preference for the drama, but the + Russians were steady adorers of Madame Tourniare and her horse. + In truth, the lady enjoyed the favor of Prince Paskiewich. + General O—— boasted that during the eleven months + that the circus staid he was not absent from a single + performance. The Polish Count Ledochowski, on the other hand, + said that he had been there but once when he went with his + children, and saw nothing of the performance, because he read + Schiller's William Tell every moment. This was Polish + opposition to Russian favoritism, but it also affords an + indication of the national peculiarities of the two races.</p> + + <p>From deficiency in taste for dramatic art arises the + circumstance that talent for acting is incomparably scarce + among the Russians. Great as have been the efforts of the last + emperors of Russia to add a new splendor to their capitals by + means of the theater, they have not succeeded in forming from + their vast nation artists above mediocrity, except in low + comedy. At last it was determined to establish dramatic schools + in connection with the theaters and educate players; but it + appears that though talent can be developed, it cannot be + created at the word of command. The Emperor Nicholas, or rather + his wife, was, as is said, formerly so vexed at the incapacity + of the Russians for dramatic art, that it was thought best to + procure children in Germany for the schools. The Imperial will + met with hindrance, and he contented himself with taking + children of the German race from his own dominions. The pride + of the Russians did not suffer in consequence.</p> + + <p>While poetry naturally precedes dramatic art, the drama, on + the other hand, cannot attain any degree of excellence where + the theater is in such a miserable state. It is now scarcely + half a century since the effort was begun to remove the total + want of scientific <span class="pagenum"><a name="page227" + id="page227"></a>[pg 227]</span> culture in the Russian + nation, but what are fifty years for such a purpose, in so + enormous a country? The number of those who have received + the scientific stimulus and been carried to a degree of + intellectual refinement is very small, and the happy + accident by which a man of genius appears among the small + number must be very rare. And in this connection it is + noteworthy, that the Russian who feels himself called to + artistic production almost always shows a tendency to epic + composition.</p> + + <p>The difficulties of form appear terrible to the Russian. In + romance-writing the form embarrasses him less, and accordingly + they almost all throw themselves into the making of novels.</p> + + <p>As is generally the case in the beginning of every nation's + literature, any writer in Russia is taken for a miracle, and + regarded with stupor. The dramatist Kukolnik is an example of + this. He has written a great deal for the theater, but nothing + in him is to be praised so much as his zeal in imitation. It + must be admitted that in this he possesses a remarkable degree + of dexterity. He soon turned to the favorite sphere of romance + writing, but in this also he manifests the national weakness. + In every one of his countless works the most striking feature + is the lack of organization. They were begun and completed + without their author's ever thinking out a plot, or its mode of + treatment.</p> + + <p>Kukolnik's "Alf and Adona," in which at least one hundred + and fifty characters are brought upon the stage, has not one + whose appearance is designed to concentrate the interest of the + audience. Each comes in to show himself, and goes out not to be + in the way any longer. Everything is described and explained + with equal minuteness, from the pile of cabbages by the + wayside, to the murder of a prince; and instead of a historical + action there is nothing but unconnected details. The same is + the case with his "Eveline and Baillerole," in which Cardinal + Richelieu is represented as a destroyer of the aristocracy, and + which also is made up of countless unconnected scenes, that in + part are certainly done with some neatness. These remarks apply + to the works of Iwan Wanenko and I. Boriczewski, to I. + Zchewen's "Sunshine", five volumes strong; to the compositions + of Wolkow, Czerujawski, Ulitinins, Th. Van Dim, (a pseudonym,) + in fact to everything that has yet appeared.</p> + + <p>On the part of the Imperial family, as we have already said, + everything has been done for the Russian stage that could + possibly be done, and is done no where else. The extremest + liberality favors the artists, schools are provided in order to + raise them from the domain of gross buffoonery to that of true + art, the most magnificent premiums are given to the best, + actors are made equal in rank to officers of state, they are + held only to twenty-five years' service, reckoning from their + debut,—and finally, they receive for the rest of their + lives a pension equal to their full salaries. High rewards are + given to Russian star-actors, in order if possible to draw + talent of every sort forth from the dry steppes of native art. + The Russian actors are compelled on pain of punishment to go + regularly to the German theater, with a view to their + improvement, and in order to make this as effective as may be, + enormous compensations attract the best German stars to St. + Petersburg. And yet all this is useless, and the Russian + theater is not raised above the dignity of a workshop. Only the + comic side of the national character, a burlesque and droll + simplicity, is admirably represented by actors whose skill and + the scope of whose talents may he reckoned equal to the Germans + in the same line. But in the higher walks of the drama they are + worthless. The people have neither cultivation nor sentiment + for serious works, while the poets to produce them, and the + actors to represent them, are alike wanting.</p> + + <p>Immediately after the submission of Poland in 1831, the + theaters, permanent and itinerant, were closed. The plan was + conceived of not allowing them to be reöpened until they could + be occupied by Russian performers. But as the Government + recovered from its first rage, this was found to be + impracticable. The officers of the garrisons in Poland, however + numerous, could never support Russian theaters, and besides, + where were the performers to come from? In Warsaw, however, it + was determined to force a theater into existence, and a Russian + newspaper was already established there. The power of the + Muscovites has done great things, built vast fortresses and + destroyed vaster, but it could not accomplish a Russian theater + at Warsaw. Even the paper died before it had attained a regular + life, although it cost a great deal of money.</p> + + <p>Finally came the permission to reöpen the Polish theater, + and indeed the caprice which was before violent against it, was + now exceedingly favorable, but of course not without collateral + purposes. The scanty theater on the Krasinski place, which was + alone in Warsaw, except the remote circus and the little + theater of King Stanislaus Augustus, was given up, and the sum + of four millions of florins ($1,600,000) devoted to the + erection of two large and magnificent theaters. The + superintendence of the work of building and the management of + the performances was, according to the Russian system, + intrusted to one General Rautenstrauch, a man seventy years + old, and worn out both in mind and body. The two theaters were + erected under one roof, and arranged on the grandest and most + splendid scale. The edifice is opposite the City Hall, occupies + a whole side of the main public place, and is above 750 feet in + length. The pit in each is supported by a series of immense, + stupid, square pilasters, such as architecture has seldom + witnessed out of Russia. Over these pilasters stands the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page228" + id="page228"></a>[pg 228]</span> first row of boxes + supported by beautifully wrought Corinthian columns, and + above these rise three additional rows. The edifice is about + 160 feet high and is the most colossal building in Warsaw. + As it was designed to treat the actors in military fashion + and according to Russian style, the building was laid out + like barracks and about seven hundred persons live in it, + most of them employed about the theater. The two stages were + built by a German architect under the inspection of the + General whose peremptory suggestions were frequent and + injurious. Both the great theater as it is called, which has + four rows of boxes, and can contain six thousand auditors, + and the Varieté theater which is very much smaller, are + fitted out with all sorts of apparatus that ever belonged to + a stage. In fact, new machinery has in many cases been + invented for them and proved totally useless. The Russian + often hits upon queer notions when he tries to show his + gifts.</p> + + <p>On one side a very large and strong bridge has been erected + leading from the street to the stage, to be used whenever the + piece requires large bodies of cavalry to make their + appearance, and there are machines that can convey persons with + the swiftness of lightning down from the sky above the stage, a + distance of 56 feet. A machine for which a ballet has been + composed surpasses everything I ever saw in its size; it serves + to transport eighty persons together on a seeming cloud from + the roof to the foot-lights. I was astonished by it when I + first beheld it although I had seen the machines of the grand + opera at Paris: the second time I reflected that it alone cost + 40,000 florins [$16,000].</p> + + <p>Under the management of two Russian Generals, who have + hitherto been at the head of the establishment, a vast deal has + in this way been accomplished for mere external show.</p> + + <p>The great Russian theatre of St. Petersburg has served for a + model, and accordingly nothing has really been improved except + that part of the performance which is farthest removed from + genuine art, namely the ballet. That fact is that out of Paris + the ballet is nowhere so splendid as in the great theater at + Warsaw, not even at St. Petersburg, for the reason that the + Russian is inferior to the Pole in physical beauty and grace. + Heretofore the corps of the St. Petersburg ballet has twice + been composed of Poles, but this arrangement has been abandoned + as derogatory to the national honor. The sensual attractions of + the ballet render it the most important thing in the theater. A + great school for dancers has been established, where pupils may + be found from three to eighteen years old. It is painful to see + the little creatures, hardly weaned from their mothers' + breasts—twisted and tortured for the purposes of so + doubtful an occupation as dancing. The school contains about + two hundred pupils, all of whom occasionally appear together on + the boards, in the ballet of Charis and Flora, for instance, + when they receive a trifling compensation. For the rest the + whole ballet corps are bound to daily practice.</p> + + <p>The taste of the Russians has made prominent in the ballet + exactly those peculiarities which are least to its credit. It + must be pronounced exaggerated and lascivious. Aside from these + faults, which may be overlooked as the custom of the country, + we must admit that the dancing is uncommonly good.</p> + + <p>The greater the care of the management for the ballet, the + more injurious is its treatment of the drama. This is + melancholy for the artists and especially those who have come + to the imperial theater from the provinces, who are truly + respectable and are equally good in comedy and tragedy. The + former has been less shackled than the latter for the reason + that it turns upon domestic life. But tragedy is most + frightfully treated by the political censorship, so that a + Polish poet can hardly expect to see his pieces performed on + the stage of his native country. Hundreds of words and phrases + such as freedom, avenging sword, slave, oppression, + father-land, cannot be permitted and are stricken out. + Accordingly nothing but the trumpery of mere penny-a-liners is + brought forward, though this sometimes assumes an appearance of + originality. These abortions remain on the stage only through + the talent of the artists, the habit of the public to expect + nothing beyond dullness and stupidity in the drama, and + finally, the severe regulation which forbids any mark of + disapprobation under pain of imprisonment. The best plays are + translated from the French, but they are never the best of + their kind. To please the Russians only those founded on civic + life are chosen, and historical subjects are excluded. Princely + personages are not allowed to be introduced on the stage, nor + even high officers of state, such as ministers and generals. In + former times the Emperor of China was once allowed to pass, but + more recently the Bey of Tunis was struck out and converted + into an African nobleman. A tragedy is inadmissible in any + case, and should one be found with nothing objectionable but + its name, it is called drama.</p> + + <p>In such circumstances we would suppose that the actors would + lose all interest in their profession. But this is not the + case. At least the cultivated portion of the public at Warsaw + never go to the theater to see a poetic work of art, but only + to see and enjoy the skill of the performers. Of course there + is no such thing as theatrical criticism at Warsaw; but + everybody rejoices when the actors succeed in causing the + wretchedness of the piece to be forgotten. The universal regret + for the wretched little theater on the Krasinski place, where + Suczkowska, afterward Mad. Halpert, founded her reputation in + the character of the Maid of Orleans, is the best criticism on + the present state of the drama.</p> + + <p>The Russians take great delight in the most trivial pieces. + Even Prince Paskiewich <span class="pagenum"><a name="page229" + id="page229"></a>[pg 229]</span> sometimes stays till the + close of the last act. To judge by the direction of his + opera-glass, which is never out of his hand, he has the + fortune to discover poetry elsewhere than on the stage. In + truth the Warsaw boxes are adorned by beautiful faces. Even + the young princess Jablonowska is not the most lovely.</p> + + <p>The arrangements of the Warsaw theaters are exactly like + those of the Russian theater at St. Petersburg, but almost + without exception, the pupils of the dramatic school, of whom + seventeen have come upon the boards, have proved mere + journeymen, and have been crowded aside by performers from the + provincial cities. None of the eminent artists of late years + have enjoyed the advantages of the school. The position of the + actors at Warsaw is just the same as at St. Petersburg. The day + after their first appearance they are regularly taken into duty + as imperial officials, take an oath never to meddle with + political affairs, nor join in any secret society, nor ever to + pronounce on the stage anything more or anything else than what + is in the stamped parts given them by the imperial + management.</p> + + <p>Actors' salaries at Warsaw are small in comparison with + those of other countries. Forty or fifty silver rubles a month + ($26 to $33) pass for a very respectable compensation, and even + the very best performers rarely get beyond a thousand rubles a + year ($650). Madame Halpert long had to put up with that salary + till once Taglioni said to Prince Paskiewich that it was a + shame for so magnificent an artist to be no better paid than a + writer. Her salary was thereupon raised one-half, and + subsequently by means of a similar mediation she succeeded in + getting an addition of a thousand rubles yearly under the head + of wardrobe expenses. This was a thing so extraordinary that + the managing General declared that so enormous a compensation + would never again be heard of in any imperial theatre. The + pupils of the dramatic school receive eighteen rubles monthly, + and, according to their performances, obtain permission every + two years to ask an increase of salary. The period of service + extends to twenty-five years, with the certainty of a yearly + pension equal to the salary received at the close of the + period.</p> + + <p>For the artist this is a very important arrangement, which + enables him to endure a thousand inconveniences.</p> + + <p>There is no prospect of a better state of the Polish drama. + Count Fedro may, in his comedies, employ the finest satire with + a view to its restoration, but he will accomplish nothing so + long as the Generals ride the theater as they would a war + horse. On the other hand, no Russian drama has been + established, because the conditions are wanting among the + people. That is a vast empire, but poor in beauty; mighty in + many things, but weak in artistic talents; powerful and prompt + in destruction, but incapable spontaneously and of itself to + create anything.</p> + <hr /> + + <h2>"DEATH'S JEST BOOK, OR THE FOOL'S TRAGEDY."</h2> + + <p>The <i>Examiner</i>, for July 20, contains an elaborate + review, with numerous extracts, of a play just published under + this title in London. "It is radiant," says the critic, "in + almost every page with passion, fancy, or thought, set in the + most apposite and exquisite language. We have but to discard, + in reading it, the hope of any steady interest of story, or + consistent development of character: and we shall find a most + surprising succession of beautiful passages, unrivaled in + sentiment and pathos, as well as in terseness, dignity, and + picturesque vigor of language; in subtlety and power of + passion, as well as in delicacy and strength of imagination; + and as perfect and various, in modulation of verse, as the airy + flights of Fletcher or Marlowe's mighty line.</p> + + <p>"The whole range of the Elizabethan drama has not finer + expression, nor does any single work of the period, out of + Shakspeare, exhibit so many rich and precious bars of golden + verse, side by side with such poverty and misery of character + and plot. Nothing can be meaner than the design, nothing + grander than the execution."</p> + + <p>In conclusion, the <i>Examiner</i> observes—"We are + not acquainted with any living author who could have written + the Fool's Tragedy; and, though the publication is + unaccompanied by any hint of authorship, we believe that we are + correct in stating it to be a posthumous production of the + author of the Bride's Tragedy; Mr. Thomas Lovell Beddoes. + Speaking of the latter production, now more than a quarter + of a century ago, (Mr. Beddoes was then, we believe, a student + at Pembroke College, Oxford, and a minor,) the <i>Edinburgh + Review</i> ventured upon a prediction of future fame and + achievement for the writer, which an ill-chosen and + ill-directed subsequent career unhappily intercepted and + baffled. But in proof of the noble natural gifts which + suggested such anticipation, the production before us remains: + and we may judge to what extent a more steady course and + regular cultivation would have fertilized a soil, which, + neglected and uncared for, has thrown out such a glorious + growth of foliage and fruit as this Fool's Tragedy."</p> + + <p>The following exquisite lyric is among the passages with + which these judgments are sustained:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>"If thou wilt ease thine heart</p> + + <p>Of love and all its smart,</p> + + <p class="i4">Then sleep, dear, sleep;</p> + + <p>And not a sorrow</p> + + <p class="i2">Hang any tear on your eyelashes;</p> + + <p class="i4">Lie still and deep</p> + + <p class="i2">Sad soul, until like sea-wave washes</p> + + <p>The rim o' the sun to-morrow,</p> + + <p class="i4">In eastern sky.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>But wilt thou cure thine heart</p> + + <p>Of love and all its smart,</p> + + <p class="i4">Then die, dear, die;</p> + + <p>'Tis deeper, sweeter,</p> + + <p class="i2">Than on a rose bank to lie dreaming</p> + + <p class="i4">With folded eye;</p> + + <p class="i2">And then alone, amid the beaming</p> + + <p>Of love's stars, thou'lt meet her</p> + + <p class="i4">In eastern sky."</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page230" + id="page230"></a>[pg 230]</span> + + <h3>WINTHROP MACKWORTH PRAED.</h3> + + <p>Praed, it has always seemed to us, was the cleverest writer + in his way that has ever contributed to the English + periodicals. His fugitive lyrics and arabesque romances, half + sardonic and half sentimental, published with Hookham Frere's + "Whistlecraft" and Macaulay's Roundhead Ballads, in <i>Knight's + Quarterly Magazine</i>, and after the suspension of that work, + for the most part in the annual souvenirs, are altogether + unequaled in the class of compositions described as <i>vers de + societie</i>.—Who that has read "School and School + Fellows", "Palinodia", "The Vicar", "Josephine", and a score of + other pieces in the same vein, does not desire to possess all + the author has left us, in a suitable edition? It has been + frequently stated in the English journals that such a + collection was to be published, under the direction of Praed's + widow, but we have yet only the volume prepared by a lover of + the poet some years ago for the Langleys, in this city. In the + "Memoirs of Eminent Etonians," just printed by Mr. Edward + Creasy, we have several waifs of Praed's that we believe will + be new to all our readers. Here is a characteristic political + rhyme:</p> + + <h3>VERSES</h3> + + <h4>ON SEEING THE SPEAKER ASLEEP IN HIS CHAIR IN ONE OF THE + DEBATES OF THE FIRST REFORMED PARLIAMENT.</h4> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, 'tis surely fair</p> + + <p>If you mayn't in your bed, that you should in your + chair.</p> + + <p>Louder and longer now they grow,</p> + + <p>Tory and Radical, Aye and Noe;</p> + + <p>Talking by night and talking by day.</p> + + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker; slumber lies</p> + + <p>Light and brief on a Speaker's eyes,</p> + + <p>Fielden or Finn in a minute or two</p> + + <p>Some disorderly thing will do;</p> + + <p>Riot will chase repose away</p> + + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker. Sweet to men</p> + + <p>Is the sleep that cometh but now and then,</p> + + <p>Sweet to the weary, sweet to the ill,</p> + + <p>Sweet to the children that work in the mill.</p> + + <p>You have more need of repose than they—</p> + + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, Harvey will soon</p> + + <p>Move to abolish the sun and the moon;</p> + + <p>Hume will no doubt be taking the sense</p> + + <p>Of the House on a question of sixteen pence.</p> + + <p>Statesmen will howl, and patriots bray—</p> + + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, and dream of the time,</p> + + <p>When loyalty was not quite a crime,</p> + + <p>When Grant was a pupil in Canning's school,</p> + + <p>And Palmerston fancied Wood a fool.</p> + + <p>Lord, how principles pass away—</p> + + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>The following is a spirited version of a dramatic scene in + the second book of the Annals of Tacitus:</p> + + <h3>ARMINIUS.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Back, Back;—he fears not foaming flood</p> + + <p class="i2">Who fears not steel-clad line:—</p> + + <p>No warrior thou of German blood,</p> + + <p class="i2">No brother thou of mine.</p> + + <p>Go earn Rome's chain to load thy neck,</p> + + <p class="i2">Her gems to deck thy hilt;</p> + + <p>And blazon honor's hapless wreck</p> + + <p class="i2">With all the gauds of guilt.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>But wouldst thou have <i>me</i> share the prey?</p> + + <p class="i2">By all that I have done,</p> + + <p>The Varian bones that day by day</p> + + <p class="i2">Lie whitening in the sun;</p> + + <p>The legion's trampled panoply</p> + + <p class="i2">The eagle's shattered wing.</p> + + <p>I would not be for earth or sky</p> + + <p class="i2">So scorned and mean a thing,</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Ho, call me here the wizard, boy,</p> + + <p class="i2">Of dark and subtle skill,</p> + + <p>To agonize but not destroy,</p> + + <p class="i2">To torture, not to kill.</p> + + <p>When swords are out, and shriek and shout</p> + + <p class="i2">Leave little room for prayer,</p> + + <p>No fetter on man's arm or heart</p> + + <p class="i2">Hangs half so heavy there.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>I curse him by the gifts the land</p> + + <p class="i2">Hath won from him and Rome.</p> + + <p>The riving axe, the wasting brand,</p> + + <p class="i2">Rent forest, blazing home.</p> + + <p>I curse him by our country's gods,</p> + + <p class="i2">The terrible, the dark,</p> + + <p>The breakers of the Roman rods,</p> + + <p class="i2">The smiters of the bark.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Oh, misery that such a ban</p> + + <p class="i2">On such a brow should be!</p> + + <p>Why comes he not in battle's van</p> + + <p class="i2">His country's chief to be?</p> + + <p>To stand a comrade by my side,</p> + + <p class="i2">The sharer of my fame,</p> + + <p>And worthy of a brother's pride,</p> + + <p class="i2">And of a brother's name?</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>But it is past!—where heroes press</p> + + <p class="i2">And cowards bend the knee,</p> + + <p>Arminius is not brotherless,</p> + + <p class="i2">His brethren are the free.</p> + + <p>They come around:—one hour, and light</p> + + <p class="i2">Will fade from turf and tide,</p> + + <p>Then onward, onward to the fight,</p> + + <p class="i2">With darkness for our guide.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>To-night, to-night, when we shall meet</p> + + <p class="i2">In combat face to face,</p> + + <p>Then only would Arminius greet</p> + + <p class="i2">The renegade's embrace.</p> + + <p>The canker of Rome's guilt shall be</p> + + <p class="i2">Upon his dying name;</p> + + <p>And as he lived in slavery,</p> + + <p class="i2">So shall he fall in shame.</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h2>CAMPBELL AND WASHINGTON IRVING.</h2> + + <p>The Editor of <i>The Albion</i>, in noticing the + republication by the Harpers of the very interesting Life and + Letters of Thomas Campbell, by Dr. Beattie, has the following + observations upon Mr. Irving's introductory letter:</p> + + <p>"WASHINGTON IRVING, at the request of the publishers, + contributed a very interesting letter to themselves, directing + public notice to the value of this edition. He pays also a + hearty and deserved tribute, not only to the genius of + Campbell, but to his many excellencies and kindly specialities + of character. The author of "Hohenlinden," and the "Battle of + the Baltic" stands in need of no man's praise as a lyric + poet—but this sort of testimony to his private worth is + grateful and well-timed. Here is an interesting passage from + Mr. Irving's introductory communication. He is alluding to + Campbell's fame and position, when he himself first made + Campbell's acquaintance in England.</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"'I had considered the early productions of Campbell as + brilliant indications of a genius yet to be developed, and + trusted that, during the long interval which had elapsed, + he had been preparing something to fulfill the public + expectation; I was greatly disappointed, therefore, to find + that, as yet, he had contemplated no great and sustained + effort. My disappointment in this respect was shared by + others, who took the same interest in his fame, and + entertained the same idea of his capacity. 'There he is + cooped up in Sydenham,' said a great Edinburgh critic to + me, 'simmering his brains to serve up a little dish of + poetry, instead of pouring out a whole caldron.'</p> + + <p>"'Scott, too, who took a cordial delight in Campbell's + poetry, expressed himself to the same effect. 'What a pity + is it,' said he to me 'that + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page231" + id="page231"></a>[pg 231]</span> Campbell does not give + full sweep to his genius. He has wings that would bear + him up to the skies, and he does now and then spread + them grandly, but folds them up again and resumes his + perch, as if afraid to launch away. The fact is, he is a + bugbear to himself. The brightness of his early success + is a detriment to all his future efforts. <i>He is + afraid of the shadow that his own fame casts before + him</i>.'</p> + + <p>"'Little was Scott aware at the time that he, in truth, + was a 'bugbear' to Campbell. This I infer from an + observation of Mrs. Campbell's in reply to an expression of + regret on my part that her husband did not attempt + something on a grand Scale. 'It is unfortunate for + Campbell,' said she, 'that he lives in the same age with + Scott and Byron.' I asked why. 'Oh,' said she, 'they write + so much and so rapidly. Now Campbell writes slowly, and it + takes him some time to get under way; and just as he has + fairly begun, out comes one of their poems, that sets the + world agog and quite daunts him, so that he throws by his + pen in despair.'</p> + + <p>"'I pointed out the essential difference in their kinds + of poetry, and the qualities which insured perpetuity to + that of her husband. 'You can't persuade Campbell of that,' + said she. 'He is apt to undervalue his own works, and to + consider his own lights put out, whenever they come blazing + out with their great torches.'</p> + + <p>"'I repeated the conversation to Scott sometime + afterward, and it drew forth a characteristic comment. + 'Pooh!' said he, good-humoredly, 'how can Campbell mistake + the matter so much. Poetry goes by quality, not by bulk. My + poems are mere cairngorms, wrought up, perhaps, with a + cunning hand, and may pass well in the market as long as + cairngorms are the fashion; but they are mere Scotch + pebbles after all; now Tom Campbell's are real diamonds, + and diamonds of the first water.'"</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>"The foregoing is new to us, and full of a double interest. + It is followed, however, by a statement, that needs a word of + explanation. Mr. Irving says:</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"'I have not time at present to furnish personal + anecdotes of my intercourse with Campbell, neither does it + afford any of a striking nature. Though extending over a + number of years, it was never very intimate. His residence + in the country, and my own long intervals of absence on the + continent, rendered our meetings few and far between. To + tell the truth, I was not much drawn to Campbell, having + taken up a wrong notion concerning him, from seeing him at + times when his mind was ill at ease, and preyed upon by + secret griefs. I thought him disposed to be querulous and + captious, and had heard his apparent discontent attributed + to jealous repining at the success of his poetical + contemporaries. In a word, I knew little of him but what + might be learned in the casual intercourse of general + society; whereas it required the close communion of + confidential friendship, to sound the depth of his + character and know the treasures of excellence hidden + beneath its surface. Beside, he was dogged for years by + certain malignant scribblers, who took a pleasure in + misrepresenting all his actions, and holding him up in an + absurd and disparaging point of view. In what hostility + originated I do not know, but it must have given much + annoyance to his sensitive mind, and may have affected his + popularity. I know not to what else to attribute a + circumstance to which I was a witness during my last visit + to England. It was at an annual dinner of the Literary + Fund, at which Prince Albert presided, and where was + collected much of the prominent talent of the kingdom. In + the course of the evening Campbell rose to make a speech. I + had not seen him for years, and his appearance showed the + effect of age and ill-health; <i>it was evident, also, that + his mind was obfuscated by the wine he had been + drinking</i>. He was confused and tedious in his remarks; + still, there was nothing but what one would have thought + would have been received with indulgence, if not deference, + from a veteran of his fame and standing; a living classic. + On the contrary, to my surprise, I soon observed signs of + impatience in the company; the poet was repeatedly + interrupted by coughs and discordant sounds, and as often + endeavored to proceed; the noise at length became + intolerable, and he was absolutely clamored down, sinking + into his chair overwhelmed and disconcerted. I could not + have thought such treatment possible to such a person at + such a meeting. Hallam, author of the Literary History of + the Middle Ages, who sat by me on this occasion, marked the + mortification of the poet, and it excited his generous + sympathy. Being shortly afterward on the floor to reply to + a toast, he took occasion to advert to the recent remarks + of Campbell, and in so doing called up in review all his + eminent achievements in the world of letters, and drew such + a picture of his claims upon popular gratitude and popular + admiration, as to convict the assembly of the glaring + impropriety they had been guilty of—to soothe the + wounded sensibility of the poet, and send him home to, I + trust, a quiet pillow.'</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>"Now, the very same facts are seen by different observers in + a different point of view. It so happened that we ourselves + were present at this dinner, which took place in 1842; and the + painful circumstance alluded to by Mr. Irving did not produce + the effect on us, that it appears to have produced on him. + Without making a long story about a trifle, we can call to mind + no appearance of hostility or ill-will manifested on that + occasion; and on the contrary, recollect, in our immediate + neighborhood, a mournful sense of distress at the scene + exhibited, and sufficiently hinted in the few unpleasant words + we have italicized. A muster of Englishmen preferred coughing + down their favorite bard, to allowing him to mouth out maudlin + twaddle, before the Prince, then first formally introduced to + the public, and before a meeting whereat "was collected much of + the prominent talent of the kingdom." Mr. Irving, himself most + deservedly a man of mark, looked on with much, surprise. + Looking on ourselves then, and writing now, as one of the + public, and as one of the many to whom Campbell's name and fame + are inexpressibly dear, we honestly think that of two evils the + lesser was chosen. We think Mr. Hallam's lecture must have been + inaudible to the greater part of the company."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The Archbishop of Lemburgh has prohibited his clergy from + wearing long hair like the peasants, and from smoking in + public, "like demagogues and sons of Baal."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The Persians have a saying, that "Ten measures of talk were + sent down upon the earth, and the women took nine."</p> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page232" + id="page232"></a>[pg 232]</span> + + <h2>Authors and Books</h2> + <hr class="short" /> + + <p>No man is more enshrined in the heart of the French people + than the poet BERANGER. A few weeks since he went one evening + with one of his nephews to the <i>Clos des Lilas</i>, a garden + in the students' quarter devoted to dancing in the open air, + intending to look for a few minutes upon a scene he had not + visited since his youth, and then withdraw. But he found it + impossible to remain unknown and unobserved. The announcement + of his presence ran through the garden in a moment, the dances + stopped, the music ceased, and the crowd thronged toward the + point where the still genial and lovely old man was standing. + At once there rose from all lips the cry of <i>Vive + Beranger!</i> which was quickly followed by that of <i>Vive la + Republique!</i> The poet whose diffidence is excessive, could + not answer a word, but only smiled and blushed his thanks at + this enthusiastic reception. The acclamations continuing, an + agent of the police invited him to withdraw, lest his presence + might occasion disorder. The illustrious songwriter at once + obeyed; by a singular coincidence the door through which he + went out opened upon the place where Marshal Ney was shot. If + he were now in the vein of writing, what a stirring lyric all + these circumstances might suggest.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>AUDUBON AND WASHINGTON IRVING—THE PLAGUE OF + RAILROADS.—The voyager up the Hudson will involuntarily + anathematize the invention of the rail, when he sees how much + of the most romantic beauty has been defaced or destroyed by + that tyranny which, disregarding all private desire and + justice, has filled up bays, and cut off promontories, and + leveled heights, to make way for the intrusive and noisy car. + But the effects of these so-called "improvements," upon the + romantic in nature will be forgotten if he considers the injury + and wrong they cause to persons, and particularly to those + whose genius has contributed more to human happiness than all + the inventions in oeconomical art.</p> + + <p>The Nestor of our naturalists, and in his field, the + greatest as well as the oldest of our artists, AUDUBON, with + the comparatively slight gains of a long life of devotion to + science, and of triumphs which had made him world-renowned, + purchased on the banks of the river, not far from the city, a + little estate which it was the joy as well as the care of his + closing years to adorn with everything that a taste so + peculiarly and variously schooled could suggest. He had made it + a pleasing gate-way to the unknown world, with beautiful walks + leading down to the river whose depth and calmness and solemn + grandeur symboled the waves through which he should pass to the + reward of a life of such toil and enviable glory. He had + promise of an evening worthy of his meridian—when the + surveyors and engineers, with their charter-privileges, invaded + his retreat, built a road through his garden, destroyed forever + his repose, and—the melancholy truth is known—made + of his mind a ruin.</p> + + <p>WASHINGTON IRVING—now sixty-seven years of + age—had found a resting-place at <i>Wolfert's Roost</i>, + close by the scenes which lie in the immortal beauty that + radiates from his pages, and when he thought that in this + Tusculum he was safe from all annoying, free to enjoy the + quietness and ease he had earned from the world, the same + vandals laid the track through his grounds, not only destroying + all their beauty and attraction, but leaving fens from which + these summer heats distilled contagion. He has therefore been + ill for some weeks, and as he had never a strong constitution, + and has preserved his equable but not vigorous health only by + the most constant carefulness, his physicians and friends begin + to be alarmed for the result. Heaven avert the end they so + fearfully anticipate. He cannot go alone: The honest + Knickerbocker, the gentle Crayon, and the faithful brother + Agapida, with Washington Irving will forever leave the world, + which cannot yet resign itself to the loss of either.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Mr. SEBA SMITH, so well known as the author of the "Letters + of Major Jack Downing," and to a different sort of readers for + his more serious contributions to our literature, has just + completed the printing of an original and very remarkable work, + upon which he has been engaged about two years, entitled "New + Elements of Geometry," and it will soon be published in this + city by Putnam, and in London by Bentley. It will probably + produce a sensation in the world of science. Its design is the + reconstruction of the entire methods of Geometry. All + geometers, from the dawn of the science, have built their + systems upon these definitions: <i>A line is length without + breadth</i>, and <i>A surface is length and breadth, without + thickness</i>. Mr. Smith asserts that these definitions are + false, and sustains his position by numerous demonstrations in + the pure Euclidean style. He declares that every mathematical + line has a definite <i>breadth</i>, which is as measurable as + its length, and that every mathematical surface has a + <i>thickness</i>, as measurable as the contents of any solid. + His demonstrations, on diagrams, seem to be eminently clear, + simple, and conclusive. The effects of this discovery and these + demonstrations are, to simplify very much the whole subject of + Geometry and mathematics, and to clear it of many obscurities + and difficulties. All geometers heretofore have claimed that + there are <i>three kinds</i> of quantity in Geometry, different + in their <i>natures</i>, and requiring units of different + natures to measure them. Mr. Smith shows that there is but + <i>one</i> kind of quantity in Geometry, and but one kind of + unit; and that lines, surfaces, and solids are always measured + by the same identical unit.</p> + + <p>Besides the leading features of the work + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page233" + id="page233"></a>[pg 233]</span> which we have thus briefly + described, it contains many new and beautiful demonstrations + of general principles in Geometry, to which the author was + lead by his new methods of investigation. Among these we may + mention one, viz., "The square of the hypothenuse of a + right-angled triangle equals four times the area of the + triangle, plus the square of the difference of the other two + sides." This principle has been known to mathematicians by + means of arithmetic and algebra, but has never before, we + believe, been reduced to a geometrical demonstration. The + demonstration of this principle by Mr. Smith is one of the + clearest, simplest, and most beautiful in Geometry. The work + is divided into three parts, I. The Philosophy of Geometry, + II. Demonstrations in Geometry, and III. Harmonies of + Geometry. The demonstrative character of it is occasionally + enlivened by philosophical and historical observations, + which will add much to its interest with the general reader. + We have too little skill in studies of this sort to be + altogether confident in our opinion, but certainly it + strikes us from an examination of the larger and more + important portion of Mr. Smith's essay, that it is an + admirable specimen of statement and demonstration, and that + it must secure to its author immediately a very high rank in + mathematical science. We shall await with much interest the + judgments of the professors. It makes a handsome octavo of + some 200 pages.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>M. FLANDIN, an eminent dilettante and designer attached to + the French embassy in Persia, has published in the last number + of the <i>Revue des Deux Mondes</i> an interesting memoir of + the ruins of Persepolis, under the title of "An Archaiological + Journey in Persia." On his route to the ruins he witnessed + melancholy evidence, in the condition of the surface and + population, of the improvidence and noxiousness of Oriental + despotism. He tells us that the remains of the magnificent + palace of Darius are dispersed over an immense <i>plateau</i>, + which looks down on the plain of Merdacht. "Assuredly, they are + not much, compared with what they must have been in the time of + the last Prince who sheltered himself under the royal roof. + Nevertheless, what is now found of them still excites + astonishment, and inspires a sentiment of religious admiration + for a civilization that could create monuments so stupendous; + impress on them a character of so much grandeur; and give them + a solidity which has prereserved the most important parts until + our days, through twenty-two centuries, and all the revolutions + by which Persia has been devastated. The pillars are covered + with European names deeply cut in the stone. English are far + the most numerous. Very few, however, are of celebrated + travelers. We observed, with satisfaction, those of Sir John + Malcolm and Mr. Morier, both of whom have so successfully + treated Persian subjects."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>EMILE GIRARDIN states in his journal that he paid for the + eleven volumes of Chateaubriand's Posthumous Memoirs as they + appeared, piecemeal, in his <i>feuilleton</i>, the sum of + ninety-seven thousand one hundred and eight francs. They + occupied a hundred and ninety-two <i>feuilletons</i>, and cost + him thus more than a franc a line. Alfred de Broglie has made + these memoirs the test of a paper entitled "Memoirs de + Chateaubriand, a Moral and Political Study," in the <i>Revue + des Deux Mondes</i>. It is a severe analysis of the book and + the man. He concludes that Chateaubriand was one of the most + vainglorious, selfish and malignant of his tribe. He, indeed, + betrayed himself broadly, but surviving writers, who knew + intimately his private life—such as St. Beuve—have + disclosed more of his habitual libertinism. The Radical + journals, and some of the Legitimists, turn to account the + portraits left in these memoirs of Louis Philippe, Thiers, + Guizot, and other statesmen of the Orleans monarchy. They are + effusions of personal and political spite. Chateaubriand hated + the whole Orleans dynasty, and has not spared the elder + Bourbons.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>GUIZOT has been for thirty years in political life, many of + them a minister, and was long at the head of the government of + Louis Philippe, but is now a poor man. Recently, on the + marriage of his two daughters with two brothers De Witt, the + descendants of the great Hollander, he was unable to give them + a cent in the way of marriage portions. This fact proves the + personal integrity of the man more than a score of arguments. + Not only has the native honesty of his character forbidden him + to take advantage of his eminent position to gain a fortune, + but the indomitable pride which is his leading characteristic, + has never stooped to the attractions of public plunder or the + fruits of official speculation. Guizot is not up to the times, + and hence his downfall, but future historians will do justice + alike to his great talents and the uprightness of his + intentions.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>One of the best works yet produced on the History of Art, is + by Schnaase, of Düsseldorf. The first three volumes have been + published and translated into French and English, and have met + with great success in both those languages. The fourth volume + is just announced in Germany. Artists and other competent + persons at Düsseldorf who have seen the proof-sheets, speak in + the highest terms not only of its historical merits, but of the + excellence of its criticisms.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The fifth volume of the <i>History of Spain</i>, by Rousseau + St. Hilaire, includes the period from 1336 to 1649. The + professor has been employed ten years on his enterprise; he is + lauded by all the critics for his research, method, and style. + We have recently spoken of this work at some length in <i>The + International</i>. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page234" + id="page234"></a>[pg 234]</span> The PARIS ACADEMY OF + INSCRIPTIONS and Belles Lettres is constantly sending forth + the most valuable contributions; to the history of the + middle ages especially. It is now completing the publication + of the sixth volume of the Charters, Diplomas, and other + documents relating to French History. This volume, which was + prepared by M. Pardessus, includes the period from the + beginning of 1220 to the end of 1270, and comprehends the + reign of St. Louis. The seventh volume, coming down some + fifty years later, is also nearly ready for the printer. Its + editor is M. Laboulaye. The first volume of the Oriental + Historians of the Crusaders, translated into French, is now + going through the press, and the second is in course of + preparation. The greater part of the first volume of the + Greek Historians of the same chivalrous wars is also + printed, and the work is going rapidly forward. The Academy + is also preparing a collection of Occidental History on the + same subject. When these three collections are published, + all the documents of any value relating to the Crusades will + be easily accessible, whether for the use of the historian + or the romancer. The Academy is also now engaged in getting + out the twenty-first volume of the History of the Gauls and + of France, and the nineteenth of the Literary History of + France, which brings the annals of French letters down to + the thirteenth century. It is also publishing the sixteenth + volume of its own memoirs, which contains the history of the + Academy for the last four years, and the work of Freret on + Geography, besides several other works of less interest. + From all this some idea may be formed of the labors and + usefulness of the institution.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>M. LEVERRIER, the astronomer, has published a long and able + argument in support of the free and universal use of the + electric telegraph. He has supplied a most instructive and + interesting exposition of the employment and utility of the + invention, in all the countries in which it has been + established. The American and the several European tariffs of + charge are appended. He explains the different systems, + scientific and practical, in detail, and gives the process and + proceeds. He observes that the practicability of laying the + wires <i>under</i> ground along all the great roads of France, + which will protect them from accidents and mischief, will yield + immense advantage to the Government and to individuals. He + appears to prefer Bain's Telegraph, for communication, to any + other, and minutely traces and develops its mechanism. A bill + before the French chambers, which he advocates, opens to the + public the use of the telegraph, but with various restrictions + calculated to prevent <i>revolutionary</i> or seditious abuses; + to prevent illicit speculations in the public funds, and other + bad purposes to which a free conveyance might be applied. The + director of the telegraph is to be empowered to refuse to + transmit what he shall deem repugnant to public order and good + morals, and the government to suspend at will all private + correspondence, on one or many lines.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>THE WORKS OF REV. LEONARD WOODS, D.D., lately Professor of + Theology in the Congregational Seminary of Andover, are in + course of publication, and the third and fourth volumes have + just appeared, completing the theological lectures of the + venerable Professor, making in all one hundred and + twenty-eight. In these, the student is furnished with a + complete body of divinity as generally received by the orthodox + denominations in New England, and has presented in a clear, + condensed manner, the matured results of a long life of thought + and study devoted to these subjects.</p> + + <p>The fourth volume is occupied with theological letters. The + first 121 pages contain those to Unitarians; next follows the + Reply to Dr. Ware's Letters to Unitarians and Calvinists, and + Remarks on Dr. Ware's Answer, a series remarkable for courtesy + and kindness toward opponents, and clearness and faithfulness + in the expression of what was regarded as truth. Following + these, are eight letters to Dr. Taylor of New Haven; An + Examination of the Doctrine of Perfection, as held by Mr. Mahan + and others, and a letter to Mr. Mahan; A Dissertation on + Miracles, and the Course of Theological Study as pursued at the + Seminary at Andover. One more volume will complete the works of + this long active and eminent divine.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>THE REV. ORVILLE DEWEY, D.D., we learn from the + correspondence of the <i>Christian Inquirer</i>, is living upon + the farm where he was born, in Sheffield, Massachusetts, + having, in the successive improvements of many years, converted + the original house into an irregular but most comfortable and + pleasant dwelling. The view from the back piazza is as fine as + can be commanded anywhere in Berkshire, and should the shifting + channel of the Housatonic only be accommodating enough to wind + a little nearer the house, or even suffer some not impossible + stoppage which would convert the marshy meadow in front into a + lake, nothing can be conceived of which could then improve the + situation. In this lovely retirement, Dr. Dewey endeavors to + unite labor and study; working with his own hands, with hoe and + rake, in a way to surprise those who only know how he can + handle a pen. He is preparing, in a leisurely way, for a course + of Lectures for the Lowell Institute, upon a theme admirably + suited to his previous studies, and in which it is evident his + whole mind and heart are bound up. We are glad to know that it + is not until winter after next that this work must be taken + from the anvil.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>DR. HOOKER, we learn, has again proceeded to a new and + unexplored region in India, in the prosecution of his important + botanical labors. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page235" + id="page235"></a>[pg 235]</span> THE AUTHOR OF THE AMBER + WITCH, the Pomeranian pastor, Meinhold, has been condemned + to three months' imprisonment, and a fine of one hundred + thalers, besides costs, for slander against another + clergyman named Stosch, in a communication published in the + <i>New Prussian Zeitung</i>. The sentence was rendered more + severe than usual in such cases by the fact that Meinhold, + who appears to possess more talent than temper, had + previously been condemned for the same offense against + another party. The <i>Amber Witch</i> is one of the + "curiosities of literature", for in the last German edition + the author is obliged to prove that it is entirely a work of + imagination, and not, as almost all the German critics + believed it to be when it appeared, the reprint of an old + chronicle. It was, in fact, written as a trap for the + disciples of Strauss and his school, who had pronounced the + Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be a collection, + of legends, from historical research, assisted by "internal + evidence". Meinhold did not spare them when they fell into + the snare, and made merry with the historical knowledge and + critical acumen that could not detect the contemporary + romancer under the mask of the chronicler of two centuries + ago, while they decided so positively as to the authority of + the most ancient writings in the world. He has been in + prison before.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>"THE NIGHT SIDE OF NATURE<a id="footnotetag1" + name="footnotetag1"></a><a href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a>", + by Catharine Crowe, so well known as one of the cleverest of + the younger set of literary women in England, we have + already mentioned as in the press of Mr. Redfield; it is now + published, and we commend it as one of the most entertaining + and curious works that has ever appeared on the "wonders of + the invisible world". We quote from the judicious critic of + the <i>Tribune</i> the following paragraphs in regard to + it:</p> + + <p>"The author of this work is an accomplished German scholar. + Without being a slave to the superstitious love of marvels and + prodigies, her mind evidently leans toward the twilight sphere, + which lies beyond the acknowledged boundaries of either faith + or knowledge. She seems to be entirely free from the sectarian + spirit; she can look at facts impartially, without reference to + their bearing on favorite dogmas; nor does she claim such a + full, precise and completely-rounded acquaintance with the + mysteries of the spiritual world, whether from intuition or + revelation, as not to believe that there may be more "things in + heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophy." In this + respect, it must be owned that she has not the advantage of + certain religious journals in this city, like the <i>Christian + Inquirer</i> and <i>The Independent</i>, for + instance—which have been so fully initiated into the + secrets of universal truth as to regard all inquiry into such + subjects either as too vulgar for a Christian gentleman, + <i>comme il faut</i>, or as giving a "sanction to the atheistic + delusion that there may be a spiritual or supernatural agency" + in manifestations which are not accounted for by the + New-England Primer. Mrs. Crowe, on the contrary, supposes that + there may be something worthy of philosophical investigation in + those singular phenomena, which, surpassing the limits of usual + experience, have not yet found any adequate explanation.</p> + + <p>"The phrase 'Night Side of Nature' is borrowed from the + Germans, who derive it from the language of astronomers, + designating the side of a planet that is turned from the sun, + as its night side. The Germans draw a parallel between our + vague and misty perceptions, when deprived of the light of the + sun, and the obscure and uncertain glimpses we obtain of the + vailed department of nature, of which, though comprising the + solution of the most important questions, we are in a state of + almost total ignorance. In writing a book on these subjects, + the author disclaims the intention of enforcing any didactic + opinions. She wishes only to suggest inquiry and stimulate + observation, in order to gain all possible light on our + spiritual nature, both as it now exists in the flesh and is to + exist hereafter out of it.</p> + + <p>"It is but justice to say, that the present volume is a + successful realization of the purpose thus announced. It + presents as full a collection of facts on the subject as is + probably to be found in any work in the English language, + furnishing materials for the formation of theoretic views, and + illustrating an obscure but most interesting chapter in the + marvelous history of human nature. It is written with perfect + modesty, and freedom from pretense, doing credit to the ability + of the author as a narrator, as well as to her fairness and + integrity as a reasoner."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>MR. MILNE EDWARDS presented at a recent meeting of the + <i>Academy of Sciences</i>, in the name of the Prince of + Canino, (C. Bonaparte), the first part of the Prince's large + work, <i>Conspectus Generum Avium</i>.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>M. GUIZOT has addressed a long letter to each of the five + classes of the Institute of France, to declare that he cannot + accept the candidateship offered him for a seat in the Superior + Council of Public Instruction.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON is to be a candidate for the House + of Commons, with Col. Sibthorp, for Lincoln. He has a new play + forthcoming for the Princess's Theatre.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>MISS STRICKLAND has in preparation a series of volumes on + the Queens of Scotland, as a companion to her, interesting and + successful work on the Queens of England.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>THE MARQUIS DE FOUDRAS has published <i>Un Caprice de Grande + Dame</i>—clever, but as corrupt as her other works.</p> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page236" + id="page236"></a>[pg 236]</span> + + <p>MR. HERBERT'S NEW BOOKS.—The <i>Southern Quarterly + Review</i> for July has the following notice of "Frank + Forester's Fish and Fishing in the United States and British + Provinces," recently published by Stringer & Townsend:</p> + + <p>"There are few of our writers so variously endowed and + accomplished as Mr. Herbert; of a mind easily warmed and + singularly enthusiastic, the natural bent of his talent + inclines him to romance. He has accordingly given us several + stories abounding in stately scenes, and most impressive + portraiture. Well skilled in the use of the mother tongue, as + in the broad fields of classical literature, he has written + essays of marked eloquence, and criticisms of excellent + discrimination and a keen and thorough insight. His + contributions to our periodicals have been even more happy than + his fictions. With a fine imagination, he inherits a + <i>penchant</i> and a capacity for poetry, which has enabled + him to throw off, without an effort, some of the most graceful + fugitive effusions which have been written in America. His + accomplishments are as various as his talents. He can paint a + landscape as sweetly as he can describe it in words. He is a + sportsman of eager impulse, and relishes equally well the + employments of the fisherman and hunter. He is a naturalist, as + well as a sportsman, and brings, to aid his practice and + experience, a large knowledge, from study, of the habits of + birds, beasts and fishes. He roves land and sea in this + pursuit, forest and river, and turns, with equal ease and + readiness, from a close examination of Greek and Roman + literature, to an emulous exercise of all the arts which have + afforded renown to the aboriginal hunter. The volume before + us—one of many which he has given to this + subject—is one of singular interest to the lover of the + rod and angle. It exhibits, on every page, a large personal + knowledge of the finny tribes in all the northern portions of + our country, and well deserves the examination of those who + enjoy such pursuits and pastimes. The author's pencil has + happily illustrated the labors of his pen. His portraits of the + several fishes of the United States are exquisitely well done + and truthful. It is our hope, in future pages, to furnish an + ample review of this, and other interesting volumes, of similar + character, from the hand of our author. We have drawn to them + the attention of some rarely endowed persons of our own region, + who, like our author, unite the qualities of the writer and the + sportsman; from whom we look to learn in what respects the + habits and characters of northern fish differ from our own, and + thus supply the deficiency of the work before us. The title of + this work is rather too general. The author's knowledge of the + fish, and of fishing, in the United States, is almost wholly + confined to the regions north of the Chesapeake, and he falls + into the error, quite too common to the North, of supposing + this region to be the whole country. Another each volume as + that before us will be necessary to do justice to the Southern + States, whose possessions, in the finny tribes of sea and + river, are of a sort to shame into comparative insignificance + all the boasted treasures of the North. It would need but few + pages in our review, from the proper hands, to render this very + apparent to the reader. Meanwhile, we exhort him to seek the + book of Mr. Herbert, as a work of much interest and authority, + so far as it goes."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>MR. PUTNAM is preparing some elegantly embellished works for + the holiday season. Among others, an edition, in octavo, of + Miss Fenimore Cooper's charming <i>Rural Hours</i>, embellished + by twenty finely-colored drawings of birds and flowers; <i>The + Picturesque Souvenir</i>, or Letters of a Traveler in Europe + and America, by Bryant, embellished by a series of + finely-executed engravings; and <i>The Alhambra</i>, by + Washington Irving, with designs by Darley, uniform with the + splendid series of Mr. Irving's Illustrated Works, some time in + course of publication. We have also seen a specimen copy of a + superbly illustrated edition of <i>The Pilgrim's Progress</i>, + printed on cream-colored paper, as smooth as ivory; and the + exquisite designs by Harvey, nearly three hundred in number, + are among the most effective ever attempted for the elucidation + of this first of all allegories. Professor Sweetser's new work, + <i>Menial Hygiene</i>, or an Examination of the Intellect and + Passions, designed to illustrate their Influence on Health and + the Duration of Life, will be published in the course of the + present month. Professor Church's <i>Treatise on Integral and + Differential Calculus</i>, a revised edition; <i>The + Companion</i>, or <i>After Dinner Table Talk</i>, by Chelwood + Evelyn, with a fine portrait of Sydney Smith; <i>The History of + Propellers, and Steam Navigation</i>, illustrated by + engravings: a manual, said to combine much valuable information + on the subjects, derived from the most authentic sources, by + Mr. Robert MacFarlane, editor of the <i>Scientific + American</i>; and Mr. Ridner's <i>Artist's Chromatic Hand-Book, + or Manual of Colors</i>, will also be speedily issued by the + same publisher. Mr. Putnam's own production, <i>The World's + Progress, or Dictionary of Dates</i>, containing a + comprehensive manual of reference in facts, or epitome of + historical and general statistical knowledge, with a corrected + chronology, &c., is expected to appear in a few weeks. Mr. + Theodore Irving's <i>Conquest of Florida</i> is also in + progress.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>It is said that Meyerbeer has already completed a grand + opera with the title of <i>L'Africaine</i>, and is now engaged + on a comic opera. This is probably nothing more than one of the + trumpets which this composer knows so well how to blow + beforehand. Meyerbeer is not greater in music than in the art + of tickling public expectation and keeping the public aware of + his existence.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The <i>Lorgnette</i> has just appeared in a volume.</p> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page237" + id="page237"></a>[pg 237]</span> + + <h2>Recent Deaths.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>AUGUSTUS WILLIAM NEANDER.</h3> + + <p>OF this most eminent Christian scholar of the nineteenth + century, <i>The Tribune</i> furnishes the following brief + sketch. "The name of JOHANN AUGUST WILHELM NEANDER is familiar + to a large number of our countrymen, both on account of his + important contributions to the science of theology, and his + personal intimacy with many of our eminent scholars, who have + enjoyed the benefit of his instructions, or who have made his + acquaintance while pursuing their travels in Germany. Although + he had attained a greater age than might have been anticipated + from his habits as a confirmed invalid, being in his + sixty-second year, his decease cannot be announced without + causing an emotion of surprise and regret to a numerous circle + who recognized in him one of the most faithful and + conscientious Christian teachers of the present day.</p> + + <p>"NEANDER, as it is well known, was descended from Jewish + parents, by whom he was instructed in the rudiments of + religion, and at a subsequent period of life became a convert + to the Christian faith, by personal inquiry and experience. He + was born at Göttingen, in 1789, but passed a considerable + portion of his youth at Hamburg, where he was initiated into + the rudiments of a classical education. After he had made a + profession of Christianity, he continued his studies for a + short time at the Universities of Halle and Göttingen, returned + to Hamburg, and finally completed his University career at + Heidelberg. The following year he was called to the University + of Berlin, as Professor of Theology, where he soon gave promise + of the brilliant eminence which he has since attained. His + first publications were on special topics of ecclesiastical + history, including treatises on 'The Emperor Julian and his + Age,' 'St. Bernard and his Age,' 'The Development of the + Principal Systems of the Gnostics,' 'St. Chrysostom and the + Church in his Age,' and 'The Spirit of Tertullian,' with an + 'Introduction to his Writings.' These treatises are remarkable + monuments of diligence, accuracy, profoundness of research and + breadth of comprehension, showing the same intellectual + qualities which were afterward signally exhibited in the + composition of his masterly volumes on the history of the + Christian Religion. His earliest production in this department + had for its object to present the most important facts in + Church history, in a form adapted to the great mass of readers, + without aiming at scientific precision or completeness. This + attempt was eminently successful. The first volume of his great + work entitled 'General History of the Church and the Christian + Religion,' was published in 1825, and it was not till twenty + years afterward that the work was brought to a close. The + appearance of this work formed a new epoch in ecclesiastical + history. It at once betrayed the power of a bold and original + mind. Instead of consisting of a meager and arid collection of + facts, without scientific order, without any vital coherence or + symmetry, and without reference to the cardinal elements of + Christian experience, the whole work, though singularly chaste + and subdued in its tone, throbs with the emotions of genuine + life, depicting the influence of Christianity as a school for + the soul, and showing its radiant signatures of Divinity in its + moral triumphs through centuries.</p> + + <p>"His smaller work on the first development of Christianity + in the Apostolic Age is marked by the same spirited + characteristics, while his 'Life of Jesus' is an able defense + of the historical verity of the sacred narrative against the + ingenious and subtle suggestions of Strauss.</p> + + <p>"The writings and theological position of NEANDER have been + fully brought before the American public by Profs. ROBINSON, + TORREY, McCLINTOCK, SEARS, and other celebrated scholars who + have done much to diffuse a knowledge of the learned labors of + Germany among intelligent thinkers in our own country. NEANDER + was free from the reproach which attaches to so many of his + fellow laborers, of covertly undermining the foundation of + Christianity, under the pretense of placing it on a + philosophical basis. His opinions are considered strictly + evangelical, though doubtless embodied in a modified form. In + regard to the extent and soundness of his learning, the + clearness of his perceptions, and the purity and nobleness of + his character, there can be but one feeling among those who are + qualified to pronounce a judgment on the subject.</p> + + <p>"NEANDER was never married. He was the victim of almost + constant ill health. In many of his personal habits he was + peculiar and eccentric. With the wisdom of a sage, he combined + the simplicity of a child. Many amusing anecdotes are related + of his oddities in the lecture-room, which will serve to + enliven the biography that will doubtless be prepared at an + early date. We have received no particulars concerning his + death, which is said to have been announced by private letters + to friends in Boston."</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>JACOB JONES, U.S.N.</h3> + + <p>COMMODORE JACOB JONES, of the United States Navy, died in + Philadelphia on the 6th inst. He was born in Smyrna, Kent + county, Delaware, in the year 1770, and was therefore, eighty + years of age. He was of an eminently respectable family, and + commenced life as a physician, having studied the profession at + the University of Pennsylvania. He afterward became clerk of + the Supreme Court of Delaware for his native county. When about + twenty-nine years old he entered the navy, and made his first + cruises under Commodore Barry. He was a midshipman on board the + frigate United States, when she bore to France Chief Justice + Ellsworth and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page238" + id="page238"></a>[pg 238]</span> General Davie, as envoys + extraordinary to the French Republic. He was next appointed + to the Ganges as midshipman. On the breaking out of the war + with Tripoli, he was stationed on the frigate Philadelphia, + under Commodore Bainbridge. The disaster which befell that + ship and her crew before Tripoli, forms a solemn page in our + naval history; atoned, however, by the brilliant + achievements to which it gave rise. Twenty months of severe + captivity among a barbarous people, and in a noxious + climate, neither broke the spirit nor impaired the + constitution of Jones. Blest by nature with vigorous health + and an invincible resolution, when relieved from bondage by + the bravery of his countrymen, he returned home full of life + and ardor. He was soon after promoted to a lieutenancy. He + was now for some time employed on the Orleans station, where + he conducted himself with his usual judgment and propriety, + and was a favorite in the polite circles of the Orleans and + Mississippi territories. He was shortly after appointed to + the command of the brig Argus, stationed for the protection + of our commerce on the southern maritime frontier. In this + situation he acted with vigilance and fidelity, and though + there were at one time insidious suggestions to the + contrary, it has appeared that he conformed to his + instructions, promoted the public interest, and gave entire + satisfaction to the government. In 1811, he was transferred + to the command of the sloop-of-war Wasp, mounting eighteen + twenty-four pound carronades, and dispatched, in the spring + of 1812, with communications to the courts of St. Cloud and + St. James. Before he returned, war had been declared against + Great Britain. He refitted his ship with all possible + dispatch, and repaired to sea, but met with no other good + fortune than the capture of an inconsiderable prize. He next + sailed from Philadelphia on the 13th of October, and on the + 18th of the same month encountered a heavy gale, during + which the Wasp lost her jibboom and two seamen. On the + following night, the watch discovered five strange sail + steering eastward. The Wasp hauled to the windward and + closely watched their movements until daylight next morning, + when it was found that they were six large merchant vessels + under convoy of a sloop of war. The former were well manned, + two of them mounting sixteen guns each. Notwithstanding the + apparent disparity of force. Captain Jones determined to + hazard an attack; and as the weather was boisterous, and the + swell of the sea unusually high, he ordered down top-gallant + yards, closely reefed the top-sails, and prepared for + action. We cannot give a detail of this brilliant + engagement, which resulted in the capture of the Frolic. It + was one of the most daring and determined actions in our + naval history. The force of the Frolic consisted of sixteen + thirty-two pound carronades, four twelve-pounders on the + maindeck, and two twelve-pound carronades. Both vessels had + more men than was essential to their efficiency; but while + there was an equality of strength in the crews, there was an + inequality in the number of guns and weight of + metal—the Frolic having four twelve-pounders more than + the Wasp. The exact number of killed and wounded on board + the Frolic could not be ascertained with any degree of + precision; but, from the admissions of the British officers, + it was supposed that their loss in killed was about thirty, + including two officers, and in wounded, between forty and + fifty. The captain and every other officer on board were + more or less severely wounded. The Wasp sustained a loss of + only five men killed, and five wounded.</p> + + <p>While erecting jurymasts on board the Frolic, soon after, a + suspicious sail was seen to windward, upon which Captain Jones + directed Lieutenant Biddle to shape her course for Charleston, + or any other port of the United States, while the Wasp should + continue upon her cruise. The sail coming down rapidly, both + vessels prepared for action, but it was soon discovered, to the + mortification of the victors in this well-fought action, that + the new enemy was a seventy-four, which proved to be the + Poictiers, commanded by Admiral Beresford. Firing a shot over + the Frolic, she passed her, and soon overhauled the Wasp, + which, in her crippled state, was unable to escape. Both + vessels were thus captured, and carried into Bermuda. After a + few weeks, a cartel was proposed by which the officers and crew + of the Wasp were conveyed to New York. On the return of Captain + Jones to the United States, he was everywhere received with + demonstrations of respect for the skill and gallantry displayed + in his combat with the enemy. The legislature of Delaware gave + him a vote of thanks, and a piece of plate. On the motion of + James A. Bayard, of Delaware, Congress appropriated twenty-five + thousand dollars, as a compensation to the commander, his + officers, and crew, for the loss they had sustained by the + recapture of the Frolic. They also voted a gold medal to the + Captain, and a silver medal to each of his commissioned + officers. As a farther evidence of the confidence of + government, Captain Jones was ordered to the command of the + frigate Macedonian, recently captured from the British by + Decatur. She was rapidly fitted out under his direction, in the + harbor of New York, and proposed for one of Decatur's squadron, + which was about to sail on another expedition. In May 1811, the + squadron attempted to put to sea, but, in sailing up Long + Island Sound, encountered a large British force, which + compelled the United States vessels to retreat into New London. + In this situation the enemy continued an uninterrupted blockade + during the war. Finding it impossible to avoid the vigilance of + Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded the blockading fleet, the + government ordered Captain Jones to proceed with his officers + and crew to Sackett's Harbor, and report to Commodore + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page239" + id="page239"></a>[pg 239]</span> Chauncey, as commander of + the frigate Mohawk, on lake Ontario. There the Americans + maintained an ascendency, and continued to cruise until + October, when the British squadron, under Sir James Yeo, + left Kingston, with a greatly superior force, which caused + the United States squadron to return to Sackett's Harbor. It + seemed, indeed, that the contest now depended on the + exertions of the ship carpenters. Two line of battle ships + were placed on the stocks, and were advancing rapidly to + completion, when, in February 1815, the news of peace + arrived, with orders to suspend further operations on these + vessels. A few weeks after the peace was announced, Captain + Jones with his officers and crew was ordered to repair to + the seaboard, and again to take command of the Macedonian, + to form part of the force against the Algerines, then + depredating on our commerce in the Mediterranean. As soon as + the Algerian Regency was informed that war existed between + the United States and Great Britain, the Dey dispatched his + cruisers to capture all American merchant vessels. To punish + these freebooters, nine or ten vessels were fitted out and + placed under Decatur. This armament sailed from New York in + May, 1815, and when off Cadiz was informed that the + Algerines were along the southern coast of Spain. Two days + after reaching the Mediterranean, the United States squadron + fell in with and captured the Algerine frigate Messuado, + mounting forty-six guns, and the next day captured a large + brig of war, both of which were carried into the port of + Carthagena, in Spain. The American squadron then proceeded + to the bay of Algiers, where its sudden and unexpected + appearance excited no slight surprise and alarm in the + Regency. The Dey reluctantly yielded to every demand to him; + he restored the value of the property belonging to American + merchants which he had seized, released all the prisoners he + had captured, and relinquished forever all claims on the + annual tribute which he had received. After having thus + terminated the war with Algiers, and formed an advantageous + treaty, the squadron proceeded to other Barbary capitals, + and adjusted some minor difficulties, which, however, were + of importance to our merchants. After touching at several of + the islands in the Mediterranean, at Naples, and at Malaga, + the entire force came back to the United States early in + December. From this period till his death, no event of much + importance distinguished the career of Commodore Jones. He + was, however, almost constantly employed in various + responsible positions, his appointment to which evinced the + confidence government placed in his talents and discretion. + In 1821, he took the command of a squadron, for the + protection of our trade in the Mediterranean, in which he + continued for three years. On his return he was offered a + seat in the Board of Navy Commissioners, but, finding bureau + duties irksome, he accepted, in 1826, the command of our + navy in the Pacific, where he also continued three years, + Afterward he was placed in command of the Baltimore station, + where he remained, with the exception of a short interval, + until transferred to the harbor of New York. Since 1847, he + had held the place of Governor of the United States Naval + Asylum, on the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>JULIA BETTERTON GLOVER.</h3> + + <p>An actress who has been admired and respected by three + generations of play-goers has quitted the stage of life in the + person of Mrs. Glover. The final exit was somewhat sudden, as + it seemed to the general public; but it was anticipated by her + friends. A friendly biographer in the <i>Morning Chronicle</i> + explains the circumstances; first referring to the + extraordinary manifestations of public feeling which attended + Mrs. Glover's last farewell, at Drury-Lane Theater, on Friday, + the 12th of July.</p> + + <p>"In our capacity of spectators we did not then see occasion + to mention what had otherwise come to our knowledge—that + the evidences of extreme suffering manifested by Mrs. Glover on + that evening—her inability to go through her part, except + as a mere shadow of her former self, and the substitution of an + apologetic speech from Mr. Leigh Murray for the address which + had been written for her by a well-known and talented amateur + of the drama—arose not merely from the emotion natural on + a farewell night, after more than half a century of active + public service, but also from extreme physical debility, the + result of an attack of illness of a wasting character, which + had already confined that venerable lady to her bed for many + days. In fact, it was only the determination of Mrs. Glover + herself not to disappoint the audience, who had been invited + and attracted for many weeks before, that overruled the + remonstrances of her friends and family against her appearing + at all. She was then utterly unfit to appear on the stage in + her professional character, and the most serious alarm was felt + lest there should be some sudden and fatal catastrophe. The + result of the struggle of feeling she then underwent, + superadded as it was to the physical causes which had + undermined her strength, was, that Mrs. Glover sunk under the + disease which had been consuming her, and quitted this life on + Monday night."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Glover, born Julia Betterton, was daughter of an actor + named Betterton, who held a good position on the London stage + toward the close of the last century. She is said to have been + a lineal descendant of the great actor of the same name. Her + birthday was the 8th January, 1781. Brought up, as most of our + great actors and actresses have been, "at the wings," she was + even in infancy sent on the stage in children's parts. She + became attached to the company of Tate Wilkinson, for whom she + played, at York, the part of the <i>Page</i> in <i>The + Orphan</i>; and she <span class="pagenum"><a name="page240" + id="page240"></a>[pg 240]</span> also exercised her juvenile + talents in the part of <i>Tom Thumb</i>, for the benefit of + George Frederick Cooke, who on the occasion doffed his + tragic garb and appeared in the character of + <i>Glumdalcar</i>. Another character which she played + successfully with Cooke was that of the little <i>Duke of + York</i> in <i>Richard the Third</i>; into which, it is + recorded, she threw a degree of spirit and childish + roguishness that acted as a spur on the great tragedian + himself, who never performed better than when seconded by + his childish associate. In 1796 she had attained such a + position in the preparatory school of the provincial + circuits, chiefly at Bath, that she was engaged at Covent + Garden; in the first instance at £10 a week, and ultimately + for five years at £15 a week, rising to £20; terms then + thought "somewhat extraordinary and even exorbitant". Miss + Betterton first appeared in London in October 1797, + fifty-three years ago, as <i>Elvira</i>, in Hannah More's + tragedy of <i>Percy</i>. Her success was great; and in a + short time she had taken such a hold of popular favor, that + when Mrs. Abington returned for a brief period to the stage, + Miss Betterton held her ground against the rival attraction, + and even secured the admiration of Mrs. Abington herself. + Her subsequent engagements were at Drury-Lane and + Covent-Garden alternately, till she made that long + engagement at the Haymarket, during which she has become + best known to the present generation of playgoers. Her more + recent brief engagement with Mr. Anderson, at Drury-Lane, + and her last one with Mr. W. Farren, at the Strand Theater, + whither she contributed so much to attract choice audiences, + are fresh in the memory of metropolitans. Looking back to + Mrs. Glover's "long and brilliant career upon the stage, we + may pronounce her one of the most extraordinary women and + accomplished actresses that have ever graced the profession + of the drama." Mrs. Glover had a daughter, Phillis, a very + clever young actress, at the Haymarket Theater, who has been + dead several years. Her two sons are distinguished, the one + as a popular musical composer, and the other as a clever + tragedian—the latter with considerable talent, also, + as an amateur painter.</p> + + <p>A London correspondent of the <i>Spirit of the Times</i> + gives an interesting account of the Glover benefit, and the + "last scenes."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>MADAME GAVAUDAN is dead. To many it will be necessary to + explain that Madame Gavaudan was, in her time, one of the most + favorite singing-actresses and acting songstresses belonging to + the <i>Opéra Comique</i> of Paris; and that, after many years + of popularity, she retired from the stage in 1823.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>GENERAL BERTHAND, Baron de Sivray, died early in July at + Luc, in France, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. He was an + officer before the first revolution, and served through all the + wars of the Republic and the Empire.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>ROBERT R. BAIRD, a son of the Rev. Dr. Baird, and a young + man of amiable character and considerable literary abilities, + which had been illustrated for the most part, we believe, in + translation, was drowned in the North River at Yonkers on + Tuesday evening, the 6th instant, about seven o'clock. The + deceased had gone into the water to bathe in company with + several others, and was carried by the rising tide into deep + water, where, as he could swim but little, he sunk to rise no + more, before help could reach him. This premature and sudden + death has overwhelmed his parents and friends in the deepest + distress. He was twenty-five years old.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>THE DEATH OF MR. S. JOSEPH, the sculptor, known by his + statue of Wilberforce in Westminster Abbey and his statue of + Wilkie in the National Gallery, is mentioned in the English + papers. His busts exhibit a fine perception of character, and + many a delicate grace in the modeling. Mr. Joseph was long a + resident in Edinburgh. He modeled a bust of Sir Walter Scott + about the same time that Chantrey modeled his—that bust + which best preserves to us the features and character of the + great novelist.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>JAMES WRIGHT, author of the <i>Philosophy of Elocution</i> + and other works chiefly of a religious character, died at + Brighton, England, on the 9th of July, aged 68.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>SIR THOMAS WILDE, who has just been promoted to the + Woolsack, as Baron Truro, we learn from the <i>Illustrated + News</i>, was born in 1782. After practicing as an attorney, he + was called to the bar by the Honorable Society of the Inner + Temple, the 7th February, 1817. He joined the Western Circuit, + and soon rose into considerable practice. His knowledge of the + law, combined with his great eloquence, made him one of the + most successful advocates of his time. He was for many years + the confidential and legal adviser of the late Alderman Sir + Matthew Wood, and his connection with that gentleman caused him + to be engaged as one of the senior counsel for the Queen on the + celebrated trial of Queen Caroline. Though surrounded by rivals + of the highest eminence and the brightest fame, Wilde always + stood among the foremost, and obtained briefs in some of the + greatest causes ever tried. For instance, he was engaged on the + winning side in the famous action of Small v. Atwood, in which + his fees are said to have amounted to something enormous. In + 1824 he became a sergeant-at-law; and he was appointed King's + Sergeant in 1827, and Solicitor-General in 1839, when he + received the honor of knighthood. In 1841 he first became + Attorney-General; and after a second time holding that office, + he succeeded the late Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal, as Lord + Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. His recent appointment as + Lord Chancellor places him at the very summit of his + profession.</p> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page241" + id="page241"></a>[pg 241]</span> + + <h4>[From the <i>London Ladies' Companion</i>.]</h4> + + <h2>THE MORNING SONG.</h2> + + <h4>BY BARRY CORNWALL.</h4> + + <p>A new "English Song," by Barry Cornwall, is now—more's + the pity—a too rare event in the musical year. We are at + once doing our readers a pleasure, and owning a welcome + kindness, in publishing, by the author's permission, these + words, set by M. Benedict, and sung by Madame Sontag.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>The world is waking into light;</p> + + <p class="i2">The dark and sullen night hath flown:</p> + + <p>Life lives and re-assumes its might,</p> + + <p class="i2">And nature smiles upon her throne.</p> + + <p class="i4">And the Lark,</p> + + <p class="i4">Hark!</p> + + <p class="i2"><i>She</i> gives welcome to the day,</p> + + <p class="i2">In a merry, merry, lay,</p> + + <p class="i2">Tra la!—lira, lira, lira, la!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Soft sounds are sailing through the air;</p> + + <p class="i2">Sweet sounds are springing from the + stream;</p> + + <p>And fairest things, where all is fair,</p> + + <p class="i2">Join gently in the grateful theme.</p> + + <p class="i4">And the Lark, &c., &c.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>The morn, the morn is in the skies;</p> + + <p class="i2">The reaper singeth from the corn;</p> + + <p>The shepherd on the hills replies;</p> + + <p class="i2">And all things now salute the morn,</p> + + <p class="i4">Even the Lark, &c., &c.</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h4>[From Eliza Cook's Journal.]</h4> + + <h2>A LESSON.</h2> + + <p>If society ever be wholly corrupted, it will be by the idea + that it is already so. Some cynics believe in virtue, + sincerity, and happiness, only as traditions of the past, and + by ridicule seek to propagate the notion. This vain and + pedantic philosophy would turn all hearts to stone, and arm + every man with suspicion against all others, declaiming against + the romance of life, as empty sentimentalism; against the + belief in goodness, as youth's sanguine folly; and the hope of + pure happiness, as a fanciful dream, created by a young + imagination, to be dissipated by the teaching of a few years' + struggle with the world.</p> + + <p>If this be wisdom, I am no philosopher, and I never wish to + be one; for sooner would I float upon the giddy current of + fancy, to fall among quicksands at last, than travel through a + dull and dreary world, without confidence in my companions. + That we may be happy, that we may find sincere friends, that we + may meet the good, and enjoy the beautiful on earth, is a creed + that will find believers in all hearts unsoured by their own + asceticism. Virtue will sanctify every fireside where we invite + her to dwell, and if the clouds of misfortune darken and deform + the whole period of our existence, it is a darkness that + emanates from ourselves, and a deformity created by us to our + own unhappiness.</p> + + <p>Yet this is not relating the little story which is the + object of my observations. The axiom which I wish to lay down, + to maintain, and to prove correct, is, that married life may be + with most people, should be with all, and is with many, a state + of happiness. The reader may smile at my boldness, but the + history of the personages I shall introduce to walk their hour + on this my little stage, will justify my adopting the + maxim.</p> + + <p>M. Pierre Lavalles, owner of a vineyard, near a certain + village in the south of France, wooed and wedded Mdlle. Julie + Gouchard. Exactly where they dwelt, and all the precise + circumstances of their position, I do not mean to indicate, and + if I might offer a hint to my contemporaries, it would be a + gentle suggestion that they occupy too much time, paper, and + language in geographical and genealogical details, very + wearisome, because very unnecessary. Monsieur Pierre Lavalles + then lived in a pretty house, near a certain village in a + vine-growing district of the south of France, and when he took + his young wife home, he showed her great stores of excellent + things, calculated well for the comfortable subsistence of a + youthful and worthy couple. Flowers and blossoming trees shed + odor near the lattice windows, verdure soft and green was + spread over the garden, and the mantling vine "laid forth the + purple grape," over a rich and sunny plantation near at hand. + The house was small, but neat, and well furnished in the style + of the province, and Monsieur and Madame Pierre Lavalles lived + very happily in plenty and content.</p> + + <p>Here I leave them, and introduce the reader to Monsieur + Antoine Perron, notary in the neighboring village.</p> + + <p>Let me linger over a notice of this individual. He was a + good man, and what is more curious an honest lawyer. Indeed, in + spite of my happy theory, I may say that such a good man, and + such a good lawyer you could seldom meet. All the village knew + him; he mixed up in every one's quarrels; not, as is usually + the case, to make confusion worse confounded by a + double-tongued hypocrisy, but to produce conciliation; he + mingled in every one's affairs, not to pick up profit for + himself, but to prevent the villagers from running into losses + and imprudent speculations; he talked much, yet, it was not + slander, but advice; he thought more, yet it was not over + mischief, but on schemes of good; he was known to everybody, + yet none that knew him respected him the less on that account. + He was a little, spare, merry-looking man, that sought to + appear grave when he was most inclined to merriment, and if he + considered himself a perfect genius in his plans for effecting + good, his vanity may be pardoned, because of the food it fed + on.</p> + + <p>M. Antoine Perron considered himself very ingenious, and if + he had a fault, it was his love of originality. He never liked + to perform any action in a common way, and never chuckled so + gaily to himself, as when he had achieved some charitable end + by some extraordinary means.</p> + + <p>It was seven months after the marriage of M. Pierre + Lavalles, M. Antoine Perron sat in his little parlor, and gazed + with a glad eye upon the cheerful fire, for the short winter + was just terminating. Leaning forward in his chair, he shaded + his face with his hands, and steadily perused the figures among + the coals with a most pleasant countenance. The room was small, + neat, and comfortable, for the notary + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page242" + id="page242"></a>[pg 242]</span> prospered, in his humble + way and seeking only comfort found it, and was content.</p> + + <p>Suddenly a violent knocking at the door aroused him from his + reverie, and he heard his old servant rushing to open it. In a + moment, two persons were ushered into the room, and the notary + leaped to his feet in astonishment at the extraordinary scene + before him. Had a thunderbolt cloven the roof, and passed + through his hearth to its grave in the center of the globe, or + had the trees that nodded their naked branches without the + window commenced a dance upon the snowy ground, he had not been + more surprised.</p> + + <p>Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, and Madame Pierre Lavalles stood + just inside the doorway. Never had Monsieur Perron seen them + before, as he saw them now. Like turtle-doves, with smiling + eyes, and affectionate caress, they had lived in happy harmony + during the seven months of their married life, and motherly + dames, when they gave their daughters away, bade them prosper + and be pleasant in their union, as they had been joyous in + their love, pleasant and joyous, as neighbor Lavalles and his + wife.</p> + + <p>Now, Pierre stood red and angry, with his right arm + extended, gesticulating toward his wife. Julie stood red and + angry, with her left arm extended, gesticulating toward her + husband. Eyes, that had only radiated smiles, flashed with + fierce passion, as the turtle doves remained near the door, + each endeavoring to anticipate the other in some address to the + worthy notary. He, aghast and perplexed, waited for the + <i>denouement</i>.</p> + + <p>"Madame," said Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, "allow me to + speak."</p> + + <p>"Monsieur," said Madame Pierre Lavalles. "I + insist—"</p> + + <p>"But, Madame, it is my—"</p> + + <p>"But, Monsieur, I say I will."</p> + + <p>"And yet I will."</p> + + <p>"But no—"</p> + + <p>"Madame, I shall."</p> + + <p>"Then be careful what you do; M. Perron, M. Lavalles is + mad."</p> + + <p>Then the lady, having thus emphatically declared herself, + resigned the right of speech to her husband, who began to jerk + out in disconnected phrases a statement of his case. Seven days + ago he had annoyed his wife by some incautious word; she had + annoyed him by an incautious answer; he had made matters worse + by an aggravating retort; and she had widened the breach by a + bitter reply. This little squall was succeeded by a cool calm, + and that by a sullen silence, until some sudden friction + kindled a new flame, and finally, after successive storms and + lulls, there burst forth a furious conflagration, and in the + violent collision of their anger, the seven-months' married + pair vowed to separate, and with that resolve had visited M. + Perron. Reconciliation they declared was beyond possibility, + and they requested the notary at once to draw up the documents + that should consign them to different homes, to subsist on a + divided patrimony, in loveless and unhappy marriage. Each told + a tale in turn, and the manner of relation added fuel to the + anger of the other. The man and the woman seemed to have leaped + out of their nature in the accession of their passion. Pity + that a quarrel should ever dilate thus, from a cloud the size + of a man's hand to a thunder-storm that covers heaven with its + black and dismal canopy.</p> + + <p>Neither would listen to reason. The duty of the notary was + to prepare the process by which they were to be separated.</p> + + <p>"Monsieur," he said, "I will arrange the affair for you; but + you are acquainted with the laws of France in this + respect!"</p> + + <p>"I know nothing of the law," replied M. Pierre Lavalles.</p> + + <p>"Madame," said the notary, "your wish shall be complied + with. But you know what the law says on this head?"</p> + + <p>"I never read a law book," sharply ejaculated Madame Pierre + Lavalles.</p> + + <p>"Then," resumed the notary, "the case is this. You must + return to your house, and I will proceed to settle the + proceedings with the Judicatory Court at Paris. They are very + strict. You must furnish me with all the documents relative to + property."</p> + + <p>"I have them here," put in the husband, by way of + parenthesis.</p> + + <p>"And the whole affair including correspondence, preparations + of instruments, &c., will be settled in less than three + months."</p> + + <p>"Three months?"</p> + + <p>"Three months. Yes, in less than three months."</p> + + <p>"Then I will live with a friend at the village, until it is + finished," said Madame Lavalles, in a decided, peremptory tone, + usual with ladies when they are a little ashamed of themselves, + or any one else.</p> + + <p>"Oh, very well, Madame,—oh, very well."</p> + + <p>"Not at all well, Madame; not at all well, Monsieur," said + the notary, with a solid, immovable voice. "You must live as + usual. If you doubt my knowledge of the law, you will, by + reading through these seven books, find that this fact is + specified."</p> + + <p>But the irritated couple were not disposed to undertake the + somniferous task, and shortly left the house, as they had come, + walking the same way, but at a distance of a yard or so one + from another.</p> + + <p>Two months and twenty-seven days had passed, when the notary + issued from his house, and proceeded toward the house where + Monsieur and Madame Lavalles dwelt. Since the fatal night I + have described, he had not encountered them, and he now, with a + bland face and confident head, approached the dwelling.</p> + + <p>It was a pretty place. Passing through the sunny vineyards + where the spring was just calling out the leaves, and the young + shoots in their tints of tender green were sprouting in the + warmth of a pleasant day; the notary entered a garden. Here the + flowers, in infant bloom, had prepared the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page243" + id="page243"></a>[pg 243]</span> earth for the coming + season, for summer in her gay attire was tripping from the + south, and as she passed, nature wove garlands to adorn her + head, and wreathe about her arms. Early blossoms lent + sweetness to the breath of the idle winds that loitered in + this delightful spot, and the fair young primrose was sown + over the parterres, with other flowers of spring, the most + delicate and softly fragrant, that come out to live their + hour in modesty and safety, while the earth affords them + room, and before the bright and gaudy bloom of a riper + season eclipses their beauty, bidding them, blushing, close + their petals.</p> + + <p>Early roses twined on either side the porch, and as the + notary entered, nothing struck him more than the neat and + cheerful appearance of the place. A demoiselle ushered him into + a little parlor, where Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, and Madame + Julie Lavalles, had just sat down to partake breakfast.</p> + + <p>A small table was drawn up close to the open window, and + vernal breezes found welcome in the chamber. A snowy cloth hung + down to the well-polished floor, and tall white cups were + placed upon it to rival it in purity and grace. Cakes of bread, + such bread as is only had in France, with delicious butter, and + rich brown foaming coffee frothed with cream, were spread + before them, and a basket of fresh spring flowers, sparkling + with dew and beautifully odorous, scented the whole chamber + with a delicate perfume.</p> + + <p>The husband and wife sat side by side, with pleasant looks, + and so engaged in light and amiable conversation, that they + hardly noticed the entrance of the notary. The storm had + vanished and left no trace. Flushes of anger, flashes of spite, + quick breathings, and disordered looks—all these had + passed, and now smiles, and eyes lit only with kindness, and + bosoms beating with calm content, and looks all full of love, + were alone to be observed.</p> + + <p>When M. Antoine Perron entered, they started; at length, and + then recollecting his mission, blushed crimson, looked one at + another, and then at the ground, awaiting his address.</p> + + <p>"Monsieur, and Madame," said the notary, "according to your + desires I come with all the documents necessary for your + separation, and the division of your property. They only want + your signature, and we will call in your servant to be + witness."</p> + + <p>"Stay," exclaimed Madame Julie, laughing at her husband, + "Pierre, explain to M. Perron."</p> + + <p>"Ah, Monsieur Perron," said Monsieur Antoine Lavalles, "we + had forgotten that, and hoped you had also. Say not a word of + it to any one."</p> + + <p>"No, not a word," said Madame Julie. "We never quarreled but + once since we married, and we never mean to quarrel again."</p> + + <p>"Not unless you provoke it," said Monsieur Lavalles, + audaciously. "But M. Perron, you will take breakfast with + us?"</p> + + <p>"You're a wicked wretch," said Madame Julie, tapping him on + the cheek. "After breakfast, M. Perron, we will sign the + papers."</p> + + <p>"After breakfast," said M. Pierre Lavalles, "we will burn + them."</p> + + <p>"We shall see," said the notary. "Sign them or burn them. + Madame Julie Lavalles, your coffee is charming."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>After seven months' harmony, do not let seven days' quarrel + destroy the happiness of home. Do not follow the directions of + a person in a passion. Allow him to cool and consider his + purpose.</p> + <hr /> + + <h4>[From Dickens's Household Words.]</h4> + + <h2>DUST;</h2> + + <h3>OR UGLINESS REDEEMED.</h3> + + <p>On a murky morning in November, wind north-east, a poor old + woman with a wooden leg was seen struggling against the fitful + gusts of the bitter breeze, along a stony zigzag road, full of + deep and irregular cart-ruts. Her ragged petticoat was blue, + and so was her wretched nose. A stick was in her left hand, + which assisted her to dig and hobble her way along; and in her + other hand, supported also beneath her withered arm, was a + large rusty iron sieve. Dust and fine ashes filled up all the + wrinkles in her face; and of these there were a prodigious + number, for she was eighty-three years old. Her name was Peg + Dotting.</p> + + <p>About a quarter of a mile distant, having a long ditch and a + broken-down fence as a foreground, there rose against the + muddled-gray sky, a huge Dust-heap of a dirty black color, + being, in fact, one of those immense mounds of cinders, ashes, + and other emptyings from dust-holes and bins, which have + conferred celebrity on certain suburban neighborhoods of a + great city. Toward this dusky mountain old Peg Dotting was now + making her way.</p> + + <p>Advancing toward the Dust-heap by an opposite path, very + narrow, and just reclaimed from the mud by a thick layer of + freshly-broken flints, there came at the same time Gaffer + Doubleyear, with his bone-bag slung over his shoulder. The rags + of his coat fluttered in the east-wind, which also whistled + keenly round his almost rimless hat, and troubled his one eye. + The other eye, having met with an accident last week, he had + covered neatly with an oyster-shell, which was kept in its + place by a string at each side, fastened through a hole. He + used no staff to help him along, though his body was nearly + bent double, so that his face was constantly turned to the + earth, like that of a four-footed creature. He was ninety-seven + years of age. As these two patriarchal laborers approached the + great Dust-heap, a discordant voice hallooed to them from the + top of a broken wall. It was meant as a greeting of the + morning, and proceeded from little Jem Clinker, a poor deformed + lad, whose back had been broken when a child. His nose and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page244" + id="page244"></a>[pg 244]</span> chin were much too large + for the rest of his face, and he had lost nearly all his + teeth from premature decay. But he had an eye gleaming with + intelligence and life, and an expression at once patient and + hopeful. He had balanced his misshapen frame on the top of + the old wall, over which one shriveled leg dangled, as if by + the weight of a hob-nailed boot that covered a foot large + enough for a plowman.</p> + + <p>In addition to his first morning's salutation of his two + aged friends, he now shouted out in a tone of triumph and + self-gratulation, in which he felt assured of their + sympathy—</p> + + <p>"Two white skins, and a tor'shell-un!"</p> + + <p>It may be requisite to state that little Jem Clinker + belonged to the dead-cat department of the Dust-heap, and now + announced that a prize of three skins, in superior condition. + had rewarded him for being first in the field.</p> + + <p>He was enjoying a seat on the wall, in order to recover + himself from the excitement of his good fortune.</p> + + <p>At the base of the great Dust-heap the two old people now + met their young friend—a sort of great-grandson by mutual + adoption—and they at once joined the party who had by + this time assembled as usual, and were already busy at their + several occupations.</p> + + <p>But besides all these, another individual, belonging to a + very different class, formed a part of the scene, though + appearing only on its outskirts. A canal ran along at the rear + of the Dust-heap, and on the banks of its opposite side slowly + wandered by—with hands clasped and hanging down in front + of him, and eyes bent vacantly upon his hands—the forlorn + figure of a man, in a very shabby great-coat, which had + evidently once belonged to one in the position of a gentleman. + And to a gentleman it still belonged—but in <i>what</i> a + position! A scholar, a man of wit, of high sentiment, of + refinement, and a good fortune withal—now by a sudden + turn of law bereft of the last only, and finding that none of + the rest, for which (having his fortune) he had been so much + admired, enabled him to gain a livelihood. His title-deeds had + been lost or stolen, and so he was bereft of everything he + possessed. He had talents, and such as would have been + profitably available had he known how to use them for his new + purpose; but he did not; he was misdirected; he made fruitless + efforts in his want of experience; and he was now starving. As + he passed the great Dust-heap, he gave one vague, melancholy + gaze that way, and then looked wistfully into the canal. And he + continued to look into the canal as he slowly moved along, till + he was out of sight.</p> + + <p>A Dust-heap of this kind is often worth thousands of pounds. + The present one was very large and very valuable. It was in + fact a large hill, and being in the vicinity of small suburb + cottages, it rose above them like a great black mountain. + Thistles, groundsel, and rank grass grew in knots on small + parts which had remained for a long time undisturbed; crows + often alighted on its top, and seemed to put on their + spectacles and become very busy and serious; flocks of sparrows + often made predatory descents upon it; an old goose and gander + might sometimes he seen following each other up its side, + nearly midway; pigs rooted around its base,—and now and + then, one bolder than the rest would venture some way up, + attracted by the mixed odors of some hidden marrow-bone + enveloped in a decayed cabbage-leaf—a rare event, both of + these articles being unusual oversights of the Searchers + below.</p> + + <p>The principal ingredient of all these Dust-heaps is fine + cinders and ashes; but as they are accumulated from the + contents of all the dust-holes and bins of the vicinity, and as + many more as possible, the fresh arrivals in their original + state present very heterogeneous materials. We cannot better + describe them than by presenting a brief sketch of the + different departments of the Searchers and Sorters, who are + assembled below to busy themselves upon the mass of original + matters which are shot out from the carts of the dustmen.</p> + + <p>The bits of coal, the pretty numerous results of accident + and servants' carelessness, are picked out, to be sold + forthwith; the largest and best of the cinders are also + selected, by another party, who sell them to laundresses, or to + braziers (for whose purposes coke would do as well;) and the + next sort of cinders, called the <i>breeze</i>, because it is + left after the wind has blown the finer cinders through an + upright sieve, is sold to the brick-makers.</p> + + <p>Two other departments, called the "soft-ware" and the + "hard-ware," are very important. The former includes all + vegetable and animal matters—everything that will + decompose. These are selected and bagged at once, and carried + off as soon as possible, to be sold as manure for plowed land, + wheat, barley, &c. Under this head, also, the dead cats are + comprised. They are generally the perquisites of the women + searchers. Dealers come to the wharf, or dust-field, every + evening; they give sixpence for a white cat, fourpence for a + colored cat, and for a black one according to her quality. The + "hard-ware" includes all broken pottery pans, crockery, + earthenware, oyster-shells, &c., which are sold to make new + roads.</p> + + <p>The bones are selected with care, and sold to the + soap-boiler. He boils out the fat and marrow first, for special + use, and the bones are then crushed and sold for manure.</p> + + <p>Of rags, the woollen rags are bagged and sent off for + hop-manure; the white linen rags are washed, and sold to make + paper, &c.</p> + + <p>The "tin things" are collected and put into an oven with a + grating at the bottom, so that the solder which unites the + parts melts, and runs through into a receiver. This is sold + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page245" + id="page245"></a>[pg 245]</span> separately; the detached + pieces of tin are then sold to be melted up with old iron, + &c.</p> + + <p>Bits of old brass, lead, &c., are sold to be molted up + separately, or in the mixture of ores.</p> + + <p>All broken glass vessels, as cruets, mustard-pots, tumblers, + wine-glasses, bottles, &c., are sold to the old-glass + shops.</p> + + <p>As for any articles of jewelry, silver spoons, forks, + thimbles, or other plate and valuables, they are pocketed + off-hand by the first finder. Coins of gold and silver are + often found, and many "coppers."</p> + + <p>Meantime, everybody is hard at work near the base of the + great Dust-heap. A certain number of cart-loads having been + raked and searched for all the different things just described, + the whole of it now undergoes the process of sifting. The men + throw up the stuff, and the women sift it.</p> + + <p>"When I was a young girl," said Peg Dotting—</p> + + <p>"That's a long while ago, Peggy," interrupted one of the + sifters: but Peg did not hear her.</p> + + <p>"When I was quite a young thing," continued she, addressing + old John Doubleyear, who threw up the dust into her sieve, "it + was the fashion to wear pink roses in the shoes, as bright as + that morsel of ribbon Sally has just picked out of the dust; + yes, and sometimes in the hair, too, on one side of the head, + to set off the white powder and salve-stuff. I never wore one + of these head-dresses myself—don't throw up the dust so + high, John—but I lived only a few doors lower down from + those as did. Don't throw up the dust so high, I tell + 'ee—the wind takes it into my face."</p> + + <p>"Ah! There! What's that?" suddenly exclaimed little Jem, + running as fast as his poor withered legs would allow him + toward a fresh heap, which had just been shot down on the wharf + from a dustman's cart. He made a dive and a search—then + another—then one deeper still. "I'm sure I saw it!" cried + he, and again made a dash with both hands into a fresh place, + and began to distribute the ashes and dust and rubbish on every + side, to the great merriment of all the rest.</p> + + <p>"What did you see, Jemmy?" asked old Doubleyear, in a + compassionate tone.</p> + + <p>"Oh, I don't know," said the boy, "only it was like a bit of + something made of real gold!"</p> + + <p>A fresh burst of laughter from the company assembled + followed this somewhat vague declaration, to which the dustmen + added one or two elegant epithets, expressive of their contempt + of the notion that they could have overlooked a bit of anything + valuable in the process of emptying sundry dust-holes, and + carting them away.</p> + + <p>"Ah," said one of the sifters, "poor Jem's always a-fancying + something or other good but it never comes."</p> + + <p>"Didn't I find three cats this morning?" cried Jem, "two on + 'em white 'uns! How you go on!"</p> + + <p>"I meant something quite different from the like o' that," + said the other; "I was a-thinking of the rare sights all you + three there have had, one time and another."</p> + + <p>The wind having changed, and the day become bright, the + party at work all seemed disposed to be more merry than usual. + The foregoing remark excited the curiosity of several of the + sifters, who had recently joined the "company": the parties + alluded to were requested to favor them with the recital; and + though the request was made with only a half-concealed irony, + still it was all in good-natured pleasantry, and was + immediately complied with. Old Doubleyear spoke first:</p> + + <p>"I had a bad night of it with the rats some years + ago—they runn'd all over the floor, and over the bed, and + one on 'em come'd and guv a squeak close into my ear—so I + couldn't sleep comfortable. I wouldn't ha' minded a trifle of + it, but this was too much of a good thing. So I got up before + sunrise, and went out for a walk; and thinking I might as well + be near our work-place, I slowly come'd down this way! I worked + in a brick-field at that time, near the canal yonder. The sun + was just a rising up behind the Dust-heap as I got in sight of + it, and soon it rose above, and was very bright; and though I + had two eyes then, I was obligated to shut them both. When I + opened them again, the sun was higher up; but in his haste to + get over the Dust-heap, he had dropped something. You may + laugh—I say he dropped something. Well I can't say what + it was, in course—a bit of his-self, I suppose. It was + just like him—a bit on him, I mean—quite as + bright—just the same—only not so big. And not up in + the sky, but a-lying and sparkling all on fire upon the + Dust-heap. Thinks I—I was a younger man then by some + years than I am now—I'll go and have a nearer look. + Though you be a bit o' the sun, maybe you won't hurt a poor + man. So I walked toward the Dust-heap, and up I went, keeping + the piece of sparkling fire in sight all the while. But before + I got up to it, the sun went behind a cloud—and as he + went out—like, so the young 'un he had dropped, went out + arter him. And I had to climb up the heap for nothing, though I + had marked the place vere it lay very percizely. But there was + no signs at all on him, and no morsel left of the light as had + been there. I searched all about; but found nothing 'cept a bit + 'o broken glass as had got stuck in the heel of an old shoe. + And that's my story. But if ever a man saw anything at all, I + saw a bit o' the sun; and I thank God for it. It was a blessed + sight for a poor ragged old man of threescore and ten, which + was my age at that time."</p> + + <p>"Now, Peggy!" cried several voices, "tell us what you saw. + Peg saw a bit o' the moon."</p> + + <p>"No," said Mrs. Dotting, rather indignantly; "I'm no + moon-raker. Not a sign of the moon was there, nor a spark of a + star the time I speak + on."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page246" + id="page246"></a>[pg 246]</span> + + <p>"Well—go on, Peggy—go on."</p> + + <p>"I don't know as I will," said Peggy.</p> + + <p>But being pacified by a few good-tempered, though somewhat + humorous, compliments, she thus favored them with her little + adventure:</p> + + <p>"There was no moon, or stars, or comet, in the 'versal + heavens, nor lamp nor lantern along the road, when I walked + home one winter's night from the cottage of Widow Pin, where I + had been to tea with her and Mrs. Dry, as lived in the + almshouses. They wanted Davy, the son of Bill Davy the milkman, + to see me home with the lantern, but I wouldn't let him, 'cause + of his sore throat. Throat!—no it wasn't his throat as + was rare sore—it was—no, it wasn't—yes, it + was—it was his toe as was sore. His big toe. A nail out + of his boot had got into it. I <i>told</i> him he'd be sure to + have a bad toe, if he didn't go to church more regular, but he + wouldn't listen; and so my words come'd true. But, as I was + a-saying, I wouldn't let him by reason of his sore + throat—toe, I mean—and as I went along, the night + seemed to grow darker and darker. A straight road, though, and + I was so used to it by day-time, it didn't matter for the + darkness. Hows'ever, when I come'd near the bottom of the + Dust-heap as I had to pass, the great dark heap was so 'zackly + the same as the night, you couldn't tell one from t'other. So, + thinks I to myself—<i>what</i> was I thinking of at this + moment?—for the life o' me I can't call it to mind; but + that's neither here nor there, only for this—it was a + something that led me to remember the story of how the devil + goes about like a roaring lion. And while I was a-hoping he + might not he out a-roaring that night, what should I see rise + out of one side of the Dust-heap, but a beautiful shining star, + of a violet color. I stood as still, as stock-still as any I + don't-know-what! There it lay, as beautiful as a new-born babe, + all a-shining in the dust! By degrees I got courage to go a + little nearer—and then a little nearer still—for, + says I to myself, I'm a sinful woman, I know, but I have + repented, and do repent constantly of all the sins of my youth + and the backslidings of my age—which have been numerous; + and once I had a very heavy backsliding—but that's + neither here nor there. So, as I was a-saying, having collected + all my sinfulness of life, and humbleness before Heaven, into a + goodish bit of courage, forward I steps—a little + furder—and a leetle furder more—<i>un</i>-til I + come'd just up to the beautiful shining star lying upon the + dust. Well, it was a long time I stood a-looking down at it, + before I ventured to do what I arterwards did. But at last I + did stoop down with both hands slowly—in case it might + burn, or bite—and gathering up a good scoop of ashes as + my hands went along. I took it up, and began a-carrying it + home, all shining before me, and with a soft blue mist rising + up round about it. Heaven forgive me! I was punished for + meddling with what Providence had sent for some better purpose + than to be carried borne by an old woman like me, whom it had + pleased Heaven to afflict with the loss of one leg, and the + pain, ixpinse, and inconvenience of a wooden one. Well, I + <i>was</i> punished; covetousness had its reward; for, + presently, the violet light got very pale, and then went out; + and when I reached home, still holding in both hands all I had + gathered up, and when I took it to the candle, it had burned + into the red shell of a lobsky's head, and its two black eyes + poked up at me with a long stare—and I may say, a strong + smell, too—enough to knock a poor body known."</p> + + <p>Great applause, and no little laughter, followed the + conclusion of old Peggy's story, but she did not join in the + merriment. She said it was all very well for young folks to + laugh, but at her age she had enough to do to pray; and she had + never said so many prayers, nor with so much fervency, as she + had done since she received the blessed sight of the blue star + on the Dust-heap, and the chastising rod of the lobster's head + at home.</p> + + <p>Little Jem's turn now came: the poor lad was, however, so + excited by the recollection of what his companions called + "Jem's Ghost," that he was unable to describe it in any + coherent language. To his imagination it had been a lovely + vision,—the one "bright consummate flower" of his life, + which he treasured up as the most sacred image in his heart. He + endeavored, in wild and hasty words, to set forth, how that he + had been bred a chimney-sweep; that one Sunday afternoon he had + left a set of companions, most on 'em sweeps, who were all + playing at marbles in the church-yard, and he had wandered to + the Dust-heap, where he had fallen asleep; that he was awoke by + a sweet voice in the air, which said something about some one + having lost her way!—that he, being now wide awake, + looked up, and saw with his own eyes a young Angel, with fair + hair and rosy cheeks, and large white wings at her shoulders, + floating about like bright clouds, rise out of the dust! She + had on a garment of shining crimson, which changed as he looked + upon her to shining gold. She then exclaimed, with a joyful + smile, "I see the right way!" and the next moment the Angel was + gone!</p> + + <p>As the sun was just now very bright and warm for the time of + year, and shining full upon the Dust-heap in its setting, one + of the men endeavored to raise a laugh at the deformed lad, by + asking him if he didn't expect to see just such another angel + at this minute, who had lost her way in the field on the other + side of the heap; but his jest failed. The earnestness and + devout emotion of the boy to the vision of reality which his + imagination, aided by the hues of sunset, had thus exalted, + were too much for the gross spirit of banter, and the speaker + shrunk back into his dust-shovel, and affected to be very + assiduous in his + work.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page247" + id="page247"></a>[pg 247]</span> + + <p>Before the day's work was ended, however, little Jem again + had a glimpse of the prize which had escaped him on the + previous occasion. He instantly darted, hands and head + foremost, into the mass of cinders and rubbish, and brought up + a black mass of half-burnt parchment, entwined with vegetable + refuse, from which he speedily disengaged an oval frame of + gold, containing a miniature, still protected by its glass, but + half covered with mildew from the damp. He was in ecstacies at + the prize. Even the white catskins paled before it. In all + probability some of the men would have taken it from him, "to + try and find the owner," but for the presence and interference + of his friends Peg Dotting and old Doubleyear, whose great age, + even among the present company, gave them a certain position of + respect and consideration. So all the rest now went their way, + leaving the three to examine and speculate on the prize.</p> + + <p>These Dust-heaps are a wonderful compound of things. A + banker's cheque for a considerable sum was found in one of + them. It was on Merries & Farquhar, in 1847. But bankers' + cheques, or gold and silver articles, are the least valuable of + their ingredients. Among other things, a variety of useful + chemicals are extracted. Their chief value, however, is for the + making of bricks. The fine cinder-dust and ashes are used in + the clay of the bricks, both for the red and gray stacks. Ashes + are also used as fuel between the layers of the clump of + bricks, which could not be burned in that position without + them. The ashes burn away, and keep the bricks open. Enormous + quantities are used. In the brickfields at Uxbridge, near the + Drayton Station, one of the brickmakers alone will frequently + contract for fifteen or sixteen thousand chaldrons of this + cinder-dust, in one order. Fine coke, or coke-dust, affects the + market at times as a rival; but fine coal, or coal-dust, never, + because it would spoil the bricks.</p> + + <p>As one of the heroes of our tale had been + originally—before his promotion—a chimney-sweeper, + it may be only appropriate to offer a passing word on the + genial subject of soot. Without speculating on its origin and + parentage, whether derived from the cooking of a + Christmas-dinner, or the production of the beautiful colors and + odors of exotic plants in a conservatory, it can briefly be + shown to possess many qualities both useful and ornamental.</p> + + <p>When soot is first collected, it is called "rough soot", + which, being sifted, is then called "fine soot", and is sold to + farmers for manuring and preserving wheat and turnips. This is + more especially used in Herefordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, + &c. It is rather a costly article, being fivepence per + bushel. One contractor sells annually as much as three thousand + bushels; and he gives it as his opinion, that there must be at + least one hundred and fifty times this quantity (four hundred + and fifty thousand bushels per annum) sold in London. Farmer + Smutwise, of Bradford, distinctly asserts that the price of the + soot he uses on his land is returned to him in the straw, with + improvement also to the grain. And we believe him. Lime is used + to dilute soot when employed as a manure. Using it pure will + keep off snails, slugs, and caterpillars from peas and various + other vegetables, as also from dahlias just shooting up, and + other flowers; but we regret to add that we have sometimes + known it kill or burn up the things it was intended to preserve + from unlawful eating. In short, it is by no means so safe to + use for any purpose of garden manure, as fine cinders and + wood-ashes, which are good for almost any kind of produce, + whether turnips or roses. Indeed, we should like to have one + fourth or fifth part of our garden-beds composed of excellent + stuff of this kind. From all that has been said, it will have + become very intelligible why these Dust-heaps are so valuable. + Their worth, however, varies not only with their magnitude, + (the quality of all of them is much the same,) but with the + demand. About the year 1820, the Marylebone Dust-heap produced + between four thousand and five thousand pounds. In 1832, St. + George's paid Mr. Stapleton five hundred pounds a year, not to + leave the Heap standing, but to carry it away. Of course he was + only too glad to be paid highly for selling his Dust.</p> + + <p>But to return. The three friends having settled to their + satisfaction the amount of money they should probably obtain by + the sale of the golden miniature-frame, and finished the + castles which they had built with it in the air, the frame was + again infolded in the sound part of the parchment, the rags and + rottenness of the law were cast away, and up they rose to bend + their steps homeward to the little hovel where Peggy lived, she + having invited the others to tea, that they might talk yet more + fully over the wonderful good luck that had befallen them.</p> + + <p>"Why, if there isn't a man's head in the canal!" suddenly + cried little Jem. "Looky there!—isn't that a man's + head?—Yes; it's a drownded man!"</p> + + <p>"A drownded man, as I live!" ejaculated old Doubleyear.</p> + + <p>"Let's get him out, and see!" cried Peggy. "Perhaps the poor + soul's not quite gone."</p> + + <p>Little Jem scuttled off to the edge of the canal, followed + by the two old people. As soon as the body had floated nearer, + Jem got down into the water, and stood breast-high, vainly + measuring his distance, with one arm out, to see if he could + reach some part of the body as it was passing. As the attempt + was evidently without a chance, old Doubleyear Managed to get + down into the water behind aim, and holding him by one hand, + the boy was thus enabled to make a plunge forward as the body + was floating by. He succeeded in reaching it, but the jerk was + too much for <span class="pagenum"><a name="page248" + id="page248"></a>[pg 248]</span> his aged companion, who was + pulled forward into the canal. A loud cry burst from both of + them, which was yet more loudly echoed by Peggy on the bank. + Doubleyear and the boy were now struggling almost in the + middle of the canal, with the body of the man twirling about + between them. They would inevitably have been drowned, had + not old Peggy caught up a long dust-rake that was close at + hand—scrambled down up to her knees in the + canal—clawed hold of the struggling group with the + teeth of the rake, and fairly brought the whole to land. Jem + was first up the bank, and helped up his two heroic + companions; after which, with no small difficulty, they + contrived to haul the body of the stranger out of the water. + Jem at once recognized in him the forlorn figure of the man + who had passed by in the morning, looking so sadly into the + canal as he walked along.</p> + + <p>It is a fact well known to those who work in the vicinity of + these great Dust-heaps, that when the ashes have been warmed by + the sun, cats and kittens that have been taken out of the canal + and buried a few inches beneath the surface, have usually + revived; and the same has often occurred in the case of men. + Accordingly, the three, without a moment's hesitation, dragged + the body along to the Dust-heap, where they made a deep trench, + in which they placed it, covering it all over up to the + neck.</p> + + <p>"There now," ejaculated Peggy, sitting down with a long puff + to recover her breath, "he'll lie very comfortable, whether or + no."</p> + + <p>"Couldn't lie better," said old Doubleyear, "even if he knew + it."</p> + + <p>The three now seated themselves close by, to await the + result.</p> + + <p>"I thought I'd a lost him," said Jem, "and myself too; and + when I pulled Daddy in arter me, I guv us all three up for this + world."</p> + + <p>"Yes," said Doubleyear, "it must have gone queer with us if + Peggy had not come in with the rake. How d'yee feel, old girl? + for you've had a narrow escape too. I wonder we were not too + heavy for you, and so pulled you in to go with us."</p> + + <p>"The Lord be praised!" fervently ejaculated Peggy, pointing + toward the pallid face that lay surrounded with ashes. A + convulsive twitching passed over the features, the lips + trembled, the ashes over the breast heaved, and a low moaning + sound, which might have come from the bottom of the canal, was + heard. Again the moaning sound, and then the eyes opened, but + closed almost immediately.</p> + + <p>"Poor dear soul," whispered Peggy, "how he suffers in + surviving. Lift him up a little. Softly. Don't be afeard. We're + only your good angels, like—only poor + cinder-sifters—don'tee be afeard."</p> + + <p>By various kindly attentions and maneuvers such as these + poor people had been accustomed to practice on those who were + taken out of the canal, the unfortunate gentleman was gradually + brought to his senses. He gazed about him, as well he + might—now looking in the anxious, though begrimed, faces + of the three strange objects, all in their "weeds" and + dust—and then up at the huge Dust-heap, over which the + moon was now slowly rising.</p> + + <p>"Land of quiet Death!" murmured he, faintly, "or land of + Life, as dark and still—I have passed from one into the + other; but which of ye I am now in, seems doubtful to my + senses."</p> + + <p>"Here we are, poor gentleman," cried Peggy, "here we are, + all friends about you. How did'ee tumble into the canal?"</p> + + <p>"The Earth, then, once more!" said the stranger, with a deep + sigh. "I know where I am, now. I remember this great dark hill + of ashes—like Death's kingdom, full of all sorts of + strange things, and put to many uses."</p> + + <p>"Where do you live?" asked old Doubleyear. "Shall we try and + take you home, sir?"</p> + + <p>The stranger shook his head mournfully. All this time, + little Jem had been assiduously employed in rubbing his feet + and then big hands; in doing which, the piece of dirty + parchment, with the miniature-frame, dropped out of his + breast-pocket. A good thought instantly struck Peggy.</p> + + <p>"Run, Jemmy dear—run with that golden thing to Mr. + Spikechin, the pawnbroker's—get something upon it + directly, and buy some nice brandy—and some Godfrey's + cordial—and a blanket, Jemmy—and call a coach, and + get up outside on it, and make the coachee drive back here as + fast as you can."</p> + + <p>But before Jemmy could attend to this, Mr. Waterhouse, the + stranger whose life they had preserved, raised himself on one + elbow, and extended his hand to the miniature-frame. Directly + he looked at it he raised himself higher up—turned it + about once or twice—then caught up the piece of + parchment, and uttering an ejaculation which no one could have + distinguished either as of joy or of pain, sank back + fainting.</p> + + <p>In brief, this parchment was a portion of the title-deeds he + had lost; and though it did not prove sufficient to enable him + to recover his fortune, it brought his opponent to a + composition, which gave him an annuity for life. Small as this + was, he determined that these poor people, who had so + generously saved his life at the risk of their own, should be + sharers in it. Finding that what they most desired was to have + a cottage in the neighborhood of the Dust-heap, built large + enough for all three to live together, and keep a cow, Mr. + Waterhouse paid a visit to Manchester Square, where the owner + of the property resided. He told his story, as far as was + needful, and proposed to purchase the field in question.</p> + + <p>The great Dust-Contractor was much amused, and his + daughter—a very accomplished young lady—was + extremely interested. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page249" + id="page249"></a>[pg 249]</span> So the matter was speedily + arranged to the satisfaction and pleasure of all parties. + The acquaintance, however, did not end here. Mr. Waterhouse + renewed his visits very frequently, and finally made + proposals for the young lady's hand, she having already + expressed her hopes of a propitious answer from her + father.</p> + + <p>"Well, Sir," said the latter, "you wish to marry my + daughter, and she wishes to marry you. You are a gentleman and + a scholar, but you have no money. My daughter is what you see, + and she has no money. But I have; and therefore, as she likes + you and I like you, I'll make you both an offer. I will give my + daughter twenty thousand pounds,—or you shall have the + Dust-heap. Choose!"</p> + + <p>Mr. Waterhouse was puzzled and amused, and referred the + matter entirely to the young lady. But she was for having the + money, and no trouble. She said the Dust-heap might be worth + much, but they did not understand the business.</p> + + <p>"Very well," said her father, laughing, "then, there's the + money."</p> + + <p>This was the identical Dust-heap, as we know from authentic + information, which was subsequently sold for forty thousand + pounds, and was exported to Russia to rebuild Moscow.</p> + <hr /> + + <h4>[From Household Words.]</h4> + + <h2>AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY.</h2> + + <p>In one of the dirtiest and most gloomy streets leading to + the Rue St. Denis, in Paris, there stands a tall and ancient + house, the lower portion of which is a large mercer's shop. + This establishment is held to be one of the very best in the + neighborhood, and has for many years belonged to an individual + on whom we will bestow the name of Ramin.</p> + + <p>About ten years ago, Monsieur Ramin was a jovial red-faced + man of forty, who joked his customers into purchasing his + goods, flattered the pretty <i>grisettes</i> outrageously, and + now and then gave them a Sunday treat at the barrier, as the + cheapest way of securing their custom. Some people thought him + a careless, good-natured fellow, and wondered how, with his + off-hand ways, he contrived to make money so fast, but those + who knew him well saw that he was one of those who "never lost + an opportunity." Others declared that Monsieur Ramin's own + definition of his character was, that he was a "<i>bon + enfant</i>," and that "it was all luck." He shrugged his + shoulders and laughed when people hinted at his deep scheming + in making, and his skill in taking advantage of Excellent + Opportunities.</p> + + <p>He was sitting in his gloomy parlor one fine morning in + spring, breakfasting from a dark liquid honored with the name + of onion soup, glancing at the newspaper, and keeping a + vigilant look on the shop through the open door, when his old + servant Catharine suddenly observed:</p> + + <p>"I suppose you know Monsieur Bonelle has come to live in the + vacant apartment on the fourth floor?"</p> + + <p>"What!" exclaimed Monsieur Ramin, in a loud key.</p> + + <p>Catharine repeated her statement, to which her master + listened in total silence.</p> + + <p>"Well!" he said at length, in his most careless tones, "what + about the old fellow?" and he once more resumed his triple + occupation of reading, eating, and watching.</p> + + <p>"Why," continued Catharine, "they say he is nearly dying, + and that his housekeeper, Marguerite, vowed he could never get + up stairs alive. It took two men to carry him up; and when he + was at length quiet in bed, Marguerite went down to the + porter's lodge, and sobbed there a whole hour, saying her poor + master had the gout, the rheumatics, and a bad asthma; that + though he had been got up stairs, he would never come down + again alive; that if she could only get him to confess his sins + and make his will, she would not mind it so much; but that when + she spoke of the lawyer or the priest, he blasphemed at her + like a heathen, and declared that he would live to bury her and + everybody else."</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin heard Catharine with great attention, forgot + to finish his soup, and remained for five minutes in profound + rumination, without so much as perceiving two customers who had + entered the shop and were waiting to be served. When aroused, + he was heard to exclaim:</p> + + <p>"What an excellent opportunity!"</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle had been Ramin's predecessor. The + succession of the latter to the shop was a mystery. No one ever + knew how it was that this young and poor assistant managed to + replace his patron. Some said that he had detected Monsieur + Bonelle in frauds which he threatened to expose unless the + business were given up to him as the price of his silence; + others averred, that having drawn a prize in the lottery, he + had resolved to set up a fierce opposition over the way, and + that Monsieur Bonelle, having obtained a hint of his + intentions, had thought it most prudent to accept the trifling + sum his clerk offered, and avoid a ruinous competition. Some + charitable souls—moved no doubt by Monsieur Bonelle's + misfortune—endeavored to console and pump him; but all + they could get from him was the bitter exclamation, "To think I + should have been duped by <i>him</i>!" For Ramin had the art, + though then a mere youth, to pass himself off on his master as + an innocent provincial lad. Those who sought an explanation + from the new mercer were still more unsuccessful. "My good old + master," he said in his jovial way, "felt in need of repose, + and so I obligingly relieved him of all business and + botheration."</p> + + <p>Years passed away; Ramin prospered, and neither thought nor + heard of his "good old master." The house, of which he tenanted + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page250" + id="page250"></a>[pg 250]</span> the lower portion, was + offered for sale. He had long coveted it, and had almost + concluded an agreement with the actual owner, when Monsieur + Bonelle unexpectedly stepped in at the eleventh hour, and by + offering a trifle more secured the bargain. The rage and + mortification of Monsieur Ramin were extreme. He could not + understand how Bonelle, whom he had thought ruined, had + scraped up so large a sum; his lease was out, and he now + felt himself at the mercy of the man he had so much injured. + But either Monsieur Bonelle was free from vindictive + feelings, or those feelings did not blind him to the + expediency of keeping a good tenant: for though he raised + the rent until Monsieur Ramin groaned inwardly, he did not + refuse to renew the lease. They had met at that period, but + never since.</p> + + <p>"Well, Catharine," observed Monsieur Ramin to his old + servant on the following morning, "How is that good Monsieur + Bonelle getting on?"</p> + + <p>"I dare say you feel very uneasy about him," she replied + with a sneer.</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin looked up and frowned.</p> + + <p>"Catharine," said he, dryly, "you will have the goodness, in + the first place, not to make impertinent remarks: in the second + place, you will oblige me by going up stairs to inquire after + the health of Monsieur Bonelle, and say that I sent you."</p> + + <p>Catharine grumbled, and obeyed. Her master was in the shop, + when she returned in a few minutes, and delivered with evident + satisfaction the following gracious message:</p> + + <p>"Monsieur Bonelle desires his compliments to you, and + declines to state how he is; he will also thank you to attend + to your own shop, and not to trouble yourself about his + health."</p> + + <p>"How does he look?" asked Monsieur Ramin, with perfect + composure.</p> + + <p>"I caught a glimpse of him, and he appears to me to be + rapidly preparing for the good offices of the undertaker."</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin smiled, rubbed his hands, and joked merrily + with a dark-eyed <i>grisette</i>, who was cheapening some + ribbon for her cap. That girl made an excellent bargain that + day.</p> + + <p>Toward dusk the mercer left the shop to the care of his + attendant, and softly stole up to the fourth story. In answer + to his gentle ring, a little old woman opened the door, and + giving him a rapid look, said briefly:</p> + + <p>"Monsieur is inexorable: he won't see any doctor + whatever."</p> + + <p>She was going to shut the door in his face, when Ramin + quickly interposed, under his breath, with "I am not a + doctor."</p> + + <p>She looked at him from head to foot.</p> + + <p>"Are you a lawyer?"</p> + + <p>"Nothing of the sort, my good lady."</p> + + <p>"Well then, are you a priest?"</p> + + <p>"I may almost say, quite the reverse."</p> + + <p>"Indeed, you must go away, Master sees no one."</p> + + <p>Once more she would have shut the door, but Ramin prevented + her.</p> + + <p>"My good lady," said he in his most insinuating tones, "it + is true I am neither a lawyer, a doctor, nor a priest. I am an + old friend, a very old friend of your excellent master; I have + come to see good Monsieur Bonelle in his present + affliction."</p> + + <p>Marguerite did not answer, but allowed him to enter, and + closed the door behind him. He was going to pass from the + narrow and gloomy ante-chamber into an inner room—whence + now proceeded a sound of loud coughing—when the old woman + laid her hand on his arm, and raising herself on tip-toe, to + reach his ear, whispered:</p> + + <p>"For Heaven's sake, sir, since you are his friend, do talk + to him: do tell him to make his will, and hint something about + a soul to be saved, and all that sort of thing: do, sir!"</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin nodded and winked in a way that said "I + will." He proved however his prudence by not speaking aloud; + for a voice from within sharply exclaimed,</p> + + <p>"Marguerite, you are talking to some one! Marguerite! I will + see neither doctor nor lawyer; and if any meddling priest + dare—"</p> + + <p>"It is only an old friend, sir;" interrupted Marguerite, + opening the inner door.</p> + + <p>Her master, on looking up, perceived the red face of + Monsieur Ramin peeping over the old woman's shoulder, and + irefully cried out:</p> + + <p>"How dare you bring that fellow here? And you, sir, how dare + you come?"</p> + + <p>"My good old friend, there are feelings," said Ramin, + spreading his fingers over the left pocket of his + waistcoat—"there are feelings," he repeated, "that cannot + be subdued. One such feeling brought me here. The fact is, I am + a good-natured easy fellow, and I never bear malice. I never + forget an old friend, but love to forget old differences when I + find one party in affliction."</p> + + <p>He drew a chair forward as he spoke, and composedly seated + himself opposite to his late master.</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle was a thin old man, with a pale sharp face + and keen features. At first he eyed his visitor from the depths + of his vast arm-chair; but, as if not, satisfied with this + distant view, he bent forward, and laying both hands on his + thin knees, he looked up into Ramin's face with a fixed and + piercing gaze. He had not, however, the power of disconcerting + his guest.</p> + + <p>"What did you come here for?" he at length asked.</p> + + <p>"Merely to have the extreme satisfaction of seeing how you + are, my good old friend. Nothing more."</p> + + <p>"Well, look at me—and then go."</p> + + <p>Nothing could be so discouraging: but this was an Excellent + Opportunity, and when Monsieur Ramin <i>had</i> an excellent + opportunity in view, his pertinacity was invincible. Being now + resolved to stay, it was not in Monsieur + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page251" + id="page251"></a>[pg 251]</span> Bonelle's power to banish + him. At the same time he had tact enough to render his + presence agreeable. He knew that his coarse and boisterous + wit had often delighted Monsieur Bonelle of old, and he now + exerted himself so successfully as to betray the old man two + or three times into hearty laughter. "Ramin," said he at + length, laying his thin hand on the arm of his guest, and + peering with his keen glance into the mercer's purple face, + "you are a funny fellow, but I know you; you cannot make me + believe you have called just to see how I am, and to amuse + me. Come, be candid for once; what do you want?"</p> + + <p>Ramin threw himself back in his chair, and laughed blandly, + as much as to say, "Can you suspect me?"</p> + + <p>"I have no shop now out of which you can wheedle me," + continued the old man; "and surely you are not such a fool as + to come to me for money."</p> + + <p>"Money!" repeated the draper, as if his host had mentioned + something he never dreamt of. "Oh, no!"</p> + + <p>Ramin saw it would not do to broach the subject he had + really come about, too abruptly, now that suspicion seemed so + wide awake—<i>the</i> opportunity had not arrived.</p> + + <p>"There is something up, Ramin, I know; I see it in the + twinkle of your eye; but you can't deceive me again."</p> + + <p>"Deceive <i>you</i>?" said the jolly schemer, shaking his + head reverentially. "Deceive a man of your penetration and + depth? Impossible! The bare supposition is flattery. My dear + friend," he continued, soothingly, "I did not dream of such a + thing. The fact is, Bonelle, though they call me a jovial, + careless, rattling dog, I have a conscience; and, somehow, I + have never felt quite easy about the way in which I became your + successor down-stairs. It was rather sharp practice, I + admit."</p> + + <p>Bonelle seemed to relent.</p> + + <p>"Now for it," said the Opportunity-hunter to + himself—"By-the-bye," (speaking aloud,) "this house must + be a great trouble to you in your present weak state? Two of + your lodgers have lately gone away without paying—a great + nuisance, especially to an invalid."</p> + + <p>"I tell you I'm as sound as a colt."</p> + + <p>"At all events, the whole concern must be a great bother to + you. If I were you, I would sell the house."</p> + + <p>"And if I were <i>you</i>," returned the landlord, dryly, "I + would buy it—"</p> + + <p>"Precisely," interrupted the tenant, eagerly.</p> + + <p>"That is, if you could get it. Pooh! I knew you were after + something. Will you give eighty thousand francs for it?" + abruptly asked Monsieur Bonelle.</p> + + <p>"Eighty thousand francs!" echoed Ramin. "Do you take me for + Louis Philippe or the Bank of France!"</p> + + <p>"Then we'll say no more about it—are you not afraid of + leaving your shop so long?"</p> + + <p>Ramin returned to the charge, heedless of the hint to + depart. "The fact is, my good old friend, ready money is not my + strong point just now. But if you wish very much to be relieved + of the concern, what say you to a life annuity? I could manage + that."</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle gave a short, dry, church-yard cough, and + looked as if his life were not worth an hour's purchase. "You + think yourself immensely clever, I dare say," he said. "They + have persuaded you that I am dying. Stuff! I shall bury you + yet."</p> + + <p>The mercer glanced at the thin fragile frame, and exclaimed + to himself, "Deluded old gentleman!" "My dear Bonelle," he + continued, aloud, "I know well the strength of your admirable + constitution: but allow me to observe that you neglect yourself + too much. Now, suppose a good sensible doctor—"</p> + + <p>"Will you pay him?" interrogated Bonelle, sharply.</p> + + <p>"Most willingly," replied Ramin, with an eagerness that made + the old man smile. "As to the annuity, since the subject annoys + you, we will talk of it some other time."</p> + + <p>"After you have heard the doctor's report," sneered + Bonelle.</p> + + <p>The mercer gave him a stealthy glance, which the old man's + keen look immediately detected. Neither could repress a smile: + these good souls understood one another perfectly, and Ramin + saw that this was not the Excellent Opportunity he desired, and + departed.</p> + + <p>The next day Ramin sent a neighboring medical man, and heard + it was his opinion that if Bonelle held on for three months + longer, it would be a miracle. Delightful news!</p> + + <p>Several days elapsed, and although very anxious, Ramin + assumed a careless air, and did not call upon his landlord, or + take any notice of him. At the end of the week old Marguerite + entered the shop to make a trifling purchase.</p> + + <p>"And how are we getting on up-stairs?" negligently asked + Monsieur Ramin.</p> + + <p>"Worse and worse, my good sir," she sighed. "We have + rheumatic pains which often make us use expressions the reverse + of Christian-like, and yet nothing can induce us to see either + the lawyer or the priest; the gout is getting nearer to our + stomach every day, and still we go on talking about the + strength of our constitution. Oh, sir, if you have any + influence with us, do, pray do, tell us how wicked it is to die + without making one's will or confessing one's sins."</p> + + <p>"I shall go up this very evening," ambiguously replied + Monsieur Ramin.</p> + + <p>He kept his promise, and found Monsieur Bonelle in bed, + groaning with pain, and in the worst of tempers.</p> + + <p>"What poisoning doctor did you send?" he asked, with an + ireful glance; "I want no doctor, I am not ill; I will not + follow his prescription; he forbade me to eat; I <i>will</i> + eat."</p> + + <p>"He is a very clever man," said the visitor. "He told me + that never in the whole course of his experience has he met + with what he <span class="pagenum"><a name="page252" + id="page252"></a>[pg 252]</span> called so much 'resisting + power' as exists in your frame. He asked me if you were not + of a long-lived race."</p> + + <p>"That is as people may judge," replied Monsieur Bonelle. + "All I can say is, that my grandfather died at ninety, and my + father at eighty-six."</p> + + <p>"The doctor owned that you had a wonderfully strong + constitution."</p> + + <p>"Who said I hadn't?" exclaimed the invalid feebly.</p> + + <p>"You may rely on it, you would preserve your health better + if you had not the trouble of these vexatious lodgers. Have you + thought about the life annuity?" said Ramin as carelessly as he + could, considering how near the matter was to his hopes and + wishes.</p> + + <p>"Why, I have scruples," returned Bonelle, coughing. "I do + not wish to take you in. My longevity would be the ruin of + you."</p> + + <p>"To meet that difficulty," quickly replied the mercer, "we + can reduce the interest."</p> + + <p>"But I must have high interest," placidly returned Monsieur + Bonelle.</p> + + <p>Ramin, on hearing this, burst into a loud fit of laughter, + called Monsieur Bonelle a sly old fox, gave him a poke in the + ribs, which made the old man cough for five minutes, and then + proposed that they should talk it over some other day. The + mercer left Monsieur Bonelle in the act of protesting that he + felt as strong as a man of forty.</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin felt in no hurry to conclude the proposed + agreement. "The later one begins to pay, the better," he said, + as he descended the stairs.</p> + + <p>Days passed on, and the negotiation made no way. It struck + the observant tradesman that all was not right. Old Marguerite + several times refused to admit him, declaring her master was + asleep: there was something mysterious and forbidding in her + manner that seemed to Monsieur Ramin very ominous. At length a + sudden thought occurred to him: the housekeeper—wishing + to become her master's heir—had heard his scheme and + opposed it. On the very day that he arrived at this conclusion, + he met a lawyer, with whom he had formerly had some + transactions, coming down the staircase. The sight sent a chill + through the mercer's commercial heart, and a + presentiment—one of those presentiments that seldom + deceive—told him it was too late. He had, however, the + fortitude to abstain from visiting Monsieur Bonelle until + evening came; when he went up, resolved to see him in spite of + all Marguerite might urge. The door was half-open, and the old + housekeeper stood talking on the landing to a middle-aged man + in a dark cassock.</p> + + <p>"It is all over! The old witch has got the priests at him," + thought Ramin, inwardly groaning at his own folly in allowing + himself to be forestalled.</p> + + <p>"You cannot see Monsieur to-night," sharply said Marguerite, + as he attempted to pass.</p> + + <p>"Alas! is my excellent friend so very ill?" asked Ramin, in + a mournful tone.</p> + + <p>"Sir," eagerly said the clergyman, catching him by the + button of his coat, "if you are indeed the friend of that + unhappy man, do seek to bring him into a more suitable frame of + mind. I have seen many dying men, but never so much obstinacy, + never such infatuated belief in the duration of life."</p> + + <p>"Then you think he really <i>is</i> dying," asked Ramin; + and, in spite of the melancholy accent he endeavored to assume, + there was something so peculiar in his tone, that the priest + looked at him very fixedly as he slowly replied,</p> + + <p>"Yes, air, I think he is."</p> + + <p>"Ah!" was all Monsieur Ramin said; and as the clergyman had + now relaxed his hold of the button, Ramin passed in spite of + the remonstrances of Marguerite, who rushed after the priest. + He found Monsieur Bonelle in bed and in a towering rage.</p> + + <p>"Oh! Ramin, my friend," he groaned, "never take a + housekeeper, and never let her know you have any property. They + are harpies, Ramin,—harpies! such a day as I have had; + first, the lawyer, who comes to write down 'my last + testamentary dispositions,' as he calls them; then the priest, + who gently hints that I am a dying man. Oh, what a day!"</p> + + <p>"And <i>did</i> you make your will, my excellent friend?" + softly asked Monsieur Ramin, with a keen look.</p> + + <p>"Make my will?" indignantly exclaimed the old man; "make my + will? what do you mean, sir? do you mean to say I am + dying?"</p> + + <p>"Heaven forbid!" piously ejaculated Ramin.</p> + + <p>"Then why do you ask me if I had been making my will?" + angrily resumed the old man. He then began to be extremely + abusive.</p> + + <p>When money was in the way, Monsieur Ramin, though otherwise + of a violent temper, had the meekness of a lamb. He bore the + treatment of his host with the meekest patience, and having + first locked the door so as to make sure that Marguerite would + not interrupt them, he watched Monsieur Bonelle attentively, + and satisfied himself that the Excellent Opportunity he had + been ardently longing for had arrived: "He is going fast," he + thought; "and unless I settle the agreement to-night, and get + it drawn up and signed to-morrow, it will be too late."</p> + + <p>"My dear friend," he at length said aloud, on perceiving + that the old gentleman had fairly exhausted himself and was + lying panting on his back, "you are indeed a lamentable + instance of the lengths to which the greedy lust of lucre will + carry our poor human nature. It is really distressing to see + Marguerite, a faithful, attached servant, suddenly converted + into a tormenting harpy by the prospect of a legacy! Lawyers + and priests flock around you like birds of prey, drawn hither + by the scent of gold! Oh, the miseries of having delicate + health combined with a sound constitution and large + property!"</p> + + <p>"Ramin," groaned the old man, looking inquiringly into his + visitor's face, "you are + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page253" + id="page253"></a>[pg 253]</span> again going to talk to me + about that annuity—I know you are!"</p> + + <p>"My excellent friend, it is merely to deliver you from a + painful position."</p> + + <p>"I am sure, Ramin, you think in your soul I am dying," + whimpered Monsieur Bonelle.</p> + + <p>"Absurd, my dear sir. Dying? I will prove to you that you + have never been in better health. In the first place you feel + no pain."</p> + + <p>"Excepting from rheumatism," groaned Monsieur Bonelle.</p> + + <p>"Rheumatism! who ever died of rheumatism? and if that be + all—"</p> + + <p>"No, it is not all," interrupted the old man with great + irritability; "what would you say to the gout getting higher + and higher up every day?"</p> + + <p>"The gout is rather disagreeable, but if there is nothing + else—"</p> + + <p>"Yes, there is something else," sharply said Monsieur + Bonelle. "There is an asthma that will scarcely let me breathe, + and a racking pain in my head that does not allow me a moment's + ease. But if you think I am dying, Ramin, you are quite + mistaken."</p> + + <p>"No doubt, my dear friend, no doubt; but in the meanwhile + suppose we talk of this annuity. Shall we say one thousand + francs a year."</p> + + <p>"What!" asked Bonelle, looking at him very fixedly.</p> + + <p>"My dear friend, I mistook; I meant two thousand francs per + annum," hurriedly rejoined Ramin.</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle closed his eyes, and appeared to fall into + a gentle slumber. The mercer coughed; the sick man never + moved.</p> + + <p>"Monsieur Bonelle."</p> + + <p>No reply.</p> + + <p>"My excellent friend."</p> + + <p>Utter silence.</p> + + <p>"Are you asleep?"</p> + + <p>A long pause.</p> + + <p>"Well, then, what do you say to three thousand?"</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle opened his eyes.</p> + + <p>"Ramin," said he, sententiously, "you are a fool; the house + brings me in four thousand as it is."</p> + + <p>This was quite false, and the mercer knew it; but he had his + own reasons for wishing to seem to believe it true.</p> + + <p>"Good Heavens!" said he, with an air of great innocence, + "who could have thought it, and the lodgers constantly running + away. Four thousand? Well, then, you shall have four + thousand."</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle shut his eyes once more, and murmured "The + mere rental—nonsense!" He then folded his hands on his + breast, and appeared to compose himself to sleep.</p> + + <p>"Oh, what a sharp man of business he is!" Ramin said, + admiringly: but for once omnipotent flattery failed in its + effect: "So acute!" continued he, with a stealthy glance at the + old man, who remained perfectly unmoved.</p> + + <p>"I see you will insist upon making it the other five hundred + francs."</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin said this as if five thousand five hundred + francs had already been mentioned, and was the very summit of + Monsieur Bonelle's ambition. But the ruse failed in its effect; + the sick man never so much as stirred.</p> + + <p>"But, my dear friend," urged Monsieur Ramin in a tone of + feeling remonstrance, "there is such a thing as being too + sharp, too acute. How can you expect that I shall give you more + when your constitution is so good, and you are to be such a + long liver?"</p> + + <p>"Yes, but I may be carried off one of these days," quietly + observed the old man, evidently wishing to turn the chance of + his own death to account.</p> + + <p>"Indeed, and I hope so," muttered the mercer, who was + getting very ill-tempered.</p> + + <p>"You see," soothingly continued Bonelle, "you are so good a + man of business, Ramin, that you will double the actual value + of the house in no time. I am a quiet, easy person, indifferent + to money; otherwise this house would now bring me in eight + thousand at the very least."</p> + + <p>"Eight thousand!" indignantly exclaimed the mercer. + "Monsieur Bonelle, you have no conscience. Come now, my dear + friend, do be reasonable. Six thousand francs a year (I don't + mind saying six) is really a very handsome income for a man of + your quiet habits. Come, be reasonable." But Monsieur Bonelle + turned a deaf ear to reason, and closed his eyes once more. + What between opening and shutting them for the next quarter of + an hour, he at length induced Monsieur Ramin to offer him seven + thousand francs.</p> + + <p>"Very well, Ramin, agreed," he quietly said; "you have made + an unconscionable bargain." To this succeeded a violent fit of + coughing.</p> + + <p>As Ramin unlocked the door to leave, he found old + Marguerite, who had been listening all the time, ready to + assail him with a torrent of whispered abuse for duping her + "poor dear innocent old master into such a bargain." The mercer + bore it all very patiently: he could make all allowances for + her excited feelings, and only rubbed his hands and bade her a + jovial good evening.</p> + + <p>The agreement was signed on the following day, to the + indignation of old Marguerite, and the mutual satisfaction of + the parties concerned.</p> + + <p>Every one admired the luck and shrewdness of Ramin, for the + old man every day was reported worse; and it was clear to all + that the first quarter of the annuity would never be paid. + Marguerite, in her wrath, told the story as a grievance to + every one; people listened, shook their heads, and pronounced + Monsieur Ramin to be a deuced clever fellow.</p> + + <p>A month elapsed. As Ramin was coming down one morning from + the attics, where he <span class="pagenum"><a name="page254" + id="page254"></a>[pg 254]</span> had been giving notice to a + poor widow who had failed in paying her rent, he heard a + light step on the stairs. Presently a sprightly gentleman, + in buoyant health and spirits, wearing the form of Monsieur + Bonelle, appeared. Ramin stood aghast.</p> + + <p>"Well, Ramin," gaily said the old man, "how are you getting + on? Have you been tormenting the poor widow up stairs? Why, + man, we must live and let live!"</p> + + <p>"Monsieur Bonelle," said the mercer, in a hollow tone; "may + I ask where are your rheumatics?"</p> + + <p>"Gone, my dear friend,—gone."</p> + + <p>"And the gout that was creeping higher and higher every + day," exclaimed Monsieur Ramin, in a voice of anguish.</p> + + <p>"It went lower and lower, till it disappeared altogether," + composedly replied Bonelle.</p> + + <p>"And your asthma—"</p> + + <p>"The asthma remains, but asthmatic people are proverbially + long-lived. It is, I have been told, the only complaint that + Methusalah was troubled with." With this Bonelle opened his + door, shut it, and disappeared.</p> + + <p>Ramin was transfixed on the stairs; petrified with intense + disappointment, and a powerful sense of having been duped. When + he was discovered, he stared vacantly, and raved about an + Excellent Opportunity of taking his revenge.</p> + + <p>The wonderful cure was the talk of the neighborhood, + whenever Monsieur Bonelle appeared in the streets, jauntily + flourishing his cane. In the first frenzy of his despair, Ramin + refused to pay; he accused every one of having been in a plot + to deceive him; he turned off Catharine and expelled his + porter: he publicly accused the lawyer and priest of + conspiracy; brought an action against the doctor and lost it. + He had another brought against him for violently assaulting + Marguerite, in which he was cast in heavy damages. Monsieur + Bonelle did not trouble himself with useless remonstrances, but + when his annuity was refused, employed such good legal + arguments, as the exasperated mercer could not possibly + resist.</p> + + <p>Ten years have elapsed, and MM. Ramin and Bonelle still live + on. For a house which would have been dear at fifty thousand + francs, the draper has already handed over seventy + thousand.</p> + + <p>The once red-faced, jovial Ramin is now a pale haggard man, + of sour temper and aspect. To add to his anguish he sees the + old man thrive on that money which it breaks his heart to give. + Old Marguerite takes a malicious pleasure in giving him an + exact account of their good cheer, and in asking him if he does + not think Monsieur looks better and better every day. Of one + part of this torment Ramin might get rid, by giving his old + master notice to quit, and no longer having him in his house. + But this he cannot do; he has a secret fear that Bonelle would + take some Excellent Opportunity of dying without his knowledge, + and giving some other person an Excellent Opportunity of + persecuting him, and receiving the money in his stead.</p> + + <p>The last accounts of the victim of Excellent Opportunities + represent him as being gradually worn down with disappointment. + There seems every probability of his being the first to leave + the world; for Bonelle is heartier than ever.</p> + <hr /> + + <h4>[From Household Words.]</h4> + + <h2>THE OLD CHURCHWARD TREE.</h2> + + <h3>A PROSE POEM.</h3> + + <p>There is an old yew tree which stands by the wall in a dark + quiet corner of the churchyard.</p> + + <p>And a child was at play beneath its wide-spreading branches, + one fine day in the early spring. He had his lap full of + flowers, which the fields and lanes had supplied him with, and + he was humming a tune to himself as he wove them into + garlands.</p> + + <p>And a little girl at play among the tombstones crept near to + listen; but the boy was so intent upon his garland, that he did + not hear the gentle footsteps, as they trod softly over the + fresh green grass. When his work was finished, and all the + flowers that were in his lap were woven together in one long + wreath, he started up to measure its length upon the ground, + and then he saw the little girl, as she stood with her eyes + fixed upon him. He did not move or speak, but thought to + himself that she looked very beautiful as she stood there with + her flaxen ringlets hanging down upon her neck. The little girl + was so startled by his sudden movement, that she let fall all + the flowers she had collected in her apron, and ran away as + fast as she could. But the boy was older and taller than she, + and soon caught her, and coaxed her to come back and play with + him, and help him to make more garlands; and from that time + they saw each other nearly every day, and became great + friends.</p> + + <p>Twenty years passed away. Again, he was seated beneath the + old yew tree in the churchyard.</p> + + <p>It was summer now; bright, beautiful summer, with the birds + singing, and the flowers covering the ground, and scenting the + air with their perfume.</p> + + <p>But he was not alone now, nor did the little girl steal near + on tiptoe, fearful of being heard. She was seated by his side, + and his arm was round her, and she looked up into his face, and + smiled as she whispered: "The first evening of our lives we + were ever together was passed here; we will spend the first + evening of our wedded life in the same quiet, happy place." And + he drew her closer to him as she spoke.</p> + + <p>The summer is gone; and the autumn; and twenty more summers + and autumns have passed away since that evening, in the old + churchyard.</p> + + <p>A young man, on a bright moonlight night, comes reeling + through the little white gate, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page255" + id="page255"></a>[pg 255]</span> and stumbling over the + graves. He shouts and he sings, and is presently followed by + others like unto himself, or worse. So, they all laugh at + the dark solemn head of the yew tree, and throw stones up at + the place where the moon had silvered the boughs.</p> + + <p>Those same boughs are again silvered by the moon, and they + droop over his mother's grave. There is a little stone which + bears this inscription:—</p> + + <center> + "HER HEART BRAKE IN SILENCE." + </center> + + <p>But the silence of the churchyard is now broken by a + voice—not of the youth—nor a voice of laughter and + ribaldry.</p> + + <p>"My son!—dost thou see this grave? and dost thou read + the record in anguish, whereof may come repentance?"</p> + + <p>"Of what should I repent?" answers the son; "and why should + my young ambition for fame relax in its strength because my + mother was old and weak?"</p> + + <p>"Is this indeed our son?" says the father, bending in agony + over the grave of his beloved.</p> + + <p>"I can well believe I am not;" exclaimeth the youth. "It is + well that you have brought me here to say so. Our natures are + unlike; our courses must be opposite. Your way lieth + here—mine yonder!"</p> + + <p>So the son left the father kneeling by the grave.</p> + + <p>Again a few years are passed. It is winter, with a roaring + wind and a thick gray fog. The graves in the Church-yard are + covered with snow, and there are great icicles in the + Church-yard. The wind now carries a swathe of snow along the + tops of the graves as though the "sheeted dead" were at some + melancholy play; and hark! the icicles fall with a crash and + jingle, like a solemn mockery of the echo of the unseemly mirth + of one who is now coming to his final rest.</p> + + <p>There are two graves near the old yew tree; and the grass + has overgrown them. A third is close by; and the dark earth at + each side has just been thrown up. The bearers come; with a + heavy pace they move along; the coffin heaveth up and down, as + they step over the intervening graves.</p> + + <p>Grief and old age had seized upon the father, and worn out + his life; and premature decay soon seized upon the son, and + gnawed away his vain ambition, and his useless strength, till + he prayed to be borne, not the way yonder that was most + opposite to his father and his mother, but even the same way + they had gone—the way which leads to the Old Churchyard + Tree.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>In dreamy hours the dormant imagination looks out and sees + vague significances in things which it feels can at an after + time be vividly conceived and expressed; the most familiar + objects have a strange double meaning in their aspects; the + very chair seems to be patiently awaiting there the expounder + of its silent, symbolical language.—<i>Boston Morning + Post</i>.</p> + <hr /> + + <h4>[From Bentley's Miscellany.]</h4> + + <h2>GREECE AND TURKEY.<a id="footnotetag2" + name="footnotetag2"></a><a href="#footnote2"><sup>2</sup></a></h2> + + <p>Whatever Mr. AUBREY DE VERE sees, he picturesquely + describes; and so far as words can do so, he makes pictures of + all the subjects he writes upon; and had he painted as he has + written, or used his pencil equally well with his pen, two more + delightful volumes, to any lover of Greece, it would be + difficult to name. With an evidently refined taste, and a + perfect acquaintance with the ancient history of the country he + traveled through, and the ever famous characters that made its + history what it is, his descriptions combine most pleasingly + together, the past with the present. He peoples the scenery + with the men whose deeds give to that scenery all its interest; + and whether on the plain of Marathon, or the site of Delphi or + the Acropolis, he has a store of things to say of their past + glories, and links together, with great artistic skill, that + which is gone with that which remains.</p> + + <p>By the scholar and the man of taste the volumes will be read + with no little delight, as they abound much more with + reflections and sensible observations, than with the + commonplace incidents of travel. Indeed, the author has left + but small space for his accidents at sea and his hardships on + shore, since all the chapters but four are devoted to Athens, + Delphi, and Constantinople. The classical reader will prefer + the chapters on the two first-named places; the general reader + will find perhaps more interesting his sketches of the city of + the Sultan, and an anecdote which he gives of the present + Sultan, and which declares him to possess more of decision, and + firmness of character, and good sense, than the world gives him + credit for. His description of the Bosphorus will create in + many a desire to see what he has seen, and to look upon some, + at least, of the fifty-seven palaces which the sultans have + raised upon its banks; and upon the hundreds of others, which, + while the Commander of the Faithful permits it, are the + property of his subjects.</p> + + <p>It argued far more of a wild spirit of adventure than of a + sober understanding in Aubrey de Vere, to go with that clever + Frenchman to the Turk's house, and to play off all those tricks + in the presence of its master and his ten unvailed wives. + Rarely indeed, if ever before, has an Englishman passed an hour + so comfortably with the whole of a rich man's harem, and seen + them as de Vere saw them in all their artlessness and beauty. + We live, indeed, in strange times, when the once scorned and + loathed Giaours contrive to possess themselves of such + extraordinary privileges, and to escape unharmed from such + hitherto unheard-of enjoyments.</p> + + <p>Where one thought was given to Constantinople a hundred + years since from the west of the Dalmatian coast, ten thousand + eyes are now constantly directed to it, and with + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page256" + id="page256"></a>[pg 256]</span> continually increasing + anxiety. The importance of that city is now understood by + all the European powers, and its future fate has become a + subject of deep interest to all the western states, in + consequence of the determined set made upon it by its + powerful northern neighbor. With the Cossacks at Istamboul + instead of Turks, we should be very ill satisfied, and the + whole charm of this city on its seven hills would have + departed: already is it on the wane. Sultan Mahmoud's + hostility to beards and to flowing robes, to the turban and + the jherid, has deprived his capital city of much of its + picturesqueness and peculiarity; but still enough remains of + eastern manners and costumes to make it one of the most + interesting cities in the world to visit and roam over. Such + as, like ourselves, may not hope to sport a caique on the + Bosphorus, will do well to acquaint themselves with the + information Aubrey de Vere can give them, and to suffer + their imagination to transport them to scenes among the + fairest and the loveliest on the earth's surface, and which + are presented to them in these volumes as graphically as + words can paint them.</p> + + <p>By the possessor of Wordsworth's Greece, where every spot + almost, of the slightest historical interest, is given in a + picture on its pages, these "Picturesque Sketches" will be read + with the highest gratification that scenes and descriptions + together can supply. There is so much of mind in them; so much + of sound philosophy in the observations; such beautiful + thoughts; so well, so elegantly expressed; so many allusions to + the past, that are continually placing before us Pericles, + Themistocles, or Demosthenes, that we are improved while + amused, and feel at every page that we are reading a work far + above the general works on such subjects; a work of lasting + interest, that may be read and re-read, and still with delight + and advantage.</p> + <hr /> + + <h2>DEATH AND SLEEP.</h2> + + <h4>FROM THE GERMAN OF KRUMMACHER.</h4> + + <p>In brotherly embrace walked the Angel of Sleep and the Angel + of Death upon the earth.</p> + + <p>It was evening. They laid themselves down upon a hill not + far from the dwelling of men. A melancholy silence prevailed + around, and the chimes of the evening-bell in the distant + hamlet ceased.</p> + + <p>Still and silent, as was their custom, sat these two + beneficent Genii of the human race, their arms entwined with + cordial familiarity, and soon the shades of night gathered + around them.</p> + + <p>Then arose the Angel of Sleep from his moss-grown couch, and + strewed with a gentle hand the invisible grains of slumber. The + evening breeze wafted them to the quiet dwelling of the tired + husbandman, infolding in sweet sleep the inmates of the rural + cottage—from the old man upon the staff, down to the + infant in the cradle. The sick forgot their pain: the mourners + their grief; the poor their care. All eyes closed.</p> + + <p>His task accomplished, the benevolent Angel of Sleep laid + himself again by the side of his grave brother. "When Aurora + awakes," exclaimed he, with innocent joy, "men praise me as + their friend and benefactor. Oh! what happiness, unseen and + secretly to confer such benefits! How blessed are we to be the + invisible messengers of the Good Spirit! How beautiful is our + silent calling!"</p> + + <p>So spake the friendly Angel of Slumber.</p> + + <p>The Angel of Death sat with still deeper melancholy on his + brow, and a tear, such as mortals shed, appeared in his large + dark eyes. "Alas!" said he, "I may not, like thee, rejoice in + the cheerful thanks of mankind; they call me upon the earth + their enemy, and joy-killer."</p> + + <p>"Oh! my brother," replied the gentle Angel of Slumber, "and + will not the good man, at his awakening, recognize in thee his + friend and benefactor, and gratefully bless thee in his joy? + Are we not brothers, and ministers of one Father?"</p> + + <p>As he spake, the eyes of the Death-Angel beamed with + pleasure, and again did the two friendly Genii cordially + embrace each other.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>THE MODERN SCHOOLS OF ATHENS.—I visited, with equal + surprise and satisfaction, an Athenian school, which contained + seven hundred pupils, taken from every class of society. The + poorer classes were gratuitously instructed in reading, + writing, and arithmetic, and the girls in needlework likewise. + The progress which the children had made was very remarkable; + but what particularly pleased me was that air of bright + alertness and good-humored energy which belonged to them, and + which made every task appear a pleasure, not a toil. The + greatest punishment which can be inflicted on an Athenian child + is exclusion from school, though but for a day. About seventy + of the children belonged to the higher classes, and were + instructed in music, drawing, the modern languages, the ancient + Greek, and geography. Most of them were at the moment reading + Herodotus and Homer. I have never seen children approaching + them in beauty; and was much struck by their Oriental cast of + countenance, their dark complexions, their flashing eyes, and + that expression, at once apprehensive and meditative, which is + so much more remarkable in children than in those of a more + mature age.—<i>De Vere</i>.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>At Berlin, the Academy of Sciences has been holding a + sitting, according to its statutes, in honor of the memory of + Leibnitz. In the course of the oration delivered on the + occasion, it was stated that the 4th of August being the + fiftieth anniversary of the admission of Alexander Von Humboldt + as a member of the Academy, it had been resolved, in + celebration of the event, to place a marble bust of the "Nestor + of Science" in the lecture room of the society.</p> + <hr /> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote1" + name="footnote1"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag1">(return)</a> + + <p>The Night side of Nature; or, Ghosts and Ghost Seers. By + Catherine Crowe. New York. J.S. Redfield.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote2" + name="footnote2"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag2">(return)</a> + + <p>Picturesque Sketches of Greece and Turkey. By Aubrey De + Vere, 2 vols. [Philadelphia: A. Hart.]</p> + </blockquote> + <hr class="full" /> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13796 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a146662 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #13796 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13796) diff --git a/old/13796-8.txt b/old/13796-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..89a1ecb --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13796-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3874 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The International Weekly Miscellany, Volume +I. No. 8, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The International Weekly Miscellany, Volume I. No. 8 + Of Literature, Art, and Science, August 19, 1850 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: October 19, 2004 [EBook #13796] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY *** + + + + +Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, William Flis, the PG Online Distributed +Proofreading Team, and Cornell University + + + + + +INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY MISCELLANY + +Of Literature, Art, and Science. + + * * * * * + +Vol. I. NEW YORK, AUGUST 19, 1850. No. 8. + + * * * * * + + +THE THEATER IN RUSSIA AND POLAND. + +The following interesting sketch of the Drama in the empire of +the Czar is translated for the _International_ from the Leipzig +_Grenzboten_. The facts it states are not only new to most readers, +but throw incidentally a good deal of light on the condition of that +vast empire, and the state of its population in respect of literature +and art in general: + + * * * * * + +The dramatic taste of a people, the strength of its productive +faculty, the gradual development of its most popular sphere of art, +the theater, contain the key to phases of its character which cannot +always be recognized with the same exactness from other parts of its +history. The tendencies and disposition of the mass come out very +plainly in their relations to dramatic art, and from the audience of +an evening at a theater some inference may be drawn as to the whole +political scope of the nation. In truth, however, this requires +penetration as well as cautious judgment. + +In the middle of the last century there were in the kingdom of Poland, +beside the royal art institutions at Warsaw, four strong dramatic +companies, of genuine Polish stamp, which gave performances in the +most fashionable cities. Two of them were so excellent that they +often had the honor to play before the court. The peculiarity of these +companies was that they never performed foreign works, but literally +only their own. The managers were either themselves poets, or had +poets associated with them in business. Each was guided by his poet, +as Wallenstein by his astrologer. The establishment depended on +its dramatic ability, while its performances were limited almost +exclusively to the productions of its poet. The better companies, +however, were in the habit of making contracts with each other, by +which they exchanged the plays of their dramatists. This limitation to +native productions perhaps grew partly out of the want of familiarity +with foreign literature, partly from national feeling, and partly from +the fact that the Polish taste was as yet little affected by that of +the Germans, French, or English. In these circumstances there sprung +up a poetic creative faculty, which gave promise of a good and really +national drama. And even now, after wars, revolutions, and the schemes +of foreign rulers have alternately destroyed and degraded the stage, +and after the Poles have become poetically as well as politically +mere satellites of French ideas and culture, there still exist, as +respectable remains of the good old time, a few companies of players, +which, like their ancient predecessors, have their own poets, and +perform only his pieces, or at least others of Polish origin that he +has arranged and adapted. Such a company, whose principal personage +is called Richlawski, is now in Little Poland, in the cities Radom, +Kielce, Opatow, Sandomir, &c. A second, which generally remains in the +Government of Kalisch, is under the direction of a certain Felinski, +and through his excellent dramatic compositions has gained a +reputation equal to that of the band of Strauss in music. Yet these +companies are only relics. The Polish drama in general has now a +character and destiny which was not to be expected a hundred years +since. + +The origin of the Russian theater is altogether more recent. It is +true that Peter the Great meddled a good deal with the theater as well +as with other things, but it was not till the Empress Catharine +that dramatic literature was really emancipated by the court. Under +Alexander and Nicholas the most magnificent arrangements have been +made in every one of the cities that from time to time is honored by +the residence of the Emperor, so that Russia boasts of possessing five +theaters, two of which excel everything in Europe in respect to size +and splendor, but yet possesses no sort of taste for dramatic art. The +stage, in the empire of the Muscovites, is like a rose-bush grafted on +a wild forest tree. It has not grown up naturally from a poetic want +in the people, and finds in the country little or nothing in the way +of a poetic basis. Accordingly, the theater in Russia is in every +respect a foreign institution. Not national in its origin, it has not +struck its roots into the heart of the people. Only here and there +a feeble germ of theatrical literature has made its way through the +obstinate barbarism of the Russian nature. The mass have no feeling +for dramatic poetry, while the cultivated classes exhibit a most +striking want of taste. + +But in Russia everything is inverted. What in other nations is +the final result of a long life, is there the beginning. A natural +development of the people appears to its rulers too circuitous, +and in fact would in many things require centuries of preparation. +Accordingly, they seek to raise their subjects to the level of other +races by forcing them outwardly to imitate their usages. Peter the +Great says in his testament: "Let there be no intermission in teaching +the Russian people European forms and customs." The theater in Russia +is one of these forms, and from this it is easy to understand the +condition it is in. + +It is true there are in the country a few independent companies +of players, but they are not Russian, or at least were formed as a +speculation by some foreigner. For example, Odessa has often two +such, and sometimes three. The Italian company is said to be good. The +Russian, which has now become permanent, has hitherto been under the +management of a German, and has been very poor. The company in Kiew +consists mostly of Poles, from the old Polish provinces incorporated +with Russia, and has a high reputation. In Poland it would be possible +in every little nest of a city to get together a tolerable company for +dramatic performance. In Russia it would be much easier to raise an +army. The ultimate reason of this striking contrast is the immense +dissimilarity in the character of the two nations. The Pole is +remarkably sanguine, fiery, enthusiastic, full of ideality and +inspiration; the Russian is through and through material, a lover of +coarse physical pleasures, full of ability to fight and cut capers, +but not endowed with a capacity quickly to receive impressions and +mentally elaborate them. + +In this respect, the mass and the aristocracy, the serfs and their +masters, are as alike as twins. The noble is quite as coarse as the +peasant. In Poland this is quite otherwise. The peasant may be called +a rough creature, but the noble is almost always a man of refinement, +lacking indeed almost always in scientific information, but never +in the culture of a man of the world. The reason of this is, that +his active, impetuous soul finds constant occasion for maintaining +familiarity with the world around him, and really needs to keep up a +good understanding with it. The Russians know no such want. + +Even in St. Petersburg the German was long much more successful than +the native theater, though the number of Russians there is seventeen +times larger than that of the Germans. The Russians who there +visit the theater are the richest and most prominent members of the +aristocracy. They however consider the drama as simply a thing of +fashion. Hence results the curious fact that it is thought a matter +of good taste to be present at the beginning but not to wait for the +end of a piece. It has happened that long before the performance was +over the house was perfectly empty, everyone following the fashion, +in order not to seem deficient in public manners. If there is ever +a great attraction at the theater, it is not the play, but some +splendid show. The Russian lady, in studying the _coiffure_ or the +trailing-robe of an actress, forgets entirely her part in this piece, +if indeed she has ever had an adequate conception of it. For this +reason, at St. Petersburg and Moscow the ballet is esteemed infinitely +higher than the best drama; and if the management should have +the command of the Emperor to engage rope-dancers and athletes, +circus-riders and men-apes, the majority of Russians would be of +opinion that the theater had gained the last point of perfection. This +was the case in Warsaw several years ago, when the circus company of +Tourniare was there. The theaters gave their best and most popular +pieces, in order to guard against too great a diminution of their +receipts. The Poles patriotically gave the preference for the drama, +but the Russians were steady adorers of Madame Tourniare and her +horse. In truth, the lady enjoyed the favor of Prince Paskiewich. +General O---- boasted that during the eleven months that the circus +staid he was not absent from a single performance. The Polish Count +Ledochowski, on the other hand, said that he had been there but once +when he went with his children, and saw nothing of the performance, +because he read Schiller's William Tell every moment. This was Polish +opposition to Russian favoritism, but it also affords an indication of +the national peculiarities of the two races. + +From deficiency in taste for dramatic art arises the circumstance that +talent for acting is incomparably scarce among the Russians. Great +as have been the efforts of the last emperors of Russia to add a new +splendor to their capitals by means of the theater, they have not +succeeded in forming from their vast nation artists above mediocrity, +except in low comedy. At last it was determined to establish dramatic +schools in connection with the theaters and educate players; but it +appears that though talent can be developed, it cannot be created at +the word of command. The Emperor Nicholas, or rather his wife, was, +as is said, formerly so vexed at the incapacity of the Russians +for dramatic art, that it was thought best to procure children in +Germany for the schools. The Imperial will met with hindrance, and he +contented himself with taking children of the German race from his own +dominions. The pride of the Russians did not suffer in consequence. + +While poetry naturally precedes dramatic art, the drama, on the other +hand, cannot attain any degree of excellence where the theater is in +such a miserable state. It is now scarcely half a century since the +effort was begun to remove the total want of scientific culture in +the Russian nation, but what are fifty years for such a purpose, in +so enormous a country? The number of those who have received the +scientific stimulus and been carried to a degree of intellectual +refinement is very small, and the happy accident by which a man of +genius appears among the small number must be very rare. And in this +connection it is noteworthy, that the Russian who feels himself +called to artistic production almost always shows a tendency to epic +composition. + +The difficulties of form appear terrible to the Russian. In +romance-writing the form embarrasses him less, and accordingly they +almost all throw themselves into the making of novels. + +As is generally the case in the beginning of every nation's +literature, any writer in Russia is taken for a miracle, and regarded +with stupor. The dramatist Kukolnik is an example of this. He has +written a great deal for the theater, but nothing in him is to be +praised so much as his zeal in imitation. It must be admitted that in +this he possesses a remarkable degree of dexterity. He soon turned to +the favorite sphere of romance writing, but in this also he manifests +the national weakness. In every one of his countless works the most +striking feature is the lack of organization. They were begun and +completed without their author's ever thinking out a plot, or its mode +of treatment. + +Kukolnik's "Alf and Adona," in which at least one hundred and fifty +characters are brought upon the stage, has not one whose appearance is +designed to concentrate the interest of the audience. Each comes in to +show himself, and goes out not to be in the way any longer. Everything +is described and explained with equal minuteness, from the pile of +cabbages by the wayside, to the murder of a prince; and instead of a +historical action there is nothing but unconnected details. The same +is the case with his "Eveline and Baillerole," in which Cardinal +Richelieu is represented as a destroyer of the aristocracy, and which +also is made up of countless unconnected scenes, that in part are +certainly done with some neatness. These remarks apply to the works +of Iwan Wanenko and I. Boriczewski, to I. Zchewen's "Sunshine", five +volumes strong; to the compositions of Wolkow, Czerujawski, Ulitinins, +Th. Van Dim, (a pseudonym,) in fact to everything that has yet +appeared. + +On the part of the Imperial family, as we have already said, +everything has been done for the Russian stage that could possibly be +done, and is done no where else. The extremest liberality favors the +artists, schools are provided in order to raise them from the domain +of gross buffoonery to that of true art, the most magnificent premiums +are given to the best, actors are made equal in rank to officers of +state, they are held only to twenty-five years' service, reckoning +from their debut,--and finally, they receive for the rest of their +lives a pension equal to their full salaries. High rewards are given +to Russian star-actors, in order if possible to draw talent of every +sort forth from the dry steppes of native art. The Russian actors are +compelled on pain of punishment to go regularly to the German theater, +with a view to their improvement, and in order to make this as +effective as may be, enormous compensations attract the best German +stars to St. Petersburg. And yet all this is useless, and the Russian +theater is not raised above the dignity of a workshop. Only the comic +side of the national character, a burlesque and droll simplicity, is +admirably represented by actors whose skill and the scope of whose +talents may he reckoned equal to the Germans in the same line. But +in the higher walks of the drama they are worthless. The people have +neither cultivation nor sentiment for serious works, while the poets +to produce them, and the actors to represent them, are alike wanting. + +Immediately after the submission of Poland in 1831, the theaters, +permanent and itinerant, were closed. The plan was conceived of not +allowing them to be reöpened until they could be occupied by Russian +performers. But as the Government recovered from its first rage, +this was found to be impracticable. The officers of the garrisons in +Poland, however numerous, could never support Russian theaters, and +besides, where were the performers to come from? In Warsaw, however, +it was determined to force a theater into existence, and a Russian +newspaper was already established there. The power of the Muscovites +has done great things, built vast fortresses and destroyed vaster, but +it could not accomplish a Russian theater at Warsaw. Even the paper +died before it had attained a regular life, although it cost a great +deal of money. + +Finally came the permission to reöpen the Polish theater, and indeed +the caprice which was before violent against it, was now exceedingly +favorable, but of course not without collateral purposes. The scanty +theater on the Krasinski place, which was alone in Warsaw, except the +remote circus and the little theater of King Stanislaus Augustus, +was given up, and the sum of four millions of florins ($1,600,000) +devoted to the erection of two large and magnificent theaters. The +superintendence of the work of building and the management of the +performances was, according to the Russian system, intrusted to one +General Rautenstrauch, a man seventy years old, and worn out both +in mind and body. The two theaters were erected under one roof, and +arranged on the grandest and most splendid scale. The edifice is +opposite the City Hall, occupies a whole side of the main public +place, and is above 750 feet in length. The pit in each is supported +by a series of immense, stupid, square pilasters, such as architecture +has seldom witnessed out of Russia. Over these pilasters stands +the first row of boxes supported by beautifully wrought Corinthian +columns, and above these rise three additional rows. The edifice is +about 160 feet high and is the most colossal building in Warsaw. As it +was designed to treat the actors in military fashion and according to +Russian style, the building was laid out like barracks and about seven +hundred persons live in it, most of them employed about the theater. +The two stages were built by a German architect under the inspection +of the General whose peremptory suggestions were frequent and +injurious. Both the great theater as it is called, which has four +rows of boxes, and can contain six thousand auditors, and the Varieté +theater which is very much smaller, are fitted out with all sorts of +apparatus that ever belonged to a stage. In fact, new machinery has +in many cases been invented for them and proved totally useless. The +Russian often hits upon queer notions when he tries to show his gifts. + +On one side a very large and strong bridge has been erected leading +from the street to the stage, to be used whenever the piece requires +large bodies of cavalry to make their appearance, and there are +machines that can convey persons with the swiftness of lightning down +from the sky above the stage, a distance of 56 feet. A machine for +which a ballet has been composed surpasses everything I ever saw in +its size; it serves to transport eighty persons together on a seeming +cloud from the roof to the foot-lights. I was astonished by it when I +first beheld it although I had seen the machines of the grand opera at +Paris: the second time I reflected that it alone cost 40,000 florins +[$16,000]. + +Under the management of two Russian Generals, who have hitherto been +at the head of the establishment, a vast deal has in this way been +accomplished for mere external show. + +The great Russian theatre of St. Petersburg has served for a model, +and accordingly nothing has really been improved except that part of +the performance which is farthest removed from genuine art, namely +the ballet. That fact is that out of Paris the ballet is nowhere +so splendid as in the great theater at Warsaw, not even at St. +Petersburg, for the reason that the Russian is inferior to the Pole in +physical beauty and grace. Heretofore the corps of the St. Petersburg +ballet has twice been composed of Poles, but this arrangement has been +abandoned as derogatory to the national honor. The sensual attractions +of the ballet render it the most important thing in the theater. A +great school for dancers has been established, where pupils may be +found from three to eighteen years old. It is painful to see the +little creatures, hardly weaned from their mothers' breasts--twisted +and tortured for the purposes of so doubtful an occupation as dancing. +The school contains about two hundred pupils, all of whom occasionally +appear together on the boards, in the ballet of Charis and Flora, for +instance, when they receive a trifling compensation. For the rest the +whole ballet corps are bound to daily practice. + +The taste of the Russians has made prominent in the ballet exactly +those peculiarities which are least to its credit. It must be +pronounced exaggerated and lascivious. Aside from these faults, which +may be overlooked as the custom of the country, we must admit that the +dancing is uncommonly good. + +The greater the care of the management for the ballet, the more +injurious is its treatment of the drama. This is melancholy for the +artists and especially those who have come to the imperial theater +from the provinces, who are truly respectable and are equally good in +comedy and tragedy. The former has been less shackled than the latter +for the reason that it turns upon domestic life. But tragedy is most +frightfully treated by the political censorship, so that a Polish +poet can hardly expect to see his pieces performed on the stage of +his native country. Hundreds of words and phrases such as freedom, +avenging sword, slave, oppression, father-land, cannot be permitted +and are stricken out. Accordingly nothing but the trumpery of mere +penny-a-liners is brought forward, though this sometimes assumes an +appearance of originality. These abortions remain on the stage only +through the talent of the artists, the habit of the public to expect +nothing beyond dullness and stupidity in the drama, and finally, the +severe regulation which forbids any mark of disapprobation under pain +of imprisonment. The best plays are translated from the French, but +they are never the best of their kind. To please the Russians only +those founded on civic life are chosen, and historical subjects are +excluded. Princely personages are not allowed to be introduced on +the stage, nor even high officers of state, such as ministers and +generals. In former times the Emperor of China was once allowed to +pass, but more recently the Bey of Tunis was struck out and converted +into an African nobleman. A tragedy is inadmissible in any case, and +should one be found with nothing objectionable but its name, it is +called drama. + +In such circumstances we would suppose that the actors would lose all +interest in their profession. But this is not the case. At least the +cultivated portion of the public at Warsaw never go to the theater to +see a poetic work of art, but only to see and enjoy the skill of the +performers. Of course there is no such thing as theatrical criticism +at Warsaw; but everybody rejoices when the actors succeed in causing +the wretchedness of the piece to be forgotten. The universal regret +for the wretched little theater on the Krasinski place, where +Suczkowska, afterward Mad. Halpert, founded her reputation in the +character of the Maid of Orleans, is the best criticism on the present +state of the drama. + +The Russians take great delight in the most trivial pieces. Even +Prince Paskiewich sometimes stays till the close of the last act. To +judge by the direction of his opera-glass, which is never out of his +hand, he has the fortune to discover poetry elsewhere than on the +stage. In truth the Warsaw boxes are adorned by beautiful faces. Even +the young princess Jablonowska is not the most lovely. + +The arrangements of the Warsaw theaters are exactly like those of the +Russian theater at St. Petersburg, but almost without exception, the +pupils of the dramatic school, of whom seventeen have come upon the +boards, have proved mere journeymen, and have been crowded aside by +performers from the provincial cities. None of the eminent artists of +late years have enjoyed the advantages of the school. The position +of the actors at Warsaw is just the same as at St. Petersburg. The +day after their first appearance they are regularly taken into duty +as imperial officials, take an oath never to meddle with political +affairs, nor join in any secret society, nor ever to pronounce on the +stage anything more or anything else than what is in the stamped parts +given them by the imperial management. + +Actors' salaries at Warsaw are small in comparison with those of other +countries. Forty or fifty silver rubles a month ($26 to $33) pass for +a very respectable compensation, and even the very best performers +rarely get beyond a thousand rubles a year ($650). Madame Halpert +long had to put up with that salary till once Taglioni said to Prince +Paskiewich that it was a shame for so magnificent an artist to be no +better paid than a writer. Her salary was thereupon raised one-half, +and subsequently by means of a similar mediation she succeeded in +getting an addition of a thousand rubles yearly under the head of +wardrobe expenses. This was a thing so extraordinary that the managing +General declared that so enormous a compensation would never again be +heard of in any imperial theatre. The pupils of the dramatic school +receive eighteen rubles monthly, and, according to their performances, +obtain permission every two years to ask an increase of salary. The +period of service extends to twenty-five years, with the certainty +of a yearly pension equal to the salary received at the close of the +period. + +For the artist this is a very important arrangement, which enables him +to endure a thousand inconveniences. + +There is no prospect of a better state of the Polish drama. Count +Fedro may, in his comedies, employ the finest satire with a view +to its restoration, but he will accomplish nothing so long as the +Generals ride the theater as they would a war horse. On the other +hand, no Russian drama has been established, because the conditions +are wanting among the people. That is a vast empire, but poor in +beauty; mighty in many things, but weak in artistic talents; powerful +and prompt in destruction, but incapable spontaneously and of itself +to create anything. + + * * * * * + + + +"DEATH'S JEST BOOK, OR THE FOOL'S TRAGEDY." + + +The _Examiner_, for July 20, contains an elaborate review, with +numerous extracts, of a play just published under this title in +London. "It is radiant," says the critic, "in almost every page with +passion, fancy, or thought, set in the most apposite and exquisite +language. We have but to discard, in reading it, the hope of any +steady interest of story, or consistent development of character: +and we shall find a most surprising succession of beautiful passages, +unrivaled in sentiment and pathos, as well as in terseness, dignity, +and picturesque vigor of language; in subtlety and power of passion, +as well as in delicacy and strength of imagination; and as perfect and +various, in modulation of verse, as the airy flights of Fletcher or +Marlowe's mighty line. + +"The whole range of the Elizabethan drama has not finer expression, +nor does any single work of the period, out of Shakspeare, exhibit so +many rich and precious bars of golden verse, side by side with such +poverty and misery of character and plot. Nothing can be meaner than +the design, nothing grander than the execution." + +In conclusion, the _Examiner_ observes--"We are not acquainted with +any living author who could have written the Fool's Tragedy; and, +though the publication is unaccompanied by any hint of authorship, +we believe that we are correct in stating it to be a posthumous +production of the author of the Bride's Tragedy; Mr. Thomas Lovell +Beddoes. Speaking of the latter production, now more than a quarter +of a century ago, (Mr. Beddoes was then, we believe, a student +at Pembroke College, Oxford, and a minor,) the _Edinburgh Review_ +ventured upon a prediction of future fame and achievement for the +writer, which an ill-chosen and ill-directed subsequent career +unhappily intercepted and baffled. But in proof of the noble natural +gifts which suggested such anticipation, the production before us +remains: and we may judge to what extent a more steady course and +regular cultivation would have fertilized a soil, which, neglected +and uncared for, has thrown out such a glorious growth of foliage and +fruit as this Fool's Tragedy." + +The following exquisite lyric is among the passages with which these +judgments are sustained: + + "If thou wilt ease thine heart + Of love and all its smart, + Then sleep, dear, sleep; + And not a sorrow + Hang any tear on your eyelashes; + Lie still and deep + Sad soul, until like sea-wave washes + The rim o' the sun to-morrow, + In eastern sky. + + But wilt thou cure thine heart + Of love and all its smart, + Then die, dear, die; + 'Tis deeper, sweeter, + Than on a rose bank to lie dreaming + With folded eye; + And then alone, amid the beaming + Of love's stars, thou'lt meet her + In eastern sky." + + * * * * * + + +WINTHROP MACKWORTH PRAED. + +Praed, it has always seemed to us, was the cleverest writer in his +way that has ever contributed to the English periodicals. His fugitive +lyrics and arabesque romances, half sardonic and half sentimental, +published with Hookham Frere's "Whistlecraft" and Macaulay's Roundhead +Ballads, in _Knight's Quarterly Magazine_, and after the suspension +of that work, for the most part in the annual souvenirs, are +altogether unequaled in the class of compositions described as +_vers de societie_.--Who that has read "School and School Fellows", +"Palinodia", "The Vicar", "Josephine", and a score of other pieces in +the same vein, does not desire to possess all the author has left us, +in a suitable edition? It has been frequently stated in the English +journals that such a collection was to be published, under the +direction of Praed's widow, but we have yet only the volume prepared +by a lover of the poet some years ago for the Langleys, in this city. +In the "Memoirs of Eminent Etonians," just printed by Mr. Edward +Creasy, we have several waifs of Praed's that we believe will be new +to all our readers. Here is a characteristic political rhyme: + +VERSES + +ON SEEING THE SPEAKER ASLEEP IN HIS CHAIR IN ONE OF THE DEBATES OF THE +FIRST REFORMED PARLIAMENT. + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, 'tis surely fair + If you mayn't in your bed, that you should in your chair. + Louder and longer now they grow, + Tory and Radical, Aye and Noe; + Talking by night and talking by day. + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker; slumber lies + Light and brief on a Speaker's eyes, + Fielden or Finn in a minute or two + Some disorderly thing will do; + Riot will chase repose away + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker. Sweet to men + Is the sleep that cometh but now and then, + Sweet to the weary, sweet to the ill, + Sweet to the children that work in the mill. + You have more need of repose than they-- + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, Harvey will soon + Move to abolish the sun and the moon; + Hume will no doubt be taking the sense + Of the House on a question of sixteen pence. + Statesmen will howl, and patriots bray-- + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, and dream of the time, + When loyalty was not quite a crime, + When Grant was a pupil in Canning's school, + And Palmerston fancied Wood a fool. + Lord, how principles pass away-- + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may. + +The following is a spirited version of a dramatic scene in the second +book of the Annals of Tacitus: + +ARMINIUS. + + Back, Back;--he fears not foaming flood + Who fears not steel-clad line:-- + No warrior thou of German blood, + No brother thou of mine. + Go earn Rome's chain to load thy neck, + Her gems to deck thy hilt; + And blazon honor's hapless wreck + With all the gauds of guilt. + + But wouldst thou have _me_ share the prey? + By all that I have done, + The Varian bones that day by day + Lie whitening in the sun; + The legion's trampled panoply + The eagle's shattered wing. + I would not be for earth or sky + So scorned and mean a thing, + + Ho, call me here the wizard, boy, + Of dark and subtle skill, + To agonize but not destroy, + To torture, not to kill. + When swords are out, and shriek and shout + Leave little room for prayer, + No fetter on man's arm or heart + Hangs half so heavy there. + + I curse him by the gifts the land + Hath won from him and Rome. + The riving axe, the wasting brand, + Rent forest, blazing home. + I curse him by our country's gods, + The terrible, the dark, + The breakers of the Roman rods, + The smiters of the bark. + + Oh, misery that such a ban + On such a brow should be! + Why comes he not in battle's van + His country's chief to be? + To stand a comrade by my side, + The sharer of my fame, + And worthy of a brother's pride, + And of a brother's name? + + But it is past!--where heroes press + And cowards bend the knee, + Arminius is not brotherless, + His brethren are the free. + They come around:--one hour, and light + Will fade from turf and tide, + Then onward, onward to the fight, + With darkness for our guide. + + To-night, to-night, when we shall meet + In combat face to face, + Then only would Arminius greet + The renegade's embrace. + The canker of Rome's guilt shall be + Upon his dying name; + And as he lived in slavery, + So shall he fall in shame. + + * * * * * + +CAMPBELL AND WASHINGTON IRVING. + +The Editor of _The Albion_, in noticing the republication by the +Harpers of the very interesting Life and Letters of Thomas Campbell, +by Dr. Beattie, has the following observations upon Mr. Irving's +introductory letter: + +"WASHINGTON IRVING, at the request of the publishers, contributed a +very interesting letter to themselves, directing public notice to the +value of this edition. He pays also a hearty and deserved tribute, +not only to the genius of Campbell, but to his many excellencies and +kindly specialities of character. The author of "Hohenlinden," and the +"Battle of the Baltic" stands in need of no man's praise as a lyric +poet--but this sort of testimony to his private worth is grateful +and well-timed. Here is an interesting passage from Mr. Irving's +introductory communication. He is alluding to Campbell's fame and +position, when he himself first made Campbell's acquaintance in +England. + + "'I had considered the early productions of Campbell as + brilliant indications of a genius yet to be developed, and + trusted that, during the long interval which had elapsed, + he had been preparing something to fulfill the public + expectation; I was greatly disappointed, therefore, to find + that, as yet, he had contemplated no great and sustained + effort. My disappointment in this respect was shared + by others, who took the same interest in his fame, and + entertained the same idea of his capacity. 'There he is + cooped up in Sydenham,' said a great Edinburgh critic to me, + 'simmering his brains to serve up a little dish of poetry, + instead of pouring out a whole caldron.' + + "'Scott, too, who took a cordial delight in Campbell's poetry, + expressed himself to the same effect. 'What a pity is it,' + said he to me 'that Campbell does not give full sweep to his + genius. He has wings that would bear him up to the skies, and + he does now and then spread them grandly, but folds them up + again and resumes his perch, as if afraid to launch away. The + fact is, he is a bugbear to himself. The brightness of his + early success is a detriment to all his future efforts. _He is + afraid of the shadow that his own fame casts before him_.' + + "'Little was Scott aware at the time that he, in truth, was + a 'bugbear' to Campbell. This I infer from an observation of + Mrs. Campbell's in reply to an expression of regret on my part + that her husband did not attempt something on a grand Scale. + 'It is unfortunate for Campbell,' said she, 'that he lives in + the same age with Scott and Byron.' I asked why. 'Oh,' said + she, 'they write so much and so rapidly. Now Campbell writes + slowly, and it takes him some time to get under way; and just + as he has fairly begun, out comes one of their poems, that + sets the world agog and quite daunts him, so that he throws by + his pen in despair.' + + "'I pointed out the essential difference in their kinds of + poetry, and the qualities which insured perpetuity to that of + her husband. 'You can't persuade Campbell of that,' said she. + 'He is apt to undervalue his own works, and to consider his + own lights put out, whenever they come blazing out with their + great torches.' + + "'I repeated the conversation to Scott sometime afterward, + and it drew forth a characteristic comment. 'Pooh!' said he, + good-humoredly, 'how can Campbell mistake the matter so + much. Poetry goes by quality, not by bulk. My poems are mere + cairngorms, wrought up, perhaps, with a cunning hand, and may + pass well in the market as long as cairngorms are the fashion; + but they are mere Scotch pebbles after all; now Tom Campbell's + are real diamonds, and diamonds of the first water.'" + +"The foregoing is new to us, and full of a double interest. It is +followed, however, by a statement, that needs a word of explanation. +Mr. Irving says: + + "'I have not time at present to furnish personal anecdotes of + my intercourse with Campbell, neither does it afford any of a + striking nature. Though extending over a number of years, it + was never very intimate. His residence in the country, and + my own long intervals of absence on the continent, rendered + our meetings few and far between. To tell the truth, I was + not much drawn to Campbell, having taken up a wrong notion + concerning him, from seeing him at times when his mind was + ill at ease, and preyed upon by secret griefs. I thought + him disposed to be querulous and captious, and had heard his + apparent discontent attributed to jealous repining at the + success of his poetical contemporaries. In a word, I knew + little of him but what might be learned in the casual + intercourse of general society; whereas it required the close + communion of confidential friendship, to sound the depth of + his character and know the treasures of excellence hidden + beneath its surface. Beside, he was dogged for years + by certain malignant scribblers, who took a pleasure in + misrepresenting all his actions, and holding him up in an + absurd and disparaging point of view. In what hostility + originated I do not know, but it must have given much + annoyance to his sensitive mind, and may have affected + his popularity. I know not to what else to attribute a + circumstance to which I was a witness during my last visit to + England. It was at an annual dinner of the Literary Fund, at + which Prince Albert presided, and where was collected much + of the prominent talent of the kingdom. In the course of + the evening Campbell rose to make a speech. I had not seen + him for years, and his appearance showed the effect of age + and ill-health; _it was evident, also, that his mind was + obfuscated by the wine he had been drinking_. He was confused + and tedious in his remarks; still, there was nothing but + what one would have thought would have been received with + indulgence, if not deference, from a veteran of his fame and + standing; a living classic. On the contrary, to my surprise, I + soon observed signs of impatience in the company; the poet was + repeatedly interrupted by coughs and discordant sounds, and + as often endeavored to proceed; the noise at length became + intolerable, and he was absolutely clamored down, sinking + into his chair overwhelmed and disconcerted. I could not have + thought such treatment possible to such a person at such a + meeting. Hallam, author of the Literary History of the Middle + Ages, who sat by me on this occasion, marked the mortification + of the poet, and it excited his generous sympathy. Being + shortly afterward on the floor to reply to a toast, he took + occasion to advert to the recent remarks of Campbell, and in + so doing called up in review all his eminent achievements in + the world of letters, and drew such a picture of his claims + upon popular gratitude and popular admiration, as to convict + the assembly of the glaring impropriety they had been guilty + of--to soothe the wounded sensibility of the poet, and send + him home to, I trust, a quiet pillow.' + +"Now, the very same facts are seen by different observers in a +different point of view. It so happened that we ourselves were present +at this dinner, which took place in 1842; and the painful circumstance +alluded to by Mr. Irving did not produce the effect on us, that it +appears to have produced on him. Without making a long story about +a trifle, we can call to mind no appearance of hostility or ill-will +manifested on that occasion; and on the contrary, recollect, in our +immediate neighborhood, a mournful sense of distress at the scene +exhibited, and sufficiently hinted in the few unpleasant words we +have italicized. A muster of Englishmen preferred coughing down their +favorite bard, to allowing him to mouth out maudlin twaddle, before +the Prince, then first formally introduced to the public, and before +a meeting whereat "was collected much of the prominent talent of the +kingdom." Mr. Irving, himself most deservedly a man of mark, looked +on with much, surprise. Looking on ourselves then, and writing now, +as one of the public, and as one of the many to whom Campbell's name +and fame are inexpressibly dear, we honestly think that of two evils +the lesser was chosen. We think Mr. Hallam's lecture must have been +inaudible to the greater part of the company." + + * * * * * + +The Archbishop of Lemburgh has prohibited his clergy from wearing long +hair like the peasants, and from smoking in public, "like demagogues +and sons of Baal." + + * * * * * + +The Persians have a saying, that "Ten measures of talk were sent down +upon the earth, and the women took nine." + + * * * * * + + + + +AUTHORS AND BOOKS + + * * * * * + +No man is more enshrined in the heart of the French people than the +poet BERANGER. A few weeks since he went one evening with one of his +nephews to the _Clos des Lilas_, a garden in the students' quarter +devoted to dancing in the open air, intending to look for a few +minutes upon a scene he had not visited since his youth, and then +withdraw. But he found it impossible to remain unknown and unobserved. +The announcement of his presence ran through the garden in a moment, +the dances stopped, the music ceased, and the crowd thronged toward +the point where the still genial and lovely old man was standing. At +once there rose from all lips the cry of _Vive Beranger!_ which was +quickly followed by that of _Vive la Republique!_ The poet whose +diffidence is excessive, could not answer a word, but only smiled and +blushed his thanks at this enthusiastic reception. The acclamations +continuing, an agent of the police invited him to withdraw, lest his +presence might occasion disorder. The illustrious songwriter at once +obeyed; by a singular coincidence the door through which he went out +opened upon the place where Marshal Ney was shot. If he were now in +the vein of writing, what a stirring lyric all these circumstances +might suggest. + + * * * * * + +AUDUBON AND WASHINGTON IRVING--THE PLAGUE OF RAILROADS.--The voyager +up the Hudson will involuntarily anathematize the invention of the +rail, when he sees how much of the most romantic beauty has been +defaced or destroyed by that tyranny which, disregarding all private +desire and justice, has filled up bays, and cut off promontories, and +leveled heights, to make way for the intrusive and noisy car. But the +effects of these so-called "improvements," upon the romantic in nature +will be forgotten if he considers the injury and wrong they cause to +persons, and particularly to those whose genius has contributed more +to human happiness than all the inventions in oeconomical art. + +The Nestor of our naturalists, and in his field, the greatest as well +as the oldest of our artists, AUDUBON, with the comparatively slight +gains of a long life of devotion to science, and of triumphs which had +made him world-renowned, purchased on the banks of the river, not far +from the city, a little estate which it was the joy as well as the +care of his closing years to adorn with everything that a taste so +peculiarly and variously schooled could suggest. He had made it a +pleasing gate-way to the unknown world, with beautiful walks leading +down to the river whose depth and calmness and solemn grandeur +symboled the waves through which he should pass to the reward of a +life of such toil and enviable glory. He had promise of an evening +worthy of his meridian--when the surveyors and engineers, with their +charter-privileges, invaded his retreat, built a road through his +garden, destroyed forever his repose, and--the melancholy truth is +known--made of his mind a ruin. + +WASHINGTON IRVING--now sixty-seven years of age--had found a +resting-place at _Wolfert's Roost_, close by the scenes which lie in +the immortal beauty that radiates from his pages, and when he thought +that in this Tusculum he was safe from all annoying, free to enjoy +the quietness and ease he had earned from the world, the same vandals +laid the track through his grounds, not only destroying all their +beauty and attraction, but leaving fens from which these summer heats +distilled contagion. He has therefore been ill for some weeks, and +as he had never a strong constitution, and has preserved his equable +but not vigorous health only by the most constant carefulness, his +physicians and friends begin to be alarmed for the result. Heaven +avert the end they so fearfully anticipate. He cannot go alone: The +honest Knickerbocker, the gentle Crayon, and the faithful brother +Agapida, with Washington Irving will forever leave the world, which +cannot yet resign itself to the loss of either. + + * * * * * + +Mr. SEBA SMITH, so well known as the author of the "Letters of Major +Jack Downing," and to a different sort of readers for his more serious +contributions to our literature, has just completed the printing of +an original and very remarkable work, upon which he has been engaged +about two years, entitled "New Elements of Geometry," and it will soon +be published in this city by Putnam, and in London by Bentley. It will +probably produce a sensation in the world of science. Its design is +the reconstruction of the entire methods of Geometry. All geometers, +from the dawn of the science, have built their systems upon these +definitions: _A line is length without breadth_, and _A surface is +length and breadth, without thickness_. Mr. Smith asserts that +these definitions are false, and sustains his position by numerous +demonstrations in the pure Euclidean style. He declares that every +mathematical line has a definite _breadth_, which is as measurable as +its length, and that every mathematical surface has a _thickness_, +as measurable as the contents of any solid. His demonstrations, on +diagrams, seem to be eminently clear, simple, and conclusive. The +effects of this discovery and these demonstrations are, to simplify +very much the whole subject of Geometry and mathematics, and to clear +it of many obscurities and difficulties. All geometers heretofore +have claimed that there are _three kinds_ of quantity in Geometry, +different in their _natures_, and requiring units of different natures +to measure them. Mr. Smith shows that there is but _one_ kind of +quantity in Geometry, and but one kind of unit; and that lines, +surfaces, and solids are always measured by the same identical unit. + +Besides the leading features of the work which we have thus briefly +described, it contains many new and beautiful demonstrations of +general principles in Geometry, to which the author was lead by his +new methods of investigation. Among these we may mention one, viz., +"The square of the hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle equals four +times the area of the triangle, plus the square of the difference of +the other two sides." This principle has been known to mathematicians +by means of arithmetic and algebra, but has never before, we believe, +been reduced to a geometrical demonstration. The demonstration of +this principle by Mr. Smith is one of the clearest, simplest, and +most beautiful in Geometry. The work is divided into three parts, +I. The Philosophy of Geometry, II. Demonstrations in Geometry, and +III. Harmonies of Geometry. The demonstrative character of it is +occasionally enlivened by philosophical and historical observations, +which will add much to its interest with the general reader. We have +too little skill in studies of this sort to be altogether confident +in our opinion, but certainly it strikes us from an examination of the +larger and more important portion of Mr. Smith's essay, that it is an +admirable specimen of statement and demonstration, and that it must +secure to its author immediately a very high rank in mathematical +science. We shall await with much interest the judgments of the +professors. It makes a handsome octavo of some 200 pages. + + * * * * * + +M. FLANDIN, an eminent dilettante and designer attached to the French +embassy in Persia, has published in the last number of the _Revue des +Deux Mondes_ an interesting memoir of the ruins of Persepolis, under +the title of "An Archaiological Journey in Persia." On his route +to the ruins he witnessed melancholy evidence, in the condition of +the surface and population, of the improvidence and noxiousness of +Oriental despotism. He tells us that the remains of the magnificent +palace of Darius are dispersed over an immense _plateau_, which looks +down on the plain of Merdacht. "Assuredly, they are not much, compared +with what they must have been in the time of the last Prince who +sheltered himself under the royal roof. Nevertheless, what is now +found of them still excites astonishment, and inspires a sentiment of +religious admiration for a civilization that could create monuments so +stupendous; impress on them a character of so much grandeur; and give +them a solidity which has prereserved the most important parts until +our days, through twenty-two centuries, and all the revolutions +by which Persia has been devastated. The pillars are covered with +European names deeply cut in the stone. English are far the most +numerous. Very few, however, are of celebrated travelers. We observed, +with satisfaction, those of Sir John Malcolm and Mr. Morier, both of +whom have so successfully treated Persian subjects." + + * * * * * + +EMILE GIRARDIN states in his journal that he paid for the eleven +volumes of Chateaubriand's Posthumous Memoirs as they appeared, +piecemeal, in his _feuilleton_, the sum of ninety-seven thousand +one hundred and eight francs. They occupied a hundred and ninety-two +_feuilletons_, and cost him thus more than a franc a line. Alfred de +Broglie has made these memoirs the test of a paper entitled "Memoirs +de Chateaubriand, a Moral and Political Study," in the _Revue des Deux +Mondes_. It is a severe analysis of the book and the man. He concludes +that Chateaubriand was one of the most vainglorious, selfish and +malignant of his tribe. He, indeed, betrayed himself broadly, but +surviving writers, who knew intimately his private life--such as St. +Beuve--have disclosed more of his habitual libertinism. The Radical +journals, and some of the Legitimists, turn to account the portraits +left in these memoirs of Louis Philippe, Thiers, Guizot, and other +statesmen of the Orleans monarchy. They are effusions of personal and +political spite. Chateaubriand hated the whole Orleans dynasty, and +has not spared the elder Bourbons. + + * * * * * + +GUIZOT has been for thirty years in political life, many of them +a minister, and was long at the head of the government of Louis +Philippe, but is now a poor man. Recently, on the marriage of his +two daughters with two brothers De Witt, the descendants of the great +Hollander, he was unable to give them a cent in the way of marriage +portions. This fact proves the personal integrity of the man more +than a score of arguments. Not only has the native honesty of his +character forbidden him to take advantage of his eminent position +to gain a fortune, but the indomitable pride which is his leading +characteristic, has never stooped to the attractions of public plunder +or the fruits of official speculation. Guizot is not up to the times, +and hence his downfall, but future historians will do justice alike to +his great talents and the uprightness of his intentions. + + * * * * * + +One of the best works yet produced on the History of Art, is by +Schnaase, of Düsseldorf. The first three volumes have been published +and translated into French and English, and have met with great +success in both those languages. The fourth volume is just announced +in Germany. Artists and other competent persons at Düsseldorf who +have seen the proof-sheets, speak in the highest terms not only of its +historical merits, but of the excellence of its criticisms. + + * * * * * + +The fifth volume of the _History of Spain_, by Rousseau St. Hilaire, +includes the period from 1336 to 1649. The professor has been employed +ten years on his enterprise; he is lauded by all the critics for his +research, method, and style. We have recently spoken of this work at +some length in _The International_. The PARIS ACADEMY OF INSCRIPTIONS +and Belles Lettres is constantly sending forth the most valuable +contributions; to the history of the middle ages especially. It is +now completing the publication of the sixth volume of the Charters, +Diplomas, and other documents relating to French History. This volume, +which was prepared by M. Pardessus, includes the period from the +beginning of 1220 to the end of 1270, and comprehends the reign of St. +Louis. The seventh volume, coming down some fifty years later, is also +nearly ready for the printer. Its editor is M. Laboulaye. The first +volume of the Oriental Historians of the Crusaders, translated into +French, is now going through the press, and the second is in course +of preparation. The greater part of the first volume of the Greek +Historians of the same chivalrous wars is also printed, and the work +is going rapidly forward. The Academy is also preparing a collection +of Occidental History on the same subject. When these three +collections are published, all the documents of any value relating +to the Crusades will be easily accessible, whether for the use of the +historian or the romancer. The Academy is also now engaged in getting +out the twenty-first volume of the History of the Gauls and of France, +and the nineteenth of the Literary History of France, which brings the +annals of French letters down to the thirteenth century. It is also +publishing the sixteenth volume of its own memoirs, which contains the +history of the Academy for the last four years, and the work of Freret +on Geography, besides several other works of less interest. From +all this some idea may be formed of the labors and usefulness of the +institution. + + * * * * * + +M. LEVERRIER, the astronomer, has published a long and able argument +in support of the free and universal use of the electric telegraph. +He has supplied a most instructive and interesting exposition of the +employment and utility of the invention, in all the countries in which +it has been established. The American and the several European tariffs +of charge are appended. He explains the different systems, scientific +and practical, in detail, and gives the process and proceeds. He +observes that the practicability of laying the wires _under_ ground +along all the great roads of France, which will protect them from +accidents and mischief, will yield immense advantage to the Government +and to individuals. He appears to prefer Bain's Telegraph, for +communication, to any other, and minutely traces and develops its +mechanism. A bill before the French chambers, which he advocates, +opens to the public the use of the telegraph, but with various +restrictions calculated to prevent _revolutionary_ or seditious +abuses; to prevent illicit speculations in the public funds, and +other bad purposes to which a free conveyance might be applied. The +director of the telegraph is to be empowered to refuse to transmit +what he shall deem repugnant to public order and good morals, and the +government to suspend at will all private correspondence, on one or +many lines. + + * * * * * + +THE WORKS OF REV. LEONARD WOODS, D.D., lately Professor of Theology in +the Congregational Seminary of Andover, are in course of publication, +and the third and fourth volumes have just appeared, completing the +theological lectures of the venerable Professor, making in all one +hundred and twenty-eight. In these, the student is furnished with +a complete body of divinity as generally received by the orthodox +denominations in New England, and has presented in a clear, condensed +manner, the matured results of a long life of thought and study +devoted to these subjects. + +The fourth volume is occupied with theological letters. The first +121 pages contain those to Unitarians; next follows the Reply to +Dr. Ware's Letters to Unitarians and Calvinists, and Remarks on Dr. +Ware's Answer, a series remarkable for courtesy and kindness toward +opponents, and clearness and faithfulness in the expression of what +was regarded as truth. Following these, are eight letters to Dr. +Taylor of New Haven; An Examination of the Doctrine of Perfection, +as held by Mr. Mahan and others, and a letter to Mr. Mahan; A +Dissertation on Miracles, and the Course of Theological Study as +pursued at the Seminary at Andover. One more volume will complete the +works of this long active and eminent divine. + + * * * * * + +THE REV. ORVILLE DEWEY, D.D., we learn from the correspondence of the +_Christian Inquirer_, is living upon the farm where he was born, in +Sheffield, Massachusetts, having, in the successive improvements of +many years, converted the original house into an irregular but most +comfortable and pleasant dwelling. The view from the back piazza is +as fine as can be commanded anywhere in Berkshire, and should the +shifting channel of the Housatonic only be accommodating enough to +wind a little nearer the house, or even suffer some not impossible +stoppage which would convert the marshy meadow in front into a lake, +nothing can be conceived of which could then improve the situation. In +this lovely retirement, Dr. Dewey endeavors to unite labor and study; +working with his own hands, with hoe and rake, in a way to surprise +those who only know how he can handle a pen. He is preparing, in a +leisurely way, for a course of Lectures for the Lowell Institute, upon +a theme admirably suited to his previous studies, and in which it is +evident his whole mind and heart are bound up. We are glad to know +that it is not until winter after next that this work must be taken +from the anvil. + + * * * * * + +DR. HOOKER, we learn, has again proceeded to a new and unexplored +region in India, in the prosecution of his important botanical labors. +THE AUTHOR OF THE AMBER WITCH, the Pomeranian pastor, Meinhold, +has been condemned to three months' imprisonment, and a fine of one +hundred thalers, besides costs, for slander against another clergyman +named Stosch, in a communication published in the _New Prussian +Zeitung_. The sentence was rendered more severe than usual in such +cases by the fact that Meinhold, who appears to possess more talent +than temper, had previously been condemned for the same offense +against another party. The _Amber Witch_ is one of the "curiosities of +literature", for in the last German edition the author is obliged to +prove that it is entirely a work of imagination, and not, as almost +all the German critics believed it to be when it appeared, the reprint +of an old chronicle. It was, in fact, written as a trap for the +disciples of Strauss and his school, who had pronounced the Scriptures +of the Old and New Testaments to be a collection, of legends, from +historical research, assisted by "internal evidence". Meinhold did +not spare them when they fell into the snare, and made merry with the +historical knowledge and critical acumen that could not detect +the contemporary romancer under the mask of the chronicler of two +centuries ago, while they decided so positively as to the authority of +the most ancient writings in the world. He has been in prison before. + + * * * * * + +"THE NIGHT SIDE OF NATURE[1]", by Catharine Crowe, so well known as +one of the cleverest of the younger set of literary women in England, +we have already mentioned as in the press of Mr. Redfield; it is +now published, and we commend it as one of the most entertaining and +curious works that has ever appeared on the "wonders of the invisible +world". We quote from the judicious critic of the _Tribune_ the +following paragraphs in regard to it: + +[Footnote 1: The Night side of Nature; or, Ghosts and Ghost Seers. By +Catherine Crowe. New York. J.S. Redfield.] + +"The author of this work is an accomplished German scholar. Without +being a slave to the superstitious love of marvels and prodigies, her +mind evidently leans toward the twilight sphere, which lies beyond +the acknowledged boundaries of either faith or knowledge. She seems +to be entirely free from the sectarian spirit; she can look at facts +impartially, without reference to their bearing on favorite dogmas; +nor does she claim such a full, precise and completely-rounded +acquaintance with the mysteries of the spiritual world, whether from +intuition or revelation, as not to believe that there may be more +"things in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophy." +In this respect, it must be owned that she has not the advantage of +certain religious journals in this city, like the _Christian Inquirer_ +and _The Independent_, for instance--which have been so fully +initiated into the secrets of universal truth as to regard all inquiry +into such subjects either as too vulgar for a Christian gentleman, +_comme il faut_, or as giving a "sanction to the atheistic +delusion that there may be a spiritual or supernatural agency" in +manifestations which are not accounted for by the New-England Primer. +Mrs. Crowe, on the contrary, supposes that there may be something +worthy of philosophical investigation in those singular phenomena, +which, surpassing the limits of usual experience, have not yet found +any adequate explanation. + +"The phrase 'Night Side of Nature' is borrowed from the Germans, who +derive it from the language of astronomers, designating the side of +a planet that is turned from the sun, as its night side. The Germans +draw a parallel between our vague and misty perceptions, when deprived +of the light of the sun, and the obscure and uncertain glimpses we +obtain of the vailed department of nature, of which, though comprising +the solution of the most important questions, we are in a state of +almost total ignorance. In writing a book on these subjects, the +author disclaims the intention of enforcing any didactic opinions. She +wishes only to suggest inquiry and stimulate observation, in order to +gain all possible light on our spiritual nature, both as it now exists +in the flesh and is to exist hereafter out of it. + +"It is but justice to say, that the present volume is a successful +realization of the purpose thus announced. It presents as full a +collection of facts on the subject as is probably to be found in any +work in the English language, furnishing materials for the formation +of theoretic views, and illustrating an obscure but most interesting +chapter in the marvelous history of human nature. It is written +with perfect modesty, and freedom from pretense, doing credit to the +ability of the author as a narrator, as well as to her fairness and +integrity as a reasoner." + + * * * * * + +MR. MILNE EDWARDS presented at a recent meeting of the _Academy of +Sciences_, in the name of the Prince of Canino, (C. Bonaparte), the +first part of the Prince's large work, _Conspectus Generum Avium_. + + * * * * * + +M. GUIZOT has addressed a long letter to each of the five classes +of the Institute of France, to declare that he cannot accept the +candidateship offered him for a seat in the Superior Council of Public +Instruction. + + * * * * * + +SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON is to be a candidate for the House +of Commons, with Col. Sibthorp, for Lincoln. He has a new play +forthcoming for the Princess's Theatre. + + * * * * * + +MISS STRICKLAND has in preparation a series of volumes on the Queens +of Scotland, as a companion to her, interesting and successful work on +the Queens of England. + + * * * * * + +THE MARQUIS DE FOUDRAS has published _Un Caprice de Grande +Dame_--clever, but as corrupt as her other works. + + * * * * * + +MR. HERBERT'S NEW BOOKS.--The _Southern Quarterly Review_ for July +has the following notice of "Frank Forester's Fish and Fishing in the +United States and British Provinces," recently published by Stringer & +Townsend: + +"There are few of our writers so variously endowed and accomplished as +Mr. Herbert; of a mind easily warmed and singularly enthusiastic, the +natural bent of his talent inclines him to romance. He has accordingly +given us several stories abounding in stately scenes, and most +impressive portraiture. Well skilled in the use of the mother tongue, +as in the broad fields of classical literature, he has written essays +of marked eloquence, and criticisms of excellent discrimination and a +keen and thorough insight. His contributions to our periodicals have +been even more happy than his fictions. With a fine imagination, he +inherits a _penchant_ and a capacity for poetry, which has enabled him +to throw off, without an effort, some of the most graceful fugitive +effusions which have been written in America. His accomplishments are +as various as his talents. He can paint a landscape as sweetly as +he can describe it in words. He is a sportsman of eager impulse, and +relishes equally well the employments of the fisherman and hunter. +He is a naturalist, as well as a sportsman, and brings, to aid his +practice and experience, a large knowledge, from study, of the habits +of birds, beasts and fishes. He roves land and sea in this pursuit, +forest and river, and turns, with equal ease and readiness, from +a close examination of Greek and Roman literature, to an emulous +exercise of all the arts which have afforded renown to the aboriginal +hunter. The volume before us--one of many which he has given to this +subject--is one of singular interest to the lover of the rod and +angle. It exhibits, on every page, a large personal knowledge of +the finny tribes in all the northern portions of our country, and +well deserves the examination of those who enjoy such pursuits and +pastimes. The author's pencil has happily illustrated the labors of +his pen. His portraits of the several fishes of the United States are +exquisitely well done and truthful. It is our hope, in future pages, +to furnish an ample review of this, and other interesting volumes, of +similar character, from the hand of our author. We have drawn to them +the attention of some rarely endowed persons of our own region, who, +like our author, unite the qualities of the writer and the sportsman; +from whom we look to learn in what respects the habits and characters +of northern fish differ from our own, and thus supply the deficiency +of the work before us. The title of this work is rather too general. +The author's knowledge of the fish, and of fishing, in the United +States, is almost wholly confined to the regions north of the +Chesapeake, and he falls into the error, quite too common to the +North, of supposing this region to be the whole country. Another +each volume as that before us will be necessary to do justice to the +Southern States, whose possessions, in the finny tribes of sea and +river, are of a sort to shame into comparative insignificance all the +boasted treasures of the North. It would need but few pages in our +review, from the proper hands, to render this very apparent to the +reader. Meanwhile, we exhort him to seek the book of Mr. Herbert, as a +work of much interest and authority, so far as it goes." + + * * * * * + +MR. PUTNAM is preparing some elegantly embellished works for the +holiday season. Among others, an edition, in octavo, of Miss Fenimore +Cooper's charming _Rural Hours_, embellished by twenty finely-colored +drawings of birds and flowers; _The Picturesque Souvenir_, or Letters +of a Traveler in Europe and America, by Bryant, embellished by +a series of finely-executed engravings; and _The Alhambra_, by +Washington Irving, with designs by Darley, uniform with the splendid +series of Mr. Irving's Illustrated Works, some time in course +of publication. We have also seen a specimen copy of a superbly +illustrated edition of _The Pilgrim's Progress_, printed on +cream-colored paper, as smooth as ivory; and the exquisite designs by +Harvey, nearly three hundred in number, are among the most effective +ever attempted for the elucidation of this first of all allegories. +Professor Sweetser's new work, _Menial Hygiene_, or an Examination of +the Intellect and Passions, designed to illustrate their Influence on +Health and the Duration of Life, will be published in the course +of the present month. Professor Church's _Treatise on Integral and +Differential Calculus_, a revised edition; _The Companion_, or _After +Dinner Table Talk_, by Chelwood Evelyn, with a fine portrait of Sydney +Smith; _The History of Propellers, and Steam Navigation_, illustrated +by engravings: a manual, said to combine much valuable information on +the subjects, derived from the most authentic sources, by Mr. Robert +MacFarlane, editor of the _Scientific American_; and Mr. Ridner's +_Artist's Chromatic Hand-Book, or Manual of Colors_, will also be +speedily issued by the same publisher. Mr. Putnam's own production, +_The World's Progress, or Dictionary of Dates_, containing a +comprehensive manual of reference in facts, or epitome of historical +and general statistical knowledge, with a corrected chronology, &c., +is expected to appear in a few weeks. Mr. Theodore Irving's _Conquest +of Florida_ is also in progress. + + * * * * * + +It is said that Meyerbeer has already completed a grand opera with the +title of _L'Africaine_, and is now engaged on a comic opera. This is +probably nothing more than one of the trumpets which this composer +knows so well how to blow beforehand. Meyerbeer is not greater in +music than in the art of tickling public expectation and keeping the +public aware of his existence. + + * * * * * + +The _Lorgnette_ has just appeared in a volume. + + * * * * * + + + + +RECENT DEATHS. + + * * * * * + +AUGUSTUS WILLIAM NEANDER. + +OF this most eminent Christian scholar of the nineteenth century, +_The Tribune_ furnishes the following brief sketch. "The name of +JOHANN AUGUST WILHELM NEANDER is familiar to a large number of our +countrymen, both on account of his important contributions to the +science of theology, and his personal intimacy with many of our +eminent scholars, who have enjoyed the benefit of his instructions, +or who have made his acquaintance while pursuing their travels in +Germany. Although he had attained a greater age than might have been +anticipated from his habits as a confirmed invalid, being in his +sixty-second year, his decease cannot be announced without causing an +emotion of surprise and regret to a numerous circle who recognized in +him one of the most faithful and conscientious Christian teachers of +the present day. + +"NEANDER, as it is well known, was descended from Jewish parents, +by whom he was instructed in the rudiments of religion, and at a +subsequent period of life became a convert to the Christian faith, by +personal inquiry and experience. He was born at Göttingen, in 1789, +but passed a considerable portion of his youth at Hamburg, where he +was initiated into the rudiments of a classical education. After he +had made a profession of Christianity, he continued his studies for +a short time at the Universities of Halle and Göttingen, returned to +Hamburg, and finally completed his University career at Heidelberg. +The following year he was called to the University of Berlin, as +Professor of Theology, where he soon gave promise of the brilliant +eminence which he has since attained. His first publications were +on special topics of ecclesiastical history, including treatises on +'The Emperor Julian and his Age,' 'St. Bernard and his Age,' 'The +Development of the Principal Systems of the Gnostics,' 'St. Chrysostom +and the Church in his Age,' and 'The Spirit of Tertullian,' with +an 'Introduction to his Writings.' These treatises are remarkable +monuments of diligence, accuracy, profoundness of research and breadth +of comprehension, showing the same intellectual qualities which +were afterward signally exhibited in the composition of his masterly +volumes on the history of the Christian Religion. His earliest +production in this department had for its object to present the most +important facts in Church history, in a form adapted to the great mass +of readers, without aiming at scientific precision or completeness. +This attempt was eminently successful. The first volume of his +great work entitled 'General History of the Church and the Christian +Religion,' was published in 1825, and it was not till twenty years +afterward that the work was brought to a close. The appearance of this +work formed a new epoch in ecclesiastical history. It at once betrayed +the power of a bold and original mind. Instead of consisting of a +meager and arid collection of facts, without scientific order, without +any vital coherence or symmetry, and without reference to the cardinal +elements of Christian experience, the whole work, though singularly +chaste and subdued in its tone, throbs with the emotions of genuine +life, depicting the influence of Christianity as a school for the +soul, and showing its radiant signatures of Divinity in its moral +triumphs through centuries. + +"His smaller work on the first development of Christianity in the +Apostolic Age is marked by the same spirited characteristics, while +his 'Life of Jesus' is an able defense of the historical verity of +the sacred narrative against the ingenious and subtle suggestions of +Strauss. + +"The writings and theological position of NEANDER have been fully +brought before the American public by Profs. ROBINSON, TORREY, +McCLINTOCK, SEARS, and other celebrated scholars who have done much to +diffuse a knowledge of the learned labors of Germany among intelligent +thinkers in our own country. NEANDER was free from the reproach which +attaches to so many of his fellow laborers, of covertly undermining +the foundation of Christianity, under the pretense of placing it on a +philosophical basis. His opinions are considered strictly evangelical, +though doubtless embodied in a modified form. In regard to the extent +and soundness of his learning, the clearness of his perceptions, +and the purity and nobleness of his character, there can be but one +feeling among those who are qualified to pronounce a judgment on the +subject. + +"NEANDER was never married. He was the victim of almost constant ill +health. In many of his personal habits he was peculiar and eccentric. +With the wisdom of a sage, he combined the simplicity of a child. Many +amusing anecdotes are related of his oddities in the lecture-room, +which will serve to enliven the biography that will doubtless be +prepared at an early date. We have received no particulars concerning +his death, which is said to have been announced by private letters to +friends in Boston." + + * * * * * + +JACOB JONES, U.S.N. + +COMMODORE JACOB JONES, of the United States Navy, died in Philadelphia +on the 6th inst. He was born in Smyrna, Kent county, Delaware, in +the year 1770, and was therefore, eighty years of age. He was of +an eminently respectable family, and commenced life as a physician, +having studied the profession at the University of Pennsylvania. He +afterward became clerk of the Supreme Court of Delaware for his native +county. When about twenty-nine years old he entered the navy, and made +his first cruises under Commodore Barry. He was a midshipman on board +the frigate United States, when she bore to France Chief Justice +Ellsworth and General Davie, as envoys extraordinary to the French +Republic. He was next appointed to the Ganges as midshipman. On the +breaking out of the war with Tripoli, he was stationed on the frigate +Philadelphia, under Commodore Bainbridge. The disaster which befell +that ship and her crew before Tripoli, forms a solemn page in our +naval history; atoned, however, by the brilliant achievements to which +it gave rise. Twenty months of severe captivity among a barbarous +people, and in a noxious climate, neither broke the spirit nor +impaired the constitution of Jones. Blest by nature with vigorous +health and an invincible resolution, when relieved from bondage by the +bravery of his countrymen, he returned home full of life and ardor. +He was soon after promoted to a lieutenancy. He was now for some time +employed on the Orleans station, where he conducted himself with +his usual judgment and propriety, and was a favorite in the polite +circles of the Orleans and Mississippi territories. He was shortly +after appointed to the command of the brig Argus, stationed for the +protection of our commerce on the southern maritime frontier. In this +situation he acted with vigilance and fidelity, and though there were +at one time insidious suggestions to the contrary, it has appeared +that he conformed to his instructions, promoted the public interest, +and gave entire satisfaction to the government. In 1811, he was +transferred to the command of the sloop-of-war Wasp, mounting eighteen +twenty-four pound carronades, and dispatched, in the spring of 1812, +with communications to the courts of St. Cloud and St. James. Before +he returned, war had been declared against Great Britain. He refitted +his ship with all possible dispatch, and repaired to sea, but met with +no other good fortune than the capture of an inconsiderable prize. He +next sailed from Philadelphia on the 13th of October, and on the 18th +of the same month encountered a heavy gale, during which the Wasp +lost her jibboom and two seamen. On the following night, the watch +discovered five strange sail steering eastward. The Wasp hauled to +the windward and closely watched their movements until daylight next +morning, when it was found that they were six large merchant vessels +under convoy of a sloop of war. The former were well manned, two +of them mounting sixteen guns each. Notwithstanding the apparent +disparity of force. Captain Jones determined to hazard an attack; +and as the weather was boisterous, and the swell of the sea unusually +high, he ordered down top-gallant yards, closely reefed the top-sails, +and prepared for action. We cannot give a detail of this brilliant +engagement, which resulted in the capture of the Frolic. It was one of +the most daring and determined actions in our naval history. The force +of the Frolic consisted of sixteen thirty-two pound carronades, four +twelve-pounders on the maindeck, and two twelve-pound carronades. +Both vessels had more men than was essential to their efficiency; but +while there was an equality of strength in the crews, there was an +inequality in the number of guns and weight of metal--the Frolic +having four twelve-pounders more than the Wasp. The exact number of +killed and wounded on board the Frolic could not be ascertained with +any degree of precision; but, from the admissions of the British +officers, it was supposed that their loss in killed was about thirty, +including two officers, and in wounded, between forty and fifty. The +captain and every other officer on board were more or less severely +wounded. The Wasp sustained a loss of only five men killed, and five +wounded. + +While erecting jurymasts on board the Frolic, soon after, a suspicious +sail was seen to windward, upon which Captain Jones directed +Lieutenant Biddle to shape her course for Charleston, or any other +port of the United States, while the Wasp should continue upon +her cruise. The sail coming down rapidly, both vessels prepared +for action, but it was soon discovered, to the mortification of +the victors in this well-fought action, that the new enemy was a +seventy-four, which proved to be the Poictiers, commanded by Admiral +Beresford. Firing a shot over the Frolic, she passed her, and soon +overhauled the Wasp, which, in her crippled state, was unable to +escape. Both vessels were thus captured, and carried into Bermuda. +After a few weeks, a cartel was proposed by which the officers +and crew of the Wasp were conveyed to New York. On the return of +Captain Jones to the United States, he was everywhere received with +demonstrations of respect for the skill and gallantry displayed in his +combat with the enemy. The legislature of Delaware gave him a vote +of thanks, and a piece of plate. On the motion of James A. Bayard, +of Delaware, Congress appropriated twenty-five thousand dollars, as +a compensation to the commander, his officers, and crew, for the loss +they had sustained by the recapture of the Frolic. They also voted +a gold medal to the Captain, and a silver medal to each of his +commissioned officers. As a farther evidence of the confidence of +government, Captain Jones was ordered to the command of the frigate +Macedonian, recently captured from the British by Decatur. She was +rapidly fitted out under his direction, in the harbor of New York, +and proposed for one of Decatur's squadron, which was about to sail on +another expedition. In May 1811, the squadron attempted to put to +sea, but, in sailing up Long Island Sound, encountered a large British +force, which compelled the United States vessels to retreat into +New London. In this situation the enemy continued an uninterrupted +blockade during the war. Finding it impossible to avoid the vigilance +of Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded the blockading fleet, the +government ordered Captain Jones to proceed with his officers and crew +to Sackett's Harbor, and report to Commodore Chauncey, as commander of +the frigate Mohawk, on lake Ontario. There the Americans maintained +an ascendency, and continued to cruise until October, when the British +squadron, under Sir James Yeo, left Kingston, with a greatly superior +force, which caused the United States squadron to return to Sackett's +Harbor. It seemed, indeed, that the contest now depended on the +exertions of the ship carpenters. Two line of battle ships were placed +on the stocks, and were advancing rapidly to completion, when, in +February 1815, the news of peace arrived, with orders to suspend +further operations on these vessels. A few weeks after the peace was +announced, Captain Jones with his officers and crew was ordered to +repair to the seaboard, and again to take command of the Macedonian, +to form part of the force against the Algerines, then depredating on +our commerce in the Mediterranean. As soon as the Algerian Regency was +informed that war existed between the United States and Great Britain, +the Dey dispatched his cruisers to capture all American merchant +vessels. To punish these freebooters, nine or ten vessels were fitted +out and placed under Decatur. This armament sailed from New York in +May, 1815, and when off Cadiz was informed that the Algerines were +along the southern coast of Spain. Two days after reaching the +Mediterranean, the United States squadron fell in with and captured +the Algerine frigate Messuado, mounting forty-six guns, and the next +day captured a large brig of war, both of which were carried into the +port of Carthagena, in Spain. The American squadron then proceeded to +the bay of Algiers, where its sudden and unexpected appearance excited +no slight surprise and alarm in the Regency. The Dey reluctantly +yielded to every demand to him; he restored the value of the property +belonging to American merchants which he had seized, released all the +prisoners he had captured, and relinquished forever all claims on the +annual tribute which he had received. After having thus terminated +the war with Algiers, and formed an advantageous treaty, the +squadron proceeded to other Barbary capitals, and adjusted some minor +difficulties, which, however, were of importance to our merchants. +After touching at several of the islands in the Mediterranean, at +Naples, and at Malaga, the entire force came back to the United States +early in December. From this period till his death, no event of +much importance distinguished the career of Commodore Jones. He was, +however, almost constantly employed in various responsible positions, +his appointment to which evinced the confidence government placed +in his talents and discretion. In 1821, he took the command of a +squadron, for the protection of our trade in the Mediterranean, in +which he continued for three years. On his return he was offered a +seat in the Board of Navy Commissioners, but, finding bureau duties +irksome, he accepted, in 1826, the command of our navy in the +Pacific, where he also continued three years, Afterward he was placed +in command of the Baltimore station, where he remained, with the +exception of a short interval, until transferred to the harbor of +New York. Since 1847, he had held the place of Governor of the United +States Naval Asylum, on the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia. + + * * * * * + +JULIA BETTERTON GLOVER. + +An actress who has been admired and respected by three generations of +play-goers has quitted the stage of life in the person of Mrs. Glover. +The final exit was somewhat sudden, as it seemed to the general +public; but it was anticipated by her friends. A friendly biographer +in the _Morning Chronicle_ explains the circumstances; first referring +to the extraordinary manifestations of public feeling which attended +Mrs. Glover's last farewell, at Drury-Lane Theater, on Friday, the +12th of July. + +"In our capacity of spectators we did not then see occasion to mention +what had otherwise come to our knowledge--that the evidences of +extreme suffering manifested by Mrs. Glover on that evening--her +inability to go through her part, except as a mere shadow of her +former self, and the substitution of an apologetic speech from Mr. +Leigh Murray for the address which had been written for her by a +well-known and talented amateur of the drama--arose not merely from +the emotion natural on a farewell night, after more than half a +century of active public service, but also from extreme physical +debility, the result of an attack of illness of a wasting character, +which had already confined that venerable lady to her bed for many +days. In fact, it was only the determination of Mrs. Glover herself +not to disappoint the audience, who had been invited and attracted for +many weeks before, that overruled the remonstrances of her friends +and family against her appearing at all. She was then utterly unfit +to appear on the stage in her professional character, and the most +serious alarm was felt lest there should be some sudden and fatal +catastrophe. The result of the struggle of feeling she then underwent, +superadded as it was to the physical causes which had undermined her +strength, was, that Mrs. Glover sunk under the disease which had been +consuming her, and quitted this life on Monday night." + +Mrs. Glover, born Julia Betterton, was daughter of an actor named +Betterton, who held a good position on the London stage toward +the close of the last century. She is said to have been a lineal +descendant of the great actor of the same name. Her birthday was +the 8th January, 1781. Brought up, as most of our great actors and +actresses have been, "at the wings," she was even in infancy sent on +the stage in children's parts. She became attached to the company of +Tate Wilkinson, for whom she played, at York, the part of the _Page_ +in _The Orphan_; and she also exercised her juvenile talents in the +part of _Tom Thumb_, for the benefit of George Frederick Cooke, who on +the occasion doffed his tragic garb and appeared in the character of +_Glumdalcar_. Another character which she played successfully with +Cooke was that of the little _Duke of York_ in _Richard the Third_; +into which, it is recorded, she threw a degree of spirit and childish +roguishness that acted as a spur on the great tragedian himself, who +never performed better than when seconded by his childish associate. +In 1796 she had attained such a position in the preparatory school +of the provincial circuits, chiefly at Bath, that she was engaged at +Covent Garden; in the first instance at £10 a week, and ultimately for +five years at £15 a week, rising to £20; terms then thought "somewhat +extraordinary and even exorbitant". Miss Betterton first appeared in +London in October 1797, fifty-three years ago, as _Elvira_, in Hannah +More's tragedy of _Percy_. Her success was great; and in a short time +she had taken such a hold of popular favor, that when Mrs. Abington +returned for a brief period to the stage, Miss Betterton held her +ground against the rival attraction, and even secured the admiration +of Mrs. Abington herself. Her subsequent engagements were at +Drury-Lane and Covent-Garden alternately, till she made that long +engagement at the Haymarket, during which she has become best known to +the present generation of playgoers. Her more recent brief engagement +with Mr. Anderson, at Drury-Lane, and her last one with Mr. W. Farren, +at the Strand Theater, whither she contributed so much to attract +choice audiences, are fresh in the memory of metropolitans. Looking +back to Mrs. Glover's "long and brilliant career upon the stage, we +may pronounce her one of the most extraordinary women and accomplished +actresses that have ever graced the profession of the drama." Mrs. +Glover had a daughter, Phillis, a very clever young actress, at the +Haymarket Theater, who has been dead several years. Her two sons are +distinguished, the one as a popular musical composer, and the other as +a clever tragedian--the latter with considerable talent, also, as an +amateur painter. + +A London correspondent of the _Spirit of the Times_ gives an +interesting account of the Glover benefit, and the "last scenes." + + * * * * * + +MADAME GAVAUDAN is dead. To many it will be necessary to explain +that Madame Gavaudan was, in her time, one of the most favorite +singing-actresses and acting songstresses belonging to the _Opéra +Comique_ of Paris; and that, after many years of popularity, she +retired from the stage in 1823. + + * * * * * + +GENERAL BERTHAND, Baron de Sivray, died early in July at Luc, in +France, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. He was an officer before +the first revolution, and served through all the wars of the Republic +and the Empire. + + * * * * * + +ROBERT R. BAIRD, a son of the Rev. Dr. Baird, and a young man of +amiable character and considerable literary abilities, which had been +illustrated for the most part, we believe, in translation, was drowned +in the North River at Yonkers on Tuesday evening, the 6th instant, +about seven o'clock. The deceased had gone into the water to bathe in +company with several others, and was carried by the rising tide into +deep water, where, as he could swim but little, he sunk to rise no +more, before help could reach him. This premature and sudden death has +overwhelmed his parents and friends in the deepest distress. He was +twenty-five years old. + + * * * * * + +THE DEATH OF MR. S. JOSEPH, the sculptor, known by his statue of +Wilberforce in Westminster Abbey and his statue of Wilkie in the +National Gallery, is mentioned in the English papers. His busts +exhibit a fine perception of character, and many a delicate grace in +the modeling. Mr. Joseph was long a resident in Edinburgh. He modeled +a bust of Sir Walter Scott about the same time that Chantrey modeled +his--that bust which best preserves to us the features and character +of the great novelist. + + * * * * * + +JAMES WRIGHT, author of the _Philosophy of Elocution_ and other works +chiefly of a religious character, died at Brighton, England, on the +9th of July, aged 68. + + * * * * * + +SIR THOMAS WILDE, who has just been promoted to the Woolsack, as Baron +Truro, we learn from the _Illustrated News_, was born in 1782. After +practicing as an attorney, he was called to the bar by the Honorable +Society of the Inner Temple, the 7th February, 1817. He joined +the Western Circuit, and soon rose into considerable practice. His +knowledge of the law, combined with his great eloquence, made him one +of the most successful advocates of his time. He was for many years +the confidential and legal adviser of the late Alderman Sir Matthew +Wood, and his connection with that gentleman caused him to be engaged +as one of the senior counsel for the Queen on the celebrated trial of +Queen Caroline. Though surrounded by rivals of the highest eminence +and the brightest fame, Wilde always stood among the foremost, +and obtained briefs in some of the greatest causes ever tried. For +instance, he was engaged on the winning side in the famous action +of Small v. Atwood, in which his fees are said to have amounted to +something enormous. In 1824 he became a sergeant-at-law; and he was +appointed King's Sergeant in 1827, and Solicitor-General in 1839, +when he received the honor of knighthood. In 1841 he first became +Attorney-General; and after a second time holding that office, he +succeeded the late Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal, as Lord Chief +Justice of the Common Pleas. His recent appointment as Lord Chancellor +places him at the very summit of his profession. + + * * * * * + +[FROM THE _LONDON LADIES' COMPANION_.] + +THE MORNING SONG. + +BY BARRY CORNWALL. + +A new "English Song," by Barry Cornwall, is now--more's the pity--a +too rare event in the musical year. We are at once doing our readers +a pleasure, and owning a welcome kindness, in publishing, by the +author's permission, these words, set by M. Benedict, and sung by +Madame Sontag. + + The world is waking into light; + The dark and sullen night hath flown: + Life lives and re-assumes its might, + And nature smiles upon her throne. + And the Lark, + Hark! + _She_ gives welcome to the day, + In a merry, merry, lay, + Tra la!--lira, lira, lira, la! + + Soft sounds are sailing through the air; + Sweet sounds are springing from the stream; + And fairest things, where all is fair, + Join gently in the grateful theme. + And the Lark, &c., &c. + + The morn, the morn is in the skies; + The reaper singeth from the corn; + The shepherd on the hills replies; + And all things now salute the morn, + Even the Lark, &c., &c. + + * * * * * + +[FROM ELIZA COOK'S JOURNAL.] + +A LESSON. + +If society ever be wholly corrupted, it will be by the idea that it is +already so. Some cynics believe in virtue, sincerity, and happiness, +only as traditions of the past, and by ridicule seek to propagate the +notion. This vain and pedantic philosophy would turn all hearts to +stone, and arm every man with suspicion against all others, declaiming +against the romance of life, as empty sentimentalism; against the +belief in goodness, as youth's sanguine folly; and the hope of pure +happiness, as a fanciful dream, created by a young imagination, to be +dissipated by the teaching of a few years' struggle with the world. + +If this be wisdom, I am no philosopher, and I never wish to be one; +for sooner would I float upon the giddy current of fancy, to fall +among quicksands at last, than travel through a dull and dreary world, +without confidence in my companions. That we may be happy, that we +may find sincere friends, that we may meet the good, and enjoy the +beautiful on earth, is a creed that will find believers in all hearts +unsoured by their own asceticism. Virtue will sanctify every fireside +where we invite her to dwell, and if the clouds of misfortune darken +and deform the whole period of our existence, it is a darkness that +emanates from ourselves, and a deformity created by us to our own +unhappiness. + +Yet this is not relating the little story which is the object of my +observations. The axiom which I wish to lay down, to maintain, and to +prove correct, is, that married life may be with most people, should +be with all, and is with many, a state of happiness. The reader +may smile at my boldness, but the history of the personages I shall +introduce to walk their hour on this my little stage, will justify my +adopting the maxim. + +M. Pierre Lavalles, owner of a vineyard, near a certain village +in the south of France, wooed and wedded Mdlle. Julie Gouchard. +Exactly where they dwelt, and all the precise circumstances of their +position, I do not mean to indicate, and if I might offer a hint to +my contemporaries, it would be a gentle suggestion that they occupy +too much time, paper, and language in geographical and genealogical +details, very wearisome, because very unnecessary. Monsieur Pierre +Lavalles then lived in a pretty house, near a certain village in a +vine-growing district of the south of France, and when he took his +young wife home, he showed her great stores of excellent things, +calculated well for the comfortable subsistence of a youthful and +worthy couple. Flowers and blossoming trees shed odor near the lattice +windows, verdure soft and green was spread over the garden, and the +mantling vine "laid forth the purple grape," over a rich and sunny +plantation near at hand. The house was small, but neat, and well +furnished in the style of the province, and Monsieur and Madame Pierre +Lavalles lived very happily in plenty and content. + +Here I leave them, and introduce the reader to Monsieur Antoine +Perron, notary in the neighboring village. + +Let me linger over a notice of this individual. He was a good man, and +what is more curious an honest lawyer. Indeed, in spite of my happy +theory, I may say that such a good man, and such a good lawyer you +could seldom meet. All the village knew him; he mixed up in every +one's quarrels; not, as is usually the case, to make confusion worse +confounded by a double-tongued hypocrisy, but to produce conciliation; +he mingled in every one's affairs, not to pick up profit for himself, +but to prevent the villagers from running into losses and imprudent +speculations; he talked much, yet, it was not slander, but advice; he +thought more, yet it was not over mischief, but on schemes of good; +he was known to everybody, yet none that knew him respected him the +less on that account. He was a little, spare, merry-looking man, that +sought to appear grave when he was most inclined to merriment, and +if he considered himself a perfect genius in his plans for effecting +good, his vanity may be pardoned, because of the food it fed on. + +M. Antoine Perron considered himself very ingenious, and if he had a +fault, it was his love of originality. He never liked to perform any +action in a common way, and never chuckled so gaily to himself, as +when he had achieved some charitable end by some extraordinary means. + +It was seven months after the marriage of M. Pierre Lavalles, M. +Antoine Perron sat in his little parlor, and gazed with a glad eye +upon the cheerful fire, for the short winter was just terminating. +Leaning forward in his chair, he shaded his face with his hands, and +steadily perused the figures among the coals with a most pleasant +countenance. The room was small, neat, and comfortable, for the notary +prospered, in his humble way and seeking only comfort found it, and +was content. + +Suddenly a violent knocking at the door aroused him from his reverie, +and he heard his old servant rushing to open it. In a moment, two +persons were ushered into the room, and the notary leaped to his +feet in astonishment at the extraordinary scene before him. Had a +thunderbolt cloven the roof, and passed through his hearth to its +grave in the center of the globe, or had the trees that nodded their +naked branches without the window commenced a dance upon the snowy +ground, he had not been more surprised. + +Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, and Madame Pierre Lavalles stood just inside +the doorway. Never had Monsieur Perron seen them before, as he saw +them now. Like turtle-doves, with smiling eyes, and affectionate +caress, they had lived in happy harmony during the seven months of +their married life, and motherly dames, when they gave their daughters +away, bade them prosper and be pleasant in their union, as they had +been joyous in their love, pleasant and joyous, as neighbor Lavalles +and his wife. + +Now, Pierre stood red and angry, with his right arm extended, +gesticulating toward his wife. Julie stood red and angry, with her +left arm extended, gesticulating toward her husband. Eyes, that had +only radiated smiles, flashed with fierce passion, as the turtle doves +remained near the door, each endeavoring to anticipate the other in +some address to the worthy notary. He, aghast and perplexed, waited +for the _denouement_. + +"Madame," said Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, "allow me to speak." + +"Monsieur," said Madame Pierre Lavalles. "I insist--" + +"But, Madame, it is my--" + +"But, Monsieur, I say I will." + +"And yet I will." + +"But no--" + +"Madame, I shall." + +"Then be careful what you do; M. Perron, M. Lavalles is mad." + +Then the lady, having thus emphatically declared herself, resigned the +right of speech to her husband, who began to jerk out in disconnected +phrases a statement of his case. Seven days ago he had annoyed his +wife by some incautious word; she had annoyed him by an incautious +answer; he had made matters worse by an aggravating retort; and she +had widened the breach by a bitter reply. This little squall was +succeeded by a cool calm, and that by a sullen silence, until some +sudden friction kindled a new flame, and finally, after successive +storms and lulls, there burst forth a furious conflagration, and +in the violent collision of their anger, the seven-months' married +pair vowed to separate, and with that resolve had visited M. Perron. +Reconciliation they declared was beyond possibility, and they +requested the notary at once to draw up the documents that should +consign them to different homes, to subsist on a divided patrimony, +in loveless and unhappy marriage. Each told a tale in turn, and the +manner of relation added fuel to the anger of the other. The man and +the woman seemed to have leaped out of their nature in the accession +of their passion. Pity that a quarrel should ever dilate thus, from a +cloud the size of a man's hand to a thunder-storm that covers heaven +with its black and dismal canopy. + +Neither would listen to reason. The duty of the notary was to prepare +the process by which they were to be separated. + +"Monsieur," he said, "I will arrange the affair for you; but you are +acquainted with the laws of France in this respect!" + +"I know nothing of the law," replied M. Pierre Lavalles. + +"Madame," said the notary, "your wish shall be complied with. But you +know what the law says on this head?" + +"I never read a law book," sharply ejaculated Madame Pierre Lavalles. + +"Then," resumed the notary, "the case is this. You must return to +your house, and I will proceed to settle the proceedings with the +Judicatory Court at Paris. They are very strict. You must furnish me +with all the documents relative to property." + +"I have them here," put in the husband, by way of parenthesis. + +"And the whole affair including correspondence, preparations of +instruments, &c., will be settled in less than three months." + +"Three months?" + +"Three months. Yes, in less than three months." + +"Then I will live with a friend at the village, until it is finished," +said Madame Lavalles, in a decided, peremptory tone, usual with ladies +when they are a little ashamed of themselves, or any one else. + +"Oh, very well, Madame,--oh, very well." + +"Not at all well, Madame; not at all well, Monsieur," said the notary, +with a solid, immovable voice. "You must live as usual. If you doubt +my knowledge of the law, you will, by reading through these seven +books, find that this fact is specified." + +But the irritated couple were not disposed to undertake the +somniferous task, and shortly left the house, as they had come, +walking the same way, but at a distance of a yard or so one from +another. + +Two months and twenty-seven days had passed, when the notary issued +from his house, and proceeded toward the house where Monsieur and +Madame Lavalles dwelt. Since the fatal night I have described, he +had not encountered them, and he now, with a bland face and confident +head, approached the dwelling. + +It was a pretty place. Passing through the sunny vineyards where the +spring was just calling out the leaves, and the young shoots in their +tints of tender green were sprouting in the warmth of a pleasant day; +the notary entered a garden. Here the flowers, in infant bloom, had +prepared the earth for the coming season, for summer in her gay attire +was tripping from the south, and as she passed, nature wove garlands +to adorn her head, and wreathe about her arms. Early blossoms lent +sweetness to the breath of the idle winds that loitered in this +delightful spot, and the fair young primrose was sown over the +parterres, with other flowers of spring, the most delicate and softly +fragrant, that come out to live their hour in modesty and safety, +while the earth affords them room, and before the bright and gaudy +bloom of a riper season eclipses their beauty, bidding them, blushing, +close their petals. + +Early roses twined on either side the porch, and as the notary +entered, nothing struck him more than the neat and cheerful appearance +of the place. A demoiselle ushered him into a little parlor, where +Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, and Madame Julie Lavalles, had just sat down +to partake breakfast. + +A small table was drawn up close to the open window, and vernal +breezes found welcome in the chamber. A snowy cloth hung down to the +well-polished floor, and tall white cups were placed upon it to rival +it in purity and grace. Cakes of bread, such bread as is only had in +France, with delicious butter, and rich brown foaming coffee frothed +with cream, were spread before them, and a basket of fresh spring +flowers, sparkling with dew and beautifully odorous, scented the whole +chamber with a delicate perfume. + +The husband and wife sat side by side, with pleasant looks, and so +engaged in light and amiable conversation, that they hardly noticed +the entrance of the notary. The storm had vanished and left no trace. +Flushes of anger, flashes of spite, quick breathings, and disordered +looks--all these had passed, and now smiles, and eyes lit only with +kindness, and bosoms beating with calm content, and looks all full of +love, were alone to be observed. + +When M. Antoine Perron entered, they started; at length, and then +recollecting his mission, blushed crimson, looked one at another, and +then at the ground, awaiting his address. + +"Monsieur, and Madame," said the notary, "according to your desires +I come with all the documents necessary for your separation, and the +division of your property. They only want your signature, and we will +call in your servant to be witness." + +"Stay," exclaimed Madame Julie, laughing at her husband, "Pierre, +explain to M. Perron." + +"Ah, Monsieur Perron," said Monsieur Antoine Lavalles, "we had +forgotten that, and hoped you had also. Say not a word of it to any +one." + +"No, not a word," said Madame Julie. "We never quarreled but once +since we married, and we never mean to quarrel again." + +"Not unless you provoke it," said Monsieur Lavalles, audaciously. "But +M. Perron, you will take breakfast with us?" + +"You're a wicked wretch," said Madame Julie, tapping him on the cheek. +"After breakfast, M. Perron, we will sign the papers." + +"After breakfast," said M. Pierre Lavalles, "we will burn them." + +"We shall see," said the notary. "Sign them or burn them. Madame Julie +Lavalles, your coffee is charming." + + * * * * * + +After seven months' harmony, do not let seven days' quarrel destroy +the happiness of home. Do not follow the directions of a person in a +passion. Allow him to cool and consider his purpose. + + * * * * * + +[FROM DICKENS'S HOUSEHOLD WORDS.] + +DUST; + +OR UGLINESS REDEEMED. + +On a murky morning in November, wind north-east, a poor old woman +with a wooden leg was seen struggling against the fitful gusts of the +bitter breeze, along a stony zigzag road, full of deep and irregular +cart-ruts. Her ragged petticoat was blue, and so was her wretched +nose. A stick was in her left hand, which assisted her to dig and +hobble her way along; and in her other hand, supported also beneath +her withered arm, was a large rusty iron sieve. Dust and fine ashes +filled up all the wrinkles in her face; and of these there were a +prodigious number, for she was eighty-three years old. Her name was +Peg Dotting. + +About a quarter of a mile distant, having a long ditch and a +broken-down fence as a foreground, there rose against the muddled-gray +sky, a huge Dust-heap of a dirty black color, being, in fact, one +of those immense mounds of cinders, ashes, and other emptyings +from dust-holes and bins, which have conferred celebrity on certain +suburban neighborhoods of a great city. Toward this dusky mountain old +Peg Dotting was now making her way. + +Advancing toward the Dust-heap by an opposite path, very narrow, and +just reclaimed from the mud by a thick layer of freshly-broken flints, +there came at the same time Gaffer Doubleyear, with his bone-bag slung +over his shoulder. The rags of his coat fluttered in the east-wind, +which also whistled keenly round his almost rimless hat, and troubled +his one eye. The other eye, having met with an accident last week, he +had covered neatly with an oyster-shell, which was kept in its place +by a string at each side, fastened through a hole. He used no staff +to help him along, though his body was nearly bent double, so that his +face was constantly turned to the earth, like that of a four-footed +creature. He was ninety-seven years of age. As these two patriarchal +laborers approached the great Dust-heap, a discordant voice hallooed +to them from the top of a broken wall. It was meant as a greeting of +the morning, and proceeded from little Jem Clinker, a poor deformed +lad, whose back had been broken when a child. His nose and chin were +much too large for the rest of his face, and he had lost nearly +all his teeth from premature decay. But he had an eye gleaming with +intelligence and life, and an expression at once patient and hopeful. +He had balanced his misshapen frame on the top of the old wall, over +which one shriveled leg dangled, as if by the weight of a hob-nailed +boot that covered a foot large enough for a plowman. + +In addition to his first morning's salutation of his two aged friends, +he now shouted out in a tone of triumph and self-gratulation, in which +he felt assured of their sympathy-- + +"Two white skins, and a tor'shell-un!" + +It may be requisite to state that little Jem Clinker belonged to the +dead-cat department of the Dust-heap, and now announced that a prize +of three skins, in superior condition. had rewarded him for being +first in the field. + +He was enjoying a seat on the wall, in order to recover himself from +the excitement of his good fortune. + +At the base of the great Dust-heap the two old people now met their +young friend--a sort of great-grandson by mutual adoption--and they +at once joined the party who had by this time assembled as usual, and +were already busy at their several occupations. + +But besides all these, another individual, belonging to a very +different class, formed a part of the scene, though appearing only on +its outskirts. A canal ran along at the rear of the Dust-heap, and on +the banks of its opposite side slowly wandered by--with hands clasped +and hanging down in front of him, and eyes bent vacantly upon his +hands--the forlorn figure of a man, in a very shabby great-coat, which +had evidently once belonged to one in the position of a gentleman. And +to a gentleman it still belonged--but in _what_ a position! A scholar, +a man of wit, of high sentiment, of refinement, and a good fortune +withal--now by a sudden turn of law bereft of the last only, and +finding that none of the rest, for which (having his fortune) he +had been so much admired, enabled him to gain a livelihood. His +title-deeds had been lost or stolen, and so he was bereft of +everything he possessed. He had talents, and such as would have been +profitably available had he known how to use them for his new purpose; +but he did not; he was misdirected; he made fruitless efforts in his +want of experience; and he was now starving. As he passed the great +Dust-heap, he gave one vague, melancholy gaze that way, and then +looked wistfully into the canal. And he continued to look into the +canal as he slowly moved along, till he was out of sight. + +A Dust-heap of this kind is often worth thousands of pounds. The +present one was very large and very valuable. It was in fact a large +hill, and being in the vicinity of small suburb cottages, it rose +above them like a great black mountain. Thistles, groundsel, and rank +grass grew in knots on small parts which had remained for a long time +undisturbed; crows often alighted on its top, and seemed to put on +their spectacles and become very busy and serious; flocks of sparrows +often made predatory descents upon it; an old goose and gander might +sometimes he seen following each other up its side, nearly midway; +pigs rooted around its base,--and now and then, one bolder than the +rest would venture some way up, attracted by the mixed odors of some +hidden marrow-bone enveloped in a decayed cabbage-leaf--a rare event, +both of these articles being unusual oversights of the Searchers +below. + +The principal ingredient of all these Dust-heaps is fine cinders +and ashes; but as they are accumulated from the contents of all the +dust-holes and bins of the vicinity, and as many more as possible, +the fresh arrivals in their original state present very heterogeneous +materials. We cannot better describe them than by presenting a brief +sketch of the different departments of the Searchers and Sorters, +who are assembled below to busy themselves upon the mass of original +matters which are shot out from the carts of the dustmen. + +The bits of coal, the pretty numerous results of accident and +servants' carelessness, are picked out, to be sold forthwith; the +largest and best of the cinders are also selected, by another party, +who sell them to laundresses, or to braziers (for whose purposes coke +would do as well;) and the next sort of cinders, called the _breeze_, +because it is left after the wind has blown the finer cinders through +an upright sieve, is sold to the brick-makers. + +Two other departments, called the "soft-ware" and the "hard-ware," +are very important. The former includes all vegetable and animal +matters--everything that will decompose. These are selected and bagged +at once, and carried off as soon as possible, to be sold as manure +for plowed land, wheat, barley, &c. Under this head, also, the dead +cats are comprised. They are generally the perquisites of the women +searchers. Dealers come to the wharf, or dust-field, every evening; +they give sixpence for a white cat, fourpence for a colored cat, and +for a black one according to her quality. The "hard-ware" includes all +broken pottery pans, crockery, earthenware, oyster-shells, &c., which +are sold to make new roads. + +The bones are selected with care, and sold to the soap-boiler. He +boils out the fat and marrow first, for special use, and the bones are +then crushed and sold for manure. + +Of rags, the woollen rags are bagged and sent off for hop-manure; the +white linen rags are washed, and sold to make paper, &c. + +The "tin things" are collected and put into an oven with a grating at +the bottom, so that the solder which unites the parts melts, and runs +through into a receiver. This is sold separately; the detached pieces +of tin are then sold to be melted up with old iron, &c. + +Bits of old brass, lead, &c., are sold to be molted up separately, or +in the mixture of ores. + +All broken glass vessels, as cruets, mustard-pots, tumblers, +wine-glasses, bottles, &c., are sold to the old-glass shops. + +As for any articles of jewelry, silver spoons, forks, thimbles, or +other plate and valuables, they are pocketed off-hand by the first +finder. Coins of gold and silver are often found, and many "coppers." + +Meantime, everybody is hard at work near the base of the great +Dust-heap. A certain number of cart-loads having been raked and +searched for all the different things just described, the whole of it +now undergoes the process of sifting. The men throw up the stuff, and +the women sift it. + +"When I was a young girl," said Peg Dotting-- + +"That's a long while ago, Peggy," interrupted one of the sifters: but +Peg did not hear her. + +"When I was quite a young thing," continued she, addressing old John +Doubleyear, who threw up the dust into her sieve, "it was the fashion +to wear pink roses in the shoes, as bright as that morsel of ribbon +Sally has just picked out of the dust; yes, and sometimes in the +hair, too, on one side of the head, to set off the white powder and +salve-stuff. I never wore one of these head-dresses myself--don't +throw up the dust so high, John--but I lived only a few doors lower +down from those as did. Don't throw up the dust so high, I tell +'ee--the wind takes it into my face." + +"Ah! There! What's that?" suddenly exclaimed little Jem, running as +fast as his poor withered legs would allow him toward a fresh heap, +which had just been shot down on the wharf from a dustman's cart. He +made a dive and a search--then another--then one deeper still. "I'm +sure I saw it!" cried he, and again made a dash with both hands into a +fresh place, and began to distribute the ashes and dust and rubbish on +every side, to the great merriment of all the rest. + +"What did you see, Jemmy?" asked old Doubleyear, in a compassionate +tone. + +"Oh, I don't know," said the boy, "only it was like a bit of something +made of real gold!" + +A fresh burst of laughter from the company assembled followed this +somewhat vague declaration, to which the dustmen added one or two +elegant epithets, expressive of their contempt of the notion that they +could have overlooked a bit of anything valuable in the process of +emptying sundry dust-holes, and carting them away. + +"Ah," said one of the sifters, "poor Jem's always a-fancying something +or other good but it never comes." + +"Didn't I find three cats this morning?" cried Jem, "two on 'em white +'uns! How you go on!" + +"I meant something quite different from the like o' that," said the +other; "I was a-thinking of the rare sights all you three there have +had, one time and another." + +The wind having changed, and the day become bright, the party at work +all seemed disposed to be more merry than usual. The foregoing remark +excited the curiosity of several of the sifters, who had recently +joined the "company": the parties alluded to were requested to favor +them with the recital; and though the request was made with only a +half-concealed irony, still it was all in good-natured pleasantry, and +was immediately complied with. Old Doubleyear spoke first: + +"I had a bad night of it with the rats some years ago--they runn'd +all over the floor, and over the bed, and one on 'em come'd and guv a +squeak close into my ear--so I couldn't sleep comfortable. I wouldn't +ha' minded a trifle of it, but this was too much of a good thing. +So I got up before sunrise, and went out for a walk; and thinking I +might as well be near our work-place, I slowly come'd down this way! +I worked in a brick-field at that time, near the canal yonder. The sun +was just a rising up behind the Dust-heap as I got in sight of it, +and soon it rose above, and was very bright; and though I had two eyes +then, I was obligated to shut them both. When I opened them again, the +sun was higher up; but in his haste to get over the Dust-heap, he had +dropped something. You may laugh--I say he dropped something. Well +I can't say what it was, in course--a bit of his-self, I suppose. +It was just like him--a bit on him, I mean--quite as bright--just +the same--only not so big. And not up in the sky, but a-lying and +sparkling all on fire upon the Dust-heap. Thinks I--I was a younger +man then by some years than I am now--I'll go and have a nearer look. +Though you be a bit o' the sun, maybe you won't hurt a poor man. So +I walked toward the Dust-heap, and up I went, keeping the piece of +sparkling fire in sight all the while. But before I got up to it, the +sun went behind a cloud--and as he went out--like, so the young 'un +he had dropped, went out arter him. And I had to climb up the heap for +nothing, though I had marked the place vere it lay very percizely. But +there was no signs at all on him, and no morsel left of the light as +had been there. I searched all about; but found nothing 'cept a bit 'o +broken glass as had got stuck in the heel of an old shoe. And that's +my story. But if ever a man saw anything at all, I saw a bit o' the +sun; and I thank God for it. It was a blessed sight for a poor ragged +old man of threescore and ten, which was my age at that time." + +"Now, Peggy!" cried several voices, "tell us what you saw. Peg saw a +bit o' the moon." + +"No," said Mrs. Dotting, rather indignantly; "I'm no moon-raker. Not +a sign of the moon was there, nor a spark of a star the time I speak +on." + +"Well--go on, Peggy--go on." + +"I don't know as I will," said Peggy. + +But being pacified by a few good-tempered, though somewhat humorous, +compliments, she thus favored them with her little adventure: + +"There was no moon, or stars, or comet, in the 'versal heavens, nor +lamp nor lantern along the road, when I walked home one winter's night +from the cottage of Widow Pin, where I had been to tea with her and +Mrs. Dry, as lived in the almshouses. They wanted Davy, the son of +Bill Davy the milkman, to see me home with the lantern, but I wouldn't +let him, 'cause of his sore throat. Throat!--no it wasn't his throat +as was rare sore--it was--no, it wasn't--yes, it was--it was his toe +as was sore. His big toe. A nail out of his boot had got into it. I +_told_ him he'd be sure to have a bad toe, if he didn't go to church +more regular, but he wouldn't listen; and so my words come'd true. +But, as I was a-saying, I wouldn't let him by reason of his sore +throat--toe, I mean--and as I went along, the night seemed to grow +darker and darker. A straight road, though, and I was so used to it by +day-time, it didn't matter for the darkness. Hows'ever, when I come'd +near the bottom of the Dust-heap as I had to pass, the great dark +heap was so 'zackly the same as the night, you couldn't tell one +from t'other. So, thinks I to myself--_what_ was I thinking of at +this moment?--for the life o' me I can't call it to mind; but that's +neither here nor there, only for this--it was a something that led me +to remember the story of how the devil goes about like a roaring lion. +And while I was a-hoping he might not he out a-roaring that night, +what should I see rise out of one side of the Dust-heap, but a +beautiful shining star, of a violet color. I stood as still, as +stock-still as any I don't-know-what! There it lay, as beautiful as +a new-born babe, all a-shining in the dust! By degrees I got courage +to go a little nearer--and then a little nearer still--for, says I +to myself, I'm a sinful woman, I know, but I have repented, and do +repent constantly of all the sins of my youth and the backslidings +of my age--which have been numerous; and once I had a very heavy +backsliding--but that's neither here nor there. So, as I was a-saying, +having collected all my sinfulness of life, and humbleness before +Heaven, into a goodish bit of courage, forward I steps--a little +furder--and a leetle furder more--_un_-til I come'd just up to the +beautiful shining star lying upon the dust. Well, it was a long time I +stood a-looking down at it, before I ventured to do what I arterwards +did. But at last I did stoop down with both hands slowly--in case +it might burn, or bite--and gathering up a good scoop of ashes as +my hands went along. I took it up, and began a-carrying it home, all +shining before me, and with a soft blue mist rising up round about it. +Heaven forgive me! I was punished for meddling with what Providence +had sent for some better purpose than to be carried borne by an old +woman like me, whom it had pleased Heaven to afflict with the loss +of one leg, and the pain, ixpinse, and inconvenience of a wooden one. +Well, I _was_ punished; covetousness had its reward; for, presently, +the violet light got very pale, and then went out; and when I reached +home, still holding in both hands all I had gathered up, and when I +took it to the candle, it had burned into the red shell of a lobsky's +head, and its two black eyes poked up at me with a long stare--and I +may say, a strong smell, too--enough to knock a poor body known." + +Great applause, and no little laughter, followed the conclusion of old +Peggy's story, but she did not join in the merriment. She said it was +all very well for young folks to laugh, but at her age she had enough +to do to pray; and she had never said so many prayers, nor with so +much fervency, as she had done since she received the blessed sight +of the blue star on the Dust-heap, and the chastising rod of the +lobster's head at home. + +Little Jem's turn now came: the poor lad was, however, so excited by +the recollection of what his companions called "Jem's Ghost," that he +was unable to describe it in any coherent language. To his imagination +it had been a lovely vision,--the one "bright consummate flower" of +his life, which he treasured up as the most sacred image in his heart. +He endeavored, in wild and hasty words, to set forth, how that he had +been bred a chimney-sweep; that one Sunday afternoon he had left a set +of companions, most on 'em sweeps, who were all playing at marbles in +the church-yard, and he had wandered to the Dust-heap, where he had +fallen asleep; that he was awoke by a sweet voice in the air, which +said something about some one having lost her way!--that he, being now +wide awake, looked up, and saw with his own eyes a young Angel, with +fair hair and rosy cheeks, and large white wings at her shoulders, +floating about like bright clouds, rise out of the dust! She had on +a garment of shining crimson, which changed as he looked upon her +to shining gold. She then exclaimed, with a joyful smile, "I see the +right way!" and the next moment the Angel was gone! + +As the sun was just now very bright and warm for the time of year, +and shining full upon the Dust-heap in its setting, one of the men +endeavored to raise a laugh at the deformed lad, by asking him if he +didn't expect to see just such another angel at this minute, who had +lost her way in the field on the other side of the heap; but his jest +failed. The earnestness and devout emotion of the boy to the vision of +reality which his imagination, aided by the hues of sunset, had thus +exalted, were too much for the gross spirit of banter, and the speaker +shrunk back into his dust-shovel, and affected to be very assiduous in +his work. + +Before the day's work was ended, however, little Jem again had a +glimpse of the prize which had escaped him on the previous occasion. +He instantly darted, hands and head foremost, into the mass of cinders +and rubbish, and brought up a black mass of half-burnt parchment, +entwined with vegetable refuse, from which he speedily disengaged an +oval frame of gold, containing a miniature, still protected by its +glass, but half covered with mildew from the damp. He was in ecstacies +at the prize. Even the white catskins paled before it. In all +probability some of the men would have taken it from him, "to try +and find the owner," but for the presence and interference of his +friends Peg Dotting and old Doubleyear, whose great age, even among +the present company, gave them a certain position of respect and +consideration. So all the rest now went their way, leaving the three +to examine and speculate on the prize. + +These Dust-heaps are a wonderful compound of things. A banker's cheque +for a considerable sum was found in one of them. It was on Merries & +Farquhar, in 1847. But bankers' cheques, or gold and silver articles, +are the least valuable of their ingredients. Among other things, a +variety of useful chemicals are extracted. Their chief value, however, +is for the making of bricks. The fine cinder-dust and ashes are used +in the clay of the bricks, both for the red and gray stacks. Ashes +are also used as fuel between the layers of the clump of bricks, which +could not be burned in that position without them. The ashes burn +away, and keep the bricks open. Enormous quantities are used. In +the brickfields at Uxbridge, near the Drayton Station, one of the +brickmakers alone will frequently contract for fifteen or sixteen +thousand chaldrons of this cinder-dust, in one order. Fine coke, or +coke-dust, affects the market at times as a rival; but fine coal, or +coal-dust, never, because it would spoil the bricks. + +As one of the heroes of our tale had been originally--before his +promotion--a chimney-sweeper, it may be only appropriate to offer a +passing word on the genial subject of soot. Without speculating on +its origin and parentage, whether derived from the cooking of a +Christmas-dinner, or the production of the beautiful colors and odors +of exotic plants in a conservatory, it can briefly be shown to possess +many qualities both useful and ornamental. + +When soot is first collected, it is called "rough soot", which, +being sifted, is then called "fine soot", and is sold to farmers for +manuring and preserving wheat and turnips. This is more especially +used in Herefordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, &c. It is rather a costly +article, being fivepence per bushel. One contractor sells annually as +much as three thousand bushels; and he gives it as his opinion, that +there must be at least one hundred and fifty times this quantity (four +hundred and fifty thousand bushels per annum) sold in London. Farmer +Smutwise, of Bradford, distinctly asserts that the price of the soot +he uses on his land is returned to him in the straw, with improvement +also to the grain. And we believe him. Lime is used to dilute soot +when employed as a manure. Using it pure will keep off snails, slugs, +and caterpillars from peas and various other vegetables, as also from +dahlias just shooting up, and other flowers; but we regret to add that +we have sometimes known it kill or burn up the things it was intended +to preserve from unlawful eating. In short, it is by no means so +safe to use for any purpose of garden manure, as fine cinders and +wood-ashes, which are good for almost any kind of produce, whether +turnips or roses. Indeed, we should like to have one fourth or fifth +part of our garden-beds composed of excellent stuff of this kind. +From all that has been said, it will have become very intelligible +why these Dust-heaps are so valuable. Their worth, however, varies +not only with their magnitude, (the quality of all of them is much +the same,) but with the demand. About the year 1820, the Marylebone +Dust-heap produced between four thousand and five thousand pounds. In +1832, St. George's paid Mr. Stapleton five hundred pounds a year, not +to leave the Heap standing, but to carry it away. Of course he was +only too glad to be paid highly for selling his Dust. + +But to return. The three friends having settled to their satisfaction +the amount of money they should probably obtain by the sale of the +golden miniature-frame, and finished the castles which they had built +with it in the air, the frame was again infolded in the sound part of +the parchment, the rags and rottenness of the law were cast away, and +up they rose to bend their steps homeward to the little hovel where +Peggy lived, she having invited the others to tea, that they might +talk yet more fully over the wonderful good luck that had befallen +them. + +"Why, if there isn't a man's head in the canal!" suddenly cried little +Jem. "Looky there!--isn't that a man's head?--Yes; it's a drownded +man!" + +"A drownded man, as I live!" ejaculated old Doubleyear. + +"Let's get him out, and see!" cried Peggy. "Perhaps the poor soul's +not quite gone." + +Little Jem scuttled off to the edge of the canal, followed by the two +old people. As soon as the body had floated nearer, Jem got down into +the water, and stood breast-high, vainly measuring his distance, with +one arm out, to see if he could reach some part of the body as it was +passing. As the attempt was evidently without a chance, old Doubleyear +Managed to get down into the water behind aim, and holding him by one +hand, the boy was thus enabled to make a plunge forward as the body +was floating by. He succeeded in reaching it, but the jerk was too +much for his aged companion, who was pulled forward into the canal. A +loud cry burst from both of them, which was yet more loudly echoed by +Peggy on the bank. Doubleyear and the boy were now struggling almost +in the middle of the canal, with the body of the man twirling about +between them. They would inevitably have been drowned, had not old +Peggy caught up a long dust-rake that was close at hand--scrambled +down up to her knees in the canal--clawed hold of the struggling group +with the teeth of the rake, and fairly brought the whole to land. Jem +was first up the bank, and helped up his two heroic companions; after +which, with no small difficulty, they contrived to haul the body +of the stranger out of the water. Jem at once recognized in him the +forlorn figure of the man who had passed by in the morning, looking so +sadly into the canal as he walked along. + +It is a fact well known to those who work in the vicinity of these +great Dust-heaps, that when the ashes have been warmed by the sun, +cats and kittens that have been taken out of the canal and buried a +few inches beneath the surface, have usually revived; and the same has +often occurred in the case of men. Accordingly, the three, without a +moment's hesitation, dragged the body along to the Dust-heap, where +they made a deep trench, in which they placed it, covering it all over +up to the neck. + +"There now," ejaculated Peggy, sitting down with a long puff to +recover her breath, "he'll lie very comfortable, whether or no." + +"Couldn't lie better," said old Doubleyear, "even if he knew it." + +The three now seated themselves close by, to await the result. + +"I thought I'd a lost him," said Jem, "and myself too; and when I +pulled Daddy in arter me, I guv us all three up for this world." + +"Yes," said Doubleyear, "it must have gone queer with us if Peggy had +not come in with the rake. How d'yee feel, old girl? for you've had +a narrow escape too. I wonder we were not too heavy for you, and so +pulled you in to go with us." + +"The Lord be praised!" fervently ejaculated Peggy, pointing toward +the pallid face that lay surrounded with ashes. A convulsive twitching +passed over the features, the lips trembled, the ashes over the breast +heaved, and a low moaning sound, which might have come from the bottom +of the canal, was heard. Again the moaning sound, and then the eyes +opened, but closed almost immediately. + +"Poor dear soul," whispered Peggy, "how he suffers in surviving. Lift +him up a little. Softly. Don't be afeard. We're only your good angels, +like--only poor cinder-sifters--don'tee be afeard." + +By various kindly attentions and maneuvers such as these poor people +had been accustomed to practice on those who were taken out of the +canal, the unfortunate gentleman was gradually brought to his senses. +He gazed about him, as well he might--now looking in the anxious, +though begrimed, faces of the three strange objects, all in their +"weeds" and dust--and then up at the huge Dust-heap, over which the +moon was now slowly rising. + +"Land of quiet Death!" murmured he, faintly, "or land of Life, as dark +and still--I have passed from one into the other; but which of ye I am +now in, seems doubtful to my senses." + +"Here we are, poor gentleman," cried Peggy, "here we are, all friends +about you. How did'ee tumble into the canal?" + +"The Earth, then, once more!" said the stranger, with a deep sigh. "I +know where I am, now. I remember this great dark hill of ashes--like +Death's kingdom, full of all sorts of strange things, and put to many +uses." + +"Where do you live?" asked old Doubleyear. "Shall we try and take you +home, sir?" + +The stranger shook his head mournfully. All this time, little Jem had +been assiduously employed in rubbing his feet and then big hands; in +doing which, the piece of dirty parchment, with the miniature-frame, +dropped out of his breast-pocket. A good thought instantly struck +Peggy. + +"Run, Jemmy dear--run with that golden thing to Mr. Spikechin, the +pawnbroker's--get something upon it directly, and buy some nice +brandy--and some Godfrey's cordial--and a blanket, Jemmy--and call a +coach, and get up outside on it, and make the coachee drive back here +as fast as you can." + +But before Jemmy could attend to this, Mr. Waterhouse, the stranger +whose life they had preserved, raised himself on one elbow, and +extended his hand to the miniature-frame. Directly he looked at it he +raised himself higher up--turned it about once or twice--then caught +up the piece of parchment, and uttering an ejaculation which no +one could have distinguished either as of joy or of pain, sank back +fainting. + +In brief, this parchment was a portion of the title-deeds he had lost; +and though it did not prove sufficient to enable him to recover his +fortune, it brought his opponent to a composition, which gave him an +annuity for life. Small as this was, he determined that these poor +people, who had so generously saved his life at the risk of their +own, should be sharers in it. Finding that what they most desired was +to have a cottage in the neighborhood of the Dust-heap, built large +enough for all three to live together, and keep a cow, Mr. Waterhouse +paid a visit to Manchester Square, where the owner of the property +resided. He told his story, as far as was needful, and proposed to +purchase the field in question. + +The great Dust-Contractor was much amused, and his daughter--a very +accomplished young lady--was extremely interested. So the matter was +speedily arranged to the satisfaction and pleasure of all parties. The +acquaintance, however, did not end here. Mr. Waterhouse renewed his +visits very frequently, and finally made proposals for the young +lady's hand, she having already expressed her hopes of a propitious +answer from her father. + +"Well, Sir," said the latter, "you wish to marry my daughter, and she +wishes to marry you. You are a gentleman and a scholar, but you have +no money. My daughter is what you see, and she has no money. But I +have; and therefore, as she likes you and I like you, I'll make you +both an offer. I will give my daughter twenty thousand pounds,--or you +shall have the Dust-heap. Choose!" + +Mr. Waterhouse was puzzled and amused, and referred the matter +entirely to the young lady. But she was for having the money, and no +trouble. She said the Dust-heap might be worth much, but they did not +understand the business. + +"Very well," said her father, laughing, "then, there's the money." + +This was the identical Dust-heap, as we know from authentic +information, which was subsequently sold for forty thousand pounds, +and was exported to Russia to rebuild Moscow. + + * * * * * + +[FROM HOUSEHOLD WORDS.] + +AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY. + +In one of the dirtiest and most gloomy streets leading to the Rue +St. Denis, in Paris, there stands a tall and ancient house, the lower +portion of which is a large mercer's shop. This establishment is held +to be one of the very best in the neighborhood, and has for many years +belonged to an individual on whom we will bestow the name of Ramin. + +About ten years ago, Monsieur Ramin was a jovial red-faced man of +forty, who joked his customers into purchasing his goods, flattered +the pretty _grisettes_ outrageously, and now and then gave them a +Sunday treat at the barrier, as the cheapest way of securing their +custom. Some people thought him a careless, good-natured fellow, and +wondered how, with his off-hand ways, he contrived to make money so +fast, but those who knew him well saw that he was one of those who +"never lost an opportunity." Others declared that Monsieur Ramin's +own definition of his character was, that he was a "_bon enfant_," +and that "it was all luck." He shrugged his shoulders and laughed when +people hinted at his deep scheming in making, and his skill in taking +advantage of Excellent Opportunities. + +He was sitting in his gloomy parlor one fine morning in spring, +breakfasting from a dark liquid honored with the name of onion soup, +glancing at the newspaper, and keeping a vigilant look on the shop +through the open door, when his old servant Catharine suddenly +observed: + +"I suppose you know Monsieur Bonelle has come to live in the vacant +apartment on the fourth floor?" + +"What!" exclaimed Monsieur Ramin, in a loud key. + +Catharine repeated her statement, to which her master listened in +total silence. + +"Well!" he said at length, in his most careless tones, "what about +the old fellow?" and he once more resumed his triple occupation of +reading, eating, and watching. + +"Why," continued Catharine, "they say he is nearly dying, and that his +housekeeper, Marguerite, vowed he could never get up stairs alive. It +took two men to carry him up; and when he was at length quiet in bed, +Marguerite went down to the porter's lodge, and sobbed there a whole +hour, saying her poor master had the gout, the rheumatics, and a bad +asthma; that though he had been got up stairs, he would never come +down again alive; that if she could only get him to confess his sins +and make his will, she would not mind it so much; but that when +she spoke of the lawyer or the priest, he blasphemed at her like a +heathen, and declared that he would live to bury her and everybody +else." + +Monsieur Ramin heard Catharine with great attention, forgot to finish +his soup, and remained for five minutes in profound rumination, +without so much as perceiving two customers who had entered the shop +and were waiting to be served. When aroused, he was heard to exclaim: + +"What an excellent opportunity!" + +Monsieur Bonelle had been Ramin's predecessor. The succession of the +latter to the shop was a mystery. No one ever knew how it was that +this young and poor assistant managed to replace his patron. Some said +that he had detected Monsieur Bonelle in frauds which he threatened +to expose unless the business were given up to him as the price of his +silence; others averred, that having drawn a prize in the lottery, +he had resolved to set up a fierce opposition over the way, and +that Monsieur Bonelle, having obtained a hint of his intentions, had +thought it most prudent to accept the trifling sum his clerk offered, +and avoid a ruinous competition. Some charitable souls--moved no doubt +by Monsieur Bonelle's misfortune--endeavored to console and pump him; +but all they could get from him was the bitter exclamation, "To think +I should have been duped by _him_!" For Ramin had the art, though +then a mere youth, to pass himself off on his master as an innocent +provincial lad. Those who sought an explanation from the new mercer +were still more unsuccessful. "My good old master," he said in his +jovial way, "felt in need of repose, and so I obligingly relieved him +of all business and botheration." + +Years passed away; Ramin prospered, and neither thought nor heard +of his "good old master." The house, of which he tenanted the lower +portion, was offered for sale. He had long coveted it, and had almost +concluded an agreement with the actual owner, when Monsieur Bonelle +unexpectedly stepped in at the eleventh hour, and by offering a trifle +more secured the bargain. The rage and mortification of Monsieur Ramin +were extreme. He could not understand how Bonelle, whom he had thought +ruined, had scraped up so large a sum; his lease was out, and he +now felt himself at the mercy of the man he had so much injured. But +either Monsieur Bonelle was free from vindictive feelings, or those +feelings did not blind him to the expediency of keeping a good tenant: +for though he raised the rent until Monsieur Ramin groaned inwardly, +he did not refuse to renew the lease. They had met at that period, but +never since. + +"Well, Catharine," observed Monsieur Ramin to his old servant on the +following morning, "How is that good Monsieur Bonelle getting on?" + +"I dare say you feel very uneasy about him," she replied with a sneer. + +Monsieur Ramin looked up and frowned. + +"Catharine," said he, dryly, "you will have the goodness, in the first +place, not to make impertinent remarks: in the second place, you will +oblige me by going up stairs to inquire after the health of Monsieur +Bonelle, and say that I sent you." + +Catharine grumbled, and obeyed. Her master was in the shop, when she +returned in a few minutes, and delivered with evident satisfaction the +following gracious message: + +"Monsieur Bonelle desires his compliments to you, and declines to +state how he is; he will also thank you to attend to your own shop, +and not to trouble yourself about his health." + +"How does he look?" asked Monsieur Ramin, with perfect composure. + +"I caught a glimpse of him, and he appears to me to be rapidly +preparing for the good offices of the undertaker." + +Monsieur Ramin smiled, rubbed his hands, and joked merrily with a +dark-eyed _grisette_, who was cheapening some ribbon for her cap. That +girl made an excellent bargain that day. + +Toward dusk the mercer left the shop to the care of his attendant, and +softly stole up to the fourth story. In answer to his gentle ring, a +little old woman opened the door, and giving him a rapid look, said +briefly: + +"Monsieur is inexorable: he won't see any doctor whatever." + +She was going to shut the door in his face, when Ramin quickly +interposed, under his breath, with "I am not a doctor." + +She looked at him from head to foot. + +"Are you a lawyer?" + +"Nothing of the sort, my good lady." + +"Well then, are you a priest?" + +"I may almost say, quite the reverse." + +"Indeed, you must go away, Master sees no one." + +Once more she would have shut the door, but Ramin prevented her. + +"My good lady," said he in his most insinuating tones, "it is true +I am neither a lawyer, a doctor, nor a priest. I am an old friend, +a very old friend of your excellent master; I have come to see good +Monsieur Bonelle in his present affliction." + +Marguerite did not answer, but allowed him to enter, and closed the +door behind him. He was going to pass from the narrow and gloomy +ante-chamber into an inner room--whence now proceeded a sound of loud +coughing--when the old woman laid her hand on his arm, and raising +herself on tip-toe, to reach his ear, whispered: + +"For Heaven's sake, sir, since you are his friend, do talk to him: +do tell him to make his will, and hint something about a soul to be +saved, and all that sort of thing: do, sir!" + +Monsieur Ramin nodded and winked in a way that said "I will." He +proved however his prudence by not speaking aloud; for a voice from +within sharply exclaimed, + +"Marguerite, you are talking to some one! Marguerite! I will see +neither doctor nor lawyer; and if any meddling priest dare--" + +"It is only an old friend, sir;" interrupted Marguerite, opening the +inner door. + +Her master, on looking up, perceived the red face of Monsieur Ramin +peeping over the old woman's shoulder, and irefully cried out: + +"How dare you bring that fellow here? And you, sir, how dare you +come?" + +"My good old friend, there are feelings," said Ramin, spreading his +fingers over the left pocket of his waistcoat--"there are feelings," +he repeated, "that cannot be subdued. One such feeling brought me +here. The fact is, I am a good-natured easy fellow, and I never +bear malice. I never forget an old friend, but love to forget old +differences when I find one party in affliction." + +He drew a chair forward as he spoke, and composedly seated himself +opposite to his late master. + +Monsieur Bonelle was a thin old man, with a pale sharp face and keen +features. At first he eyed his visitor from the depths of his vast +arm-chair; but, as if not, satisfied with this distant view, he bent +forward, and laying both hands on his thin knees, he looked up into +Ramin's face with a fixed and piercing gaze. He had not, however, the +power of disconcerting his guest. + +"What did you come here for?" he at length asked. + +"Merely to have the extreme satisfaction of seeing how you are, my +good old friend. Nothing more." + +"Well, look at me--and then go." + +Nothing could be so discouraging: but this was an Excellent +Opportunity, and when Monsieur Ramin _had_ an excellent opportunity in +view, his pertinacity was invincible. Being now resolved to stay, it +was not in Monsieur Bonelle's power to banish him. At the same time +he had tact enough to render his presence agreeable. He knew that his +coarse and boisterous wit had often delighted Monsieur Bonelle of old, +and he now exerted himself so successfully as to betray the old man +two or three times into hearty laughter. "Ramin," said he at length, +laying his thin hand on the arm of his guest, and peering with his +keen glance into the mercer's purple face, "you are a funny fellow, +but I know you; you cannot make me believe you have called just to +see how I am, and to amuse me. Come, be candid for once; what do you +want?" + +Ramin threw himself back in his chair, and laughed blandly, as much as +to say, "Can you suspect me?" + +"I have no shop now out of which you can wheedle me," continued the +old man; "and surely you are not such a fool as to come to me for +money." + +"Money!" repeated the draper, as if his host had mentioned something +he never dreamt of. "Oh, no!" + +Ramin saw it would not do to broach the subject he had really come +about, too abruptly, now that suspicion seemed so wide awake--_the_ +opportunity had not arrived. + +"There is something up, Ramin, I know; I see it in the twinkle of your +eye; but you can't deceive me again." + +"Deceive _you_?" said the jolly schemer, shaking his head +reverentially. "Deceive a man of your penetration and depth? +Impossible! The bare supposition is flattery. My dear friend," he +continued, soothingly, "I did not dream of such a thing. The fact is, +Bonelle, though they call me a jovial, careless, rattling dog, I have +a conscience; and, somehow, I have never felt quite easy about the +way in which I became your successor down-stairs. It was rather sharp +practice, I admit." + +Bonelle seemed to relent. + +"Now for it," said the Opportunity-hunter to himself--"By-the-bye," +(speaking aloud,) "this house must be a great trouble to you in your +present weak state? Two of your lodgers have lately gone away without +paying--a great nuisance, especially to an invalid." + +"I tell you I'm as sound as a colt." + +"At all events, the whole concern must be a great bother to you. If I +were you, I would sell the house." + +"And if I were _you_," returned the landlord, dryly, "I would buy +it--" + +"Precisely," interrupted the tenant, eagerly. + +"That is, if you could get it. Pooh! I knew you were after something. +Will you give eighty thousand francs for it?" abruptly asked Monsieur +Bonelle. + +"Eighty thousand francs!" echoed Ramin. "Do you take me for Louis +Philippe or the Bank of France!" + +"Then we'll say no more about it--are you not afraid of leaving your +shop so long?" + +Ramin returned to the charge, heedless of the hint to depart. "The +fact is, my good old friend, ready money is not my strong point just +now. But if you wish very much to be relieved of the concern, what say +you to a life annuity? I could manage that." + +Monsieur Bonelle gave a short, dry, church-yard cough, and looked as +if his life were not worth an hour's purchase. "You think yourself +immensely clever, I dare say," he said. "They have persuaded you that +I am dying. Stuff! I shall bury you yet." + +The mercer glanced at the thin fragile frame, and exclaimed to +himself, "Deluded old gentleman!" "My dear Bonelle," he continued, +aloud, "I know well the strength of your admirable constitution: but +allow me to observe that you neglect yourself too much. Now, suppose +a good sensible doctor--" + +"Will you pay him?" interrogated Bonelle, sharply. + +"Most willingly," replied Ramin, with an eagerness that made the old +man smile. "As to the annuity, since the subject annoys you, we will +talk of it some other time." + +"After you have heard the doctor's report," sneered Bonelle. + +The mercer gave him a stealthy glance, which the old man's keen look +immediately detected. Neither could repress a smile: these good souls +understood one another perfectly, and Ramin saw that this was not the +Excellent Opportunity he desired, and departed. + +The next day Ramin sent a neighboring medical man, and heard it was +his opinion that if Bonelle held on for three months longer, it would +be a miracle. Delightful news! + +Several days elapsed, and although very anxious, Ramin assumed a +careless air, and did not call upon his landlord, or take any notice +of him. At the end of the week old Marguerite entered the shop to make +a trifling purchase. + +"And how are we getting on up-stairs?" negligently asked Monsieur +Ramin. + +"Worse and worse, my good sir," she sighed. "We have rheumatic pains +which often make us use expressions the reverse of Christian-like, and +yet nothing can induce us to see either the lawyer or the priest; the +gout is getting nearer to our stomach every day, and still we go on +talking about the strength of our constitution. Oh, sir, if you have +any influence with us, do, pray do, tell us how wicked it is to die +without making one's will or confessing one's sins." + +"I shall go up this very evening," ambiguously replied Monsieur Ramin. + +He kept his promise, and found Monsieur Bonelle in bed, groaning with +pain, and in the worst of tempers. + +"What poisoning doctor did you send?" he asked, with an ireful glance; +"I want no doctor, I am not ill; I will not follow his prescription; +he forbade me to eat; I _will_ eat." + +"He is a very clever man," said the visitor. "He told me that never +in the whole course of his experience has he met with what he called +so much 'resisting power' as exists in your frame. He asked me if you +were not of a long-lived race." + +"That is as people may judge," replied Monsieur Bonelle. "All I +can say is, that my grandfather died at ninety, and my father at +eighty-six." + +"The doctor owned that you had a wonderfully strong constitution." + +"Who said I hadn't?" exclaimed the invalid feebly. + +"You may rely on it, you would preserve your health better if you had +not the trouble of these vexatious lodgers. Have you thought about the +life annuity?" said Ramin as carelessly as he could, considering how +near the matter was to his hopes and wishes. + +"Why, I have scruples," returned Bonelle, coughing. "I do not wish to +take you in. My longevity would be the ruin of you." + +"To meet that difficulty," quickly replied the mercer, "we can reduce +the interest." + +"But I must have high interest," placidly returned Monsieur Bonelle. + +Ramin, on hearing this, burst into a loud fit of laughter, called +Monsieur Bonelle a sly old fox, gave him a poke in the ribs, which +made the old man cough for five minutes, and then proposed that they +should talk it over some other day. The mercer left Monsieur Bonelle +in the act of protesting that he felt as strong as a man of forty. + +Monsieur Ramin felt in no hurry to conclude the proposed agreement. +"The later one begins to pay, the better," he said, as he descended +the stairs. + +Days passed on, and the negotiation made no way. It struck the +observant tradesman that all was not right. Old Marguerite several +times refused to admit him, declaring her master was asleep: there +was something mysterious and forbidding in her manner that seemed to +Monsieur Ramin very ominous. At length a sudden thought occurred to +him: the housekeeper--wishing to become her master's heir--had heard +his scheme and opposed it. On the very day that he arrived at this +conclusion, he met a lawyer, with whom he had formerly had some +transactions, coming down the staircase. The sight sent a chill +through the mercer's commercial heart, and a presentiment--one of +those presentiments that seldom deceive--told him it was too late. He +had, however, the fortitude to abstain from visiting Monsieur Bonelle +until evening came; when he went up, resolved to see him in spite +of all Marguerite might urge. The door was half-open, and the old +housekeeper stood talking on the landing to a middle-aged man in a +dark cassock. + +"It is all over! The old witch has got the priests at him," thought +Ramin, inwardly groaning at his own folly in allowing himself to be +forestalled. + +"You cannot see Monsieur to-night," sharply said Marguerite, as he +attempted to pass. + +"Alas! is my excellent friend so very ill?" asked Ramin, in a mournful +tone. + +"Sir," eagerly said the clergyman, catching him by the button of his +coat, "if you are indeed the friend of that unhappy man, do seek to +bring him into a more suitable frame of mind. I have seen many dying +men, but never so much obstinacy, never such infatuated belief in the +duration of life." + +"Then you think he really _is_ dying," asked Ramin; and, in spite of +the melancholy accent he endeavored to assume, there was something so +peculiar in his tone, that the priest looked at him very fixedly as he +slowly replied, + +"Yes, air, I think he is." + +"Ah!" was all Monsieur Ramin said; and as the clergyman had now +relaxed his hold of the button, Ramin passed in spite of the +remonstrances of Marguerite, who rushed after the priest. He found +Monsieur Bonelle in bed and in a towering rage. + +"Oh! Ramin, my friend," he groaned, "never take a housekeeper, +and never let her know you have any property. They are harpies, +Ramin,--harpies! such a day as I have had; first, the lawyer, who +comes to write down 'my last testamentary dispositions,' as he calls +them; then the priest, who gently hints that I am a dying man. Oh, +what a day!" + +"And _did_ you make your will, my excellent friend?" softly asked +Monsieur Ramin, with a keen look. + +"Make my will?" indignantly exclaimed the old man; "make my will? what +do you mean, sir? do you mean to say I am dying?" + +"Heaven forbid!" piously ejaculated Ramin. + +"Then why do you ask me if I had been making my will?" angrily resumed +the old man. He then began to be extremely abusive. + +When money was in the way, Monsieur Ramin, though otherwise of a +violent temper, had the meekness of a lamb. He bore the treatment +of his host with the meekest patience, and having first locked the +door so as to make sure that Marguerite would not interrupt them, he +watched Monsieur Bonelle attentively, and satisfied himself that the +Excellent Opportunity he had been ardently longing for had arrived: +"He is going fast," he thought; "and unless I settle the agreement +to-night, and get it drawn up and signed to-morrow, it will be too +late." + +"My dear friend," he at length said aloud, on perceiving that the old +gentleman had fairly exhausted himself and was lying panting on his +back, "you are indeed a lamentable instance of the lengths to which +the greedy lust of lucre will carry our poor human nature. It is +really distressing to see Marguerite, a faithful, attached servant, +suddenly converted into a tormenting harpy by the prospect of a +legacy! Lawyers and priests flock around you like birds of prey, +drawn hither by the scent of gold! Oh, the miseries of having delicate +health combined with a sound constitution and large property!" + +"Ramin," groaned the old man, looking inquiringly into his visitor's +face, "you are again going to talk to me about that annuity--I know +you are!" + +"My excellent friend, it is merely to deliver you from a painful +position." + +"I am sure, Ramin, you think in your soul I am dying," whimpered +Monsieur Bonelle. + +"Absurd, my dear sir. Dying? I will prove to you that you have never +been in better health. In the first place you feel no pain." + +"Excepting from rheumatism," groaned Monsieur Bonelle. + +"Rheumatism! who ever died of rheumatism? and if that be all--" + +"No, it is not all," interrupted the old man with great irritability; +"what would you say to the gout getting higher and higher up every +day?" + +"The gout is rather disagreeable, but if there is nothing else--" + +"Yes, there is something else," sharply said Monsieur Bonelle. "There +is an asthma that will scarcely let me breathe, and a racking pain in +my head that does not allow me a moment's ease. But if you think I am +dying, Ramin, you are quite mistaken." + +"No doubt, my dear friend, no doubt; but in the meanwhile suppose we +talk of this annuity. Shall we say one thousand francs a year." + +"What!" asked Bonelle, looking at him very fixedly. + +"My dear friend, I mistook; I meant two thousand francs per annum," +hurriedly rejoined Ramin. + +Monsieur Bonelle closed his eyes, and appeared to fall into a gentle +slumber. The mercer coughed; the sick man never moved. + +"Monsieur Bonelle." + +No reply. + +"My excellent friend." + +Utter silence. + +"Are you asleep?" + +A long pause. + +"Well, then, what do you say to three thousand?" + +Monsieur Bonelle opened his eyes. + +"Ramin," said he, sententiously, "you are a fool; the house brings me +in four thousand as it is." + +This was quite false, and the mercer knew it; but he had his own +reasons for wishing to seem to believe it true. + +"Good Heavens!" said he, with an air of great innocence, "who could +have thought it, and the lodgers constantly running away. Four +thousand? Well, then, you shall have four thousand." + +Monsieur Bonelle shut his eyes once more, and murmured "The mere +rental--nonsense!" He then folded his hands on his breast, and +appeared to compose himself to sleep. + +"Oh, what a sharp man of business he is!" Ramin said, admiringly: +but for once omnipotent flattery failed in its effect: "So acute!" +continued he, with a stealthy glance at the old man, who remained +perfectly unmoved. + +"I see you will insist upon making it the other five hundred francs." + +Monsieur Ramin said this as if five thousand five hundred francs had +already been mentioned, and was the very summit of Monsieur Bonelle's +ambition. But the ruse failed in its effect; the sick man never so +much as stirred. + +"But, my dear friend," urged Monsieur Ramin in a tone of feeling +remonstrance, "there is such a thing as being too sharp, too acute. +How can you expect that I shall give you more when your constitution +is so good, and you are to be such a long liver?" + +"Yes, but I may be carried off one of these days," quietly observed +the old man, evidently wishing to turn the chance of his own death to +account. + +"Indeed, and I hope so," muttered the mercer, who was getting very +ill-tempered. + +"You see," soothingly continued Bonelle, "you are so good a man of +business, Ramin, that you will double the actual value of the house +in no time. I am a quiet, easy person, indifferent to money; otherwise +this house would now bring me in eight thousand at the very least." + +"Eight thousand!" indignantly exclaimed the mercer. "Monsieur Bonelle, +you have no conscience. Come now, my dear friend, do be reasonable. +Six thousand francs a year (I don't mind saying six) is really a very +handsome income for a man of your quiet habits. Come, be reasonable." +But Monsieur Bonelle turned a deaf ear to reason, and closed his eyes +once more. What between opening and shutting them for the next quarter +of an hour, he at length induced Monsieur Ramin to offer him seven +thousand francs. + +"Very well, Ramin, agreed," he quietly said; "you have made an +unconscionable bargain." To this succeeded a violent fit of coughing. + +As Ramin unlocked the door to leave, he found old Marguerite, who had +been listening all the time, ready to assail him with a torrent of +whispered abuse for duping her "poor dear innocent old master into +such a bargain." The mercer bore it all very patiently: he could make +all allowances for her excited feelings, and only rubbed his hands and +bade her a jovial good evening. + +The agreement was signed on the following day, to the indignation of +old Marguerite, and the mutual satisfaction of the parties concerned. + +Every one admired the luck and shrewdness of Ramin, for the old man +every day was reported worse; and it was clear to all that the first +quarter of the annuity would never be paid. Marguerite, in her wrath, +told the story as a grievance to every one; people listened, shook +their heads, and pronounced Monsieur Ramin to be a deuced clever +fellow. + +A month elapsed. As Ramin was coming down one morning from the attics, +where he had been giving notice to a poor widow who had failed in +paying her rent, he heard a light step on the stairs. Presently a +sprightly gentleman, in buoyant health and spirits, wearing the form +of Monsieur Bonelle, appeared. Ramin stood aghast. + +"Well, Ramin," gaily said the old man, "how are you getting on? Have +you been tormenting the poor widow up stairs? Why, man, we must live +and let live!" + +"Monsieur Bonelle," said the mercer, in a hollow tone; "may I ask +where are your rheumatics?" + +"Gone, my dear friend,--gone." + +"And the gout that was creeping higher and higher every day," +exclaimed Monsieur Ramin, in a voice of anguish. + +"It went lower and lower, till it disappeared altogether," composedly +replied Bonelle. + +"And your asthma--" + +"The asthma remains, but asthmatic people are proverbially long-lived. +It is, I have been told, the only complaint that Methusalah was +troubled with." With this Bonelle opened his door, shut it, and +disappeared. + +Ramin was transfixed on the stairs; petrified with intense +disappointment, and a powerful sense of having been duped. When he +was discovered, he stared vacantly, and raved about an Excellent +Opportunity of taking his revenge. + +The wonderful cure was the talk of the neighborhood, whenever Monsieur +Bonelle appeared in the streets, jauntily flourishing his cane. In the +first frenzy of his despair, Ramin refused to pay; he accused every +one of having been in a plot to deceive him; he turned off Catharine +and expelled his porter: he publicly accused the lawyer and priest of +conspiracy; brought an action against the doctor and lost it. He had +another brought against him for violently assaulting Marguerite, in +which he was cast in heavy damages. Monsieur Bonelle did not trouble +himself with useless remonstrances, but when his annuity was refused, +employed such good legal arguments, as the exasperated mercer could +not possibly resist. + +Ten years have elapsed, and MM. Ramin and Bonelle still live on. For a +house which would have been dear at fifty thousand francs, the draper +has already handed over seventy thousand. + +The once red-faced, jovial Ramin is now a pale haggard man, of sour +temper and aspect. To add to his anguish he sees the old man thrive on +that money which it breaks his heart to give. Old Marguerite takes a +malicious pleasure in giving him an exact account of their good cheer, +and in asking him if he does not think Monsieur looks better and +better every day. Of one part of this torment Ramin might get rid, by +giving his old master notice to quit, and no longer having him in his +house. But this he cannot do; he has a secret fear that Bonelle would +take some Excellent Opportunity of dying without his knowledge, and +giving some other person an Excellent Opportunity of persecuting him, +and receiving the money in his stead. + +The last accounts of the victim of Excellent Opportunities represent +him as being gradually worn down with disappointment. There seems +every probability of his being the first to leave the world; for +Bonelle is heartier than ever. + + * * * * * + +[FROM HOUSEHOLD WORDS.] + +THE OLD CHURCHWARD TREE. + +A PROSE POEM. + +There is an old yew tree which stands by the wall in a dark quiet +corner of the churchyard. + +And a child was at play beneath its wide-spreading branches, one fine +day in the early spring. He had his lap full of flowers, which the +fields and lanes had supplied him with, and he was humming a tune to +himself as he wove them into garlands. + +And a little girl at play among the tombstones crept near to listen; +but the boy was so intent upon his garland, that he did not hear the +gentle footsteps, as they trod softly over the fresh green grass. When +his work was finished, and all the flowers that were in his lap were +woven together in one long wreath, he started up to measure its length +upon the ground, and then he saw the little girl, as she stood with +her eyes fixed upon him. He did not move or speak, but thought to +himself that she looked very beautiful as she stood there with her +flaxen ringlets hanging down upon her neck. The little girl was so +startled by his sudden movement, that she let fall all the flowers she +had collected in her apron, and ran away as fast as she could. But the +boy was older and taller than she, and soon caught her, and coaxed her +to come back and play with him, and help him to make more garlands; +and from that time they saw each other nearly every day, and became +great friends. + +Twenty years passed away. Again, he was seated beneath the old yew +tree in the churchyard. + +It was summer now; bright, beautiful summer, with the birds singing, +and the flowers covering the ground, and scenting the air with their +perfume. + +But he was not alone now, nor did the little girl steal near on +tiptoe, fearful of being heard. She was seated by his side, and his +arm was round her, and she looked up into his face, and smiled as she +whispered: "The first evening of our lives we were ever together was +passed here; we will spend the first evening of our wedded life in the +same quiet, happy place." And he drew her closer to him as she spoke. + +The summer is gone; and the autumn; and twenty more summers and +autumns have passed away since that evening, in the old churchyard. + +A young man, on a bright moonlight night, comes reeling through the +little white gate, and stumbling over the graves. He shouts and he +sings, and is presently followed by others like unto himself, or +worse. So, they all laugh at the dark solemn head of the yew tree, and +throw stones up at the place where the moon had silvered the boughs. + +Those same boughs are again silvered by the moon, and they droop +over his mother's grave. There is a little stone which bears this +inscription:-- + +"HER HEART BRAKE IN SILENCE." + +But the silence of the churchyard is now broken by a voice--not of the +youth--nor a voice of laughter and ribaldry. + +"My son!--dost thou see this grave? and dost thou read the record in +anguish, whereof may come repentance?" + +"Of what should I repent?" answers the son; "and why should my young +ambition for fame relax in its strength because my mother was old and +weak?" + +"Is this indeed our son?" says the father, bending in agony over the +grave of his beloved. + +"I can well believe I am not;" exclaimeth the youth. "It is well +that you have brought me here to say so. Our natures are unlike; our +courses must be opposite. Your way lieth here--mine yonder!" + +So the son left the father kneeling by the grave. + +Again a few years are passed. It is winter, with a roaring wind and a +thick gray fog. The graves in the Church-yard are covered with snow, +and there are great icicles in the Church-yard. The wind now carries +a swathe of snow along the tops of the graves as though the "sheeted +dead" were at some melancholy play; and hark! the icicles fall with +a crash and jingle, like a solemn mockery of the echo of the unseemly +mirth of one who is now coming to his final rest. + +There are two graves near the old yew tree; and the grass has +overgrown them. A third is close by; and the dark earth at each side +has just been thrown up. The bearers come; with a heavy pace they +move along; the coffin heaveth up and down, as they step over the +intervening graves. + +Grief and old age had seized upon the father, and worn out his life; +and premature decay soon seized upon the son, and gnawed away his vain +ambition, and his useless strength, till he prayed to be borne, not +the way yonder that was most opposite to his father and his mother, +but even the same way they had gone--the way which leads to the Old +Churchyard Tree. + + * * * * * + +In dreamy hours the dormant imagination looks out and sees vague +significances in things which it feels can at an after time be vividly +conceived and expressed; the most familiar objects have a strange +double meaning in their aspects; the very chair seems to be +patiently awaiting there the expounder of its silent, symbolical +language.--_Boston Morning Post_. + + * * * * * + +[FROM BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY.] + +GREECE AND TURKEY.[2] + +Whatever Mr. AUBREY DE VERE sees, he picturesquely describes; and +so far as words can do so, he makes pictures of all the subjects he +writes upon; and had he painted as he has written, or used his pencil +equally well with his pen, two more delightful volumes, to any lover +of Greece, it would be difficult to name. With an evidently refined +taste, and a perfect acquaintance with the ancient history of the +country he traveled through, and the ever famous characters that +made its history what it is, his descriptions combine most pleasingly +together, the past with the present. He peoples the scenery with the +men whose deeds give to that scenery all its interest; and whether on +the plain of Marathon, or the site of Delphi or the Acropolis, he has +a store of things to say of their past glories, and links together, +with great artistic skill, that which is gone with that which remains. + +[Footnote 2: Picturesque Sketches of Greece and Turkey. By Aubrey De +Vere, 2 vols. [Philadelphia: A. Hart.]] + +By the scholar and the man of taste the volumes will be read with no +little delight, as they abound much more with reflections and sensible +observations, than with the commonplace incidents of travel. Indeed, +the author has left but small space for his accidents at sea and his +hardships on shore, since all the chapters but four are devoted to +Athens, Delphi, and Constantinople. The classical reader will prefer +the chapters on the two first-named places; the general reader will +find perhaps more interesting his sketches of the city of the Sultan, +and an anecdote which he gives of the present Sultan, and which +declares him to possess more of decision, and firmness of character, +and good sense, than the world gives him credit for. His description +of the Bosphorus will create in many a desire to see what he has seen, +and to look upon some, at least, of the fifty-seven palaces which the +sultans have raised upon its banks; and upon the hundreds of others, +which, while the Commander of the Faithful permits it, are the +property of his subjects. + +It argued far more of a wild spirit of adventure than of a sober +understanding in Aubrey de Vere, to go with that clever Frenchman to +the Turk's house, and to play off all those tricks in the presence of +its master and his ten unvailed wives. Rarely indeed, if ever before, +has an Englishman passed an hour so comfortably with the whole of +a rich man's harem, and seen them as de Vere saw them in all their +artlessness and beauty. We live, indeed, in strange times, when the +once scorned and loathed Giaours contrive to possess themselves +of such extraordinary privileges, and to escape unharmed from such +hitherto unheard-of enjoyments. + +Where one thought was given to Constantinople a hundred years since +from the west of the Dalmatian coast, ten thousand eyes are now +constantly directed to it, and with continually increasing anxiety. +The importance of that city is now understood by all the European +powers, and its future fate has become a subject of deep interest to +all the western states, in consequence of the determined set made upon +it by its powerful northern neighbor. With the Cossacks at Istamboul +instead of Turks, we should be very ill satisfied, and the whole charm +of this city on its seven hills would have departed: already is it on +the wane. Sultan Mahmoud's hostility to beards and to flowing robes, +to the turban and the jherid, has deprived his capital city of much +of its picturesqueness and peculiarity; but still enough remains of +eastern manners and costumes to make it one of the most interesting +cities in the world to visit and roam over. Such as, like ourselves, +may not hope to sport a caique on the Bosphorus, will do well to +acquaint themselves with the information Aubrey de Vere can give them, +and to suffer their imagination to transport them to scenes among +the fairest and the loveliest on the earth's surface, and which are +presented to them in these volumes as graphically as words can paint +them. + +By the possessor of Wordsworth's Greece, where every spot almost, of +the slightest historical interest, is given in a picture on its +pages, these "Picturesque Sketches" will be read with the highest +gratification that scenes and descriptions together can supply. +There is so much of mind in them; so much of sound philosophy in +the observations; such beautiful thoughts; so well, so elegantly +expressed; so many allusions to the past, that are continually placing +before us Pericles, Themistocles, or Demosthenes, that we are improved +while amused, and feel at every page that we are reading a work far +above the general works on such subjects; a work of lasting interest, +that may be read and re-read, and still with delight and advantage. + + * * * * * + +DEATH AND SLEEP. + +FROM THE GERMAN OF KRUMMACHER. + +In brotherly embrace walked the Angel of Sleep and the Angel of Death +upon the earth. + +It was evening. They laid themselves down upon a hill not far from the +dwelling of men. A melancholy silence prevailed around, and the chimes +of the evening-bell in the distant hamlet ceased. + +Still and silent, as was their custom, sat these two beneficent Genii +of the human race, their arms entwined with cordial familiarity, and +soon the shades of night gathered around them. + +Then arose the Angel of Sleep from his moss-grown couch, and strewed +with a gentle hand the invisible grains of slumber. The evening breeze +wafted them to the quiet dwelling of the tired husbandman, infolding +in sweet sleep the inmates of the rural cottage--from the old man upon +the staff, down to the infant in the cradle. The sick forgot their +pain: the mourners their grief; the poor their care. All eyes closed. + +His task accomplished, the benevolent Angel of Sleep laid himself +again by the side of his grave brother. "When Aurora awakes," +exclaimed he, with innocent joy, "men praise me as their friend and +benefactor. Oh! what happiness, unseen and secretly to confer such +benefits! How blessed are we to be the invisible messengers of the +Good Spirit! How beautiful is our silent calling!" + +So spake the friendly Angel of Slumber. + +The Angel of Death sat with still deeper melancholy on his brow, and +a tear, such as mortals shed, appeared in his large dark eyes. "Alas!" +said he, "I may not, like thee, rejoice in the cheerful thanks of +mankind; they call me upon the earth their enemy, and joy-killer." + +"Oh! my brother," replied the gentle Angel of Slumber, "and will +not the good man, at his awakening, recognize in thee his friend and +benefactor, and gratefully bless thee in his joy? Are we not brothers, +and ministers of one Father?" + +As he spake, the eyes of the Death-Angel beamed with pleasure, and +again did the two friendly Genii cordially embrace each other. + + * * * * * + +THE MODERN SCHOOLS OF ATHENS.--I visited, with equal surprise and +satisfaction, an Athenian school, which contained seven hundred +pupils, taken from every class of society. The poorer classes were +gratuitously instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and the +girls in needlework likewise. The progress which the children had made +was very remarkable; but what particularly pleased me was that air of +bright alertness and good-humored energy which belonged to them, and +which made every task appear a pleasure, not a toil. The greatest +punishment which can be inflicted on an Athenian child is exclusion +from school, though but for a day. About seventy of the children +belonged to the higher classes, and were instructed in music, drawing, +the modern languages, the ancient Greek, and geography. Most of them +were at the moment reading Herodotus and Homer. I have never seen +children approaching them in beauty; and was much struck by their +Oriental cast of countenance, their dark complexions, their flashing +eyes, and that expression, at once apprehensive and meditative, which +is so much more remarkable in children than in those of a more mature +age.--_De Vere_. + + * * * * * + +At Berlin, the Academy of Sciences has been holding a sitting, +according to its statutes, in honor of the memory of Leibnitz. In the +course of the oration delivered on the occasion, it was stated that +the 4th of August being the fiftieth anniversary of the admission +of Alexander Von Humboldt as a member of the Academy, it had been +resolved, in celebration of the event, to place a marble bust of the +"Nestor of Science" in the lecture room of the society. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The International Weekly Miscellany, +Volume I. 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No. 8, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The International Weekly Miscellany, Volume I. No. 8 + Of Literature, Art, and Science, August 19, 1850 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: October 19, 2004 [EBook #13796] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY *** + + + + +Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, William Flis, the PG Online Distributed +Proofreading Team, and Cornell University + + + + + + +</pre> + + <h1>INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY MISCELLANY<br /> + Of Literature, Art, and Science.</h1> + <hr class="full" /> + + <table width="100%" + summary="Volume, Number, and Date"> + <tr> + <td align="left"><b>Vol. I.</b></td> + + <td align="center"><b>NEW YORK, AUGUST 19, + 1850.</b></td> + + <td align="right"><b>No. 8.</b></td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr class="full" /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page225" + id="page225"></a>[pg 225]</span> + + <h2>THE THEATER IN RUSSIA AND POLAND.</h2> + + <p>The following interesting sketch of the Drama in the empire + of the Czar is translated for the <i>International</i> from the + Leipzig <i>Grenzboten</i>. The facts it states are not only new + to most readers, but throw incidentally a good deal of light on + the condition of that vast empire, and the state of its + population in respect of literature and art in general:</p> + <hr class="short" /> + + <p>The dramatic taste of a people, the strength of its + productive faculty, the gradual development of its most popular + sphere of art, the theater, contain the key to phases of its + character which cannot always be recognized with the same + exactness from other parts of its history. The tendencies and + disposition of the mass come out very plainly in their + relations to dramatic art, and from the audience of an evening + at a theater some inference may be drawn as to the whole + political scope of the nation. In truth, however, this requires + penetration as well as cautious judgment.</p> + + <p>In the middle of the last century there were in the kingdom + of Poland, beside the royal art institutions at Warsaw, four + strong dramatic companies, of genuine Polish stamp, which gave + performances in the most fashionable cities. Two of them were + so excellent that they often had the honor to play before the + court. The peculiarity of these companies was that they never + performed foreign works, but literally only their own. The + managers were either themselves poets, or had poets associated + with them in business. Each was guided by his poet, as + Wallenstein by his astrologer. The establishment depended on + its dramatic ability, while its performances were limited + almost exclusively to the productions of its poet. The better + companies, however, were in the habit of making contracts with + each other, by which they exchanged the plays of their + dramatists. This limitation to native productions perhaps grew + partly out of the want of familiarity with foreign literature, + partly from national feeling, and partly from the fact that the + Polish taste was as yet little affected by that of the Germans, + French, or English. In these circumstances there sprung up a + poetic creative faculty, which gave promise of a good and + really national drama. And even now, after wars, revolutions, + and the schemes of foreign rulers have alternately destroyed + and degraded the stage, and after the Poles have become + poetically as well as politically mere satellites of French + ideas and culture, there still exist, as respectable remains of + the good old time, a few companies of players, which, like + their ancient predecessors, have their own poets, and perform + only his pieces, or at least others of Polish origin that he + has arranged and adapted. Such a company, whose principal + personage is called Richlawski, is now in Little Poland, in the + cities Radom, Kielce, Opatow, Sandomir, &c. A second, which + generally remains in the Government of Kalisch, is under the + direction of a certain Felinski, and through his excellent + dramatic compositions has gained a reputation equal to that of + the band of Strauss in music. Yet these companies are only + relics. The Polish drama in general has now a character and + destiny which was not to be expected a hundred years since.</p> + + <p>The origin of the Russian theater is altogether more recent. + It is true that Peter the Great meddled a good deal with the + theater as well as with other things, but it was not till the + Empress Catharine that dramatic literature was really + emancipated by the court. Under Alexander and Nicholas the most + magnificent arrangements have been made in every one of the + cities that from time to time is honored by the residence of + the Emperor, so that Russia boasts of possessing five theaters, + two of which excel everything in Europe in respect to size and + splendor, but yet possesses no sort of taste for dramatic art. + The stage, in the empire of the Muscovites, is like a rose-bush + grafted on a wild forest tree. It has not grown up naturally + from a poetic want in the people, and finds in the country + little or nothing in the way of a poetic basis. Accordingly, + the theater in Russia is in every respect a foreign + institution. Not national in its origin, it has not struck its + roots into the heart of the people. Only here and there a + feeble germ of theatrical literature has made its way through + the obstinate barbarism of the Russian nature. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page226" + id="page226"></a>[pg 226]</span> The mass have no feeling + for dramatic poetry, while the cultivated classes exhibit a + most striking want of taste.</p> + + <p>But in Russia everything is inverted. What in other nations + is the final result of a long life, is there the beginning. A + natural development of the people appears to its rulers too + circuitous, and in fact would in many things require centuries + of preparation. Accordingly, they seek to raise their subjects + to the level of other races by forcing them outwardly to + imitate their usages. Peter the Great says in his testament: + "Let there be no intermission in teaching the Russian people + European forms and customs." The theater in Russia is one of + these forms, and from this it is easy to understand the + condition it is in.</p> + + <p>It is true there are in the country a few independent + companies of players, but they are not Russian, or at least + were formed as a speculation by some foreigner. For example, + Odessa has often two such, and sometimes three. The Italian + company is said to be good. The Russian, which has now become + permanent, has hitherto been under the management of a German, + and has been very poor. The company in Kiew consists mostly of + Poles, from the old Polish provinces incorporated with Russia, + and has a high reputation. In Poland it would be possible in + every little nest of a city to get together a tolerable company + for dramatic performance. In Russia it would be much easier to + raise an army. The ultimate reason of this striking contrast is + the immense dissimilarity in the character of the two nations. + The Pole is remarkably sanguine, fiery, enthusiastic, full of + ideality and inspiration; the Russian is through and through + material, a lover of coarse physical pleasures, full of ability + to fight and cut capers, but not endowed with a capacity + quickly to receive impressions and mentally elaborate them.</p> + + <p>In this respect, the mass and the aristocracy, the serfs and + their masters, are as alike as twins. The noble is quite as + coarse as the peasant. In Poland this is quite otherwise. The + peasant may be called a rough creature, but the noble is almost + always a man of refinement, lacking indeed almost always in + scientific information, but never in the culture of a man of + the world. The reason of this is, that his active, impetuous + soul finds constant occasion for maintaining familiarity with + the world around him, and really needs to keep up a good + understanding with it. The Russians know no such want.</p> + + <p>Even in St. Petersburg the German was long much more + successful than the native theater, though the number of + Russians there is seventeen times larger than that of the + Germans. The Russians who there visit the theater are the + richest and most prominent members of the aristocracy. They + however consider the drama as simply a thing of fashion. Hence + results the curious fact that it is thought a matter of good + taste to be present at the beginning but not to wait for the + end of a piece. It has happened that long before the + performance was over the house was perfectly empty, everyone + following the fashion, in order not to seem deficient in public + manners. If there is ever a great attraction at the theater, it + is not the play, but some splendid show. The Russian lady, in + studying the <i>coiffure</i> or the trailing-robe of an + actress, forgets entirely her part in this piece, if indeed she + has ever had an adequate conception of it. For this reason, at + St. Petersburg and Moscow the ballet is esteemed infinitely + higher than the best drama; and if the management should have + the command of the Emperor to engage rope-dancers and athletes, + circus-riders and men-apes, the majority of Russians would be + of opinion that the theater had gained the last point of + perfection. This was the case in Warsaw several years ago, when + the circus company of Tourniare was there. The theaters gave + their best and most popular pieces, in order to guard against + too great a diminution of their receipts. The Poles + patriotically gave the preference for the drama, but the + Russians were steady adorers of Madame Tourniare and her horse. + In truth, the lady enjoyed the favor of Prince Paskiewich. + General O—— boasted that during the eleven months + that the circus staid he was not absent from a single + performance. The Polish Count Ledochowski, on the other hand, + said that he had been there but once when he went with his + children, and saw nothing of the performance, because he read + Schiller's William Tell every moment. This was Polish + opposition to Russian favoritism, but it also affords an + indication of the national peculiarities of the two races.</p> + + <p>From deficiency in taste for dramatic art arises the + circumstance that talent for acting is incomparably scarce + among the Russians. Great as have been the efforts of the last + emperors of Russia to add a new splendor to their capitals by + means of the theater, they have not succeeded in forming from + their vast nation artists above mediocrity, except in low + comedy. At last it was determined to establish dramatic schools + in connection with the theaters and educate players; but it + appears that though talent can be developed, it cannot be + created at the word of command. The Emperor Nicholas, or rather + his wife, was, as is said, formerly so vexed at the incapacity + of the Russians for dramatic art, that it was thought best to + procure children in Germany for the schools. The Imperial will + met with hindrance, and he contented himself with taking + children of the German race from his own dominions. The pride + of the Russians did not suffer in consequence.</p> + + <p>While poetry naturally precedes dramatic art, the drama, on + the other hand, cannot attain any degree of excellence where + the theater is in such a miserable state. It is now scarcely + half a century since the effort was begun to remove the total + want of scientific <span class="pagenum"><a name="page227" + id="page227"></a>[pg 227]</span> culture in the Russian + nation, but what are fifty years for such a purpose, in so + enormous a country? The number of those who have received + the scientific stimulus and been carried to a degree of + intellectual refinement is very small, and the happy + accident by which a man of genius appears among the small + number must be very rare. And in this connection it is + noteworthy, that the Russian who feels himself called to + artistic production almost always shows a tendency to epic + composition.</p> + + <p>The difficulties of form appear terrible to the Russian. In + romance-writing the form embarrasses him less, and accordingly + they almost all throw themselves into the making of novels.</p> + + <p>As is generally the case in the beginning of every nation's + literature, any writer in Russia is taken for a miracle, and + regarded with stupor. The dramatist Kukolnik is an example of + this. He has written a great deal for the theater, but nothing + in him is to be praised so much as his zeal in imitation. It + must be admitted that in this he possesses a remarkable degree + of dexterity. He soon turned to the favorite sphere of romance + writing, but in this also he manifests the national weakness. + In every one of his countless works the most striking feature + is the lack of organization. They were begun and completed + without their author's ever thinking out a plot, or its mode of + treatment.</p> + + <p>Kukolnik's "Alf and Adona," in which at least one hundred + and fifty characters are brought upon the stage, has not one + whose appearance is designed to concentrate the interest of the + audience. Each comes in to show himself, and goes out not to be + in the way any longer. Everything is described and explained + with equal minuteness, from the pile of cabbages by the + wayside, to the murder of a prince; and instead of a historical + action there is nothing but unconnected details. The same is + the case with his "Eveline and Baillerole," in which Cardinal + Richelieu is represented as a destroyer of the aristocracy, and + which also is made up of countless unconnected scenes, that in + part are certainly done with some neatness. These remarks apply + to the works of Iwan Wanenko and I. Boriczewski, to I. + Zchewen's "Sunshine", five volumes strong; to the compositions + of Wolkow, Czerujawski, Ulitinins, Th. Van Dim, (a pseudonym,) + in fact to everything that has yet appeared.</p> + + <p>On the part of the Imperial family, as we have already said, + everything has been done for the Russian stage that could + possibly be done, and is done no where else. The extremest + liberality favors the artists, schools are provided in order to + raise them from the domain of gross buffoonery to that of true + art, the most magnificent premiums are given to the best, + actors are made equal in rank to officers of state, they are + held only to twenty-five years' service, reckoning from their + debut,—and finally, they receive for the rest of their + lives a pension equal to their full salaries. High rewards are + given to Russian star-actors, in order if possible to draw + talent of every sort forth from the dry steppes of native art. + The Russian actors are compelled on pain of punishment to go + regularly to the German theater, with a view to their + improvement, and in order to make this as effective as may be, + enormous compensations attract the best German stars to St. + Petersburg. And yet all this is useless, and the Russian + theater is not raised above the dignity of a workshop. Only the + comic side of the national character, a burlesque and droll + simplicity, is admirably represented by actors whose skill and + the scope of whose talents may he reckoned equal to the Germans + in the same line. But in the higher walks of the drama they are + worthless. The people have neither cultivation nor sentiment + for serious works, while the poets to produce them, and the + actors to represent them, are alike wanting.</p> + + <p>Immediately after the submission of Poland in 1831, the + theaters, permanent and itinerant, were closed. The plan was + conceived of not allowing them to be reöpened until they could + be occupied by Russian performers. But as the Government + recovered from its first rage, this was found to be + impracticable. The officers of the garrisons in Poland, however + numerous, could never support Russian theaters, and besides, + where were the performers to come from? In Warsaw, however, it + was determined to force a theater into existence, and a Russian + newspaper was already established there. The power of the + Muscovites has done great things, built vast fortresses and + destroyed vaster, but it could not accomplish a Russian theater + at Warsaw. Even the paper died before it had attained a regular + life, although it cost a great deal of money.</p> + + <p>Finally came the permission to reöpen the Polish theater, + and indeed the caprice which was before violent against it, was + now exceedingly favorable, but of course not without collateral + purposes. The scanty theater on the Krasinski place, which was + alone in Warsaw, except the remote circus and the little + theater of King Stanislaus Augustus, was given up, and the sum + of four millions of florins ($1,600,000) devoted to the + erection of two large and magnificent theaters. The + superintendence of the work of building and the management of + the performances was, according to the Russian system, + intrusted to one General Rautenstrauch, a man seventy years + old, and worn out both in mind and body. The two theaters were + erected under one roof, and arranged on the grandest and most + splendid scale. The edifice is opposite the City Hall, occupies + a whole side of the main public place, and is above 750 feet in + length. The pit in each is supported by a series of immense, + stupid, square pilasters, such as architecture has seldom + witnessed out of Russia. Over these pilasters stands the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page228" + id="page228"></a>[pg 228]</span> first row of boxes + supported by beautifully wrought Corinthian columns, and + above these rise three additional rows. The edifice is about + 160 feet high and is the most colossal building in Warsaw. + As it was designed to treat the actors in military fashion + and according to Russian style, the building was laid out + like barracks and about seven hundred persons live in it, + most of them employed about the theater. The two stages were + built by a German architect under the inspection of the + General whose peremptory suggestions were frequent and + injurious. Both the great theater as it is called, which has + four rows of boxes, and can contain six thousand auditors, + and the Varieté theater which is very much smaller, are + fitted out with all sorts of apparatus that ever belonged to + a stage. In fact, new machinery has in many cases been + invented for them and proved totally useless. The Russian + often hits upon queer notions when he tries to show his + gifts.</p> + + <p>On one side a very large and strong bridge has been erected + leading from the street to the stage, to be used whenever the + piece requires large bodies of cavalry to make their + appearance, and there are machines that can convey persons with + the swiftness of lightning down from the sky above the stage, a + distance of 56 feet. A machine for which a ballet has been + composed surpasses everything I ever saw in its size; it serves + to transport eighty persons together on a seeming cloud from + the roof to the foot-lights. I was astonished by it when I + first beheld it although I had seen the machines of the grand + opera at Paris: the second time I reflected that it alone cost + 40,000 florins [$16,000].</p> + + <p>Under the management of two Russian Generals, who have + hitherto been at the head of the establishment, a vast deal has + in this way been accomplished for mere external show.</p> + + <p>The great Russian theatre of St. Petersburg has served for a + model, and accordingly nothing has really been improved except + that part of the performance which is farthest removed from + genuine art, namely the ballet. That fact is that out of Paris + the ballet is nowhere so splendid as in the great theater at + Warsaw, not even at St. Petersburg, for the reason that the + Russian is inferior to the Pole in physical beauty and grace. + Heretofore the corps of the St. Petersburg ballet has twice + been composed of Poles, but this arrangement has been abandoned + as derogatory to the national honor. The sensual attractions of + the ballet render it the most important thing in the theater. A + great school for dancers has been established, where pupils may + be found from three to eighteen years old. It is painful to see + the little creatures, hardly weaned from their mothers' + breasts—twisted and tortured for the purposes of so + doubtful an occupation as dancing. The school contains about + two hundred pupils, all of whom occasionally appear together on + the boards, in the ballet of Charis and Flora, for instance, + when they receive a trifling compensation. For the rest the + whole ballet corps are bound to daily practice.</p> + + <p>The taste of the Russians has made prominent in the ballet + exactly those peculiarities which are least to its credit. It + must be pronounced exaggerated and lascivious. Aside from these + faults, which may be overlooked as the custom of the country, + we must admit that the dancing is uncommonly good.</p> + + <p>The greater the care of the management for the ballet, the + more injurious is its treatment of the drama. This is + melancholy for the artists and especially those who have come + to the imperial theater from the provinces, who are truly + respectable and are equally good in comedy and tragedy. The + former has been less shackled than the latter for the reason + that it turns upon domestic life. But tragedy is most + frightfully treated by the political censorship, so that a + Polish poet can hardly expect to see his pieces performed on + the stage of his native country. Hundreds of words and phrases + such as freedom, avenging sword, slave, oppression, + father-land, cannot be permitted and are stricken out. + Accordingly nothing but the trumpery of mere penny-a-liners is + brought forward, though this sometimes assumes an appearance of + originality. These abortions remain on the stage only through + the talent of the artists, the habit of the public to expect + nothing beyond dullness and stupidity in the drama, and + finally, the severe regulation which forbids any mark of + disapprobation under pain of imprisonment. The best plays are + translated from the French, but they are never the best of + their kind. To please the Russians only those founded on civic + life are chosen, and historical subjects are excluded. Princely + personages are not allowed to be introduced on the stage, nor + even high officers of state, such as ministers and generals. In + former times the Emperor of China was once allowed to pass, but + more recently the Bey of Tunis was struck out and converted + into an African nobleman. A tragedy is inadmissible in any + case, and should one be found with nothing objectionable but + its name, it is called drama.</p> + + <p>In such circumstances we would suppose that the actors would + lose all interest in their profession. But this is not the + case. At least the cultivated portion of the public at Warsaw + never go to the theater to see a poetic work of art, but only + to see and enjoy the skill of the performers. Of course there + is no such thing as theatrical criticism at Warsaw; but + everybody rejoices when the actors succeed in causing the + wretchedness of the piece to be forgotten. The universal regret + for the wretched little theater on the Krasinski place, where + Suczkowska, afterward Mad. Halpert, founded her reputation in + the character of the Maid of Orleans, is the best criticism on + the present state of the drama.</p> + + <p>The Russians take great delight in the most trivial pieces. + Even Prince Paskiewich <span class="pagenum"><a name="page229" + id="page229"></a>[pg 229]</span> sometimes stays till the + close of the last act. To judge by the direction of his + opera-glass, which is never out of his hand, he has the + fortune to discover poetry elsewhere than on the stage. In + truth the Warsaw boxes are adorned by beautiful faces. Even + the young princess Jablonowska is not the most lovely.</p> + + <p>The arrangements of the Warsaw theaters are exactly like + those of the Russian theater at St. Petersburg, but almost + without exception, the pupils of the dramatic school, of whom + seventeen have come upon the boards, have proved mere + journeymen, and have been crowded aside by performers from the + provincial cities. None of the eminent artists of late years + have enjoyed the advantages of the school. The position of the + actors at Warsaw is just the same as at St. Petersburg. The day + after their first appearance they are regularly taken into duty + as imperial officials, take an oath never to meddle with + political affairs, nor join in any secret society, nor ever to + pronounce on the stage anything more or anything else than what + is in the stamped parts given them by the imperial + management.</p> + + <p>Actors' salaries at Warsaw are small in comparison with + those of other countries. Forty or fifty silver rubles a month + ($26 to $33) pass for a very respectable compensation, and even + the very best performers rarely get beyond a thousand rubles a + year ($650). Madame Halpert long had to put up with that salary + till once Taglioni said to Prince Paskiewich that it was a + shame for so magnificent an artist to be no better paid than a + writer. Her salary was thereupon raised one-half, and + subsequently by means of a similar mediation she succeeded in + getting an addition of a thousand rubles yearly under the head + of wardrobe expenses. This was a thing so extraordinary that + the managing General declared that so enormous a compensation + would never again be heard of in any imperial theatre. The + pupils of the dramatic school receive eighteen rubles monthly, + and, according to their performances, obtain permission every + two years to ask an increase of salary. The period of service + extends to twenty-five years, with the certainty of a yearly + pension equal to the salary received at the close of the + period.</p> + + <p>For the artist this is a very important arrangement, which + enables him to endure a thousand inconveniences.</p> + + <p>There is no prospect of a better state of the Polish drama. + Count Fedro may, in his comedies, employ the finest satire with + a view to its restoration, but he will accomplish nothing so + long as the Generals ride the theater as they would a war + horse. On the other hand, no Russian drama has been + established, because the conditions are wanting among the + people. That is a vast empire, but poor in beauty; mighty in + many things, but weak in artistic talents; powerful and prompt + in destruction, but incapable spontaneously and of itself to + create anything.</p> + <hr /> + + <h2>"DEATH'S JEST BOOK, OR THE FOOL'S TRAGEDY."</h2> + + <p>The <i>Examiner</i>, for July 20, contains an elaborate + review, with numerous extracts, of a play just published under + this title in London. "It is radiant," says the critic, "in + almost every page with passion, fancy, or thought, set in the + most apposite and exquisite language. We have but to discard, + in reading it, the hope of any steady interest of story, or + consistent development of character: and we shall find a most + surprising succession of beautiful passages, unrivaled in + sentiment and pathos, as well as in terseness, dignity, and + picturesque vigor of language; in subtlety and power of + passion, as well as in delicacy and strength of imagination; + and as perfect and various, in modulation of verse, as the airy + flights of Fletcher or Marlowe's mighty line.</p> + + <p>"The whole range of the Elizabethan drama has not finer + expression, nor does any single work of the period, out of + Shakspeare, exhibit so many rich and precious bars of golden + verse, side by side with such poverty and misery of character + and plot. Nothing can be meaner than the design, nothing + grander than the execution."</p> + + <p>In conclusion, the <i>Examiner</i> observes—"We are + not acquainted with any living author who could have written + the Fool's Tragedy; and, though the publication is + unaccompanied by any hint of authorship, we believe that we are + correct in stating it to be a posthumous production of the + author of the Bride's Tragedy; Mr. Thomas Lovell Beddoes. + Speaking of the latter production, now more than a quarter + of a century ago, (Mr. Beddoes was then, we believe, a student + at Pembroke College, Oxford, and a minor,) the <i>Edinburgh + Review</i> ventured upon a prediction of future fame and + achievement for the writer, which an ill-chosen and + ill-directed subsequent career unhappily intercepted and + baffled. But in proof of the noble natural gifts which + suggested such anticipation, the production before us remains: + and we may judge to what extent a more steady course and + regular cultivation would have fertilized a soil, which, + neglected and uncared for, has thrown out such a glorious + growth of foliage and fruit as this Fool's Tragedy."</p> + + <p>The following exquisite lyric is among the passages with + which these judgments are sustained:</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>"If thou wilt ease thine heart</p> + + <p>Of love and all its smart,</p> + + <p class="i4">Then sleep, dear, sleep;</p> + + <p>And not a sorrow</p> + + <p class="i2">Hang any tear on your eyelashes;</p> + + <p class="i4">Lie still and deep</p> + + <p class="i2">Sad soul, until like sea-wave washes</p> + + <p>The rim o' the sun to-morrow,</p> + + <p class="i4">In eastern sky.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>But wilt thou cure thine heart</p> + + <p>Of love and all its smart,</p> + + <p class="i4">Then die, dear, die;</p> + + <p>'Tis deeper, sweeter,</p> + + <p class="i2">Than on a rose bank to lie dreaming</p> + + <p class="i4">With folded eye;</p> + + <p class="i2">And then alone, amid the beaming</p> + + <p>Of love's stars, thou'lt meet her</p> + + <p class="i4">In eastern sky."</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page230" + id="page230"></a>[pg 230]</span> + + <h3>WINTHROP MACKWORTH PRAED.</h3> + + <p>Praed, it has always seemed to us, was the cleverest writer + in his way that has ever contributed to the English + periodicals. His fugitive lyrics and arabesque romances, half + sardonic and half sentimental, published with Hookham Frere's + "Whistlecraft" and Macaulay's Roundhead Ballads, in <i>Knight's + Quarterly Magazine</i>, and after the suspension of that work, + for the most part in the annual souvenirs, are altogether + unequaled in the class of compositions described as <i>vers de + societie</i>.—Who that has read "School and School + Fellows", "Palinodia", "The Vicar", "Josephine", and a score of + other pieces in the same vein, does not desire to possess all + the author has left us, in a suitable edition? It has been + frequently stated in the English journals that such a + collection was to be published, under the direction of Praed's + widow, but we have yet only the volume prepared by a lover of + the poet some years ago for the Langleys, in this city. In the + "Memoirs of Eminent Etonians," just printed by Mr. Edward + Creasy, we have several waifs of Praed's that we believe will + be new to all our readers. Here is a characteristic political + rhyme:</p> + + <h3>VERSES</h3> + + <h4>ON SEEING THE SPEAKER ASLEEP IN HIS CHAIR IN ONE OF THE + DEBATES OF THE FIRST REFORMED PARLIAMENT.</h4> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, 'tis surely fair</p> + + <p>If you mayn't in your bed, that you should in your + chair.</p> + + <p>Louder and longer now they grow,</p> + + <p>Tory and Radical, Aye and Noe;</p> + + <p>Talking by night and talking by day.</p> + + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker; slumber lies</p> + + <p>Light and brief on a Speaker's eyes,</p> + + <p>Fielden or Finn in a minute or two</p> + + <p>Some disorderly thing will do;</p> + + <p>Riot will chase repose away</p> + + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker. Sweet to men</p> + + <p>Is the sleep that cometh but now and then,</p> + + <p>Sweet to the weary, sweet to the ill,</p> + + <p>Sweet to the children that work in the mill.</p> + + <p>You have more need of repose than they—</p> + + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, Harvey will soon</p> + + <p>Move to abolish the sun and the moon;</p> + + <p>Hume will no doubt be taking the sense</p> + + <p>Of the House on a question of sixteen pence.</p> + + <p>Statesmen will howl, and patriots bray—</p> + + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, and dream of the time,</p> + + <p>When loyalty was not quite a crime,</p> + + <p>When Grant was a pupil in Canning's school,</p> + + <p>And Palmerston fancied Wood a fool.</p> + + <p>Lord, how principles pass away—</p> + + <p>Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>The following is a spirited version of a dramatic scene in + the second book of the Annals of Tacitus:</p> + + <h3>ARMINIUS.</h3> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Back, Back;—he fears not foaming flood</p> + + <p class="i2">Who fears not steel-clad line:—</p> + + <p>No warrior thou of German blood,</p> + + <p class="i2">No brother thou of mine.</p> + + <p>Go earn Rome's chain to load thy neck,</p> + + <p class="i2">Her gems to deck thy hilt;</p> + + <p>And blazon honor's hapless wreck</p> + + <p class="i2">With all the gauds of guilt.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>But wouldst thou have <i>me</i> share the prey?</p> + + <p class="i2">By all that I have done,</p> + + <p>The Varian bones that day by day</p> + + <p class="i2">Lie whitening in the sun;</p> + + <p>The legion's trampled panoply</p> + + <p class="i2">The eagle's shattered wing.</p> + + <p>I would not be for earth or sky</p> + + <p class="i2">So scorned and mean a thing,</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Ho, call me here the wizard, boy,</p> + + <p class="i2">Of dark and subtle skill,</p> + + <p>To agonize but not destroy,</p> + + <p class="i2">To torture, not to kill.</p> + + <p>When swords are out, and shriek and shout</p> + + <p class="i2">Leave little room for prayer,</p> + + <p>No fetter on man's arm or heart</p> + + <p class="i2">Hangs half so heavy there.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>I curse him by the gifts the land</p> + + <p class="i2">Hath won from him and Rome.</p> + + <p>The riving axe, the wasting brand,</p> + + <p class="i2">Rent forest, blazing home.</p> + + <p>I curse him by our country's gods,</p> + + <p class="i2">The terrible, the dark,</p> + + <p>The breakers of the Roman rods,</p> + + <p class="i2">The smiters of the bark.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Oh, misery that such a ban</p> + + <p class="i2">On such a brow should be!</p> + + <p>Why comes he not in battle's van</p> + + <p class="i2">His country's chief to be?</p> + + <p>To stand a comrade by my side,</p> + + <p class="i2">The sharer of my fame,</p> + + <p>And worthy of a brother's pride,</p> + + <p class="i2">And of a brother's name?</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>But it is past!—where heroes press</p> + + <p class="i2">And cowards bend the knee,</p> + + <p>Arminius is not brotherless,</p> + + <p class="i2">His brethren are the free.</p> + + <p>They come around:—one hour, and light</p> + + <p class="i2">Will fade from turf and tide,</p> + + <p>Then onward, onward to the fight,</p> + + <p class="i2">With darkness for our guide.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>To-night, to-night, when we shall meet</p> + + <p class="i2">In combat face to face,</p> + + <p>Then only would Arminius greet</p> + + <p class="i2">The renegade's embrace.</p> + + <p>The canker of Rome's guilt shall be</p> + + <p class="i2">Upon his dying name;</p> + + <p>And as he lived in slavery,</p> + + <p class="i2">So shall he fall in shame.</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h2>CAMPBELL AND WASHINGTON IRVING.</h2> + + <p>The Editor of <i>The Albion</i>, in noticing the + republication by the Harpers of the very interesting Life and + Letters of Thomas Campbell, by Dr. Beattie, has the following + observations upon Mr. Irving's introductory letter:</p> + + <p>"WASHINGTON IRVING, at the request of the publishers, + contributed a very interesting letter to themselves, directing + public notice to the value of this edition. He pays also a + hearty and deserved tribute, not only to the genius of + Campbell, but to his many excellencies and kindly specialities + of character. The author of "Hohenlinden," and the "Battle of + the Baltic" stands in need of no man's praise as a lyric + poet—but this sort of testimony to his private worth is + grateful and well-timed. Here is an interesting passage from + Mr. Irving's introductory communication. He is alluding to + Campbell's fame and position, when he himself first made + Campbell's acquaintance in England.</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"'I had considered the early productions of Campbell as + brilliant indications of a genius yet to be developed, and + trusted that, during the long interval which had elapsed, + he had been preparing something to fulfill the public + expectation; I was greatly disappointed, therefore, to find + that, as yet, he had contemplated no great and sustained + effort. My disappointment in this respect was shared by + others, who took the same interest in his fame, and + entertained the same idea of his capacity. 'There he is + cooped up in Sydenham,' said a great Edinburgh critic to + me, 'simmering his brains to serve up a little dish of + poetry, instead of pouring out a whole caldron.'</p> + + <p>"'Scott, too, who took a cordial delight in Campbell's + poetry, expressed himself to the same effect. 'What a pity + is it,' said he to me 'that + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page231" + id="page231"></a>[pg 231]</span> Campbell does not give + full sweep to his genius. He has wings that would bear + him up to the skies, and he does now and then spread + them grandly, but folds them up again and resumes his + perch, as if afraid to launch away. The fact is, he is a + bugbear to himself. The brightness of his early success + is a detriment to all his future efforts. <i>He is + afraid of the shadow that his own fame casts before + him</i>.'</p> + + <p>"'Little was Scott aware at the time that he, in truth, + was a 'bugbear' to Campbell. This I infer from an + observation of Mrs. Campbell's in reply to an expression of + regret on my part that her husband did not attempt + something on a grand Scale. 'It is unfortunate for + Campbell,' said she, 'that he lives in the same age with + Scott and Byron.' I asked why. 'Oh,' said she, 'they write + so much and so rapidly. Now Campbell writes slowly, and it + takes him some time to get under way; and just as he has + fairly begun, out comes one of their poems, that sets the + world agog and quite daunts him, so that he throws by his + pen in despair.'</p> + + <p>"'I pointed out the essential difference in their kinds + of poetry, and the qualities which insured perpetuity to + that of her husband. 'You can't persuade Campbell of that,' + said she. 'He is apt to undervalue his own works, and to + consider his own lights put out, whenever they come blazing + out with their great torches.'</p> + + <p>"'I repeated the conversation to Scott sometime + afterward, and it drew forth a characteristic comment. + 'Pooh!' said he, good-humoredly, 'how can Campbell mistake + the matter so much. Poetry goes by quality, not by bulk. My + poems are mere cairngorms, wrought up, perhaps, with a + cunning hand, and may pass well in the market as long as + cairngorms are the fashion; but they are mere Scotch + pebbles after all; now Tom Campbell's are real diamonds, + and diamonds of the first water.'"</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>"The foregoing is new to us, and full of a double interest. + It is followed, however, by a statement, that needs a word of + explanation. Mr. Irving says:</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"'I have not time at present to furnish personal + anecdotes of my intercourse with Campbell, neither does it + afford any of a striking nature. Though extending over a + number of years, it was never very intimate. His residence + in the country, and my own long intervals of absence on the + continent, rendered our meetings few and far between. To + tell the truth, I was not much drawn to Campbell, having + taken up a wrong notion concerning him, from seeing him at + times when his mind was ill at ease, and preyed upon by + secret griefs. I thought him disposed to be querulous and + captious, and had heard his apparent discontent attributed + to jealous repining at the success of his poetical + contemporaries. In a word, I knew little of him but what + might be learned in the casual intercourse of general + society; whereas it required the close communion of + confidential friendship, to sound the depth of his + character and know the treasures of excellence hidden + beneath its surface. Beside, he was dogged for years by + certain malignant scribblers, who took a pleasure in + misrepresenting all his actions, and holding him up in an + absurd and disparaging point of view. In what hostility + originated I do not know, but it must have given much + annoyance to his sensitive mind, and may have affected his + popularity. I know not to what else to attribute a + circumstance to which I was a witness during my last visit + to England. It was at an annual dinner of the Literary + Fund, at which Prince Albert presided, and where was + collected much of the prominent talent of the kingdom. In + the course of the evening Campbell rose to make a speech. I + had not seen him for years, and his appearance showed the + effect of age and ill-health; <i>it was evident, also, that + his mind was obfuscated by the wine he had been + drinking</i>. He was confused and tedious in his remarks; + still, there was nothing but what one would have thought + would have been received with indulgence, if not deference, + from a veteran of his fame and standing; a living classic. + On the contrary, to my surprise, I soon observed signs of + impatience in the company; the poet was repeatedly + interrupted by coughs and discordant sounds, and as often + endeavored to proceed; the noise at length became + intolerable, and he was absolutely clamored down, sinking + into his chair overwhelmed and disconcerted. I could not + have thought such treatment possible to such a person at + such a meeting. Hallam, author of the Literary History of + the Middle Ages, who sat by me on this occasion, marked the + mortification of the poet, and it excited his generous + sympathy. Being shortly afterward on the floor to reply to + a toast, he took occasion to advert to the recent remarks + of Campbell, and in so doing called up in review all his + eminent achievements in the world of letters, and drew such + a picture of his claims upon popular gratitude and popular + admiration, as to convict the assembly of the glaring + impropriety they had been guilty of—to soothe the + wounded sensibility of the poet, and send him home to, I + trust, a quiet pillow.'</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>"Now, the very same facts are seen by different observers in + a different point of view. It so happened that we ourselves + were present at this dinner, which took place in 1842; and the + painful circumstance alluded to by Mr. Irving did not produce + the effect on us, that it appears to have produced on him. + Without making a long story about a trifle, we can call to mind + no appearance of hostility or ill-will manifested on that + occasion; and on the contrary, recollect, in our immediate + neighborhood, a mournful sense of distress at the scene + exhibited, and sufficiently hinted in the few unpleasant words + we have italicized. A muster of Englishmen preferred coughing + down their favorite bard, to allowing him to mouth out maudlin + twaddle, before the Prince, then first formally introduced to + the public, and before a meeting whereat "was collected much of + the prominent talent of the kingdom." Mr. Irving, himself most + deservedly a man of mark, looked on with much, surprise. + Looking on ourselves then, and writing now, as one of the + public, and as one of the many to whom Campbell's name and fame + are inexpressibly dear, we honestly think that of two evils the + lesser was chosen. We think Mr. Hallam's lecture must have been + inaudible to the greater part of the company."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The Archbishop of Lemburgh has prohibited his clergy from + wearing long hair like the peasants, and from smoking in + public, "like demagogues and sons of Baal."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The Persians have a saying, that "Ten measures of talk were + sent down upon the earth, and the women took nine."</p> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page232" + id="page232"></a>[pg 232]</span> + + <h2>Authors and Books</h2> + <hr class="short" /> + + <p>No man is more enshrined in the heart of the French people + than the poet BERANGER. A few weeks since he went one evening + with one of his nephews to the <i>Clos des Lilas</i>, a garden + in the students' quarter devoted to dancing in the open air, + intending to look for a few minutes upon a scene he had not + visited since his youth, and then withdraw. But he found it + impossible to remain unknown and unobserved. The announcement + of his presence ran through the garden in a moment, the dances + stopped, the music ceased, and the crowd thronged toward the + point where the still genial and lovely old man was standing. + At once there rose from all lips the cry of <i>Vive + Beranger!</i> which was quickly followed by that of <i>Vive la + Republique!</i> The poet whose diffidence is excessive, could + not answer a word, but only smiled and blushed his thanks at + this enthusiastic reception. The acclamations continuing, an + agent of the police invited him to withdraw, lest his presence + might occasion disorder. The illustrious songwriter at once + obeyed; by a singular coincidence the door through which he + went out opened upon the place where Marshal Ney was shot. If + he were now in the vein of writing, what a stirring lyric all + these circumstances might suggest.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>AUDUBON AND WASHINGTON IRVING—THE PLAGUE OF + RAILROADS.—The voyager up the Hudson will involuntarily + anathematize the invention of the rail, when he sees how much + of the most romantic beauty has been defaced or destroyed by + that tyranny which, disregarding all private desire and + justice, has filled up bays, and cut off promontories, and + leveled heights, to make way for the intrusive and noisy car. + But the effects of these so-called "improvements," upon the + romantic in nature will be forgotten if he considers the injury + and wrong they cause to persons, and particularly to those + whose genius has contributed more to human happiness than all + the inventions in oeconomical art.</p> + + <p>The Nestor of our naturalists, and in his field, the + greatest as well as the oldest of our artists, AUDUBON, with + the comparatively slight gains of a long life of devotion to + science, and of triumphs which had made him world-renowned, + purchased on the banks of the river, not far from the city, a + little estate which it was the joy as well as the care of his + closing years to adorn with everything that a taste so + peculiarly and variously schooled could suggest. He had made it + a pleasing gate-way to the unknown world, with beautiful walks + leading down to the river whose depth and calmness and solemn + grandeur symboled the waves through which he should pass to the + reward of a life of such toil and enviable glory. He had + promise of an evening worthy of his meridian—when the + surveyors and engineers, with their charter-privileges, invaded + his retreat, built a road through his garden, destroyed forever + his repose, and—the melancholy truth is known—made + of his mind a ruin.</p> + + <p>WASHINGTON IRVING—now sixty-seven years of + age—had found a resting-place at <i>Wolfert's Roost</i>, + close by the scenes which lie in the immortal beauty that + radiates from his pages, and when he thought that in this + Tusculum he was safe from all annoying, free to enjoy the + quietness and ease he had earned from the world, the same + vandals laid the track through his grounds, not only destroying + all their beauty and attraction, but leaving fens from which + these summer heats distilled contagion. He has therefore been + ill for some weeks, and as he had never a strong constitution, + and has preserved his equable but not vigorous health only by + the most constant carefulness, his physicians and friends begin + to be alarmed for the result. Heaven avert the end they so + fearfully anticipate. He cannot go alone: The honest + Knickerbocker, the gentle Crayon, and the faithful brother + Agapida, with Washington Irving will forever leave the world, + which cannot yet resign itself to the loss of either.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Mr. SEBA SMITH, so well known as the author of the "Letters + of Major Jack Downing," and to a different sort of readers for + his more serious contributions to our literature, has just + completed the printing of an original and very remarkable work, + upon which he has been engaged about two years, entitled "New + Elements of Geometry," and it will soon be published in this + city by Putnam, and in London by Bentley. It will probably + produce a sensation in the world of science. Its design is the + reconstruction of the entire methods of Geometry. All + geometers, from the dawn of the science, have built their + systems upon these definitions: <i>A line is length without + breadth</i>, and <i>A surface is length and breadth, without + thickness</i>. Mr. Smith asserts that these definitions are + false, and sustains his position by numerous demonstrations in + the pure Euclidean style. He declares that every mathematical + line has a definite <i>breadth</i>, which is as measurable as + its length, and that every mathematical surface has a + <i>thickness</i>, as measurable as the contents of any solid. + His demonstrations, on diagrams, seem to be eminently clear, + simple, and conclusive. The effects of this discovery and these + demonstrations are, to simplify very much the whole subject of + Geometry and mathematics, and to clear it of many obscurities + and difficulties. All geometers heretofore have claimed that + there are <i>three kinds</i> of quantity in Geometry, different + in their <i>natures</i>, and requiring units of different + natures to measure them. Mr. Smith shows that there is but + <i>one</i> kind of quantity in Geometry, and but one kind of + unit; and that lines, surfaces, and solids are always measured + by the same identical unit.</p> + + <p>Besides the leading features of the work + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page233" + id="page233"></a>[pg 233]</span> which we have thus briefly + described, it contains many new and beautiful demonstrations + of general principles in Geometry, to which the author was + lead by his new methods of investigation. Among these we may + mention one, viz., "The square of the hypothenuse of a + right-angled triangle equals four times the area of the + triangle, plus the square of the difference of the other two + sides." This principle has been known to mathematicians by + means of arithmetic and algebra, but has never before, we + believe, been reduced to a geometrical demonstration. The + demonstration of this principle by Mr. Smith is one of the + clearest, simplest, and most beautiful in Geometry. The work + is divided into three parts, I. The Philosophy of Geometry, + II. Demonstrations in Geometry, and III. Harmonies of + Geometry. The demonstrative character of it is occasionally + enlivened by philosophical and historical observations, + which will add much to its interest with the general reader. + We have too little skill in studies of this sort to be + altogether confident in our opinion, but certainly it + strikes us from an examination of the larger and more + important portion of Mr. Smith's essay, that it is an + admirable specimen of statement and demonstration, and that + it must secure to its author immediately a very high rank in + mathematical science. We shall await with much interest the + judgments of the professors. It makes a handsome octavo of + some 200 pages.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>M. FLANDIN, an eminent dilettante and designer attached to + the French embassy in Persia, has published in the last number + of the <i>Revue des Deux Mondes</i> an interesting memoir of + the ruins of Persepolis, under the title of "An Archaiological + Journey in Persia." On his route to the ruins he witnessed + melancholy evidence, in the condition of the surface and + population, of the improvidence and noxiousness of Oriental + despotism. He tells us that the remains of the magnificent + palace of Darius are dispersed over an immense <i>plateau</i>, + which looks down on the plain of Merdacht. "Assuredly, they are + not much, compared with what they must have been in the time of + the last Prince who sheltered himself under the royal roof. + Nevertheless, what is now found of them still excites + astonishment, and inspires a sentiment of religious admiration + for a civilization that could create monuments so stupendous; + impress on them a character of so much grandeur; and give them + a solidity which has prereserved the most important parts until + our days, through twenty-two centuries, and all the revolutions + by which Persia has been devastated. The pillars are covered + with European names deeply cut in the stone. English are far + the most numerous. Very few, however, are of celebrated + travelers. We observed, with satisfaction, those of Sir John + Malcolm and Mr. Morier, both of whom have so successfully + treated Persian subjects."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>EMILE GIRARDIN states in his journal that he paid for the + eleven volumes of Chateaubriand's Posthumous Memoirs as they + appeared, piecemeal, in his <i>feuilleton</i>, the sum of + ninety-seven thousand one hundred and eight francs. They + occupied a hundred and ninety-two <i>feuilletons</i>, and cost + him thus more than a franc a line. Alfred de Broglie has made + these memoirs the test of a paper entitled "Memoirs de + Chateaubriand, a Moral and Political Study," in the <i>Revue + des Deux Mondes</i>. It is a severe analysis of the book and + the man. He concludes that Chateaubriand was one of the most + vainglorious, selfish and malignant of his tribe. He, indeed, + betrayed himself broadly, but surviving writers, who knew + intimately his private life—such as St. Beuve—have + disclosed more of his habitual libertinism. The Radical + journals, and some of the Legitimists, turn to account the + portraits left in these memoirs of Louis Philippe, Thiers, + Guizot, and other statesmen of the Orleans monarchy. They are + effusions of personal and political spite. Chateaubriand hated + the whole Orleans dynasty, and has not spared the elder + Bourbons.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>GUIZOT has been for thirty years in political life, many of + them a minister, and was long at the head of the government of + Louis Philippe, but is now a poor man. Recently, on the + marriage of his two daughters with two brothers De Witt, the + descendants of the great Hollander, he was unable to give them + a cent in the way of marriage portions. This fact proves the + personal integrity of the man more than a score of arguments. + Not only has the native honesty of his character forbidden him + to take advantage of his eminent position to gain a fortune, + but the indomitable pride which is his leading characteristic, + has never stooped to the attractions of public plunder or the + fruits of official speculation. Guizot is not up to the times, + and hence his downfall, but future historians will do justice + alike to his great talents and the uprightness of his + intentions.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>One of the best works yet produced on the History of Art, is + by Schnaase, of Düsseldorf. The first three volumes have been + published and translated into French and English, and have met + with great success in both those languages. The fourth volume + is just announced in Germany. Artists and other competent + persons at Düsseldorf who have seen the proof-sheets, speak in + the highest terms not only of its historical merits, but of the + excellence of its criticisms.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The fifth volume of the <i>History of Spain</i>, by Rousseau + St. Hilaire, includes the period from 1336 to 1649. The + professor has been employed ten years on his enterprise; he is + lauded by all the critics for his research, method, and style. + We have recently spoken of this work at some length in <i>The + International</i>. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page234" + id="page234"></a>[pg 234]</span> The PARIS ACADEMY OF + INSCRIPTIONS and Belles Lettres is constantly sending forth + the most valuable contributions; to the history of the + middle ages especially. It is now completing the publication + of the sixth volume of the Charters, Diplomas, and other + documents relating to French History. This volume, which was + prepared by M. Pardessus, includes the period from the + beginning of 1220 to the end of 1270, and comprehends the + reign of St. Louis. The seventh volume, coming down some + fifty years later, is also nearly ready for the printer. Its + editor is M. Laboulaye. The first volume of the Oriental + Historians of the Crusaders, translated into French, is now + going through the press, and the second is in course of + preparation. The greater part of the first volume of the + Greek Historians of the same chivalrous wars is also + printed, and the work is going rapidly forward. The Academy + is also preparing a collection of Occidental History on the + same subject. When these three collections are published, + all the documents of any value relating to the Crusades will + be easily accessible, whether for the use of the historian + or the romancer. The Academy is also now engaged in getting + out the twenty-first volume of the History of the Gauls and + of France, and the nineteenth of the Literary History of + France, which brings the annals of French letters down to + the thirteenth century. It is also publishing the sixteenth + volume of its own memoirs, which contains the history of the + Academy for the last four years, and the work of Freret on + Geography, besides several other works of less interest. + From all this some idea may be formed of the labors and + usefulness of the institution.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>M. LEVERRIER, the astronomer, has published a long and able + argument in support of the free and universal use of the + electric telegraph. He has supplied a most instructive and + interesting exposition of the employment and utility of the + invention, in all the countries in which it has been + established. The American and the several European tariffs of + charge are appended. He explains the different systems, + scientific and practical, in detail, and gives the process and + proceeds. He observes that the practicability of laying the + wires <i>under</i> ground along all the great roads of France, + which will protect them from accidents and mischief, will yield + immense advantage to the Government and to individuals. He + appears to prefer Bain's Telegraph, for communication, to any + other, and minutely traces and develops its mechanism. A bill + before the French chambers, which he advocates, opens to the + public the use of the telegraph, but with various restrictions + calculated to prevent <i>revolutionary</i> or seditious abuses; + to prevent illicit speculations in the public funds, and other + bad purposes to which a free conveyance might be applied. The + director of the telegraph is to be empowered to refuse to + transmit what he shall deem repugnant to public order and good + morals, and the government to suspend at will all private + correspondence, on one or many lines.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>THE WORKS OF REV. LEONARD WOODS, D.D., lately Professor of + Theology in the Congregational Seminary of Andover, are in + course of publication, and the third and fourth volumes have + just appeared, completing the theological lectures of the + venerable Professor, making in all one hundred and + twenty-eight. In these, the student is furnished with a + complete body of divinity as generally received by the orthodox + denominations in New England, and has presented in a clear, + condensed manner, the matured results of a long life of thought + and study devoted to these subjects.</p> + + <p>The fourth volume is occupied with theological letters. The + first 121 pages contain those to Unitarians; next follows the + Reply to Dr. Ware's Letters to Unitarians and Calvinists, and + Remarks on Dr. Ware's Answer, a series remarkable for courtesy + and kindness toward opponents, and clearness and faithfulness + in the expression of what was regarded as truth. Following + these, are eight letters to Dr. Taylor of New Haven; An + Examination of the Doctrine of Perfection, as held by Mr. Mahan + and others, and a letter to Mr. Mahan; A Dissertation on + Miracles, and the Course of Theological Study as pursued at the + Seminary at Andover. One more volume will complete the works of + this long active and eminent divine.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>THE REV. ORVILLE DEWEY, D.D., we learn from the + correspondence of the <i>Christian Inquirer</i>, is living upon + the farm where he was born, in Sheffield, Massachusetts, + having, in the successive improvements of many years, converted + the original house into an irregular but most comfortable and + pleasant dwelling. The view from the back piazza is as fine as + can be commanded anywhere in Berkshire, and should the shifting + channel of the Housatonic only be accommodating enough to wind + a little nearer the house, or even suffer some not impossible + stoppage which would convert the marshy meadow in front into a + lake, nothing can be conceived of which could then improve the + situation. In this lovely retirement, Dr. Dewey endeavors to + unite labor and study; working with his own hands, with hoe and + rake, in a way to surprise those who only know how he can + handle a pen. He is preparing, in a leisurely way, for a course + of Lectures for the Lowell Institute, upon a theme admirably + suited to his previous studies, and in which it is evident his + whole mind and heart are bound up. We are glad to know that it + is not until winter after next that this work must be taken + from the anvil.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>DR. HOOKER, we learn, has again proceeded to a new and + unexplored region in India, in the prosecution of his important + botanical labors. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page235" + id="page235"></a>[pg 235]</span> THE AUTHOR OF THE AMBER + WITCH, the Pomeranian pastor, Meinhold, has been condemned + to three months' imprisonment, and a fine of one hundred + thalers, besides costs, for slander against another + clergyman named Stosch, in a communication published in the + <i>New Prussian Zeitung</i>. The sentence was rendered more + severe than usual in such cases by the fact that Meinhold, + who appears to possess more talent than temper, had + previously been condemned for the same offense against + another party. The <i>Amber Witch</i> is one of the + "curiosities of literature", for in the last German edition + the author is obliged to prove that it is entirely a work of + imagination, and not, as almost all the German critics + believed it to be when it appeared, the reprint of an old + chronicle. It was, in fact, written as a trap for the + disciples of Strauss and his school, who had pronounced the + Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be a collection, + of legends, from historical research, assisted by "internal + evidence". Meinhold did not spare them when they fell into + the snare, and made merry with the historical knowledge and + critical acumen that could not detect the contemporary + romancer under the mask of the chronicler of two centuries + ago, while they decided so positively as to the authority of + the most ancient writings in the world. He has been in + prison before.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>"THE NIGHT SIDE OF NATURE<a id="footnotetag1" + name="footnotetag1"></a><a href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a>", + by Catharine Crowe, so well known as one of the cleverest of + the younger set of literary women in England, we have + already mentioned as in the press of Mr. Redfield; it is now + published, and we commend it as one of the most entertaining + and curious works that has ever appeared on the "wonders of + the invisible world". We quote from the judicious critic of + the <i>Tribune</i> the following paragraphs in regard to + it:</p> + + <p>"The author of this work is an accomplished German scholar. + Without being a slave to the superstitious love of marvels and + prodigies, her mind evidently leans toward the twilight sphere, + which lies beyond the acknowledged boundaries of either faith + or knowledge. She seems to be entirely free from the sectarian + spirit; she can look at facts impartially, without reference to + their bearing on favorite dogmas; nor does she claim such a + full, precise and completely-rounded acquaintance with the + mysteries of the spiritual world, whether from intuition or + revelation, as not to believe that there may be more "things in + heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophy." In this + respect, it must be owned that she has not the advantage of + certain religious journals in this city, like the <i>Christian + Inquirer</i> and <i>The Independent</i>, for + instance—which have been so fully initiated into the + secrets of universal truth as to regard all inquiry into such + subjects either as too vulgar for a Christian gentleman, + <i>comme il faut</i>, or as giving a "sanction to the atheistic + delusion that there may be a spiritual or supernatural agency" + in manifestations which are not accounted for by the + New-England Primer. Mrs. Crowe, on the contrary, supposes that + there may be something worthy of philosophical investigation in + those singular phenomena, which, surpassing the limits of usual + experience, have not yet found any adequate explanation.</p> + + <p>"The phrase 'Night Side of Nature' is borrowed from the + Germans, who derive it from the language of astronomers, + designating the side of a planet that is turned from the sun, + as its night side. The Germans draw a parallel between our + vague and misty perceptions, when deprived of the light of the + sun, and the obscure and uncertain glimpses we obtain of the + vailed department of nature, of which, though comprising the + solution of the most important questions, we are in a state of + almost total ignorance. In writing a book on these subjects, + the author disclaims the intention of enforcing any didactic + opinions. She wishes only to suggest inquiry and stimulate + observation, in order to gain all possible light on our + spiritual nature, both as it now exists in the flesh and is to + exist hereafter out of it.</p> + + <p>"It is but justice to say, that the present volume is a + successful realization of the purpose thus announced. It + presents as full a collection of facts on the subject as is + probably to be found in any work in the English language, + furnishing materials for the formation of theoretic views, and + illustrating an obscure but most interesting chapter in the + marvelous history of human nature. It is written with perfect + modesty, and freedom from pretense, doing credit to the ability + of the author as a narrator, as well as to her fairness and + integrity as a reasoner."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>MR. MILNE EDWARDS presented at a recent meeting of the + <i>Academy of Sciences</i>, in the name of the Prince of + Canino, (C. Bonaparte), the first part of the Prince's large + work, <i>Conspectus Generum Avium</i>.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>M. GUIZOT has addressed a long letter to each of the five + classes of the Institute of France, to declare that he cannot + accept the candidateship offered him for a seat in the Superior + Council of Public Instruction.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON is to be a candidate for the House + of Commons, with Col. Sibthorp, for Lincoln. He has a new play + forthcoming for the Princess's Theatre.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>MISS STRICKLAND has in preparation a series of volumes on + the Queens of Scotland, as a companion to her, interesting and + successful work on the Queens of England.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>THE MARQUIS DE FOUDRAS has published <i>Un Caprice de Grande + Dame</i>—clever, but as corrupt as her other works.</p> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page236" + id="page236"></a>[pg 236]</span> + + <p>MR. HERBERT'S NEW BOOKS.—The <i>Southern Quarterly + Review</i> for July has the following notice of "Frank + Forester's Fish and Fishing in the United States and British + Provinces," recently published by Stringer & Townsend:</p> + + <p>"There are few of our writers so variously endowed and + accomplished as Mr. Herbert; of a mind easily warmed and + singularly enthusiastic, the natural bent of his talent + inclines him to romance. He has accordingly given us several + stories abounding in stately scenes, and most impressive + portraiture. Well skilled in the use of the mother tongue, as + in the broad fields of classical literature, he has written + essays of marked eloquence, and criticisms of excellent + discrimination and a keen and thorough insight. His + contributions to our periodicals have been even more happy than + his fictions. With a fine imagination, he inherits a + <i>penchant</i> and a capacity for poetry, which has enabled + him to throw off, without an effort, some of the most graceful + fugitive effusions which have been written in America. His + accomplishments are as various as his talents. He can paint a + landscape as sweetly as he can describe it in words. He is a + sportsman of eager impulse, and relishes equally well the + employments of the fisherman and hunter. He is a naturalist, as + well as a sportsman, and brings, to aid his practice and + experience, a large knowledge, from study, of the habits of + birds, beasts and fishes. He roves land and sea in this + pursuit, forest and river, and turns, with equal ease and + readiness, from a close examination of Greek and Roman + literature, to an emulous exercise of all the arts which have + afforded renown to the aboriginal hunter. The volume before + us—one of many which he has given to this + subject—is one of singular interest to the lover of the + rod and angle. It exhibits, on every page, a large personal + knowledge of the finny tribes in all the northern portions of + our country, and well deserves the examination of those who + enjoy such pursuits and pastimes. The author's pencil has + happily illustrated the labors of his pen. His portraits of the + several fishes of the United States are exquisitely well done + and truthful. It is our hope, in future pages, to furnish an + ample review of this, and other interesting volumes, of similar + character, from the hand of our author. We have drawn to them + the attention of some rarely endowed persons of our own region, + who, like our author, unite the qualities of the writer and the + sportsman; from whom we look to learn in what respects the + habits and characters of northern fish differ from our own, and + thus supply the deficiency of the work before us. The title of + this work is rather too general. The author's knowledge of the + fish, and of fishing, in the United States, is almost wholly + confined to the regions north of the Chesapeake, and he falls + into the error, quite too common to the North, of supposing + this region to be the whole country. Another each volume as + that before us will be necessary to do justice to the Southern + States, whose possessions, in the finny tribes of sea and + river, are of a sort to shame into comparative insignificance + all the boasted treasures of the North. It would need but few + pages in our review, from the proper hands, to render this very + apparent to the reader. Meanwhile, we exhort him to seek the + book of Mr. Herbert, as a work of much interest and authority, + so far as it goes."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>MR. PUTNAM is preparing some elegantly embellished works for + the holiday season. Among others, an edition, in octavo, of + Miss Fenimore Cooper's charming <i>Rural Hours</i>, embellished + by twenty finely-colored drawings of birds and flowers; <i>The + Picturesque Souvenir</i>, or Letters of a Traveler in Europe + and America, by Bryant, embellished by a series of + finely-executed engravings; and <i>The Alhambra</i>, by + Washington Irving, with designs by Darley, uniform with the + splendid series of Mr. Irving's Illustrated Works, some time in + course of publication. We have also seen a specimen copy of a + superbly illustrated edition of <i>The Pilgrim's Progress</i>, + printed on cream-colored paper, as smooth as ivory; and the + exquisite designs by Harvey, nearly three hundred in number, + are among the most effective ever attempted for the elucidation + of this first of all allegories. Professor Sweetser's new work, + <i>Menial Hygiene</i>, or an Examination of the Intellect and + Passions, designed to illustrate their Influence on Health and + the Duration of Life, will be published in the course of the + present month. Professor Church's <i>Treatise on Integral and + Differential Calculus</i>, a revised edition; <i>The + Companion</i>, or <i>After Dinner Table Talk</i>, by Chelwood + Evelyn, with a fine portrait of Sydney Smith; <i>The History of + Propellers, and Steam Navigation</i>, illustrated by + engravings: a manual, said to combine much valuable information + on the subjects, derived from the most authentic sources, by + Mr. Robert MacFarlane, editor of the <i>Scientific + American</i>; and Mr. Ridner's <i>Artist's Chromatic Hand-Book, + or Manual of Colors</i>, will also be speedily issued by the + same publisher. Mr. Putnam's own production, <i>The World's + Progress, or Dictionary of Dates</i>, containing a + comprehensive manual of reference in facts, or epitome of + historical and general statistical knowledge, with a corrected + chronology, &c., is expected to appear in a few weeks. Mr. + Theodore Irving's <i>Conquest of Florida</i> is also in + progress.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>It is said that Meyerbeer has already completed a grand + opera with the title of <i>L'Africaine</i>, and is now engaged + on a comic opera. This is probably nothing more than one of the + trumpets which this composer knows so well how to blow + beforehand. Meyerbeer is not greater in music than in the art + of tickling public expectation and keeping the public aware of + his existence.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The <i>Lorgnette</i> has just appeared in a volume.</p> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page237" + id="page237"></a>[pg 237]</span> + + <h2>Recent Deaths.</h2> + <hr /> + + <h3>AUGUSTUS WILLIAM NEANDER.</h3> + + <p>OF this most eminent Christian scholar of the nineteenth + century, <i>The Tribune</i> furnishes the following brief + sketch. "The name of JOHANN AUGUST WILHELM NEANDER is familiar + to a large number of our countrymen, both on account of his + important contributions to the science of theology, and his + personal intimacy with many of our eminent scholars, who have + enjoyed the benefit of his instructions, or who have made his + acquaintance while pursuing their travels in Germany. Although + he had attained a greater age than might have been anticipated + from his habits as a confirmed invalid, being in his + sixty-second year, his decease cannot be announced without + causing an emotion of surprise and regret to a numerous circle + who recognized in him one of the most faithful and + conscientious Christian teachers of the present day.</p> + + <p>"NEANDER, as it is well known, was descended from Jewish + parents, by whom he was instructed in the rudiments of + religion, and at a subsequent period of life became a convert + to the Christian faith, by personal inquiry and experience. He + was born at Göttingen, in 1789, but passed a considerable + portion of his youth at Hamburg, where he was initiated into + the rudiments of a classical education. After he had made a + profession of Christianity, he continued his studies for a + short time at the Universities of Halle and Göttingen, returned + to Hamburg, and finally completed his University career at + Heidelberg. The following year he was called to the University + of Berlin, as Professor of Theology, where he soon gave promise + of the brilliant eminence which he has since attained. His + first publications were on special topics of ecclesiastical + history, including treatises on 'The Emperor Julian and his + Age,' 'St. Bernard and his Age,' 'The Development of the + Principal Systems of the Gnostics,' 'St. Chrysostom and the + Church in his Age,' and 'The Spirit of Tertullian,' with an + 'Introduction to his Writings.' These treatises are remarkable + monuments of diligence, accuracy, profoundness of research and + breadth of comprehension, showing the same intellectual + qualities which were afterward signally exhibited in the + composition of his masterly volumes on the history of the + Christian Religion. His earliest production in this department + had for its object to present the most important facts in + Church history, in a form adapted to the great mass of readers, + without aiming at scientific precision or completeness. This + attempt was eminently successful. The first volume of his great + work entitled 'General History of the Church and the Christian + Religion,' was published in 1825, and it was not till twenty + years afterward that the work was brought to a close. The + appearance of this work formed a new epoch in ecclesiastical + history. It at once betrayed the power of a bold and original + mind. Instead of consisting of a meager and arid collection of + facts, without scientific order, without any vital coherence or + symmetry, and without reference to the cardinal elements of + Christian experience, the whole work, though singularly chaste + and subdued in its tone, throbs with the emotions of genuine + life, depicting the influence of Christianity as a school for + the soul, and showing its radiant signatures of Divinity in its + moral triumphs through centuries.</p> + + <p>"His smaller work on the first development of Christianity + in the Apostolic Age is marked by the same spirited + characteristics, while his 'Life of Jesus' is an able defense + of the historical verity of the sacred narrative against the + ingenious and subtle suggestions of Strauss.</p> + + <p>"The writings and theological position of NEANDER have been + fully brought before the American public by Profs. ROBINSON, + TORREY, McCLINTOCK, SEARS, and other celebrated scholars who + have done much to diffuse a knowledge of the learned labors of + Germany among intelligent thinkers in our own country. NEANDER + was free from the reproach which attaches to so many of his + fellow laborers, of covertly undermining the foundation of + Christianity, under the pretense of placing it on a + philosophical basis. His opinions are considered strictly + evangelical, though doubtless embodied in a modified form. In + regard to the extent and soundness of his learning, the + clearness of his perceptions, and the purity and nobleness of + his character, there can be but one feeling among those who are + qualified to pronounce a judgment on the subject.</p> + + <p>"NEANDER was never married. He was the victim of almost + constant ill health. In many of his personal habits he was + peculiar and eccentric. With the wisdom of a sage, he combined + the simplicity of a child. Many amusing anecdotes are related + of his oddities in the lecture-room, which will serve to + enliven the biography that will doubtless be prepared at an + early date. We have received no particulars concerning his + death, which is said to have been announced by private letters + to friends in Boston."</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>JACOB JONES, U.S.N.</h3> + + <p>COMMODORE JACOB JONES, of the United States Navy, died in + Philadelphia on the 6th inst. He was born in Smyrna, Kent + county, Delaware, in the year 1770, and was therefore, eighty + years of age. He was of an eminently respectable family, and + commenced life as a physician, having studied the profession at + the University of Pennsylvania. He afterward became clerk of + the Supreme Court of Delaware for his native county. When about + twenty-nine years old he entered the navy, and made his first + cruises under Commodore Barry. He was a midshipman on board the + frigate United States, when she bore to France Chief Justice + Ellsworth and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page238" + id="page238"></a>[pg 238]</span> General Davie, as envoys + extraordinary to the French Republic. He was next appointed + to the Ganges as midshipman. On the breaking out of the war + with Tripoli, he was stationed on the frigate Philadelphia, + under Commodore Bainbridge. The disaster which befell that + ship and her crew before Tripoli, forms a solemn page in our + naval history; atoned, however, by the brilliant + achievements to which it gave rise. Twenty months of severe + captivity among a barbarous people, and in a noxious + climate, neither broke the spirit nor impaired the + constitution of Jones. Blest by nature with vigorous health + and an invincible resolution, when relieved from bondage by + the bravery of his countrymen, he returned home full of life + and ardor. He was soon after promoted to a lieutenancy. He + was now for some time employed on the Orleans station, where + he conducted himself with his usual judgment and propriety, + and was a favorite in the polite circles of the Orleans and + Mississippi territories. He was shortly after appointed to + the command of the brig Argus, stationed for the protection + of our commerce on the southern maritime frontier. In this + situation he acted with vigilance and fidelity, and though + there were at one time insidious suggestions to the + contrary, it has appeared that he conformed to his + instructions, promoted the public interest, and gave entire + satisfaction to the government. In 1811, he was transferred + to the command of the sloop-of-war Wasp, mounting eighteen + twenty-four pound carronades, and dispatched, in the spring + of 1812, with communications to the courts of St. Cloud and + St. James. Before he returned, war had been declared against + Great Britain. He refitted his ship with all possible + dispatch, and repaired to sea, but met with no other good + fortune than the capture of an inconsiderable prize. He next + sailed from Philadelphia on the 13th of October, and on the + 18th of the same month encountered a heavy gale, during + which the Wasp lost her jibboom and two seamen. On the + following night, the watch discovered five strange sail + steering eastward. The Wasp hauled to the windward and + closely watched their movements until daylight next morning, + when it was found that they were six large merchant vessels + under convoy of a sloop of war. The former were well manned, + two of them mounting sixteen guns each. Notwithstanding the + apparent disparity of force. Captain Jones determined to + hazard an attack; and as the weather was boisterous, and the + swell of the sea unusually high, he ordered down top-gallant + yards, closely reefed the top-sails, and prepared for + action. We cannot give a detail of this brilliant + engagement, which resulted in the capture of the Frolic. It + was one of the most daring and determined actions in our + naval history. The force of the Frolic consisted of sixteen + thirty-two pound carronades, four twelve-pounders on the + maindeck, and two twelve-pound carronades. Both vessels had + more men than was essential to their efficiency; but while + there was an equality of strength in the crews, there was an + inequality in the number of guns and weight of + metal—the Frolic having four twelve-pounders more than + the Wasp. The exact number of killed and wounded on board + the Frolic could not be ascertained with any degree of + precision; but, from the admissions of the British officers, + it was supposed that their loss in killed was about thirty, + including two officers, and in wounded, between forty and + fifty. The captain and every other officer on board were + more or less severely wounded. The Wasp sustained a loss of + only five men killed, and five wounded.</p> + + <p>While erecting jurymasts on board the Frolic, soon after, a + suspicious sail was seen to windward, upon which Captain Jones + directed Lieutenant Biddle to shape her course for Charleston, + or any other port of the United States, while the Wasp should + continue upon her cruise. The sail coming down rapidly, both + vessels prepared for action, but it was soon discovered, to the + mortification of the victors in this well-fought action, that + the new enemy was a seventy-four, which proved to be the + Poictiers, commanded by Admiral Beresford. Firing a shot over + the Frolic, she passed her, and soon overhauled the Wasp, + which, in her crippled state, was unable to escape. Both + vessels were thus captured, and carried into Bermuda. After a + few weeks, a cartel was proposed by which the officers and crew + of the Wasp were conveyed to New York. On the return of Captain + Jones to the United States, he was everywhere received with + demonstrations of respect for the skill and gallantry displayed + in his combat with the enemy. The legislature of Delaware gave + him a vote of thanks, and a piece of plate. On the motion of + James A. Bayard, of Delaware, Congress appropriated twenty-five + thousand dollars, as a compensation to the commander, his + officers, and crew, for the loss they had sustained by the + recapture of the Frolic. They also voted a gold medal to the + Captain, and a silver medal to each of his commissioned + officers. As a farther evidence of the confidence of + government, Captain Jones was ordered to the command of the + frigate Macedonian, recently captured from the British by + Decatur. She was rapidly fitted out under his direction, in the + harbor of New York, and proposed for one of Decatur's squadron, + which was about to sail on another expedition. In May 1811, the + squadron attempted to put to sea, but, in sailing up Long + Island Sound, encountered a large British force, which + compelled the United States vessels to retreat into New London. + In this situation the enemy continued an uninterrupted blockade + during the war. Finding it impossible to avoid the vigilance of + Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded the blockading fleet, the + government ordered Captain Jones to proceed with his officers + and crew to Sackett's Harbor, and report to Commodore + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page239" + id="page239"></a>[pg 239]</span> Chauncey, as commander of + the frigate Mohawk, on lake Ontario. There the Americans + maintained an ascendency, and continued to cruise until + October, when the British squadron, under Sir James Yeo, + left Kingston, with a greatly superior force, which caused + the United States squadron to return to Sackett's Harbor. It + seemed, indeed, that the contest now depended on the + exertions of the ship carpenters. Two line of battle ships + were placed on the stocks, and were advancing rapidly to + completion, when, in February 1815, the news of peace + arrived, with orders to suspend further operations on these + vessels. A few weeks after the peace was announced, Captain + Jones with his officers and crew was ordered to repair to + the seaboard, and again to take command of the Macedonian, + to form part of the force against the Algerines, then + depredating on our commerce in the Mediterranean. As soon as + the Algerian Regency was informed that war existed between + the United States and Great Britain, the Dey dispatched his + cruisers to capture all American merchant vessels. To punish + these freebooters, nine or ten vessels were fitted out and + placed under Decatur. This armament sailed from New York in + May, 1815, and when off Cadiz was informed that the + Algerines were along the southern coast of Spain. Two days + after reaching the Mediterranean, the United States squadron + fell in with and captured the Algerine frigate Messuado, + mounting forty-six guns, and the next day captured a large + brig of war, both of which were carried into the port of + Carthagena, in Spain. The American squadron then proceeded + to the bay of Algiers, where its sudden and unexpected + appearance excited no slight surprise and alarm in the + Regency. The Dey reluctantly yielded to every demand to him; + he restored the value of the property belonging to American + merchants which he had seized, released all the prisoners he + had captured, and relinquished forever all claims on the + annual tribute which he had received. After having thus + terminated the war with Algiers, and formed an advantageous + treaty, the squadron proceeded to other Barbary capitals, + and adjusted some minor difficulties, which, however, were + of importance to our merchants. After touching at several of + the islands in the Mediterranean, at Naples, and at Malaga, + the entire force came back to the United States early in + December. From this period till his death, no event of much + importance distinguished the career of Commodore Jones. He + was, however, almost constantly employed in various + responsible positions, his appointment to which evinced the + confidence government placed in his talents and discretion. + In 1821, he took the command of a squadron, for the + protection of our trade in the Mediterranean, in which he + continued for three years. On his return he was offered a + seat in the Board of Navy Commissioners, but, finding bureau + duties irksome, he accepted, in 1826, the command of our + navy in the Pacific, where he also continued three years, + Afterward he was placed in command of the Baltimore station, + where he remained, with the exception of a short interval, + until transferred to the harbor of New York. Since 1847, he + had held the place of Governor of the United States Naval + Asylum, on the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia.</p> + <hr /> + + <h3>JULIA BETTERTON GLOVER.</h3> + + <p>An actress who has been admired and respected by three + generations of play-goers has quitted the stage of life in the + person of Mrs. Glover. The final exit was somewhat sudden, as + it seemed to the general public; but it was anticipated by her + friends. A friendly biographer in the <i>Morning Chronicle</i> + explains the circumstances; first referring to the + extraordinary manifestations of public feeling which attended + Mrs. Glover's last farewell, at Drury-Lane Theater, on Friday, + the 12th of July.</p> + + <p>"In our capacity of spectators we did not then see occasion + to mention what had otherwise come to our knowledge—that + the evidences of extreme suffering manifested by Mrs. Glover on + that evening—her inability to go through her part, except + as a mere shadow of her former self, and the substitution of an + apologetic speech from Mr. Leigh Murray for the address which + had been written for her by a well-known and talented amateur + of the drama—arose not merely from the emotion natural on + a farewell night, after more than half a century of active + public service, but also from extreme physical debility, the + result of an attack of illness of a wasting character, which + had already confined that venerable lady to her bed for many + days. In fact, it was only the determination of Mrs. Glover + herself not to disappoint the audience, who had been invited + and attracted for many weeks before, that overruled the + remonstrances of her friends and family against her appearing + at all. She was then utterly unfit to appear on the stage in + her professional character, and the most serious alarm was felt + lest there should be some sudden and fatal catastrophe. The + result of the struggle of feeling she then underwent, + superadded as it was to the physical causes which had + undermined her strength, was, that Mrs. Glover sunk under the + disease which had been consuming her, and quitted this life on + Monday night."</p> + + <p>Mrs. Glover, born Julia Betterton, was daughter of an actor + named Betterton, who held a good position on the London stage + toward the close of the last century. She is said to have been + a lineal descendant of the great actor of the same name. Her + birthday was the 8th January, 1781. Brought up, as most of our + great actors and actresses have been, "at the wings," she was + even in infancy sent on the stage in children's parts. She + became attached to the company of Tate Wilkinson, for whom she + played, at York, the part of the <i>Page</i> in <i>The + Orphan</i>; and she <span class="pagenum"><a name="page240" + id="page240"></a>[pg 240]</span> also exercised her juvenile + talents in the part of <i>Tom Thumb</i>, for the benefit of + George Frederick Cooke, who on the occasion doffed his + tragic garb and appeared in the character of + <i>Glumdalcar</i>. Another character which she played + successfully with Cooke was that of the little <i>Duke of + York</i> in <i>Richard the Third</i>; into which, it is + recorded, she threw a degree of spirit and childish + roguishness that acted as a spur on the great tragedian + himself, who never performed better than when seconded by + his childish associate. In 1796 she had attained such a + position in the preparatory school of the provincial + circuits, chiefly at Bath, that she was engaged at Covent + Garden; in the first instance at £10 a week, and ultimately + for five years at £15 a week, rising to £20; terms then + thought "somewhat extraordinary and even exorbitant". Miss + Betterton first appeared in London in October 1797, + fifty-three years ago, as <i>Elvira</i>, in Hannah More's + tragedy of <i>Percy</i>. Her success was great; and in a + short time she had taken such a hold of popular favor, that + when Mrs. Abington returned for a brief period to the stage, + Miss Betterton held her ground against the rival attraction, + and even secured the admiration of Mrs. Abington herself. + Her subsequent engagements were at Drury-Lane and + Covent-Garden alternately, till she made that long + engagement at the Haymarket, during which she has become + best known to the present generation of playgoers. Her more + recent brief engagement with Mr. Anderson, at Drury-Lane, + and her last one with Mr. W. Farren, at the Strand Theater, + whither she contributed so much to attract choice audiences, + are fresh in the memory of metropolitans. Looking back to + Mrs. Glover's "long and brilliant career upon the stage, we + may pronounce her one of the most extraordinary women and + accomplished actresses that have ever graced the profession + of the drama." Mrs. Glover had a daughter, Phillis, a very + clever young actress, at the Haymarket Theater, who has been + dead several years. Her two sons are distinguished, the one + as a popular musical composer, and the other as a clever + tragedian—the latter with considerable talent, also, + as an amateur painter.</p> + + <p>A London correspondent of the <i>Spirit of the Times</i> + gives an interesting account of the Glover benefit, and the + "last scenes."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>MADAME GAVAUDAN is dead. To many it will be necessary to + explain that Madame Gavaudan was, in her time, one of the most + favorite singing-actresses and acting songstresses belonging to + the <i>Opéra Comique</i> of Paris; and that, after many years + of popularity, she retired from the stage in 1823.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>GENERAL BERTHAND, Baron de Sivray, died early in July at + Luc, in France, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. He was an + officer before the first revolution, and served through all the + wars of the Republic and the Empire.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>ROBERT R. BAIRD, a son of the Rev. Dr. Baird, and a young + man of amiable character and considerable literary abilities, + which had been illustrated for the most part, we believe, in + translation, was drowned in the North River at Yonkers on + Tuesday evening, the 6th instant, about seven o'clock. The + deceased had gone into the water to bathe in company with + several others, and was carried by the rising tide into deep + water, where, as he could swim but little, he sunk to rise no + more, before help could reach him. This premature and sudden + death has overwhelmed his parents and friends in the deepest + distress. He was twenty-five years old.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>THE DEATH OF MR. S. JOSEPH, the sculptor, known by his + statue of Wilberforce in Westminster Abbey and his statue of + Wilkie in the National Gallery, is mentioned in the English + papers. His busts exhibit a fine perception of character, and + many a delicate grace in the modeling. Mr. Joseph was long a + resident in Edinburgh. He modeled a bust of Sir Walter Scott + about the same time that Chantrey modeled his—that bust + which best preserves to us the features and character of the + great novelist.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>JAMES WRIGHT, author of the <i>Philosophy of Elocution</i> + and other works chiefly of a religious character, died at + Brighton, England, on the 9th of July, aged 68.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>SIR THOMAS WILDE, who has just been promoted to the + Woolsack, as Baron Truro, we learn from the <i>Illustrated + News</i>, was born in 1782. After practicing as an attorney, he + was called to the bar by the Honorable Society of the Inner + Temple, the 7th February, 1817. He joined the Western Circuit, + and soon rose into considerable practice. His knowledge of the + law, combined with his great eloquence, made him one of the + most successful advocates of his time. He was for many years + the confidential and legal adviser of the late Alderman Sir + Matthew Wood, and his connection with that gentleman caused him + to be engaged as one of the senior counsel for the Queen on the + celebrated trial of Queen Caroline. Though surrounded by rivals + of the highest eminence and the brightest fame, Wilde always + stood among the foremost, and obtained briefs in some of the + greatest causes ever tried. For instance, he was engaged on the + winning side in the famous action of Small v. Atwood, in which + his fees are said to have amounted to something enormous. In + 1824 he became a sergeant-at-law; and he was appointed King's + Sergeant in 1827, and Solicitor-General in 1839, when he + received the honor of knighthood. In 1841 he first became + Attorney-General; and after a second time holding that office, + he succeeded the late Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal, as Lord + Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. His recent appointment as + Lord Chancellor places him at the very summit of his + profession.</p> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page241" + id="page241"></a>[pg 241]</span> + + <h4>[From the <i>London Ladies' Companion</i>.]</h4> + + <h2>THE MORNING SONG.</h2> + + <h4>BY BARRY CORNWALL.</h4> + + <p>A new "English Song," by Barry Cornwall, is now—more's + the pity—a too rare event in the musical year. We are at + once doing our readers a pleasure, and owning a welcome + kindness, in publishing, by the author's permission, these + words, set by M. Benedict, and sung by Madame Sontag.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>The world is waking into light;</p> + + <p class="i2">The dark and sullen night hath flown:</p> + + <p>Life lives and re-assumes its might,</p> + + <p class="i2">And nature smiles upon her throne.</p> + + <p class="i4">And the Lark,</p> + + <p class="i4">Hark!</p> + + <p class="i2"><i>She</i> gives welcome to the day,</p> + + <p class="i2">In a merry, merry, lay,</p> + + <p class="i2">Tra la!—lira, lira, lira, la!</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Soft sounds are sailing through the air;</p> + + <p class="i2">Sweet sounds are springing from the + stream;</p> + + <p>And fairest things, where all is fair,</p> + + <p class="i2">Join gently in the grateful theme.</p> + + <p class="i4">And the Lark, &c., &c.</p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>The morn, the morn is in the skies;</p> + + <p class="i2">The reaper singeth from the corn;</p> + + <p>The shepherd on the hills replies;</p> + + <p class="i2">And all things now salute the morn,</p> + + <p class="i4">Even the Lark, &c., &c.</p> + </div> + </div> + <hr /> + + <h4>[From Eliza Cook's Journal.]</h4> + + <h2>A LESSON.</h2> + + <p>If society ever be wholly corrupted, it will be by the idea + that it is already so. Some cynics believe in virtue, + sincerity, and happiness, only as traditions of the past, and + by ridicule seek to propagate the notion. This vain and + pedantic philosophy would turn all hearts to stone, and arm + every man with suspicion against all others, declaiming against + the romance of life, as empty sentimentalism; against the + belief in goodness, as youth's sanguine folly; and the hope of + pure happiness, as a fanciful dream, created by a young + imagination, to be dissipated by the teaching of a few years' + struggle with the world.</p> + + <p>If this be wisdom, I am no philosopher, and I never wish to + be one; for sooner would I float upon the giddy current of + fancy, to fall among quicksands at last, than travel through a + dull and dreary world, without confidence in my companions. + That we may be happy, that we may find sincere friends, that we + may meet the good, and enjoy the beautiful on earth, is a creed + that will find believers in all hearts unsoured by their own + asceticism. Virtue will sanctify every fireside where we invite + her to dwell, and if the clouds of misfortune darken and deform + the whole period of our existence, it is a darkness that + emanates from ourselves, and a deformity created by us to our + own unhappiness.</p> + + <p>Yet this is not relating the little story which is the + object of my observations. The axiom which I wish to lay down, + to maintain, and to prove correct, is, that married life may be + with most people, should be with all, and is with many, a state + of happiness. The reader may smile at my boldness, but the + history of the personages I shall introduce to walk their hour + on this my little stage, will justify my adopting the + maxim.</p> + + <p>M. Pierre Lavalles, owner of a vineyard, near a certain + village in the south of France, wooed and wedded Mdlle. Julie + Gouchard. Exactly where they dwelt, and all the precise + circumstances of their position, I do not mean to indicate, and + if I might offer a hint to my contemporaries, it would be a + gentle suggestion that they occupy too much time, paper, and + language in geographical and genealogical details, very + wearisome, because very unnecessary. Monsieur Pierre Lavalles + then lived in a pretty house, near a certain village in a + vine-growing district of the south of France, and when he took + his young wife home, he showed her great stores of excellent + things, calculated well for the comfortable subsistence of a + youthful and worthy couple. Flowers and blossoming trees shed + odor near the lattice windows, verdure soft and green was + spread over the garden, and the mantling vine "laid forth the + purple grape," over a rich and sunny plantation near at hand. + The house was small, but neat, and well furnished in the style + of the province, and Monsieur and Madame Pierre Lavalles lived + very happily in plenty and content.</p> + + <p>Here I leave them, and introduce the reader to Monsieur + Antoine Perron, notary in the neighboring village.</p> + + <p>Let me linger over a notice of this individual. He was a + good man, and what is more curious an honest lawyer. Indeed, in + spite of my happy theory, I may say that such a good man, and + such a good lawyer you could seldom meet. All the village knew + him; he mixed up in every one's quarrels; not, as is usually + the case, to make confusion worse confounded by a + double-tongued hypocrisy, but to produce conciliation; he + mingled in every one's affairs, not to pick up profit for + himself, but to prevent the villagers from running into losses + and imprudent speculations; he talked much, yet, it was not + slander, but advice; he thought more, yet it was not over + mischief, but on schemes of good; he was known to everybody, + yet none that knew him respected him the less on that account. + He was a little, spare, merry-looking man, that sought to + appear grave when he was most inclined to merriment, and if he + considered himself a perfect genius in his plans for effecting + good, his vanity may be pardoned, because of the food it fed + on.</p> + + <p>M. Antoine Perron considered himself very ingenious, and if + he had a fault, it was his love of originality. He never liked + to perform any action in a common way, and never chuckled so + gaily to himself, as when he had achieved some charitable end + by some extraordinary means.</p> + + <p>It was seven months after the marriage of M. Pierre + Lavalles, M. Antoine Perron sat in his little parlor, and gazed + with a glad eye upon the cheerful fire, for the short winter + was just terminating. Leaning forward in his chair, he shaded + his face with his hands, and steadily perused the figures among + the coals with a most pleasant countenance. The room was small, + neat, and comfortable, for the notary + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page242" + id="page242"></a>[pg 242]</span> prospered, in his humble + way and seeking only comfort found it, and was content.</p> + + <p>Suddenly a violent knocking at the door aroused him from his + reverie, and he heard his old servant rushing to open it. In a + moment, two persons were ushered into the room, and the notary + leaped to his feet in astonishment at the extraordinary scene + before him. Had a thunderbolt cloven the roof, and passed + through his hearth to its grave in the center of the globe, or + had the trees that nodded their naked branches without the + window commenced a dance upon the snowy ground, he had not been + more surprised.</p> + + <p>Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, and Madame Pierre Lavalles stood + just inside the doorway. Never had Monsieur Perron seen them + before, as he saw them now. Like turtle-doves, with smiling + eyes, and affectionate caress, they had lived in happy harmony + during the seven months of their married life, and motherly + dames, when they gave their daughters away, bade them prosper + and be pleasant in their union, as they had been joyous in + their love, pleasant and joyous, as neighbor Lavalles and his + wife.</p> + + <p>Now, Pierre stood red and angry, with his right arm + extended, gesticulating toward his wife. Julie stood red and + angry, with her left arm extended, gesticulating toward her + husband. Eyes, that had only radiated smiles, flashed with + fierce passion, as the turtle doves remained near the door, + each endeavoring to anticipate the other in some address to the + worthy notary. He, aghast and perplexed, waited for the + <i>denouement</i>.</p> + + <p>"Madame," said Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, "allow me to + speak."</p> + + <p>"Monsieur," said Madame Pierre Lavalles. "I + insist—"</p> + + <p>"But, Madame, it is my—"</p> + + <p>"But, Monsieur, I say I will."</p> + + <p>"And yet I will."</p> + + <p>"But no—"</p> + + <p>"Madame, I shall."</p> + + <p>"Then be careful what you do; M. Perron, M. Lavalles is + mad."</p> + + <p>Then the lady, having thus emphatically declared herself, + resigned the right of speech to her husband, who began to jerk + out in disconnected phrases a statement of his case. Seven days + ago he had annoyed his wife by some incautious word; she had + annoyed him by an incautious answer; he had made matters worse + by an aggravating retort; and she had widened the breach by a + bitter reply. This little squall was succeeded by a cool calm, + and that by a sullen silence, until some sudden friction + kindled a new flame, and finally, after successive storms and + lulls, there burst forth a furious conflagration, and in the + violent collision of their anger, the seven-months' married + pair vowed to separate, and with that resolve had visited M. + Perron. Reconciliation they declared was beyond possibility, + and they requested the notary at once to draw up the documents + that should consign them to different homes, to subsist on a + divided patrimony, in loveless and unhappy marriage. Each told + a tale in turn, and the manner of relation added fuel to the + anger of the other. The man and the woman seemed to have leaped + out of their nature in the accession of their passion. Pity + that a quarrel should ever dilate thus, from a cloud the size + of a man's hand to a thunder-storm that covers heaven with its + black and dismal canopy.</p> + + <p>Neither would listen to reason. The duty of the notary was + to prepare the process by which they were to be separated.</p> + + <p>"Monsieur," he said, "I will arrange the affair for you; but + you are acquainted with the laws of France in this + respect!"</p> + + <p>"I know nothing of the law," replied M. Pierre Lavalles.</p> + + <p>"Madame," said the notary, "your wish shall be complied + with. But you know what the law says on this head?"</p> + + <p>"I never read a law book," sharply ejaculated Madame Pierre + Lavalles.</p> + + <p>"Then," resumed the notary, "the case is this. You must + return to your house, and I will proceed to settle the + proceedings with the Judicatory Court at Paris. They are very + strict. You must furnish me with all the documents relative to + property."</p> + + <p>"I have them here," put in the husband, by way of + parenthesis.</p> + + <p>"And the whole affair including correspondence, preparations + of instruments, &c., will be settled in less than three + months."</p> + + <p>"Three months?"</p> + + <p>"Three months. Yes, in less than three months."</p> + + <p>"Then I will live with a friend at the village, until it is + finished," said Madame Lavalles, in a decided, peremptory tone, + usual with ladies when they are a little ashamed of themselves, + or any one else.</p> + + <p>"Oh, very well, Madame,—oh, very well."</p> + + <p>"Not at all well, Madame; not at all well, Monsieur," said + the notary, with a solid, immovable voice. "You must live as + usual. If you doubt my knowledge of the law, you will, by + reading through these seven books, find that this fact is + specified."</p> + + <p>But the irritated couple were not disposed to undertake the + somniferous task, and shortly left the house, as they had come, + walking the same way, but at a distance of a yard or so one + from another.</p> + + <p>Two months and twenty-seven days had passed, when the notary + issued from his house, and proceeded toward the house where + Monsieur and Madame Lavalles dwelt. Since the fatal night I + have described, he had not encountered them, and he now, with a + bland face and confident head, approached the dwelling.</p> + + <p>It was a pretty place. Passing through the sunny vineyards + where the spring was just calling out the leaves, and the young + shoots in their tints of tender green were sprouting in the + warmth of a pleasant day; the notary entered a garden. Here the + flowers, in infant bloom, had prepared the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page243" + id="page243"></a>[pg 243]</span> earth for the coming + season, for summer in her gay attire was tripping from the + south, and as she passed, nature wove garlands to adorn her + head, and wreathe about her arms. Early blossoms lent + sweetness to the breath of the idle winds that loitered in + this delightful spot, and the fair young primrose was sown + over the parterres, with other flowers of spring, the most + delicate and softly fragrant, that come out to live their + hour in modesty and safety, while the earth affords them + room, and before the bright and gaudy bloom of a riper + season eclipses their beauty, bidding them, blushing, close + their petals.</p> + + <p>Early roses twined on either side the porch, and as the + notary entered, nothing struck him more than the neat and + cheerful appearance of the place. A demoiselle ushered him into + a little parlor, where Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, and Madame + Julie Lavalles, had just sat down to partake breakfast.</p> + + <p>A small table was drawn up close to the open window, and + vernal breezes found welcome in the chamber. A snowy cloth hung + down to the well-polished floor, and tall white cups were + placed upon it to rival it in purity and grace. Cakes of bread, + such bread as is only had in France, with delicious butter, and + rich brown foaming coffee frothed with cream, were spread + before them, and a basket of fresh spring flowers, sparkling + with dew and beautifully odorous, scented the whole chamber + with a delicate perfume.</p> + + <p>The husband and wife sat side by side, with pleasant looks, + and so engaged in light and amiable conversation, that they + hardly noticed the entrance of the notary. The storm had + vanished and left no trace. Flushes of anger, flashes of spite, + quick breathings, and disordered looks—all these had + passed, and now smiles, and eyes lit only with kindness, and + bosoms beating with calm content, and looks all full of love, + were alone to be observed.</p> + + <p>When M. Antoine Perron entered, they started; at length, and + then recollecting his mission, blushed crimson, looked one at + another, and then at the ground, awaiting his address.</p> + + <p>"Monsieur, and Madame," said the notary, "according to your + desires I come with all the documents necessary for your + separation, and the division of your property. They only want + your signature, and we will call in your servant to be + witness."</p> + + <p>"Stay," exclaimed Madame Julie, laughing at her husband, + "Pierre, explain to M. Perron."</p> + + <p>"Ah, Monsieur Perron," said Monsieur Antoine Lavalles, "we + had forgotten that, and hoped you had also. Say not a word of + it to any one."</p> + + <p>"No, not a word," said Madame Julie. "We never quarreled but + once since we married, and we never mean to quarrel again."</p> + + <p>"Not unless you provoke it," said Monsieur Lavalles, + audaciously. "But M. Perron, you will take breakfast with + us?"</p> + + <p>"You're a wicked wretch," said Madame Julie, tapping him on + the cheek. "After breakfast, M. Perron, we will sign the + papers."</p> + + <p>"After breakfast," said M. Pierre Lavalles, "we will burn + them."</p> + + <p>"We shall see," said the notary. "Sign them or burn them. + Madame Julie Lavalles, your coffee is charming."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>After seven months' harmony, do not let seven days' quarrel + destroy the happiness of home. Do not follow the directions of + a person in a passion. Allow him to cool and consider his + purpose.</p> + <hr /> + + <h4>[From Dickens's Household Words.]</h4> + + <h2>DUST;</h2> + + <h3>OR UGLINESS REDEEMED.</h3> + + <p>On a murky morning in November, wind north-east, a poor old + woman with a wooden leg was seen struggling against the fitful + gusts of the bitter breeze, along a stony zigzag road, full of + deep and irregular cart-ruts. Her ragged petticoat was blue, + and so was her wretched nose. A stick was in her left hand, + which assisted her to dig and hobble her way along; and in her + other hand, supported also beneath her withered arm, was a + large rusty iron sieve. Dust and fine ashes filled up all the + wrinkles in her face; and of these there were a prodigious + number, for she was eighty-three years old. Her name was Peg + Dotting.</p> + + <p>About a quarter of a mile distant, having a long ditch and a + broken-down fence as a foreground, there rose against the + muddled-gray sky, a huge Dust-heap of a dirty black color, + being, in fact, one of those immense mounds of cinders, ashes, + and other emptyings from dust-holes and bins, which have + conferred celebrity on certain suburban neighborhoods of a + great city. Toward this dusky mountain old Peg Dotting was now + making her way.</p> + + <p>Advancing toward the Dust-heap by an opposite path, very + narrow, and just reclaimed from the mud by a thick layer of + freshly-broken flints, there came at the same time Gaffer + Doubleyear, with his bone-bag slung over his shoulder. The rags + of his coat fluttered in the east-wind, which also whistled + keenly round his almost rimless hat, and troubled his one eye. + The other eye, having met with an accident last week, he had + covered neatly with an oyster-shell, which was kept in its + place by a string at each side, fastened through a hole. He + used no staff to help him along, though his body was nearly + bent double, so that his face was constantly turned to the + earth, like that of a four-footed creature. He was ninety-seven + years of age. As these two patriarchal laborers approached the + great Dust-heap, a discordant voice hallooed to them from the + top of a broken wall. It was meant as a greeting of the + morning, and proceeded from little Jem Clinker, a poor deformed + lad, whose back had been broken when a child. His nose and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page244" + id="page244"></a>[pg 244]</span> chin were much too large + for the rest of his face, and he had lost nearly all his + teeth from premature decay. But he had an eye gleaming with + intelligence and life, and an expression at once patient and + hopeful. He had balanced his misshapen frame on the top of + the old wall, over which one shriveled leg dangled, as if by + the weight of a hob-nailed boot that covered a foot large + enough for a plowman.</p> + + <p>In addition to his first morning's salutation of his two + aged friends, he now shouted out in a tone of triumph and + self-gratulation, in which he felt assured of their + sympathy—</p> + + <p>"Two white skins, and a tor'shell-un!"</p> + + <p>It may be requisite to state that little Jem Clinker + belonged to the dead-cat department of the Dust-heap, and now + announced that a prize of three skins, in superior condition. + had rewarded him for being first in the field.</p> + + <p>He was enjoying a seat on the wall, in order to recover + himself from the excitement of his good fortune.</p> + + <p>At the base of the great Dust-heap the two old people now + met their young friend—a sort of great-grandson by mutual + adoption—and they at once joined the party who had by + this time assembled as usual, and were already busy at their + several occupations.</p> + + <p>But besides all these, another individual, belonging to a + very different class, formed a part of the scene, though + appearing only on its outskirts. A canal ran along at the rear + of the Dust-heap, and on the banks of its opposite side slowly + wandered by—with hands clasped and hanging down in front + of him, and eyes bent vacantly upon his hands—the forlorn + figure of a man, in a very shabby great-coat, which had + evidently once belonged to one in the position of a gentleman. + And to a gentleman it still belonged—but in <i>what</i> a + position! A scholar, a man of wit, of high sentiment, of + refinement, and a good fortune withal—now by a sudden + turn of law bereft of the last only, and finding that none of + the rest, for which (having his fortune) he had been so much + admired, enabled him to gain a livelihood. His title-deeds had + been lost or stolen, and so he was bereft of everything he + possessed. He had talents, and such as would have been + profitably available had he known how to use them for his new + purpose; but he did not; he was misdirected; he made fruitless + efforts in his want of experience; and he was now starving. As + he passed the great Dust-heap, he gave one vague, melancholy + gaze that way, and then looked wistfully into the canal. And he + continued to look into the canal as he slowly moved along, till + he was out of sight.</p> + + <p>A Dust-heap of this kind is often worth thousands of pounds. + The present one was very large and very valuable. It was in + fact a large hill, and being in the vicinity of small suburb + cottages, it rose above them like a great black mountain. + Thistles, groundsel, and rank grass grew in knots on small + parts which had remained for a long time undisturbed; crows + often alighted on its top, and seemed to put on their + spectacles and become very busy and serious; flocks of sparrows + often made predatory descents upon it; an old goose and gander + might sometimes he seen following each other up its side, + nearly midway; pigs rooted around its base,—and now and + then, one bolder than the rest would venture some way up, + attracted by the mixed odors of some hidden marrow-bone + enveloped in a decayed cabbage-leaf—a rare event, both of + these articles being unusual oversights of the Searchers + below.</p> + + <p>The principal ingredient of all these Dust-heaps is fine + cinders and ashes; but as they are accumulated from the + contents of all the dust-holes and bins of the vicinity, and as + many more as possible, the fresh arrivals in their original + state present very heterogeneous materials. We cannot better + describe them than by presenting a brief sketch of the + different departments of the Searchers and Sorters, who are + assembled below to busy themselves upon the mass of original + matters which are shot out from the carts of the dustmen.</p> + + <p>The bits of coal, the pretty numerous results of accident + and servants' carelessness, are picked out, to be sold + forthwith; the largest and best of the cinders are also + selected, by another party, who sell them to laundresses, or to + braziers (for whose purposes coke would do as well;) and the + next sort of cinders, called the <i>breeze</i>, because it is + left after the wind has blown the finer cinders through an + upright sieve, is sold to the brick-makers.</p> + + <p>Two other departments, called the "soft-ware" and the + "hard-ware," are very important. The former includes all + vegetable and animal matters—everything that will + decompose. These are selected and bagged at once, and carried + off as soon as possible, to be sold as manure for plowed land, + wheat, barley, &c. Under this head, also, the dead cats are + comprised. They are generally the perquisites of the women + searchers. Dealers come to the wharf, or dust-field, every + evening; they give sixpence for a white cat, fourpence for a + colored cat, and for a black one according to her quality. The + "hard-ware" includes all broken pottery pans, crockery, + earthenware, oyster-shells, &c., which are sold to make new + roads.</p> + + <p>The bones are selected with care, and sold to the + soap-boiler. He boils out the fat and marrow first, for special + use, and the bones are then crushed and sold for manure.</p> + + <p>Of rags, the woollen rags are bagged and sent off for + hop-manure; the white linen rags are washed, and sold to make + paper, &c.</p> + + <p>The "tin things" are collected and put into an oven with a + grating at the bottom, so that the solder which unites the + parts melts, and runs through into a receiver. This is sold + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page245" + id="page245"></a>[pg 245]</span> separately; the detached + pieces of tin are then sold to be melted up with old iron, + &c.</p> + + <p>Bits of old brass, lead, &c., are sold to be molted up + separately, or in the mixture of ores.</p> + + <p>All broken glass vessels, as cruets, mustard-pots, tumblers, + wine-glasses, bottles, &c., are sold to the old-glass + shops.</p> + + <p>As for any articles of jewelry, silver spoons, forks, + thimbles, or other plate and valuables, they are pocketed + off-hand by the first finder. Coins of gold and silver are + often found, and many "coppers."</p> + + <p>Meantime, everybody is hard at work near the base of the + great Dust-heap. A certain number of cart-loads having been + raked and searched for all the different things just described, + the whole of it now undergoes the process of sifting. The men + throw up the stuff, and the women sift it.</p> + + <p>"When I was a young girl," said Peg Dotting—</p> + + <p>"That's a long while ago, Peggy," interrupted one of the + sifters: but Peg did not hear her.</p> + + <p>"When I was quite a young thing," continued she, addressing + old John Doubleyear, who threw up the dust into her sieve, "it + was the fashion to wear pink roses in the shoes, as bright as + that morsel of ribbon Sally has just picked out of the dust; + yes, and sometimes in the hair, too, on one side of the head, + to set off the white powder and salve-stuff. I never wore one + of these head-dresses myself—don't throw up the dust so + high, John—but I lived only a few doors lower down from + those as did. Don't throw up the dust so high, I tell + 'ee—the wind takes it into my face."</p> + + <p>"Ah! There! What's that?" suddenly exclaimed little Jem, + running as fast as his poor withered legs would allow him + toward a fresh heap, which had just been shot down on the wharf + from a dustman's cart. He made a dive and a search—then + another—then one deeper still. "I'm sure I saw it!" cried + he, and again made a dash with both hands into a fresh place, + and began to distribute the ashes and dust and rubbish on every + side, to the great merriment of all the rest.</p> + + <p>"What did you see, Jemmy?" asked old Doubleyear, in a + compassionate tone.</p> + + <p>"Oh, I don't know," said the boy, "only it was like a bit of + something made of real gold!"</p> + + <p>A fresh burst of laughter from the company assembled + followed this somewhat vague declaration, to which the dustmen + added one or two elegant epithets, expressive of their contempt + of the notion that they could have overlooked a bit of anything + valuable in the process of emptying sundry dust-holes, and + carting them away.</p> + + <p>"Ah," said one of the sifters, "poor Jem's always a-fancying + something or other good but it never comes."</p> + + <p>"Didn't I find three cats this morning?" cried Jem, "two on + 'em white 'uns! How you go on!"</p> + + <p>"I meant something quite different from the like o' that," + said the other; "I was a-thinking of the rare sights all you + three there have had, one time and another."</p> + + <p>The wind having changed, and the day become bright, the + party at work all seemed disposed to be more merry than usual. + The foregoing remark excited the curiosity of several of the + sifters, who had recently joined the "company": the parties + alluded to were requested to favor them with the recital; and + though the request was made with only a half-concealed irony, + still it was all in good-natured pleasantry, and was + immediately complied with. Old Doubleyear spoke first:</p> + + <p>"I had a bad night of it with the rats some years + ago—they runn'd all over the floor, and over the bed, and + one on 'em come'd and guv a squeak close into my ear—so I + couldn't sleep comfortable. I wouldn't ha' minded a trifle of + it, but this was too much of a good thing. So I got up before + sunrise, and went out for a walk; and thinking I might as well + be near our work-place, I slowly come'd down this way! I worked + in a brick-field at that time, near the canal yonder. The sun + was just a rising up behind the Dust-heap as I got in sight of + it, and soon it rose above, and was very bright; and though I + had two eyes then, I was obligated to shut them both. When I + opened them again, the sun was higher up; but in his haste to + get over the Dust-heap, he had dropped something. You may + laugh—I say he dropped something. Well I can't say what + it was, in course—a bit of his-self, I suppose. It was + just like him—a bit on him, I mean—quite as + bright—just the same—only not so big. And not up in + the sky, but a-lying and sparkling all on fire upon the + Dust-heap. Thinks I—I was a younger man then by some + years than I am now—I'll go and have a nearer look. + Though you be a bit o' the sun, maybe you won't hurt a poor + man. So I walked toward the Dust-heap, and up I went, keeping + the piece of sparkling fire in sight all the while. But before + I got up to it, the sun went behind a cloud—and as he + went out—like, so the young 'un he had dropped, went out + arter him. And I had to climb up the heap for nothing, though I + had marked the place vere it lay very percizely. But there was + no signs at all on him, and no morsel left of the light as had + been there. I searched all about; but found nothing 'cept a bit + 'o broken glass as had got stuck in the heel of an old shoe. + And that's my story. But if ever a man saw anything at all, I + saw a bit o' the sun; and I thank God for it. It was a blessed + sight for a poor ragged old man of threescore and ten, which + was my age at that time."</p> + + <p>"Now, Peggy!" cried several voices, "tell us what you saw. + Peg saw a bit o' the moon."</p> + + <p>"No," said Mrs. Dotting, rather indignantly; "I'm no + moon-raker. Not a sign of the moon was there, nor a spark of a + star the time I speak + on."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page246" + id="page246"></a>[pg 246]</span> + + <p>"Well—go on, Peggy—go on."</p> + + <p>"I don't know as I will," said Peggy.</p> + + <p>But being pacified by a few good-tempered, though somewhat + humorous, compliments, she thus favored them with her little + adventure:</p> + + <p>"There was no moon, or stars, or comet, in the 'versal + heavens, nor lamp nor lantern along the road, when I walked + home one winter's night from the cottage of Widow Pin, where I + had been to tea with her and Mrs. Dry, as lived in the + almshouses. They wanted Davy, the son of Bill Davy the milkman, + to see me home with the lantern, but I wouldn't let him, 'cause + of his sore throat. Throat!—no it wasn't his throat as + was rare sore—it was—no, it wasn't—yes, it + was—it was his toe as was sore. His big toe. A nail out + of his boot had got into it. I <i>told</i> him he'd be sure to + have a bad toe, if he didn't go to church more regular, but he + wouldn't listen; and so my words come'd true. But, as I was + a-saying, I wouldn't let him by reason of his sore + throat—toe, I mean—and as I went along, the night + seemed to grow darker and darker. A straight road, though, and + I was so used to it by day-time, it didn't matter for the + darkness. Hows'ever, when I come'd near the bottom of the + Dust-heap as I had to pass, the great dark heap was so 'zackly + the same as the night, you couldn't tell one from t'other. So, + thinks I to myself—<i>what</i> was I thinking of at this + moment?—for the life o' me I can't call it to mind; but + that's neither here nor there, only for this—it was a + something that led me to remember the story of how the devil + goes about like a roaring lion. And while I was a-hoping he + might not he out a-roaring that night, what should I see rise + out of one side of the Dust-heap, but a beautiful shining star, + of a violet color. I stood as still, as stock-still as any I + don't-know-what! There it lay, as beautiful as a new-born babe, + all a-shining in the dust! By degrees I got courage to go a + little nearer—and then a little nearer still—for, + says I to myself, I'm a sinful woman, I know, but I have + repented, and do repent constantly of all the sins of my youth + and the backslidings of my age—which have been numerous; + and once I had a very heavy backsliding—but that's + neither here nor there. So, as I was a-saying, having collected + all my sinfulness of life, and humbleness before Heaven, into a + goodish bit of courage, forward I steps—a little + furder—and a leetle furder more—<i>un</i>-til I + come'd just up to the beautiful shining star lying upon the + dust. Well, it was a long time I stood a-looking down at it, + before I ventured to do what I arterwards did. But at last I + did stoop down with both hands slowly—in case it might + burn, or bite—and gathering up a good scoop of ashes as + my hands went along. I took it up, and began a-carrying it + home, all shining before me, and with a soft blue mist rising + up round about it. Heaven forgive me! I was punished for + meddling with what Providence had sent for some better purpose + than to be carried borne by an old woman like me, whom it had + pleased Heaven to afflict with the loss of one leg, and the + pain, ixpinse, and inconvenience of a wooden one. Well, I + <i>was</i> punished; covetousness had its reward; for, + presently, the violet light got very pale, and then went out; + and when I reached home, still holding in both hands all I had + gathered up, and when I took it to the candle, it had burned + into the red shell of a lobsky's head, and its two black eyes + poked up at me with a long stare—and I may say, a strong + smell, too—enough to knock a poor body known."</p> + + <p>Great applause, and no little laughter, followed the + conclusion of old Peggy's story, but she did not join in the + merriment. She said it was all very well for young folks to + laugh, but at her age she had enough to do to pray; and she had + never said so many prayers, nor with so much fervency, as she + had done since she received the blessed sight of the blue star + on the Dust-heap, and the chastising rod of the lobster's head + at home.</p> + + <p>Little Jem's turn now came: the poor lad was, however, so + excited by the recollection of what his companions called + "Jem's Ghost," that he was unable to describe it in any + coherent language. To his imagination it had been a lovely + vision,—the one "bright consummate flower" of his life, + which he treasured up as the most sacred image in his heart. He + endeavored, in wild and hasty words, to set forth, how that he + had been bred a chimney-sweep; that one Sunday afternoon he had + left a set of companions, most on 'em sweeps, who were all + playing at marbles in the church-yard, and he had wandered to + the Dust-heap, where he had fallen asleep; that he was awoke by + a sweet voice in the air, which said something about some one + having lost her way!—that he, being now wide awake, + looked up, and saw with his own eyes a young Angel, with fair + hair and rosy cheeks, and large white wings at her shoulders, + floating about like bright clouds, rise out of the dust! She + had on a garment of shining crimson, which changed as he looked + upon her to shining gold. She then exclaimed, with a joyful + smile, "I see the right way!" and the next moment the Angel was + gone!</p> + + <p>As the sun was just now very bright and warm for the time of + year, and shining full upon the Dust-heap in its setting, one + of the men endeavored to raise a laugh at the deformed lad, by + asking him if he didn't expect to see just such another angel + at this minute, who had lost her way in the field on the other + side of the heap; but his jest failed. The earnestness and + devout emotion of the boy to the vision of reality which his + imagination, aided by the hues of sunset, had thus exalted, + were too much for the gross spirit of banter, and the speaker + shrunk back into his dust-shovel, and affected to be very + assiduous in his + work.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page247" + id="page247"></a>[pg 247]</span> + + <p>Before the day's work was ended, however, little Jem again + had a glimpse of the prize which had escaped him on the + previous occasion. He instantly darted, hands and head + foremost, into the mass of cinders and rubbish, and brought up + a black mass of half-burnt parchment, entwined with vegetable + refuse, from which he speedily disengaged an oval frame of + gold, containing a miniature, still protected by its glass, but + half covered with mildew from the damp. He was in ecstacies at + the prize. Even the white catskins paled before it. In all + probability some of the men would have taken it from him, "to + try and find the owner," but for the presence and interference + of his friends Peg Dotting and old Doubleyear, whose great age, + even among the present company, gave them a certain position of + respect and consideration. So all the rest now went their way, + leaving the three to examine and speculate on the prize.</p> + + <p>These Dust-heaps are a wonderful compound of things. A + banker's cheque for a considerable sum was found in one of + them. It was on Merries & Farquhar, in 1847. But bankers' + cheques, or gold and silver articles, are the least valuable of + their ingredients. Among other things, a variety of useful + chemicals are extracted. Their chief value, however, is for the + making of bricks. The fine cinder-dust and ashes are used in + the clay of the bricks, both for the red and gray stacks. Ashes + are also used as fuel between the layers of the clump of + bricks, which could not be burned in that position without + them. The ashes burn away, and keep the bricks open. Enormous + quantities are used. In the brickfields at Uxbridge, near the + Drayton Station, one of the brickmakers alone will frequently + contract for fifteen or sixteen thousand chaldrons of this + cinder-dust, in one order. Fine coke, or coke-dust, affects the + market at times as a rival; but fine coal, or coal-dust, never, + because it would spoil the bricks.</p> + + <p>As one of the heroes of our tale had been + originally—before his promotion—a chimney-sweeper, + it may be only appropriate to offer a passing word on the + genial subject of soot. Without speculating on its origin and + parentage, whether derived from the cooking of a + Christmas-dinner, or the production of the beautiful colors and + odors of exotic plants in a conservatory, it can briefly be + shown to possess many qualities both useful and ornamental.</p> + + <p>When soot is first collected, it is called "rough soot", + which, being sifted, is then called "fine soot", and is sold to + farmers for manuring and preserving wheat and turnips. This is + more especially used in Herefordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, + &c. It is rather a costly article, being fivepence per + bushel. One contractor sells annually as much as three thousand + bushels; and he gives it as his opinion, that there must be at + least one hundred and fifty times this quantity (four hundred + and fifty thousand bushels per annum) sold in London. Farmer + Smutwise, of Bradford, distinctly asserts that the price of the + soot he uses on his land is returned to him in the straw, with + improvement also to the grain. And we believe him. Lime is used + to dilute soot when employed as a manure. Using it pure will + keep off snails, slugs, and caterpillars from peas and various + other vegetables, as also from dahlias just shooting up, and + other flowers; but we regret to add that we have sometimes + known it kill or burn up the things it was intended to preserve + from unlawful eating. In short, it is by no means so safe to + use for any purpose of garden manure, as fine cinders and + wood-ashes, which are good for almost any kind of produce, + whether turnips or roses. Indeed, we should like to have one + fourth or fifth part of our garden-beds composed of excellent + stuff of this kind. From all that has been said, it will have + become very intelligible why these Dust-heaps are so valuable. + Their worth, however, varies not only with their magnitude, + (the quality of all of them is much the same,) but with the + demand. About the year 1820, the Marylebone Dust-heap produced + between four thousand and five thousand pounds. In 1832, St. + George's paid Mr. Stapleton five hundred pounds a year, not to + leave the Heap standing, but to carry it away. Of course he was + only too glad to be paid highly for selling his Dust.</p> + + <p>But to return. The three friends having settled to their + satisfaction the amount of money they should probably obtain by + the sale of the golden miniature-frame, and finished the + castles which they had built with it in the air, the frame was + again infolded in the sound part of the parchment, the rags and + rottenness of the law were cast away, and up they rose to bend + their steps homeward to the little hovel where Peggy lived, she + having invited the others to tea, that they might talk yet more + fully over the wonderful good luck that had befallen them.</p> + + <p>"Why, if there isn't a man's head in the canal!" suddenly + cried little Jem. "Looky there!—isn't that a man's + head?—Yes; it's a drownded man!"</p> + + <p>"A drownded man, as I live!" ejaculated old Doubleyear.</p> + + <p>"Let's get him out, and see!" cried Peggy. "Perhaps the poor + soul's not quite gone."</p> + + <p>Little Jem scuttled off to the edge of the canal, followed + by the two old people. As soon as the body had floated nearer, + Jem got down into the water, and stood breast-high, vainly + measuring his distance, with one arm out, to see if he could + reach some part of the body as it was passing. As the attempt + was evidently without a chance, old Doubleyear Managed to get + down into the water behind aim, and holding him by one hand, + the boy was thus enabled to make a plunge forward as the body + was floating by. He succeeded in reaching it, but the jerk was + too much for <span class="pagenum"><a name="page248" + id="page248"></a>[pg 248]</span> his aged companion, who was + pulled forward into the canal. A loud cry burst from both of + them, which was yet more loudly echoed by Peggy on the bank. + Doubleyear and the boy were now struggling almost in the + middle of the canal, with the body of the man twirling about + between them. They would inevitably have been drowned, had + not old Peggy caught up a long dust-rake that was close at + hand—scrambled down up to her knees in the + canal—clawed hold of the struggling group with the + teeth of the rake, and fairly brought the whole to land. Jem + was first up the bank, and helped up his two heroic + companions; after which, with no small difficulty, they + contrived to haul the body of the stranger out of the water. + Jem at once recognized in him the forlorn figure of the man + who had passed by in the morning, looking so sadly into the + canal as he walked along.</p> + + <p>It is a fact well known to those who work in the vicinity of + these great Dust-heaps, that when the ashes have been warmed by + the sun, cats and kittens that have been taken out of the canal + and buried a few inches beneath the surface, have usually + revived; and the same has often occurred in the case of men. + Accordingly, the three, without a moment's hesitation, dragged + the body along to the Dust-heap, where they made a deep trench, + in which they placed it, covering it all over up to the + neck.</p> + + <p>"There now," ejaculated Peggy, sitting down with a long puff + to recover her breath, "he'll lie very comfortable, whether or + no."</p> + + <p>"Couldn't lie better," said old Doubleyear, "even if he knew + it."</p> + + <p>The three now seated themselves close by, to await the + result.</p> + + <p>"I thought I'd a lost him," said Jem, "and myself too; and + when I pulled Daddy in arter me, I guv us all three up for this + world."</p> + + <p>"Yes," said Doubleyear, "it must have gone queer with us if + Peggy had not come in with the rake. How d'yee feel, old girl? + for you've had a narrow escape too. I wonder we were not too + heavy for you, and so pulled you in to go with us."</p> + + <p>"The Lord be praised!" fervently ejaculated Peggy, pointing + toward the pallid face that lay surrounded with ashes. A + convulsive twitching passed over the features, the lips + trembled, the ashes over the breast heaved, and a low moaning + sound, which might have come from the bottom of the canal, was + heard. Again the moaning sound, and then the eyes opened, but + closed almost immediately.</p> + + <p>"Poor dear soul," whispered Peggy, "how he suffers in + surviving. Lift him up a little. Softly. Don't be afeard. We're + only your good angels, like—only poor + cinder-sifters—don'tee be afeard."</p> + + <p>By various kindly attentions and maneuvers such as these + poor people had been accustomed to practice on those who were + taken out of the canal, the unfortunate gentleman was gradually + brought to his senses. He gazed about him, as well he + might—now looking in the anxious, though begrimed, faces + of the three strange objects, all in their "weeds" and + dust—and then up at the huge Dust-heap, over which the + moon was now slowly rising.</p> + + <p>"Land of quiet Death!" murmured he, faintly, "or land of + Life, as dark and still—I have passed from one into the + other; but which of ye I am now in, seems doubtful to my + senses."</p> + + <p>"Here we are, poor gentleman," cried Peggy, "here we are, + all friends about you. How did'ee tumble into the canal?"</p> + + <p>"The Earth, then, once more!" said the stranger, with a deep + sigh. "I know where I am, now. I remember this great dark hill + of ashes—like Death's kingdom, full of all sorts of + strange things, and put to many uses."</p> + + <p>"Where do you live?" asked old Doubleyear. "Shall we try and + take you home, sir?"</p> + + <p>The stranger shook his head mournfully. All this time, + little Jem had been assiduously employed in rubbing his feet + and then big hands; in doing which, the piece of dirty + parchment, with the miniature-frame, dropped out of his + breast-pocket. A good thought instantly struck Peggy.</p> + + <p>"Run, Jemmy dear—run with that golden thing to Mr. + Spikechin, the pawnbroker's—get something upon it + directly, and buy some nice brandy—and some Godfrey's + cordial—and a blanket, Jemmy—and call a coach, and + get up outside on it, and make the coachee drive back here as + fast as you can."</p> + + <p>But before Jemmy could attend to this, Mr. Waterhouse, the + stranger whose life they had preserved, raised himself on one + elbow, and extended his hand to the miniature-frame. Directly + he looked at it he raised himself higher up—turned it + about once or twice—then caught up the piece of + parchment, and uttering an ejaculation which no one could have + distinguished either as of joy or of pain, sank back + fainting.</p> + + <p>In brief, this parchment was a portion of the title-deeds he + had lost; and though it did not prove sufficient to enable him + to recover his fortune, it brought his opponent to a + composition, which gave him an annuity for life. Small as this + was, he determined that these poor people, who had so + generously saved his life at the risk of their own, should be + sharers in it. Finding that what they most desired was to have + a cottage in the neighborhood of the Dust-heap, built large + enough for all three to live together, and keep a cow, Mr. + Waterhouse paid a visit to Manchester Square, where the owner + of the property resided. He told his story, as far as was + needful, and proposed to purchase the field in question.</p> + + <p>The great Dust-Contractor was much amused, and his + daughter—a very accomplished young lady—was + extremely interested. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page249" + id="page249"></a>[pg 249]</span> So the matter was speedily + arranged to the satisfaction and pleasure of all parties. + The acquaintance, however, did not end here. Mr. Waterhouse + renewed his visits very frequently, and finally made + proposals for the young lady's hand, she having already + expressed her hopes of a propitious answer from her + father.</p> + + <p>"Well, Sir," said the latter, "you wish to marry my + daughter, and she wishes to marry you. You are a gentleman and + a scholar, but you have no money. My daughter is what you see, + and she has no money. But I have; and therefore, as she likes + you and I like you, I'll make you both an offer. I will give my + daughter twenty thousand pounds,—or you shall have the + Dust-heap. Choose!"</p> + + <p>Mr. Waterhouse was puzzled and amused, and referred the + matter entirely to the young lady. But she was for having the + money, and no trouble. She said the Dust-heap might be worth + much, but they did not understand the business.</p> + + <p>"Very well," said her father, laughing, "then, there's the + money."</p> + + <p>This was the identical Dust-heap, as we know from authentic + information, which was subsequently sold for forty thousand + pounds, and was exported to Russia to rebuild Moscow.</p> + <hr /> + + <h4>[From Household Words.]</h4> + + <h2>AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY.</h2> + + <p>In one of the dirtiest and most gloomy streets leading to + the Rue St. Denis, in Paris, there stands a tall and ancient + house, the lower portion of which is a large mercer's shop. + This establishment is held to be one of the very best in the + neighborhood, and has for many years belonged to an individual + on whom we will bestow the name of Ramin.</p> + + <p>About ten years ago, Monsieur Ramin was a jovial red-faced + man of forty, who joked his customers into purchasing his + goods, flattered the pretty <i>grisettes</i> outrageously, and + now and then gave them a Sunday treat at the barrier, as the + cheapest way of securing their custom. Some people thought him + a careless, good-natured fellow, and wondered how, with his + off-hand ways, he contrived to make money so fast, but those + who knew him well saw that he was one of those who "never lost + an opportunity." Others declared that Monsieur Ramin's own + definition of his character was, that he was a "<i>bon + enfant</i>," and that "it was all luck." He shrugged his + shoulders and laughed when people hinted at his deep scheming + in making, and his skill in taking advantage of Excellent + Opportunities.</p> + + <p>He was sitting in his gloomy parlor one fine morning in + spring, breakfasting from a dark liquid honored with the name + of onion soup, glancing at the newspaper, and keeping a + vigilant look on the shop through the open door, when his old + servant Catharine suddenly observed:</p> + + <p>"I suppose you know Monsieur Bonelle has come to live in the + vacant apartment on the fourth floor?"</p> + + <p>"What!" exclaimed Monsieur Ramin, in a loud key.</p> + + <p>Catharine repeated her statement, to which her master + listened in total silence.</p> + + <p>"Well!" he said at length, in his most careless tones, "what + about the old fellow?" and he once more resumed his triple + occupation of reading, eating, and watching.</p> + + <p>"Why," continued Catharine, "they say he is nearly dying, + and that his housekeeper, Marguerite, vowed he could never get + up stairs alive. It took two men to carry him up; and when he + was at length quiet in bed, Marguerite went down to the + porter's lodge, and sobbed there a whole hour, saying her poor + master had the gout, the rheumatics, and a bad asthma; that + though he had been got up stairs, he would never come down + again alive; that if she could only get him to confess his sins + and make his will, she would not mind it so much; but that when + she spoke of the lawyer or the priest, he blasphemed at her + like a heathen, and declared that he would live to bury her and + everybody else."</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin heard Catharine with great attention, forgot + to finish his soup, and remained for five minutes in profound + rumination, without so much as perceiving two customers who had + entered the shop and were waiting to be served. When aroused, + he was heard to exclaim:</p> + + <p>"What an excellent opportunity!"</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle had been Ramin's predecessor. The + succession of the latter to the shop was a mystery. No one ever + knew how it was that this young and poor assistant managed to + replace his patron. Some said that he had detected Monsieur + Bonelle in frauds which he threatened to expose unless the + business were given up to him as the price of his silence; + others averred, that having drawn a prize in the lottery, he + had resolved to set up a fierce opposition over the way, and + that Monsieur Bonelle, having obtained a hint of his + intentions, had thought it most prudent to accept the trifling + sum his clerk offered, and avoid a ruinous competition. Some + charitable souls—moved no doubt by Monsieur Bonelle's + misfortune—endeavored to console and pump him; but all + they could get from him was the bitter exclamation, "To think I + should have been duped by <i>him</i>!" For Ramin had the art, + though then a mere youth, to pass himself off on his master as + an innocent provincial lad. Those who sought an explanation + from the new mercer were still more unsuccessful. "My good old + master," he said in his jovial way, "felt in need of repose, + and so I obligingly relieved him of all business and + botheration."</p> + + <p>Years passed away; Ramin prospered, and neither thought nor + heard of his "good old master." The house, of which he tenanted + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page250" + id="page250"></a>[pg 250]</span> the lower portion, was + offered for sale. He had long coveted it, and had almost + concluded an agreement with the actual owner, when Monsieur + Bonelle unexpectedly stepped in at the eleventh hour, and by + offering a trifle more secured the bargain. The rage and + mortification of Monsieur Ramin were extreme. He could not + understand how Bonelle, whom he had thought ruined, had + scraped up so large a sum; his lease was out, and he now + felt himself at the mercy of the man he had so much injured. + But either Monsieur Bonelle was free from vindictive + feelings, or those feelings did not blind him to the + expediency of keeping a good tenant: for though he raised + the rent until Monsieur Ramin groaned inwardly, he did not + refuse to renew the lease. They had met at that period, but + never since.</p> + + <p>"Well, Catharine," observed Monsieur Ramin to his old + servant on the following morning, "How is that good Monsieur + Bonelle getting on?"</p> + + <p>"I dare say you feel very uneasy about him," she replied + with a sneer.</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin looked up and frowned.</p> + + <p>"Catharine," said he, dryly, "you will have the goodness, in + the first place, not to make impertinent remarks: in the second + place, you will oblige me by going up stairs to inquire after + the health of Monsieur Bonelle, and say that I sent you."</p> + + <p>Catharine grumbled, and obeyed. Her master was in the shop, + when she returned in a few minutes, and delivered with evident + satisfaction the following gracious message:</p> + + <p>"Monsieur Bonelle desires his compliments to you, and + declines to state how he is; he will also thank you to attend + to your own shop, and not to trouble yourself about his + health."</p> + + <p>"How does he look?" asked Monsieur Ramin, with perfect + composure.</p> + + <p>"I caught a glimpse of him, and he appears to me to be + rapidly preparing for the good offices of the undertaker."</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin smiled, rubbed his hands, and joked merrily + with a dark-eyed <i>grisette</i>, who was cheapening some + ribbon for her cap. That girl made an excellent bargain that + day.</p> + + <p>Toward dusk the mercer left the shop to the care of his + attendant, and softly stole up to the fourth story. In answer + to his gentle ring, a little old woman opened the door, and + giving him a rapid look, said briefly:</p> + + <p>"Monsieur is inexorable: he won't see any doctor + whatever."</p> + + <p>She was going to shut the door in his face, when Ramin + quickly interposed, under his breath, with "I am not a + doctor."</p> + + <p>She looked at him from head to foot.</p> + + <p>"Are you a lawyer?"</p> + + <p>"Nothing of the sort, my good lady."</p> + + <p>"Well then, are you a priest?"</p> + + <p>"I may almost say, quite the reverse."</p> + + <p>"Indeed, you must go away, Master sees no one."</p> + + <p>Once more she would have shut the door, but Ramin prevented + her.</p> + + <p>"My good lady," said he in his most insinuating tones, "it + is true I am neither a lawyer, a doctor, nor a priest. I am an + old friend, a very old friend of your excellent master; I have + come to see good Monsieur Bonelle in his present + affliction."</p> + + <p>Marguerite did not answer, but allowed him to enter, and + closed the door behind him. He was going to pass from the + narrow and gloomy ante-chamber into an inner room—whence + now proceeded a sound of loud coughing—when the old woman + laid her hand on his arm, and raising herself on tip-toe, to + reach his ear, whispered:</p> + + <p>"For Heaven's sake, sir, since you are his friend, do talk + to him: do tell him to make his will, and hint something about + a soul to be saved, and all that sort of thing: do, sir!"</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin nodded and winked in a way that said "I + will." He proved however his prudence by not speaking aloud; + for a voice from within sharply exclaimed,</p> + + <p>"Marguerite, you are talking to some one! Marguerite! I will + see neither doctor nor lawyer; and if any meddling priest + dare—"</p> + + <p>"It is only an old friend, sir;" interrupted Marguerite, + opening the inner door.</p> + + <p>Her master, on looking up, perceived the red face of + Monsieur Ramin peeping over the old woman's shoulder, and + irefully cried out:</p> + + <p>"How dare you bring that fellow here? And you, sir, how dare + you come?"</p> + + <p>"My good old friend, there are feelings," said Ramin, + spreading his fingers over the left pocket of his + waistcoat—"there are feelings," he repeated, "that cannot + be subdued. One such feeling brought me here. The fact is, I am + a good-natured easy fellow, and I never bear malice. I never + forget an old friend, but love to forget old differences when I + find one party in affliction."</p> + + <p>He drew a chair forward as he spoke, and composedly seated + himself opposite to his late master.</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle was a thin old man, with a pale sharp face + and keen features. At first he eyed his visitor from the depths + of his vast arm-chair; but, as if not, satisfied with this + distant view, he bent forward, and laying both hands on his + thin knees, he looked up into Ramin's face with a fixed and + piercing gaze. He had not, however, the power of disconcerting + his guest.</p> + + <p>"What did you come here for?" he at length asked.</p> + + <p>"Merely to have the extreme satisfaction of seeing how you + are, my good old friend. Nothing more."</p> + + <p>"Well, look at me—and then go."</p> + + <p>Nothing could be so discouraging: but this was an Excellent + Opportunity, and when Monsieur Ramin <i>had</i> an excellent + opportunity in view, his pertinacity was invincible. Being now + resolved to stay, it was not in Monsieur + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page251" + id="page251"></a>[pg 251]</span> Bonelle's power to banish + him. At the same time he had tact enough to render his + presence agreeable. He knew that his coarse and boisterous + wit had often delighted Monsieur Bonelle of old, and he now + exerted himself so successfully as to betray the old man two + or three times into hearty laughter. "Ramin," said he at + length, laying his thin hand on the arm of his guest, and + peering with his keen glance into the mercer's purple face, + "you are a funny fellow, but I know you; you cannot make me + believe you have called just to see how I am, and to amuse + me. Come, be candid for once; what do you want?"</p> + + <p>Ramin threw himself back in his chair, and laughed blandly, + as much as to say, "Can you suspect me?"</p> + + <p>"I have no shop now out of which you can wheedle me," + continued the old man; "and surely you are not such a fool as + to come to me for money."</p> + + <p>"Money!" repeated the draper, as if his host had mentioned + something he never dreamt of. "Oh, no!"</p> + + <p>Ramin saw it would not do to broach the subject he had + really come about, too abruptly, now that suspicion seemed so + wide awake—<i>the</i> opportunity had not arrived.</p> + + <p>"There is something up, Ramin, I know; I see it in the + twinkle of your eye; but you can't deceive me again."</p> + + <p>"Deceive <i>you</i>?" said the jolly schemer, shaking his + head reverentially. "Deceive a man of your penetration and + depth? Impossible! The bare supposition is flattery. My dear + friend," he continued, soothingly, "I did not dream of such a + thing. The fact is, Bonelle, though they call me a jovial, + careless, rattling dog, I have a conscience; and, somehow, I + have never felt quite easy about the way in which I became your + successor down-stairs. It was rather sharp practice, I + admit."</p> + + <p>Bonelle seemed to relent.</p> + + <p>"Now for it," said the Opportunity-hunter to + himself—"By-the-bye," (speaking aloud,) "this house must + be a great trouble to you in your present weak state? Two of + your lodgers have lately gone away without paying—a great + nuisance, especially to an invalid."</p> + + <p>"I tell you I'm as sound as a colt."</p> + + <p>"At all events, the whole concern must be a great bother to + you. If I were you, I would sell the house."</p> + + <p>"And if I were <i>you</i>," returned the landlord, dryly, "I + would buy it—"</p> + + <p>"Precisely," interrupted the tenant, eagerly.</p> + + <p>"That is, if you could get it. Pooh! I knew you were after + something. Will you give eighty thousand francs for it?" + abruptly asked Monsieur Bonelle.</p> + + <p>"Eighty thousand francs!" echoed Ramin. "Do you take me for + Louis Philippe or the Bank of France!"</p> + + <p>"Then we'll say no more about it—are you not afraid of + leaving your shop so long?"</p> + + <p>Ramin returned to the charge, heedless of the hint to + depart. "The fact is, my good old friend, ready money is not my + strong point just now. But if you wish very much to be relieved + of the concern, what say you to a life annuity? I could manage + that."</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle gave a short, dry, church-yard cough, and + looked as if his life were not worth an hour's purchase. "You + think yourself immensely clever, I dare say," he said. "They + have persuaded you that I am dying. Stuff! I shall bury you + yet."</p> + + <p>The mercer glanced at the thin fragile frame, and exclaimed + to himself, "Deluded old gentleman!" "My dear Bonelle," he + continued, aloud, "I know well the strength of your admirable + constitution: but allow me to observe that you neglect yourself + too much. Now, suppose a good sensible doctor—"</p> + + <p>"Will you pay him?" interrogated Bonelle, sharply.</p> + + <p>"Most willingly," replied Ramin, with an eagerness that made + the old man smile. "As to the annuity, since the subject annoys + you, we will talk of it some other time."</p> + + <p>"After you have heard the doctor's report," sneered + Bonelle.</p> + + <p>The mercer gave him a stealthy glance, which the old man's + keen look immediately detected. Neither could repress a smile: + these good souls understood one another perfectly, and Ramin + saw that this was not the Excellent Opportunity he desired, and + departed.</p> + + <p>The next day Ramin sent a neighboring medical man, and heard + it was his opinion that if Bonelle held on for three months + longer, it would be a miracle. Delightful news!</p> + + <p>Several days elapsed, and although very anxious, Ramin + assumed a careless air, and did not call upon his landlord, or + take any notice of him. At the end of the week old Marguerite + entered the shop to make a trifling purchase.</p> + + <p>"And how are we getting on up-stairs?" negligently asked + Monsieur Ramin.</p> + + <p>"Worse and worse, my good sir," she sighed. "We have + rheumatic pains which often make us use expressions the reverse + of Christian-like, and yet nothing can induce us to see either + the lawyer or the priest; the gout is getting nearer to our + stomach every day, and still we go on talking about the + strength of our constitution. Oh, sir, if you have any + influence with us, do, pray do, tell us how wicked it is to die + without making one's will or confessing one's sins."</p> + + <p>"I shall go up this very evening," ambiguously replied + Monsieur Ramin.</p> + + <p>He kept his promise, and found Monsieur Bonelle in bed, + groaning with pain, and in the worst of tempers.</p> + + <p>"What poisoning doctor did you send?" he asked, with an + ireful glance; "I want no doctor, I am not ill; I will not + follow his prescription; he forbade me to eat; I <i>will</i> + eat."</p> + + <p>"He is a very clever man," said the visitor. "He told me + that never in the whole course of his experience has he met + with what he <span class="pagenum"><a name="page252" + id="page252"></a>[pg 252]</span> called so much 'resisting + power' as exists in your frame. He asked me if you were not + of a long-lived race."</p> + + <p>"That is as people may judge," replied Monsieur Bonelle. + "All I can say is, that my grandfather died at ninety, and my + father at eighty-six."</p> + + <p>"The doctor owned that you had a wonderfully strong + constitution."</p> + + <p>"Who said I hadn't?" exclaimed the invalid feebly.</p> + + <p>"You may rely on it, you would preserve your health better + if you had not the trouble of these vexatious lodgers. Have you + thought about the life annuity?" said Ramin as carelessly as he + could, considering how near the matter was to his hopes and + wishes.</p> + + <p>"Why, I have scruples," returned Bonelle, coughing. "I do + not wish to take you in. My longevity would be the ruin of + you."</p> + + <p>"To meet that difficulty," quickly replied the mercer, "we + can reduce the interest."</p> + + <p>"But I must have high interest," placidly returned Monsieur + Bonelle.</p> + + <p>Ramin, on hearing this, burst into a loud fit of laughter, + called Monsieur Bonelle a sly old fox, gave him a poke in the + ribs, which made the old man cough for five minutes, and then + proposed that they should talk it over some other day. The + mercer left Monsieur Bonelle in the act of protesting that he + felt as strong as a man of forty.</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin felt in no hurry to conclude the proposed + agreement. "The later one begins to pay, the better," he said, + as he descended the stairs.</p> + + <p>Days passed on, and the negotiation made no way. It struck + the observant tradesman that all was not right. Old Marguerite + several times refused to admit him, declaring her master was + asleep: there was something mysterious and forbidding in her + manner that seemed to Monsieur Ramin very ominous. At length a + sudden thought occurred to him: the housekeeper—wishing + to become her master's heir—had heard his scheme and + opposed it. On the very day that he arrived at this conclusion, + he met a lawyer, with whom he had formerly had some + transactions, coming down the staircase. The sight sent a chill + through the mercer's commercial heart, and a + presentiment—one of those presentiments that seldom + deceive—told him it was too late. He had, however, the + fortitude to abstain from visiting Monsieur Bonelle until + evening came; when he went up, resolved to see him in spite of + all Marguerite might urge. The door was half-open, and the old + housekeeper stood talking on the landing to a middle-aged man + in a dark cassock.</p> + + <p>"It is all over! The old witch has got the priests at him," + thought Ramin, inwardly groaning at his own folly in allowing + himself to be forestalled.</p> + + <p>"You cannot see Monsieur to-night," sharply said Marguerite, + as he attempted to pass.</p> + + <p>"Alas! is my excellent friend so very ill?" asked Ramin, in + a mournful tone.</p> + + <p>"Sir," eagerly said the clergyman, catching him by the + button of his coat, "if you are indeed the friend of that + unhappy man, do seek to bring him into a more suitable frame of + mind. I have seen many dying men, but never so much obstinacy, + never such infatuated belief in the duration of life."</p> + + <p>"Then you think he really <i>is</i> dying," asked Ramin; + and, in spite of the melancholy accent he endeavored to assume, + there was something so peculiar in his tone, that the priest + looked at him very fixedly as he slowly replied,</p> + + <p>"Yes, air, I think he is."</p> + + <p>"Ah!" was all Monsieur Ramin said; and as the clergyman had + now relaxed his hold of the button, Ramin passed in spite of + the remonstrances of Marguerite, who rushed after the priest. + He found Monsieur Bonelle in bed and in a towering rage.</p> + + <p>"Oh! Ramin, my friend," he groaned, "never take a + housekeeper, and never let her know you have any property. They + are harpies, Ramin,—harpies! such a day as I have had; + first, the lawyer, who comes to write down 'my last + testamentary dispositions,' as he calls them; then the priest, + who gently hints that I am a dying man. Oh, what a day!"</p> + + <p>"And <i>did</i> you make your will, my excellent friend?" + softly asked Monsieur Ramin, with a keen look.</p> + + <p>"Make my will?" indignantly exclaimed the old man; "make my + will? what do you mean, sir? do you mean to say I am + dying?"</p> + + <p>"Heaven forbid!" piously ejaculated Ramin.</p> + + <p>"Then why do you ask me if I had been making my will?" + angrily resumed the old man. He then began to be extremely + abusive.</p> + + <p>When money was in the way, Monsieur Ramin, though otherwise + of a violent temper, had the meekness of a lamb. He bore the + treatment of his host with the meekest patience, and having + first locked the door so as to make sure that Marguerite would + not interrupt them, he watched Monsieur Bonelle attentively, + and satisfied himself that the Excellent Opportunity he had + been ardently longing for had arrived: "He is going fast," he + thought; "and unless I settle the agreement to-night, and get + it drawn up and signed to-morrow, it will be too late."</p> + + <p>"My dear friend," he at length said aloud, on perceiving + that the old gentleman had fairly exhausted himself and was + lying panting on his back, "you are indeed a lamentable + instance of the lengths to which the greedy lust of lucre will + carry our poor human nature. It is really distressing to see + Marguerite, a faithful, attached servant, suddenly converted + into a tormenting harpy by the prospect of a legacy! Lawyers + and priests flock around you like birds of prey, drawn hither + by the scent of gold! Oh, the miseries of having delicate + health combined with a sound constitution and large + property!"</p> + + <p>"Ramin," groaned the old man, looking inquiringly into his + visitor's face, "you are + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page253" + id="page253"></a>[pg 253]</span> again going to talk to me + about that annuity—I know you are!"</p> + + <p>"My excellent friend, it is merely to deliver you from a + painful position."</p> + + <p>"I am sure, Ramin, you think in your soul I am dying," + whimpered Monsieur Bonelle.</p> + + <p>"Absurd, my dear sir. Dying? I will prove to you that you + have never been in better health. In the first place you feel + no pain."</p> + + <p>"Excepting from rheumatism," groaned Monsieur Bonelle.</p> + + <p>"Rheumatism! who ever died of rheumatism? and if that be + all—"</p> + + <p>"No, it is not all," interrupted the old man with great + irritability; "what would you say to the gout getting higher + and higher up every day?"</p> + + <p>"The gout is rather disagreeable, but if there is nothing + else—"</p> + + <p>"Yes, there is something else," sharply said Monsieur + Bonelle. "There is an asthma that will scarcely let me breathe, + and a racking pain in my head that does not allow me a moment's + ease. But if you think I am dying, Ramin, you are quite + mistaken."</p> + + <p>"No doubt, my dear friend, no doubt; but in the meanwhile + suppose we talk of this annuity. Shall we say one thousand + francs a year."</p> + + <p>"What!" asked Bonelle, looking at him very fixedly.</p> + + <p>"My dear friend, I mistook; I meant two thousand francs per + annum," hurriedly rejoined Ramin.</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle closed his eyes, and appeared to fall into + a gentle slumber. The mercer coughed; the sick man never + moved.</p> + + <p>"Monsieur Bonelle."</p> + + <p>No reply.</p> + + <p>"My excellent friend."</p> + + <p>Utter silence.</p> + + <p>"Are you asleep?"</p> + + <p>A long pause.</p> + + <p>"Well, then, what do you say to three thousand?"</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle opened his eyes.</p> + + <p>"Ramin," said he, sententiously, "you are a fool; the house + brings me in four thousand as it is."</p> + + <p>This was quite false, and the mercer knew it; but he had his + own reasons for wishing to seem to believe it true.</p> + + <p>"Good Heavens!" said he, with an air of great innocence, + "who could have thought it, and the lodgers constantly running + away. Four thousand? Well, then, you shall have four + thousand."</p> + + <p>Monsieur Bonelle shut his eyes once more, and murmured "The + mere rental—nonsense!" He then folded his hands on his + breast, and appeared to compose himself to sleep.</p> + + <p>"Oh, what a sharp man of business he is!" Ramin said, + admiringly: but for once omnipotent flattery failed in its + effect: "So acute!" continued he, with a stealthy glance at the + old man, who remained perfectly unmoved.</p> + + <p>"I see you will insist upon making it the other five hundred + francs."</p> + + <p>Monsieur Ramin said this as if five thousand five hundred + francs had already been mentioned, and was the very summit of + Monsieur Bonelle's ambition. But the ruse failed in its effect; + the sick man never so much as stirred.</p> + + <p>"But, my dear friend," urged Monsieur Ramin in a tone of + feeling remonstrance, "there is such a thing as being too + sharp, too acute. How can you expect that I shall give you more + when your constitution is so good, and you are to be such a + long liver?"</p> + + <p>"Yes, but I may be carried off one of these days," quietly + observed the old man, evidently wishing to turn the chance of + his own death to account.</p> + + <p>"Indeed, and I hope so," muttered the mercer, who was + getting very ill-tempered.</p> + + <p>"You see," soothingly continued Bonelle, "you are so good a + man of business, Ramin, that you will double the actual value + of the house in no time. I am a quiet, easy person, indifferent + to money; otherwise this house would now bring me in eight + thousand at the very least."</p> + + <p>"Eight thousand!" indignantly exclaimed the mercer. + "Monsieur Bonelle, you have no conscience. Come now, my dear + friend, do be reasonable. Six thousand francs a year (I don't + mind saying six) is really a very handsome income for a man of + your quiet habits. Come, be reasonable." But Monsieur Bonelle + turned a deaf ear to reason, and closed his eyes once more. + What between opening and shutting them for the next quarter of + an hour, he at length induced Monsieur Ramin to offer him seven + thousand francs.</p> + + <p>"Very well, Ramin, agreed," he quietly said; "you have made + an unconscionable bargain." To this succeeded a violent fit of + coughing.</p> + + <p>As Ramin unlocked the door to leave, he found old + Marguerite, who had been listening all the time, ready to + assail him with a torrent of whispered abuse for duping her + "poor dear innocent old master into such a bargain." The mercer + bore it all very patiently: he could make all allowances for + her excited feelings, and only rubbed his hands and bade her a + jovial good evening.</p> + + <p>The agreement was signed on the following day, to the + indignation of old Marguerite, and the mutual satisfaction of + the parties concerned.</p> + + <p>Every one admired the luck and shrewdness of Ramin, for the + old man every day was reported worse; and it was clear to all + that the first quarter of the annuity would never be paid. + Marguerite, in her wrath, told the story as a grievance to + every one; people listened, shook their heads, and pronounced + Monsieur Ramin to be a deuced clever fellow.</p> + + <p>A month elapsed. As Ramin was coming down one morning from + the attics, where he <span class="pagenum"><a name="page254" + id="page254"></a>[pg 254]</span> had been giving notice to a + poor widow who had failed in paying her rent, he heard a + light step on the stairs. Presently a sprightly gentleman, + in buoyant health and spirits, wearing the form of Monsieur + Bonelle, appeared. Ramin stood aghast.</p> + + <p>"Well, Ramin," gaily said the old man, "how are you getting + on? Have you been tormenting the poor widow up stairs? Why, + man, we must live and let live!"</p> + + <p>"Monsieur Bonelle," said the mercer, in a hollow tone; "may + I ask where are your rheumatics?"</p> + + <p>"Gone, my dear friend,—gone."</p> + + <p>"And the gout that was creeping higher and higher every + day," exclaimed Monsieur Ramin, in a voice of anguish.</p> + + <p>"It went lower and lower, till it disappeared altogether," + composedly replied Bonelle.</p> + + <p>"And your asthma—"</p> + + <p>"The asthma remains, but asthmatic people are proverbially + long-lived. It is, I have been told, the only complaint that + Methusalah was troubled with." With this Bonelle opened his + door, shut it, and disappeared.</p> + + <p>Ramin was transfixed on the stairs; petrified with intense + disappointment, and a powerful sense of having been duped. When + he was discovered, he stared vacantly, and raved about an + Excellent Opportunity of taking his revenge.</p> + + <p>The wonderful cure was the talk of the neighborhood, + whenever Monsieur Bonelle appeared in the streets, jauntily + flourishing his cane. In the first frenzy of his despair, Ramin + refused to pay; he accused every one of having been in a plot + to deceive him; he turned off Catharine and expelled his + porter: he publicly accused the lawyer and priest of + conspiracy; brought an action against the doctor and lost it. + He had another brought against him for violently assaulting + Marguerite, in which he was cast in heavy damages. Monsieur + Bonelle did not trouble himself with useless remonstrances, but + when his annuity was refused, employed such good legal + arguments, as the exasperated mercer could not possibly + resist.</p> + + <p>Ten years have elapsed, and MM. Ramin and Bonelle still live + on. For a house which would have been dear at fifty thousand + francs, the draper has already handed over seventy + thousand.</p> + + <p>The once red-faced, jovial Ramin is now a pale haggard man, + of sour temper and aspect. To add to his anguish he sees the + old man thrive on that money which it breaks his heart to give. + Old Marguerite takes a malicious pleasure in giving him an + exact account of their good cheer, and in asking him if he does + not think Monsieur looks better and better every day. Of one + part of this torment Ramin might get rid, by giving his old + master notice to quit, and no longer having him in his house. + But this he cannot do; he has a secret fear that Bonelle would + take some Excellent Opportunity of dying without his knowledge, + and giving some other person an Excellent Opportunity of + persecuting him, and receiving the money in his stead.</p> + + <p>The last accounts of the victim of Excellent Opportunities + represent him as being gradually worn down with disappointment. + There seems every probability of his being the first to leave + the world; for Bonelle is heartier than ever.</p> + <hr /> + + <h4>[From Household Words.]</h4> + + <h2>THE OLD CHURCHWARD TREE.</h2> + + <h3>A PROSE POEM.</h3> + + <p>There is an old yew tree which stands by the wall in a dark + quiet corner of the churchyard.</p> + + <p>And a child was at play beneath its wide-spreading branches, + one fine day in the early spring. He had his lap full of + flowers, which the fields and lanes had supplied him with, and + he was humming a tune to himself as he wove them into + garlands.</p> + + <p>And a little girl at play among the tombstones crept near to + listen; but the boy was so intent upon his garland, that he did + not hear the gentle footsteps, as they trod softly over the + fresh green grass. When his work was finished, and all the + flowers that were in his lap were woven together in one long + wreath, he started up to measure its length upon the ground, + and then he saw the little girl, as she stood with her eyes + fixed upon him. He did not move or speak, but thought to + himself that she looked very beautiful as she stood there with + her flaxen ringlets hanging down upon her neck. The little girl + was so startled by his sudden movement, that she let fall all + the flowers she had collected in her apron, and ran away as + fast as she could. But the boy was older and taller than she, + and soon caught her, and coaxed her to come back and play with + him, and help him to make more garlands; and from that time + they saw each other nearly every day, and became great + friends.</p> + + <p>Twenty years passed away. Again, he was seated beneath the + old yew tree in the churchyard.</p> + + <p>It was summer now; bright, beautiful summer, with the birds + singing, and the flowers covering the ground, and scenting the + air with their perfume.</p> + + <p>But he was not alone now, nor did the little girl steal near + on tiptoe, fearful of being heard. She was seated by his side, + and his arm was round her, and she looked up into his face, and + smiled as she whispered: "The first evening of our lives we + were ever together was passed here; we will spend the first + evening of our wedded life in the same quiet, happy place." And + he drew her closer to him as she spoke.</p> + + <p>The summer is gone; and the autumn; and twenty more summers + and autumns have passed away since that evening, in the old + churchyard.</p> + + <p>A young man, on a bright moonlight night, comes reeling + through the little white gate, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page255" + id="page255"></a>[pg 255]</span> and stumbling over the + graves. He shouts and he sings, and is presently followed by + others like unto himself, or worse. So, they all laugh at + the dark solemn head of the yew tree, and throw stones up at + the place where the moon had silvered the boughs.</p> + + <p>Those same boughs are again silvered by the moon, and they + droop over his mother's grave. There is a little stone which + bears this inscription:—</p> + + <center> + "HER HEART BRAKE IN SILENCE." + </center> + + <p>But the silence of the churchyard is now broken by a + voice—not of the youth—nor a voice of laughter and + ribaldry.</p> + + <p>"My son!—dost thou see this grave? and dost thou read + the record in anguish, whereof may come repentance?"</p> + + <p>"Of what should I repent?" answers the son; "and why should + my young ambition for fame relax in its strength because my + mother was old and weak?"</p> + + <p>"Is this indeed our son?" says the father, bending in agony + over the grave of his beloved.</p> + + <p>"I can well believe I am not;" exclaimeth the youth. "It is + well that you have brought me here to say so. Our natures are + unlike; our courses must be opposite. Your way lieth + here—mine yonder!"</p> + + <p>So the son left the father kneeling by the grave.</p> + + <p>Again a few years are passed. It is winter, with a roaring + wind and a thick gray fog. The graves in the Church-yard are + covered with snow, and there are great icicles in the + Church-yard. The wind now carries a swathe of snow along the + tops of the graves as though the "sheeted dead" were at some + melancholy play; and hark! the icicles fall with a crash and + jingle, like a solemn mockery of the echo of the unseemly mirth + of one who is now coming to his final rest.</p> + + <p>There are two graves near the old yew tree; and the grass + has overgrown them. A third is close by; and the dark earth at + each side has just been thrown up. The bearers come; with a + heavy pace they move along; the coffin heaveth up and down, as + they step over the intervening graves.</p> + + <p>Grief and old age had seized upon the father, and worn out + his life; and premature decay soon seized upon the son, and + gnawed away his vain ambition, and his useless strength, till + he prayed to be borne, not the way yonder that was most + opposite to his father and his mother, but even the same way + they had gone—the way which leads to the Old Churchyard + Tree.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>In dreamy hours the dormant imagination looks out and sees + vague significances in things which it feels can at an after + time be vividly conceived and expressed; the most familiar + objects have a strange double meaning in their aspects; the + very chair seems to be patiently awaiting there the expounder + of its silent, symbolical language.—<i>Boston Morning + Post</i>.</p> + <hr /> + + <h4>[From Bentley's Miscellany.]</h4> + + <h2>GREECE AND TURKEY.<a id="footnotetag2" + name="footnotetag2"></a><a href="#footnote2"><sup>2</sup></a></h2> + + <p>Whatever Mr. AUBREY DE VERE sees, he picturesquely + describes; and so far as words can do so, he makes pictures of + all the subjects he writes upon; and had he painted as he has + written, or used his pencil equally well with his pen, two more + delightful volumes, to any lover of Greece, it would be + difficult to name. With an evidently refined taste, and a + perfect acquaintance with the ancient history of the country he + traveled through, and the ever famous characters that made its + history what it is, his descriptions combine most pleasingly + together, the past with the present. He peoples the scenery + with the men whose deeds give to that scenery all its interest; + and whether on the plain of Marathon, or the site of Delphi or + the Acropolis, he has a store of things to say of their past + glories, and links together, with great artistic skill, that + which is gone with that which remains.</p> + + <p>By the scholar and the man of taste the volumes will be read + with no little delight, as they abound much more with + reflections and sensible observations, than with the + commonplace incidents of travel. Indeed, the author has left + but small space for his accidents at sea and his hardships on + shore, since all the chapters but four are devoted to Athens, + Delphi, and Constantinople. The classical reader will prefer + the chapters on the two first-named places; the general reader + will find perhaps more interesting his sketches of the city of + the Sultan, and an anecdote which he gives of the present + Sultan, and which declares him to possess more of decision, and + firmness of character, and good sense, than the world gives him + credit for. His description of the Bosphorus will create in + many a desire to see what he has seen, and to look upon some, + at least, of the fifty-seven palaces which the sultans have + raised upon its banks; and upon the hundreds of others, which, + while the Commander of the Faithful permits it, are the + property of his subjects.</p> + + <p>It argued far more of a wild spirit of adventure than of a + sober understanding in Aubrey de Vere, to go with that clever + Frenchman to the Turk's house, and to play off all those tricks + in the presence of its master and his ten unvailed wives. + Rarely indeed, if ever before, has an Englishman passed an hour + so comfortably with the whole of a rich man's harem, and seen + them as de Vere saw them in all their artlessness and beauty. + We live, indeed, in strange times, when the once scorned and + loathed Giaours contrive to possess themselves of such + extraordinary privileges, and to escape unharmed from such + hitherto unheard-of enjoyments.</p> + + <p>Where one thought was given to Constantinople a hundred + years since from the west of the Dalmatian coast, ten thousand + eyes are now constantly directed to it, and with + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page256" + id="page256"></a>[pg 256]</span> continually increasing + anxiety. The importance of that city is now understood by + all the European powers, and its future fate has become a + subject of deep interest to all the western states, in + consequence of the determined set made upon it by its + powerful northern neighbor. With the Cossacks at Istamboul + instead of Turks, we should be very ill satisfied, and the + whole charm of this city on its seven hills would have + departed: already is it on the wane. Sultan Mahmoud's + hostility to beards and to flowing robes, to the turban and + the jherid, has deprived his capital city of much of its + picturesqueness and peculiarity; but still enough remains of + eastern manners and costumes to make it one of the most + interesting cities in the world to visit and roam over. Such + as, like ourselves, may not hope to sport a caique on the + Bosphorus, will do well to acquaint themselves with the + information Aubrey de Vere can give them, and to suffer + their imagination to transport them to scenes among the + fairest and the loveliest on the earth's surface, and which + are presented to them in these volumes as graphically as + words can paint them.</p> + + <p>By the possessor of Wordsworth's Greece, where every spot + almost, of the slightest historical interest, is given in a + picture on its pages, these "Picturesque Sketches" will be read + with the highest gratification that scenes and descriptions + together can supply. There is so much of mind in them; so much + of sound philosophy in the observations; such beautiful + thoughts; so well, so elegantly expressed; so many allusions to + the past, that are continually placing before us Pericles, + Themistocles, or Demosthenes, that we are improved while + amused, and feel at every page that we are reading a work far + above the general works on such subjects; a work of lasting + interest, that may be read and re-read, and still with delight + and advantage.</p> + <hr /> + + <h2>DEATH AND SLEEP.</h2> + + <h4>FROM THE GERMAN OF KRUMMACHER.</h4> + + <p>In brotherly embrace walked the Angel of Sleep and the Angel + of Death upon the earth.</p> + + <p>It was evening. They laid themselves down upon a hill not + far from the dwelling of men. A melancholy silence prevailed + around, and the chimes of the evening-bell in the distant + hamlet ceased.</p> + + <p>Still and silent, as was their custom, sat these two + beneficent Genii of the human race, their arms entwined with + cordial familiarity, and soon the shades of night gathered + around them.</p> + + <p>Then arose the Angel of Sleep from his moss-grown couch, and + strewed with a gentle hand the invisible grains of slumber. The + evening breeze wafted them to the quiet dwelling of the tired + husbandman, infolding in sweet sleep the inmates of the rural + cottage—from the old man upon the staff, down to the + infant in the cradle. The sick forgot their pain: the mourners + their grief; the poor their care. All eyes closed.</p> + + <p>His task accomplished, the benevolent Angel of Sleep laid + himself again by the side of his grave brother. "When Aurora + awakes," exclaimed he, with innocent joy, "men praise me as + their friend and benefactor. Oh! what happiness, unseen and + secretly to confer such benefits! How blessed are we to be the + invisible messengers of the Good Spirit! How beautiful is our + silent calling!"</p> + + <p>So spake the friendly Angel of Slumber.</p> + + <p>The Angel of Death sat with still deeper melancholy on his + brow, and a tear, such as mortals shed, appeared in his large + dark eyes. "Alas!" said he, "I may not, like thee, rejoice in + the cheerful thanks of mankind; they call me upon the earth + their enemy, and joy-killer."</p> + + <p>"Oh! my brother," replied the gentle Angel of Slumber, "and + will not the good man, at his awakening, recognize in thee his + friend and benefactor, and gratefully bless thee in his joy? + Are we not brothers, and ministers of one Father?"</p> + + <p>As he spake, the eyes of the Death-Angel beamed with + pleasure, and again did the two friendly Genii cordially + embrace each other.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>THE MODERN SCHOOLS OF ATHENS.—I visited, with equal + surprise and satisfaction, an Athenian school, which contained + seven hundred pupils, taken from every class of society. The + poorer classes were gratuitously instructed in reading, + writing, and arithmetic, and the girls in needlework likewise. + The progress which the children had made was very remarkable; + but what particularly pleased me was that air of bright + alertness and good-humored energy which belonged to them, and + which made every task appear a pleasure, not a toil. The + greatest punishment which can be inflicted on an Athenian child + is exclusion from school, though but for a day. About seventy + of the children belonged to the higher classes, and were + instructed in music, drawing, the modern languages, the ancient + Greek, and geography. Most of them were at the moment reading + Herodotus and Homer. I have never seen children approaching + them in beauty; and was much struck by their Oriental cast of + countenance, their dark complexions, their flashing eyes, and + that expression, at once apprehensive and meditative, which is + so much more remarkable in children than in those of a more + mature age.—<i>De Vere</i>.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>At Berlin, the Academy of Sciences has been holding a + sitting, according to its statutes, in honor of the memory of + Leibnitz. In the course of the oration delivered on the + occasion, it was stated that the 4th of August being the + fiftieth anniversary of the admission of Alexander Von Humboldt + as a member of the Academy, it had been resolved, in + celebration of the event, to place a marble bust of the "Nestor + of Science" in the lecture room of the society.</p> + <hr /> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote1" + name="footnote1"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag1">(return)</a> + + <p>The Night side of Nature; or, Ghosts and Ghost Seers. By + Catherine Crowe. New York. J.S. Redfield.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote2" + name="footnote2"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag2">(return)</a> + + <p>Picturesque Sketches of Greece and Turkey. By Aubrey De + Vere, 2 vols. [Philadelphia: A. Hart.]</p> + </blockquote> + <hr class="full" /> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The International Weekly Miscellany, +Volume I. No. 8, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY *** + +***** This file should be named 13796-h.htm or 13796-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/7/9/13796/ + +Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, William Flis, the PG Online Distributed +Proofreading Team, and Cornell University + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The International Weekly Miscellany, Volume I. No. 8 + Of Literature, Art, and Science, August 19, 1850 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: October 19, 2004 [EBook #13796] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY *** + + + + +Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, William Flis, the PG Online Distributed +Proofreading Team, and Cornell University + + + + + +INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY MISCELLANY + +Of Literature, Art, and Science. + + * * * * * + +Vol. I. NEW YORK, AUGUST 19, 1850. No. 8. + + * * * * * + + +THE THEATER IN RUSSIA AND POLAND. + +The following interesting sketch of the Drama in the empire of +the Czar is translated for the _International_ from the Leipzig +_Grenzboten_. The facts it states are not only new to most readers, +but throw incidentally a good deal of light on the condition of that +vast empire, and the state of its population in respect of literature +and art in general: + + * * * * * + +The dramatic taste of a people, the strength of its productive +faculty, the gradual development of its most popular sphere of art, +the theater, contain the key to phases of its character which cannot +always be recognized with the same exactness from other parts of its +history. The tendencies and disposition of the mass come out very +plainly in their relations to dramatic art, and from the audience of +an evening at a theater some inference may be drawn as to the whole +political scope of the nation. In truth, however, this requires +penetration as well as cautious judgment. + +In the middle of the last century there were in the kingdom of Poland, +beside the royal art institutions at Warsaw, four strong dramatic +companies, of genuine Polish stamp, which gave performances in the +most fashionable cities. Two of them were so excellent that they +often had the honor to play before the court. The peculiarity of these +companies was that they never performed foreign works, but literally +only their own. The managers were either themselves poets, or had +poets associated with them in business. Each was guided by his poet, +as Wallenstein by his astrologer. The establishment depended on +its dramatic ability, while its performances were limited almost +exclusively to the productions of its poet. The better companies, +however, were in the habit of making contracts with each other, by +which they exchanged the plays of their dramatists. This limitation to +native productions perhaps grew partly out of the want of familiarity +with foreign literature, partly from national feeling, and partly from +the fact that the Polish taste was as yet little affected by that of +the Germans, French, or English. In these circumstances there sprung +up a poetic creative faculty, which gave promise of a good and really +national drama. And even now, after wars, revolutions, and the schemes +of foreign rulers have alternately destroyed and degraded the stage, +and after the Poles have become poetically as well as politically +mere satellites of French ideas and culture, there still exist, as +respectable remains of the good old time, a few companies of players, +which, like their ancient predecessors, have their own poets, and +perform only his pieces, or at least others of Polish origin that he +has arranged and adapted. Such a company, whose principal personage +is called Richlawski, is now in Little Poland, in the cities Radom, +Kielce, Opatow, Sandomir, &c. A second, which generally remains in the +Government of Kalisch, is under the direction of a certain Felinski, +and through his excellent dramatic compositions has gained a +reputation equal to that of the band of Strauss in music. Yet these +companies are only relics. The Polish drama in general has now a +character and destiny which was not to be expected a hundred years +since. + +The origin of the Russian theater is altogether more recent. It is +true that Peter the Great meddled a good deal with the theater as well +as with other things, but it was not till the Empress Catharine +that dramatic literature was really emancipated by the court. Under +Alexander and Nicholas the most magnificent arrangements have been +made in every one of the cities that from time to time is honored by +the residence of the Emperor, so that Russia boasts of possessing five +theaters, two of which excel everything in Europe in respect to size +and splendor, but yet possesses no sort of taste for dramatic art. The +stage, in the empire of the Muscovites, is like a rose-bush grafted on +a wild forest tree. It has not grown up naturally from a poetic want +in the people, and finds in the country little or nothing in the way +of a poetic basis. Accordingly, the theater in Russia is in every +respect a foreign institution. Not national in its origin, it has not +struck its roots into the heart of the people. Only here and there +a feeble germ of theatrical literature has made its way through the +obstinate barbarism of the Russian nature. The mass have no feeling +for dramatic poetry, while the cultivated classes exhibit a most +striking want of taste. + +But in Russia everything is inverted. What in other nations is +the final result of a long life, is there the beginning. A natural +development of the people appears to its rulers too circuitous, +and in fact would in many things require centuries of preparation. +Accordingly, they seek to raise their subjects to the level of other +races by forcing them outwardly to imitate their usages. Peter the +Great says in his testament: "Let there be no intermission in teaching +the Russian people European forms and customs." The theater in Russia +is one of these forms, and from this it is easy to understand the +condition it is in. + +It is true there are in the country a few independent companies +of players, but they are not Russian, or at least were formed as a +speculation by some foreigner. For example, Odessa has often two +such, and sometimes three. The Italian company is said to be good. The +Russian, which has now become permanent, has hitherto been under the +management of a German, and has been very poor. The company in Kiew +consists mostly of Poles, from the old Polish provinces incorporated +with Russia, and has a high reputation. In Poland it would be possible +in every little nest of a city to get together a tolerable company for +dramatic performance. In Russia it would be much easier to raise an +army. The ultimate reason of this striking contrast is the immense +dissimilarity in the character of the two nations. The Pole is +remarkably sanguine, fiery, enthusiastic, full of ideality and +inspiration; the Russian is through and through material, a lover of +coarse physical pleasures, full of ability to fight and cut capers, +but not endowed with a capacity quickly to receive impressions and +mentally elaborate them. + +In this respect, the mass and the aristocracy, the serfs and their +masters, are as alike as twins. The noble is quite as coarse as the +peasant. In Poland this is quite otherwise. The peasant may be called +a rough creature, but the noble is almost always a man of refinement, +lacking indeed almost always in scientific information, but never +in the culture of a man of the world. The reason of this is, that +his active, impetuous soul finds constant occasion for maintaining +familiarity with the world around him, and really needs to keep up a +good understanding with it. The Russians know no such want. + +Even in St. Petersburg the German was long much more successful than +the native theater, though the number of Russians there is seventeen +times larger than that of the Germans. The Russians who there +visit the theater are the richest and most prominent members of the +aristocracy. They however consider the drama as simply a thing of +fashion. Hence results the curious fact that it is thought a matter +of good taste to be present at the beginning but not to wait for the +end of a piece. It has happened that long before the performance was +over the house was perfectly empty, everyone following the fashion, +in order not to seem deficient in public manners. If there is ever +a great attraction at the theater, it is not the play, but some +splendid show. The Russian lady, in studying the _coiffure_ or the +trailing-robe of an actress, forgets entirely her part in this piece, +if indeed she has ever had an adequate conception of it. For this +reason, at St. Petersburg and Moscow the ballet is esteemed infinitely +higher than the best drama; and if the management should have +the command of the Emperor to engage rope-dancers and athletes, +circus-riders and men-apes, the majority of Russians would be of +opinion that the theater had gained the last point of perfection. This +was the case in Warsaw several years ago, when the circus company of +Tourniare was there. The theaters gave their best and most popular +pieces, in order to guard against too great a diminution of their +receipts. The Poles patriotically gave the preference for the drama, +but the Russians were steady adorers of Madame Tourniare and her +horse. In truth, the lady enjoyed the favor of Prince Paskiewich. +General O---- boasted that during the eleven months that the circus +staid he was not absent from a single performance. The Polish Count +Ledochowski, on the other hand, said that he had been there but once +when he went with his children, and saw nothing of the performance, +because he read Schiller's William Tell every moment. This was Polish +opposition to Russian favoritism, but it also affords an indication of +the national peculiarities of the two races. + +From deficiency in taste for dramatic art arises the circumstance that +talent for acting is incomparably scarce among the Russians. Great +as have been the efforts of the last emperors of Russia to add a new +splendor to their capitals by means of the theater, they have not +succeeded in forming from their vast nation artists above mediocrity, +except in low comedy. At last it was determined to establish dramatic +schools in connection with the theaters and educate players; but it +appears that though talent can be developed, it cannot be created at +the word of command. The Emperor Nicholas, or rather his wife, was, +as is said, formerly so vexed at the incapacity of the Russians +for dramatic art, that it was thought best to procure children in +Germany for the schools. The Imperial will met with hindrance, and he +contented himself with taking children of the German race from his own +dominions. The pride of the Russians did not suffer in consequence. + +While poetry naturally precedes dramatic art, the drama, on the other +hand, cannot attain any degree of excellence where the theater is in +such a miserable state. It is now scarcely half a century since the +effort was begun to remove the total want of scientific culture in +the Russian nation, but what are fifty years for such a purpose, in +so enormous a country? The number of those who have received the +scientific stimulus and been carried to a degree of intellectual +refinement is very small, and the happy accident by which a man of +genius appears among the small number must be very rare. And in this +connection it is noteworthy, that the Russian who feels himself +called to artistic production almost always shows a tendency to epic +composition. + +The difficulties of form appear terrible to the Russian. In +romance-writing the form embarrasses him less, and accordingly they +almost all throw themselves into the making of novels. + +As is generally the case in the beginning of every nation's +literature, any writer in Russia is taken for a miracle, and regarded +with stupor. The dramatist Kukolnik is an example of this. He has +written a great deal for the theater, but nothing in him is to be +praised so much as his zeal in imitation. It must be admitted that in +this he possesses a remarkable degree of dexterity. He soon turned to +the favorite sphere of romance writing, but in this also he manifests +the national weakness. In every one of his countless works the most +striking feature is the lack of organization. They were begun and +completed without their author's ever thinking out a plot, or its mode +of treatment. + +Kukolnik's "Alf and Adona," in which at least one hundred and fifty +characters are brought upon the stage, has not one whose appearance is +designed to concentrate the interest of the audience. Each comes in to +show himself, and goes out not to be in the way any longer. Everything +is described and explained with equal minuteness, from the pile of +cabbages by the wayside, to the murder of a prince; and instead of a +historical action there is nothing but unconnected details. The same +is the case with his "Eveline and Baillerole," in which Cardinal +Richelieu is represented as a destroyer of the aristocracy, and which +also is made up of countless unconnected scenes, that in part are +certainly done with some neatness. These remarks apply to the works +of Iwan Wanenko and I. Boriczewski, to I. Zchewen's "Sunshine", five +volumes strong; to the compositions of Wolkow, Czerujawski, Ulitinins, +Th. Van Dim, (a pseudonym,) in fact to everything that has yet +appeared. + +On the part of the Imperial family, as we have already said, +everything has been done for the Russian stage that could possibly be +done, and is done no where else. The extremest liberality favors the +artists, schools are provided in order to raise them from the domain +of gross buffoonery to that of true art, the most magnificent premiums +are given to the best, actors are made equal in rank to officers of +state, they are held only to twenty-five years' service, reckoning +from their debut,--and finally, they receive for the rest of their +lives a pension equal to their full salaries. High rewards are given +to Russian star-actors, in order if possible to draw talent of every +sort forth from the dry steppes of native art. The Russian actors are +compelled on pain of punishment to go regularly to the German theater, +with a view to their improvement, and in order to make this as +effective as may be, enormous compensations attract the best German +stars to St. Petersburg. And yet all this is useless, and the Russian +theater is not raised above the dignity of a workshop. Only the comic +side of the national character, a burlesque and droll simplicity, is +admirably represented by actors whose skill and the scope of whose +talents may he reckoned equal to the Germans in the same line. But +in the higher walks of the drama they are worthless. The people have +neither cultivation nor sentiment for serious works, while the poets +to produce them, and the actors to represent them, are alike wanting. + +Immediately after the submission of Poland in 1831, the theaters, +permanent and itinerant, were closed. The plan was conceived of not +allowing them to be reoepened until they could be occupied by Russian +performers. But as the Government recovered from its first rage, +this was found to be impracticable. The officers of the garrisons in +Poland, however numerous, could never support Russian theaters, and +besides, where were the performers to come from? In Warsaw, however, +it was determined to force a theater into existence, and a Russian +newspaper was already established there. The power of the Muscovites +has done great things, built vast fortresses and destroyed vaster, but +it could not accomplish a Russian theater at Warsaw. Even the paper +died before it had attained a regular life, although it cost a great +deal of money. + +Finally came the permission to reoepen the Polish theater, and indeed +the caprice which was before violent against it, was now exceedingly +favorable, but of course not without collateral purposes. The scanty +theater on the Krasinski place, which was alone in Warsaw, except the +remote circus and the little theater of King Stanislaus Augustus, +was given up, and the sum of four millions of florins ($1,600,000) +devoted to the erection of two large and magnificent theaters. The +superintendence of the work of building and the management of the +performances was, according to the Russian system, intrusted to one +General Rautenstrauch, a man seventy years old, and worn out both +in mind and body. The two theaters were erected under one roof, and +arranged on the grandest and most splendid scale. The edifice is +opposite the City Hall, occupies a whole side of the main public +place, and is above 750 feet in length. The pit in each is supported +by a series of immense, stupid, square pilasters, such as architecture +has seldom witnessed out of Russia. Over these pilasters stands +the first row of boxes supported by beautifully wrought Corinthian +columns, and above these rise three additional rows. The edifice is +about 160 feet high and is the most colossal building in Warsaw. As it +was designed to treat the actors in military fashion and according to +Russian style, the building was laid out like barracks and about seven +hundred persons live in it, most of them employed about the theater. +The two stages were built by a German architect under the inspection +of the General whose peremptory suggestions were frequent and +injurious. Both the great theater as it is called, which has four +rows of boxes, and can contain six thousand auditors, and the Variete +theater which is very much smaller, are fitted out with all sorts of +apparatus that ever belonged to a stage. In fact, new machinery has +in many cases been invented for them and proved totally useless. The +Russian often hits upon queer notions when he tries to show his gifts. + +On one side a very large and strong bridge has been erected leading +from the street to the stage, to be used whenever the piece requires +large bodies of cavalry to make their appearance, and there are +machines that can convey persons with the swiftness of lightning down +from the sky above the stage, a distance of 56 feet. A machine for +which a ballet has been composed surpasses everything I ever saw in +its size; it serves to transport eighty persons together on a seeming +cloud from the roof to the foot-lights. I was astonished by it when I +first beheld it although I had seen the machines of the grand opera at +Paris: the second time I reflected that it alone cost 40,000 florins +[$16,000]. + +Under the management of two Russian Generals, who have hitherto been +at the head of the establishment, a vast deal has in this way been +accomplished for mere external show. + +The great Russian theatre of St. Petersburg has served for a model, +and accordingly nothing has really been improved except that part of +the performance which is farthest removed from genuine art, namely +the ballet. That fact is that out of Paris the ballet is nowhere +so splendid as in the great theater at Warsaw, not even at St. +Petersburg, for the reason that the Russian is inferior to the Pole in +physical beauty and grace. Heretofore the corps of the St. Petersburg +ballet has twice been composed of Poles, but this arrangement has been +abandoned as derogatory to the national honor. The sensual attractions +of the ballet render it the most important thing in the theater. A +great school for dancers has been established, where pupils may be +found from three to eighteen years old. It is painful to see the +little creatures, hardly weaned from their mothers' breasts--twisted +and tortured for the purposes of so doubtful an occupation as dancing. +The school contains about two hundred pupils, all of whom occasionally +appear together on the boards, in the ballet of Charis and Flora, for +instance, when they receive a trifling compensation. For the rest the +whole ballet corps are bound to daily practice. + +The taste of the Russians has made prominent in the ballet exactly +those peculiarities which are least to its credit. It must be +pronounced exaggerated and lascivious. Aside from these faults, which +may be overlooked as the custom of the country, we must admit that the +dancing is uncommonly good. + +The greater the care of the management for the ballet, the more +injurious is its treatment of the drama. This is melancholy for the +artists and especially those who have come to the imperial theater +from the provinces, who are truly respectable and are equally good in +comedy and tragedy. The former has been less shackled than the latter +for the reason that it turns upon domestic life. But tragedy is most +frightfully treated by the political censorship, so that a Polish +poet can hardly expect to see his pieces performed on the stage of +his native country. Hundreds of words and phrases such as freedom, +avenging sword, slave, oppression, father-land, cannot be permitted +and are stricken out. Accordingly nothing but the trumpery of mere +penny-a-liners is brought forward, though this sometimes assumes an +appearance of originality. These abortions remain on the stage only +through the talent of the artists, the habit of the public to expect +nothing beyond dullness and stupidity in the drama, and finally, the +severe regulation which forbids any mark of disapprobation under pain +of imprisonment. The best plays are translated from the French, but +they are never the best of their kind. To please the Russians only +those founded on civic life are chosen, and historical subjects are +excluded. Princely personages are not allowed to be introduced on +the stage, nor even high officers of state, such as ministers and +generals. In former times the Emperor of China was once allowed to +pass, but more recently the Bey of Tunis was struck out and converted +into an African nobleman. A tragedy is inadmissible in any case, and +should one be found with nothing objectionable but its name, it is +called drama. + +In such circumstances we would suppose that the actors would lose all +interest in their profession. But this is not the case. At least the +cultivated portion of the public at Warsaw never go to the theater to +see a poetic work of art, but only to see and enjoy the skill of the +performers. Of course there is no such thing as theatrical criticism +at Warsaw; but everybody rejoices when the actors succeed in causing +the wretchedness of the piece to be forgotten. The universal regret +for the wretched little theater on the Krasinski place, where +Suczkowska, afterward Mad. Halpert, founded her reputation in the +character of the Maid of Orleans, is the best criticism on the present +state of the drama. + +The Russians take great delight in the most trivial pieces. Even +Prince Paskiewich sometimes stays till the close of the last act. To +judge by the direction of his opera-glass, which is never out of his +hand, he has the fortune to discover poetry elsewhere than on the +stage. In truth the Warsaw boxes are adorned by beautiful faces. Even +the young princess Jablonowska is not the most lovely. + +The arrangements of the Warsaw theaters are exactly like those of the +Russian theater at St. Petersburg, but almost without exception, the +pupils of the dramatic school, of whom seventeen have come upon the +boards, have proved mere journeymen, and have been crowded aside by +performers from the provincial cities. None of the eminent artists of +late years have enjoyed the advantages of the school. The position +of the actors at Warsaw is just the same as at St. Petersburg. The +day after their first appearance they are regularly taken into duty +as imperial officials, take an oath never to meddle with political +affairs, nor join in any secret society, nor ever to pronounce on the +stage anything more or anything else than what is in the stamped parts +given them by the imperial management. + +Actors' salaries at Warsaw are small in comparison with those of other +countries. Forty or fifty silver rubles a month ($26 to $33) pass for +a very respectable compensation, and even the very best performers +rarely get beyond a thousand rubles a year ($650). Madame Halpert +long had to put up with that salary till once Taglioni said to Prince +Paskiewich that it was a shame for so magnificent an artist to be no +better paid than a writer. Her salary was thereupon raised one-half, +and subsequently by means of a similar mediation she succeeded in +getting an addition of a thousand rubles yearly under the head of +wardrobe expenses. This was a thing so extraordinary that the managing +General declared that so enormous a compensation would never again be +heard of in any imperial theatre. The pupils of the dramatic school +receive eighteen rubles monthly, and, according to their performances, +obtain permission every two years to ask an increase of salary. The +period of service extends to twenty-five years, with the certainty +of a yearly pension equal to the salary received at the close of the +period. + +For the artist this is a very important arrangement, which enables him +to endure a thousand inconveniences. + +There is no prospect of a better state of the Polish drama. Count +Fedro may, in his comedies, employ the finest satire with a view +to its restoration, but he will accomplish nothing so long as the +Generals ride the theater as they would a war horse. On the other +hand, no Russian drama has been established, because the conditions +are wanting among the people. That is a vast empire, but poor in +beauty; mighty in many things, but weak in artistic talents; powerful +and prompt in destruction, but incapable spontaneously and of itself +to create anything. + + * * * * * + + + +"DEATH'S JEST BOOK, OR THE FOOL'S TRAGEDY." + + +The _Examiner_, for July 20, contains an elaborate review, with +numerous extracts, of a play just published under this title in +London. "It is radiant," says the critic, "in almost every page with +passion, fancy, or thought, set in the most apposite and exquisite +language. We have but to discard, in reading it, the hope of any +steady interest of story, or consistent development of character: +and we shall find a most surprising succession of beautiful passages, +unrivaled in sentiment and pathos, as well as in terseness, dignity, +and picturesque vigor of language; in subtlety and power of passion, +as well as in delicacy and strength of imagination; and as perfect and +various, in modulation of verse, as the airy flights of Fletcher or +Marlowe's mighty line. + +"The whole range of the Elizabethan drama has not finer expression, +nor does any single work of the period, out of Shakspeare, exhibit so +many rich and precious bars of golden verse, side by side with such +poverty and misery of character and plot. Nothing can be meaner than +the design, nothing grander than the execution." + +In conclusion, the _Examiner_ observes--"We are not acquainted with +any living author who could have written the Fool's Tragedy; and, +though the publication is unaccompanied by any hint of authorship, +we believe that we are correct in stating it to be a posthumous +production of the author of the Bride's Tragedy; Mr. Thomas Lovell +Beddoes. Speaking of the latter production, now more than a quarter +of a century ago, (Mr. Beddoes was then, we believe, a student +at Pembroke College, Oxford, and a minor,) the _Edinburgh Review_ +ventured upon a prediction of future fame and achievement for the +writer, which an ill-chosen and ill-directed subsequent career +unhappily intercepted and baffled. But in proof of the noble natural +gifts which suggested such anticipation, the production before us +remains: and we may judge to what extent a more steady course and +regular cultivation would have fertilized a soil, which, neglected +and uncared for, has thrown out such a glorious growth of foliage and +fruit as this Fool's Tragedy." + +The following exquisite lyric is among the passages with which these +judgments are sustained: + + "If thou wilt ease thine heart + Of love and all its smart, + Then sleep, dear, sleep; + And not a sorrow + Hang any tear on your eyelashes; + Lie still and deep + Sad soul, until like sea-wave washes + The rim o' the sun to-morrow, + In eastern sky. + + But wilt thou cure thine heart + Of love and all its smart, + Then die, dear, die; + 'Tis deeper, sweeter, + Than on a rose bank to lie dreaming + With folded eye; + And then alone, amid the beaming + Of love's stars, thou'lt meet her + In eastern sky." + + * * * * * + + +WINTHROP MACKWORTH PRAED. + +Praed, it has always seemed to us, was the cleverest writer in his +way that has ever contributed to the English periodicals. His fugitive +lyrics and arabesque romances, half sardonic and half sentimental, +published with Hookham Frere's "Whistlecraft" and Macaulay's Roundhead +Ballads, in _Knight's Quarterly Magazine_, and after the suspension +of that work, for the most part in the annual souvenirs, are +altogether unequaled in the class of compositions described as +_vers de societie_.--Who that has read "School and School Fellows", +"Palinodia", "The Vicar", "Josephine", and a score of other pieces in +the same vein, does not desire to possess all the author has left us, +in a suitable edition? It has been frequently stated in the English +journals that such a collection was to be published, under the +direction of Praed's widow, but we have yet only the volume prepared +by a lover of the poet some years ago for the Langleys, in this city. +In the "Memoirs of Eminent Etonians," just printed by Mr. Edward +Creasy, we have several waifs of Praed's that we believe will be new +to all our readers. Here is a characteristic political rhyme: + +VERSES + +ON SEEING THE SPEAKER ASLEEP IN HIS CHAIR IN ONE OF THE DEBATES OF THE +FIRST REFORMED PARLIAMENT. + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, 'tis surely fair + If you mayn't in your bed, that you should in your chair. + Louder and longer now they grow, + Tory and Radical, Aye and Noe; + Talking by night and talking by day. + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker; slumber lies + Light and brief on a Speaker's eyes, + Fielden or Finn in a minute or two + Some disorderly thing will do; + Riot will chase repose away + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker. Sweet to men + Is the sleep that cometh but now and then, + Sweet to the weary, sweet to the ill, + Sweet to the children that work in the mill. + You have more need of repose than they-- + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, Harvey will soon + Move to abolish the sun and the moon; + Hume will no doubt be taking the sense + Of the House on a question of sixteen pence. + Statesmen will howl, and patriots bray-- + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may! + + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, and dream of the time, + When loyalty was not quite a crime, + When Grant was a pupil in Canning's school, + And Palmerston fancied Wood a fool. + Lord, how principles pass away-- + Sleep, Mr. Speaker, sleep while you may. + +The following is a spirited version of a dramatic scene in the second +book of the Annals of Tacitus: + +ARMINIUS. + + Back, Back;--he fears not foaming flood + Who fears not steel-clad line:-- + No warrior thou of German blood, + No brother thou of mine. + Go earn Rome's chain to load thy neck, + Her gems to deck thy hilt; + And blazon honor's hapless wreck + With all the gauds of guilt. + + But wouldst thou have _me_ share the prey? + By all that I have done, + The Varian bones that day by day + Lie whitening in the sun; + The legion's trampled panoply + The eagle's shattered wing. + I would not be for earth or sky + So scorned and mean a thing, + + Ho, call me here the wizard, boy, + Of dark and subtle skill, + To agonize but not destroy, + To torture, not to kill. + When swords are out, and shriek and shout + Leave little room for prayer, + No fetter on man's arm or heart + Hangs half so heavy there. + + I curse him by the gifts the land + Hath won from him and Rome. + The riving axe, the wasting brand, + Rent forest, blazing home. + I curse him by our country's gods, + The terrible, the dark, + The breakers of the Roman rods, + The smiters of the bark. + + Oh, misery that such a ban + On such a brow should be! + Why comes he not in battle's van + His country's chief to be? + To stand a comrade by my side, + The sharer of my fame, + And worthy of a brother's pride, + And of a brother's name? + + But it is past!--where heroes press + And cowards bend the knee, + Arminius is not brotherless, + His brethren are the free. + They come around:--one hour, and light + Will fade from turf and tide, + Then onward, onward to the fight, + With darkness for our guide. + + To-night, to-night, when we shall meet + In combat face to face, + Then only would Arminius greet + The renegade's embrace. + The canker of Rome's guilt shall be + Upon his dying name; + And as he lived in slavery, + So shall he fall in shame. + + * * * * * + +CAMPBELL AND WASHINGTON IRVING. + +The Editor of _The Albion_, in noticing the republication by the +Harpers of the very interesting Life and Letters of Thomas Campbell, +by Dr. Beattie, has the following observations upon Mr. Irving's +introductory letter: + +"WASHINGTON IRVING, at the request of the publishers, contributed a +very interesting letter to themselves, directing public notice to the +value of this edition. He pays also a hearty and deserved tribute, +not only to the genius of Campbell, but to his many excellencies and +kindly specialities of character. The author of "Hohenlinden," and the +"Battle of the Baltic" stands in need of no man's praise as a lyric +poet--but this sort of testimony to his private worth is grateful +and well-timed. Here is an interesting passage from Mr. Irving's +introductory communication. He is alluding to Campbell's fame and +position, when he himself first made Campbell's acquaintance in +England. + + "'I had considered the early productions of Campbell as + brilliant indications of a genius yet to be developed, and + trusted that, during the long interval which had elapsed, + he had been preparing something to fulfill the public + expectation; I was greatly disappointed, therefore, to find + that, as yet, he had contemplated no great and sustained + effort. My disappointment in this respect was shared + by others, who took the same interest in his fame, and + entertained the same idea of his capacity. 'There he is + cooped up in Sydenham,' said a great Edinburgh critic to me, + 'simmering his brains to serve up a little dish of poetry, + instead of pouring out a whole caldron.' + + "'Scott, too, who took a cordial delight in Campbell's poetry, + expressed himself to the same effect. 'What a pity is it,' + said he to me 'that Campbell does not give full sweep to his + genius. He has wings that would bear him up to the skies, and + he does now and then spread them grandly, but folds them up + again and resumes his perch, as if afraid to launch away. The + fact is, he is a bugbear to himself. The brightness of his + early success is a detriment to all his future efforts. _He is + afraid of the shadow that his own fame casts before him_.' + + "'Little was Scott aware at the time that he, in truth, was + a 'bugbear' to Campbell. This I infer from an observation of + Mrs. Campbell's in reply to an expression of regret on my part + that her husband did not attempt something on a grand Scale. + 'It is unfortunate for Campbell,' said she, 'that he lives in + the same age with Scott and Byron.' I asked why. 'Oh,' said + she, 'they write so much and so rapidly. Now Campbell writes + slowly, and it takes him some time to get under way; and just + as he has fairly begun, out comes one of their poems, that + sets the world agog and quite daunts him, so that he throws by + his pen in despair.' + + "'I pointed out the essential difference in their kinds of + poetry, and the qualities which insured perpetuity to that of + her husband. 'You can't persuade Campbell of that,' said she. + 'He is apt to undervalue his own works, and to consider his + own lights put out, whenever they come blazing out with their + great torches.' + + "'I repeated the conversation to Scott sometime afterward, + and it drew forth a characteristic comment. 'Pooh!' said he, + good-humoredly, 'how can Campbell mistake the matter so + much. Poetry goes by quality, not by bulk. My poems are mere + cairngorms, wrought up, perhaps, with a cunning hand, and may + pass well in the market as long as cairngorms are the fashion; + but they are mere Scotch pebbles after all; now Tom Campbell's + are real diamonds, and diamonds of the first water.'" + +"The foregoing is new to us, and full of a double interest. It is +followed, however, by a statement, that needs a word of explanation. +Mr. Irving says: + + "'I have not time at present to furnish personal anecdotes of + my intercourse with Campbell, neither does it afford any of a + striking nature. Though extending over a number of years, it + was never very intimate. His residence in the country, and + my own long intervals of absence on the continent, rendered + our meetings few and far between. To tell the truth, I was + not much drawn to Campbell, having taken up a wrong notion + concerning him, from seeing him at times when his mind was + ill at ease, and preyed upon by secret griefs. I thought + him disposed to be querulous and captious, and had heard his + apparent discontent attributed to jealous repining at the + success of his poetical contemporaries. In a word, I knew + little of him but what might be learned in the casual + intercourse of general society; whereas it required the close + communion of confidential friendship, to sound the depth of + his character and know the treasures of excellence hidden + beneath its surface. Beside, he was dogged for years + by certain malignant scribblers, who took a pleasure in + misrepresenting all his actions, and holding him up in an + absurd and disparaging point of view. In what hostility + originated I do not know, but it must have given much + annoyance to his sensitive mind, and may have affected + his popularity. I know not to what else to attribute a + circumstance to which I was a witness during my last visit to + England. It was at an annual dinner of the Literary Fund, at + which Prince Albert presided, and where was collected much + of the prominent talent of the kingdom. In the course of + the evening Campbell rose to make a speech. I had not seen + him for years, and his appearance showed the effect of age + and ill-health; _it was evident, also, that his mind was + obfuscated by the wine he had been drinking_. He was confused + and tedious in his remarks; still, there was nothing but + what one would have thought would have been received with + indulgence, if not deference, from a veteran of his fame and + standing; a living classic. On the contrary, to my surprise, I + soon observed signs of impatience in the company; the poet was + repeatedly interrupted by coughs and discordant sounds, and + as often endeavored to proceed; the noise at length became + intolerable, and he was absolutely clamored down, sinking + into his chair overwhelmed and disconcerted. I could not have + thought such treatment possible to such a person at such a + meeting. Hallam, author of the Literary History of the Middle + Ages, who sat by me on this occasion, marked the mortification + of the poet, and it excited his generous sympathy. Being + shortly afterward on the floor to reply to a toast, he took + occasion to advert to the recent remarks of Campbell, and in + so doing called up in review all his eminent achievements in + the world of letters, and drew such a picture of his claims + upon popular gratitude and popular admiration, as to convict + the assembly of the glaring impropriety they had been guilty + of--to soothe the wounded sensibility of the poet, and send + him home to, I trust, a quiet pillow.' + +"Now, the very same facts are seen by different observers in a +different point of view. It so happened that we ourselves were present +at this dinner, which took place in 1842; and the painful circumstance +alluded to by Mr. Irving did not produce the effect on us, that it +appears to have produced on him. Without making a long story about +a trifle, we can call to mind no appearance of hostility or ill-will +manifested on that occasion; and on the contrary, recollect, in our +immediate neighborhood, a mournful sense of distress at the scene +exhibited, and sufficiently hinted in the few unpleasant words we +have italicized. A muster of Englishmen preferred coughing down their +favorite bard, to allowing him to mouth out maudlin twaddle, before +the Prince, then first formally introduced to the public, and before +a meeting whereat "was collected much of the prominent talent of the +kingdom." Mr. Irving, himself most deservedly a man of mark, looked +on with much, surprise. Looking on ourselves then, and writing now, +as one of the public, and as one of the many to whom Campbell's name +and fame are inexpressibly dear, we honestly think that of two evils +the lesser was chosen. We think Mr. Hallam's lecture must have been +inaudible to the greater part of the company." + + * * * * * + +The Archbishop of Lemburgh has prohibited his clergy from wearing long +hair like the peasants, and from smoking in public, "like demagogues +and sons of Baal." + + * * * * * + +The Persians have a saying, that "Ten measures of talk were sent down +upon the earth, and the women took nine." + + * * * * * + + + + +AUTHORS AND BOOKS + + * * * * * + +No man is more enshrined in the heart of the French people than the +poet BERANGER. A few weeks since he went one evening with one of his +nephews to the _Clos des Lilas_, a garden in the students' quarter +devoted to dancing in the open air, intending to look for a few +minutes upon a scene he had not visited since his youth, and then +withdraw. But he found it impossible to remain unknown and unobserved. +The announcement of his presence ran through the garden in a moment, +the dances stopped, the music ceased, and the crowd thronged toward +the point where the still genial and lovely old man was standing. At +once there rose from all lips the cry of _Vive Beranger!_ which was +quickly followed by that of _Vive la Republique!_ The poet whose +diffidence is excessive, could not answer a word, but only smiled and +blushed his thanks at this enthusiastic reception. The acclamations +continuing, an agent of the police invited him to withdraw, lest his +presence might occasion disorder. The illustrious songwriter at once +obeyed; by a singular coincidence the door through which he went out +opened upon the place where Marshal Ney was shot. If he were now in +the vein of writing, what a stirring lyric all these circumstances +might suggest. + + * * * * * + +AUDUBON AND WASHINGTON IRVING--THE PLAGUE OF RAILROADS.--The voyager +up the Hudson will involuntarily anathematize the invention of the +rail, when he sees how much of the most romantic beauty has been +defaced or destroyed by that tyranny which, disregarding all private +desire and justice, has filled up bays, and cut off promontories, and +leveled heights, to make way for the intrusive and noisy car. But the +effects of these so-called "improvements," upon the romantic in nature +will be forgotten if he considers the injury and wrong they cause to +persons, and particularly to those whose genius has contributed more +to human happiness than all the inventions in oeconomical art. + +The Nestor of our naturalists, and in his field, the greatest as well +as the oldest of our artists, AUDUBON, with the comparatively slight +gains of a long life of devotion to science, and of triumphs which had +made him world-renowned, purchased on the banks of the river, not far +from the city, a little estate which it was the joy as well as the +care of his closing years to adorn with everything that a taste so +peculiarly and variously schooled could suggest. He had made it a +pleasing gate-way to the unknown world, with beautiful walks leading +down to the river whose depth and calmness and solemn grandeur +symboled the waves through which he should pass to the reward of a +life of such toil and enviable glory. He had promise of an evening +worthy of his meridian--when the surveyors and engineers, with their +charter-privileges, invaded his retreat, built a road through his +garden, destroyed forever his repose, and--the melancholy truth is +known--made of his mind a ruin. + +WASHINGTON IRVING--now sixty-seven years of age--had found a +resting-place at _Wolfert's Roost_, close by the scenes which lie in +the immortal beauty that radiates from his pages, and when he thought +that in this Tusculum he was safe from all annoying, free to enjoy +the quietness and ease he had earned from the world, the same vandals +laid the track through his grounds, not only destroying all their +beauty and attraction, but leaving fens from which these summer heats +distilled contagion. He has therefore been ill for some weeks, and +as he had never a strong constitution, and has preserved his equable +but not vigorous health only by the most constant carefulness, his +physicians and friends begin to be alarmed for the result. Heaven +avert the end they so fearfully anticipate. He cannot go alone: The +honest Knickerbocker, the gentle Crayon, and the faithful brother +Agapida, with Washington Irving will forever leave the world, which +cannot yet resign itself to the loss of either. + + * * * * * + +Mr. SEBA SMITH, so well known as the author of the "Letters of Major +Jack Downing," and to a different sort of readers for his more serious +contributions to our literature, has just completed the printing of +an original and very remarkable work, upon which he has been engaged +about two years, entitled "New Elements of Geometry," and it will soon +be published in this city by Putnam, and in London by Bentley. It will +probably produce a sensation in the world of science. Its design is +the reconstruction of the entire methods of Geometry. All geometers, +from the dawn of the science, have built their systems upon these +definitions: _A line is length without breadth_, and _A surface is +length and breadth, without thickness_. Mr. Smith asserts that +these definitions are false, and sustains his position by numerous +demonstrations in the pure Euclidean style. He declares that every +mathematical line has a definite _breadth_, which is as measurable as +its length, and that every mathematical surface has a _thickness_, +as measurable as the contents of any solid. His demonstrations, on +diagrams, seem to be eminently clear, simple, and conclusive. The +effects of this discovery and these demonstrations are, to simplify +very much the whole subject of Geometry and mathematics, and to clear +it of many obscurities and difficulties. All geometers heretofore +have claimed that there are _three kinds_ of quantity in Geometry, +different in their _natures_, and requiring units of different natures +to measure them. Mr. Smith shows that there is but _one_ kind of +quantity in Geometry, and but one kind of unit; and that lines, +surfaces, and solids are always measured by the same identical unit. + +Besides the leading features of the work which we have thus briefly +described, it contains many new and beautiful demonstrations of +general principles in Geometry, to which the author was lead by his +new methods of investigation. Among these we may mention one, viz., +"The square of the hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle equals four +times the area of the triangle, plus the square of the difference of +the other two sides." This principle has been known to mathematicians +by means of arithmetic and algebra, but has never before, we believe, +been reduced to a geometrical demonstration. The demonstration of +this principle by Mr. Smith is one of the clearest, simplest, and +most beautiful in Geometry. The work is divided into three parts, +I. The Philosophy of Geometry, II. Demonstrations in Geometry, and +III. Harmonies of Geometry. The demonstrative character of it is +occasionally enlivened by philosophical and historical observations, +which will add much to its interest with the general reader. We have +too little skill in studies of this sort to be altogether confident +in our opinion, but certainly it strikes us from an examination of the +larger and more important portion of Mr. Smith's essay, that it is an +admirable specimen of statement and demonstration, and that it must +secure to its author immediately a very high rank in mathematical +science. We shall await with much interest the judgments of the +professors. It makes a handsome octavo of some 200 pages. + + * * * * * + +M. FLANDIN, an eminent dilettante and designer attached to the French +embassy in Persia, has published in the last number of the _Revue des +Deux Mondes_ an interesting memoir of the ruins of Persepolis, under +the title of "An Archaiological Journey in Persia." On his route +to the ruins he witnessed melancholy evidence, in the condition of +the surface and population, of the improvidence and noxiousness of +Oriental despotism. He tells us that the remains of the magnificent +palace of Darius are dispersed over an immense _plateau_, which looks +down on the plain of Merdacht. "Assuredly, they are not much, compared +with what they must have been in the time of the last Prince who +sheltered himself under the royal roof. Nevertheless, what is now +found of them still excites astonishment, and inspires a sentiment of +religious admiration for a civilization that could create monuments so +stupendous; impress on them a character of so much grandeur; and give +them a solidity which has prereserved the most important parts until +our days, through twenty-two centuries, and all the revolutions +by which Persia has been devastated. The pillars are covered with +European names deeply cut in the stone. English are far the most +numerous. Very few, however, are of celebrated travelers. We observed, +with satisfaction, those of Sir John Malcolm and Mr. Morier, both of +whom have so successfully treated Persian subjects." + + * * * * * + +EMILE GIRARDIN states in his journal that he paid for the eleven +volumes of Chateaubriand's Posthumous Memoirs as they appeared, +piecemeal, in his _feuilleton_, the sum of ninety-seven thousand +one hundred and eight francs. They occupied a hundred and ninety-two +_feuilletons_, and cost him thus more than a franc a line. Alfred de +Broglie has made these memoirs the test of a paper entitled "Memoirs +de Chateaubriand, a Moral and Political Study," in the _Revue des Deux +Mondes_. It is a severe analysis of the book and the man. He concludes +that Chateaubriand was one of the most vainglorious, selfish and +malignant of his tribe. He, indeed, betrayed himself broadly, but +surviving writers, who knew intimately his private life--such as St. +Beuve--have disclosed more of his habitual libertinism. The Radical +journals, and some of the Legitimists, turn to account the portraits +left in these memoirs of Louis Philippe, Thiers, Guizot, and other +statesmen of the Orleans monarchy. They are effusions of personal and +political spite. Chateaubriand hated the whole Orleans dynasty, and +has not spared the elder Bourbons. + + * * * * * + +GUIZOT has been for thirty years in political life, many of them +a minister, and was long at the head of the government of Louis +Philippe, but is now a poor man. Recently, on the marriage of his +two daughters with two brothers De Witt, the descendants of the great +Hollander, he was unable to give them a cent in the way of marriage +portions. This fact proves the personal integrity of the man more +than a score of arguments. Not only has the native honesty of his +character forbidden him to take advantage of his eminent position +to gain a fortune, but the indomitable pride which is his leading +characteristic, has never stooped to the attractions of public plunder +or the fruits of official speculation. Guizot is not up to the times, +and hence his downfall, but future historians will do justice alike to +his great talents and the uprightness of his intentions. + + * * * * * + +One of the best works yet produced on the History of Art, is by +Schnaase, of Duesseldorf. The first three volumes have been published +and translated into French and English, and have met with great +success in both those languages. The fourth volume is just announced +in Germany. Artists and other competent persons at Duesseldorf who +have seen the proof-sheets, speak in the highest terms not only of its +historical merits, but of the excellence of its criticisms. + + * * * * * + +The fifth volume of the _History of Spain_, by Rousseau St. Hilaire, +includes the period from 1336 to 1649. The professor has been employed +ten years on his enterprise; he is lauded by all the critics for his +research, method, and style. We have recently spoken of this work at +some length in _The International_. The PARIS ACADEMY OF INSCRIPTIONS +and Belles Lettres is constantly sending forth the most valuable +contributions; to the history of the middle ages especially. It is +now completing the publication of the sixth volume of the Charters, +Diplomas, and other documents relating to French History. This volume, +which was prepared by M. Pardessus, includes the period from the +beginning of 1220 to the end of 1270, and comprehends the reign of St. +Louis. The seventh volume, coming down some fifty years later, is also +nearly ready for the printer. Its editor is M. Laboulaye. The first +volume of the Oriental Historians of the Crusaders, translated into +French, is now going through the press, and the second is in course +of preparation. The greater part of the first volume of the Greek +Historians of the same chivalrous wars is also printed, and the work +is going rapidly forward. The Academy is also preparing a collection +of Occidental History on the same subject. When these three +collections are published, all the documents of any value relating +to the Crusades will be easily accessible, whether for the use of the +historian or the romancer. The Academy is also now engaged in getting +out the twenty-first volume of the History of the Gauls and of France, +and the nineteenth of the Literary History of France, which brings the +annals of French letters down to the thirteenth century. It is also +publishing the sixteenth volume of its own memoirs, which contains the +history of the Academy for the last four years, and the work of Freret +on Geography, besides several other works of less interest. From +all this some idea may be formed of the labors and usefulness of the +institution. + + * * * * * + +M. LEVERRIER, the astronomer, has published a long and able argument +in support of the free and universal use of the electric telegraph. +He has supplied a most instructive and interesting exposition of the +employment and utility of the invention, in all the countries in which +it has been established. The American and the several European tariffs +of charge are appended. He explains the different systems, scientific +and practical, in detail, and gives the process and proceeds. He +observes that the practicability of laying the wires _under_ ground +along all the great roads of France, which will protect them from +accidents and mischief, will yield immense advantage to the Government +and to individuals. He appears to prefer Bain's Telegraph, for +communication, to any other, and minutely traces and develops its +mechanism. A bill before the French chambers, which he advocates, +opens to the public the use of the telegraph, but with various +restrictions calculated to prevent _revolutionary_ or seditious +abuses; to prevent illicit speculations in the public funds, and +other bad purposes to which a free conveyance might be applied. The +director of the telegraph is to be empowered to refuse to transmit +what he shall deem repugnant to public order and good morals, and the +government to suspend at will all private correspondence, on one or +many lines. + + * * * * * + +THE WORKS OF REV. LEONARD WOODS, D.D., lately Professor of Theology in +the Congregational Seminary of Andover, are in course of publication, +and the third and fourth volumes have just appeared, completing the +theological lectures of the venerable Professor, making in all one +hundred and twenty-eight. In these, the student is furnished with +a complete body of divinity as generally received by the orthodox +denominations in New England, and has presented in a clear, condensed +manner, the matured results of a long life of thought and study +devoted to these subjects. + +The fourth volume is occupied with theological letters. The first +121 pages contain those to Unitarians; next follows the Reply to +Dr. Ware's Letters to Unitarians and Calvinists, and Remarks on Dr. +Ware's Answer, a series remarkable for courtesy and kindness toward +opponents, and clearness and faithfulness in the expression of what +was regarded as truth. Following these, are eight letters to Dr. +Taylor of New Haven; An Examination of the Doctrine of Perfection, +as held by Mr. Mahan and others, and a letter to Mr. Mahan; A +Dissertation on Miracles, and the Course of Theological Study as +pursued at the Seminary at Andover. One more volume will complete the +works of this long active and eminent divine. + + * * * * * + +THE REV. ORVILLE DEWEY, D.D., we learn from the correspondence of the +_Christian Inquirer_, is living upon the farm where he was born, in +Sheffield, Massachusetts, having, in the successive improvements of +many years, converted the original house into an irregular but most +comfortable and pleasant dwelling. The view from the back piazza is +as fine as can be commanded anywhere in Berkshire, and should the +shifting channel of the Housatonic only be accommodating enough to +wind a little nearer the house, or even suffer some not impossible +stoppage which would convert the marshy meadow in front into a lake, +nothing can be conceived of which could then improve the situation. In +this lovely retirement, Dr. Dewey endeavors to unite labor and study; +working with his own hands, with hoe and rake, in a way to surprise +those who only know how he can handle a pen. He is preparing, in a +leisurely way, for a course of Lectures for the Lowell Institute, upon +a theme admirably suited to his previous studies, and in which it is +evident his whole mind and heart are bound up. We are glad to know +that it is not until winter after next that this work must be taken +from the anvil. + + * * * * * + +DR. HOOKER, we learn, has again proceeded to a new and unexplored +region in India, in the prosecution of his important botanical labors. +THE AUTHOR OF THE AMBER WITCH, the Pomeranian pastor, Meinhold, +has been condemned to three months' imprisonment, and a fine of one +hundred thalers, besides costs, for slander against another clergyman +named Stosch, in a communication published in the _New Prussian +Zeitung_. The sentence was rendered more severe than usual in such +cases by the fact that Meinhold, who appears to possess more talent +than temper, had previously been condemned for the same offense +against another party. The _Amber Witch_ is one of the "curiosities of +literature", for in the last German edition the author is obliged to +prove that it is entirely a work of imagination, and not, as almost +all the German critics believed it to be when it appeared, the reprint +of an old chronicle. It was, in fact, written as a trap for the +disciples of Strauss and his school, who had pronounced the Scriptures +of the Old and New Testaments to be a collection, of legends, from +historical research, assisted by "internal evidence". Meinhold did +not spare them when they fell into the snare, and made merry with the +historical knowledge and critical acumen that could not detect +the contemporary romancer under the mask of the chronicler of two +centuries ago, while they decided so positively as to the authority of +the most ancient writings in the world. He has been in prison before. + + * * * * * + +"THE NIGHT SIDE OF NATURE[1]", by Catharine Crowe, so well known as +one of the cleverest of the younger set of literary women in England, +we have already mentioned as in the press of Mr. Redfield; it is +now published, and we commend it as one of the most entertaining and +curious works that has ever appeared on the "wonders of the invisible +world". We quote from the judicious critic of the _Tribune_ the +following paragraphs in regard to it: + +[Footnote 1: The Night side of Nature; or, Ghosts and Ghost Seers. By +Catherine Crowe. New York. J.S. Redfield.] + +"The author of this work is an accomplished German scholar. Without +being a slave to the superstitious love of marvels and prodigies, her +mind evidently leans toward the twilight sphere, which lies beyond +the acknowledged boundaries of either faith or knowledge. She seems +to be entirely free from the sectarian spirit; she can look at facts +impartially, without reference to their bearing on favorite dogmas; +nor does she claim such a full, precise and completely-rounded +acquaintance with the mysteries of the spiritual world, whether from +intuition or revelation, as not to believe that there may be more +"things in heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophy." +In this respect, it must be owned that she has not the advantage of +certain religious journals in this city, like the _Christian Inquirer_ +and _The Independent_, for instance--which have been so fully +initiated into the secrets of universal truth as to regard all inquiry +into such subjects either as too vulgar for a Christian gentleman, +_comme il faut_, or as giving a "sanction to the atheistic +delusion that there may be a spiritual or supernatural agency" in +manifestations which are not accounted for by the New-England Primer. +Mrs. Crowe, on the contrary, supposes that there may be something +worthy of philosophical investigation in those singular phenomena, +which, surpassing the limits of usual experience, have not yet found +any adequate explanation. + +"The phrase 'Night Side of Nature' is borrowed from the Germans, who +derive it from the language of astronomers, designating the side of +a planet that is turned from the sun, as its night side. The Germans +draw a parallel between our vague and misty perceptions, when deprived +of the light of the sun, and the obscure and uncertain glimpses we +obtain of the vailed department of nature, of which, though comprising +the solution of the most important questions, we are in a state of +almost total ignorance. In writing a book on these subjects, the +author disclaims the intention of enforcing any didactic opinions. She +wishes only to suggest inquiry and stimulate observation, in order to +gain all possible light on our spiritual nature, both as it now exists +in the flesh and is to exist hereafter out of it. + +"It is but justice to say, that the present volume is a successful +realization of the purpose thus announced. It presents as full a +collection of facts on the subject as is probably to be found in any +work in the English language, furnishing materials for the formation +of theoretic views, and illustrating an obscure but most interesting +chapter in the marvelous history of human nature. It is written +with perfect modesty, and freedom from pretense, doing credit to the +ability of the author as a narrator, as well as to her fairness and +integrity as a reasoner." + + * * * * * + +MR. MILNE EDWARDS presented at a recent meeting of the _Academy of +Sciences_, in the name of the Prince of Canino, (C. Bonaparte), the +first part of the Prince's large work, _Conspectus Generum Avium_. + + * * * * * + +M. GUIZOT has addressed a long letter to each of the five classes +of the Institute of France, to declare that he cannot accept the +candidateship offered him for a seat in the Superior Council of Public +Instruction. + + * * * * * + +SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON is to be a candidate for the House +of Commons, with Col. Sibthorp, for Lincoln. He has a new play +forthcoming for the Princess's Theatre. + + * * * * * + +MISS STRICKLAND has in preparation a series of volumes on the Queens +of Scotland, as a companion to her, interesting and successful work on +the Queens of England. + + * * * * * + +THE MARQUIS DE FOUDRAS has published _Un Caprice de Grande +Dame_--clever, but as corrupt as her other works. + + * * * * * + +MR. HERBERT'S NEW BOOKS.--The _Southern Quarterly Review_ for July +has the following notice of "Frank Forester's Fish and Fishing in the +United States and British Provinces," recently published by Stringer & +Townsend: + +"There are few of our writers so variously endowed and accomplished as +Mr. Herbert; of a mind easily warmed and singularly enthusiastic, the +natural bent of his talent inclines him to romance. He has accordingly +given us several stories abounding in stately scenes, and most +impressive portraiture. Well skilled in the use of the mother tongue, +as in the broad fields of classical literature, he has written essays +of marked eloquence, and criticisms of excellent discrimination and a +keen and thorough insight. His contributions to our periodicals have +been even more happy than his fictions. With a fine imagination, he +inherits a _penchant_ and a capacity for poetry, which has enabled him +to throw off, without an effort, some of the most graceful fugitive +effusions which have been written in America. His accomplishments are +as various as his talents. He can paint a landscape as sweetly as +he can describe it in words. He is a sportsman of eager impulse, and +relishes equally well the employments of the fisherman and hunter. +He is a naturalist, as well as a sportsman, and brings, to aid his +practice and experience, a large knowledge, from study, of the habits +of birds, beasts and fishes. He roves land and sea in this pursuit, +forest and river, and turns, with equal ease and readiness, from +a close examination of Greek and Roman literature, to an emulous +exercise of all the arts which have afforded renown to the aboriginal +hunter. The volume before us--one of many which he has given to this +subject--is one of singular interest to the lover of the rod and +angle. It exhibits, on every page, a large personal knowledge of +the finny tribes in all the northern portions of our country, and +well deserves the examination of those who enjoy such pursuits and +pastimes. The author's pencil has happily illustrated the labors of +his pen. His portraits of the several fishes of the United States are +exquisitely well done and truthful. It is our hope, in future pages, +to furnish an ample review of this, and other interesting volumes, of +similar character, from the hand of our author. We have drawn to them +the attention of some rarely endowed persons of our own region, who, +like our author, unite the qualities of the writer and the sportsman; +from whom we look to learn in what respects the habits and characters +of northern fish differ from our own, and thus supply the deficiency +of the work before us. The title of this work is rather too general. +The author's knowledge of the fish, and of fishing, in the United +States, is almost wholly confined to the regions north of the +Chesapeake, and he falls into the error, quite too common to the +North, of supposing this region to be the whole country. Another +each volume as that before us will be necessary to do justice to the +Southern States, whose possessions, in the finny tribes of sea and +river, are of a sort to shame into comparative insignificance all the +boasted treasures of the North. It would need but few pages in our +review, from the proper hands, to render this very apparent to the +reader. Meanwhile, we exhort him to seek the book of Mr. Herbert, as a +work of much interest and authority, so far as it goes." + + * * * * * + +MR. PUTNAM is preparing some elegantly embellished works for the +holiday season. Among others, an edition, in octavo, of Miss Fenimore +Cooper's charming _Rural Hours_, embellished by twenty finely-colored +drawings of birds and flowers; _The Picturesque Souvenir_, or Letters +of a Traveler in Europe and America, by Bryant, embellished by +a series of finely-executed engravings; and _The Alhambra_, by +Washington Irving, with designs by Darley, uniform with the splendid +series of Mr. Irving's Illustrated Works, some time in course +of publication. We have also seen a specimen copy of a superbly +illustrated edition of _The Pilgrim's Progress_, printed on +cream-colored paper, as smooth as ivory; and the exquisite designs by +Harvey, nearly three hundred in number, are among the most effective +ever attempted for the elucidation of this first of all allegories. +Professor Sweetser's new work, _Menial Hygiene_, or an Examination of +the Intellect and Passions, designed to illustrate their Influence on +Health and the Duration of Life, will be published in the course +of the present month. Professor Church's _Treatise on Integral and +Differential Calculus_, a revised edition; _The Companion_, or _After +Dinner Table Talk_, by Chelwood Evelyn, with a fine portrait of Sydney +Smith; _The History of Propellers, and Steam Navigation_, illustrated +by engravings: a manual, said to combine much valuable information on +the subjects, derived from the most authentic sources, by Mr. Robert +MacFarlane, editor of the _Scientific American_; and Mr. Ridner's +_Artist's Chromatic Hand-Book, or Manual of Colors_, will also be +speedily issued by the same publisher. Mr. Putnam's own production, +_The World's Progress, or Dictionary of Dates_, containing a +comprehensive manual of reference in facts, or epitome of historical +and general statistical knowledge, with a corrected chronology, &c., +is expected to appear in a few weeks. Mr. Theodore Irving's _Conquest +of Florida_ is also in progress. + + * * * * * + +It is said that Meyerbeer has already completed a grand opera with the +title of _L'Africaine_, and is now engaged on a comic opera. This is +probably nothing more than one of the trumpets which this composer +knows so well how to blow beforehand. Meyerbeer is not greater in +music than in the art of tickling public expectation and keeping the +public aware of his existence. + + * * * * * + +The _Lorgnette_ has just appeared in a volume. + + * * * * * + + + + +RECENT DEATHS. + + * * * * * + +AUGUSTUS WILLIAM NEANDER. + +OF this most eminent Christian scholar of the nineteenth century, +_The Tribune_ furnishes the following brief sketch. "The name of +JOHANN AUGUST WILHELM NEANDER is familiar to a large number of our +countrymen, both on account of his important contributions to the +science of theology, and his personal intimacy with many of our +eminent scholars, who have enjoyed the benefit of his instructions, +or who have made his acquaintance while pursuing their travels in +Germany. Although he had attained a greater age than might have been +anticipated from his habits as a confirmed invalid, being in his +sixty-second year, his decease cannot be announced without causing an +emotion of surprise and regret to a numerous circle who recognized in +him one of the most faithful and conscientious Christian teachers of +the present day. + +"NEANDER, as it is well known, was descended from Jewish parents, +by whom he was instructed in the rudiments of religion, and at a +subsequent period of life became a convert to the Christian faith, by +personal inquiry and experience. He was born at Goettingen, in 1789, +but passed a considerable portion of his youth at Hamburg, where he +was initiated into the rudiments of a classical education. After he +had made a profession of Christianity, he continued his studies for +a short time at the Universities of Halle and Goettingen, returned to +Hamburg, and finally completed his University career at Heidelberg. +The following year he was called to the University of Berlin, as +Professor of Theology, where he soon gave promise of the brilliant +eminence which he has since attained. His first publications were +on special topics of ecclesiastical history, including treatises on +'The Emperor Julian and his Age,' 'St. Bernard and his Age,' 'The +Development of the Principal Systems of the Gnostics,' 'St. Chrysostom +and the Church in his Age,' and 'The Spirit of Tertullian,' with +an 'Introduction to his Writings.' These treatises are remarkable +monuments of diligence, accuracy, profoundness of research and breadth +of comprehension, showing the same intellectual qualities which +were afterward signally exhibited in the composition of his masterly +volumes on the history of the Christian Religion. His earliest +production in this department had for its object to present the most +important facts in Church history, in a form adapted to the great mass +of readers, without aiming at scientific precision or completeness. +This attempt was eminently successful. The first volume of his +great work entitled 'General History of the Church and the Christian +Religion,' was published in 1825, and it was not till twenty years +afterward that the work was brought to a close. The appearance of this +work formed a new epoch in ecclesiastical history. It at once betrayed +the power of a bold and original mind. Instead of consisting of a +meager and arid collection of facts, without scientific order, without +any vital coherence or symmetry, and without reference to the cardinal +elements of Christian experience, the whole work, though singularly +chaste and subdued in its tone, throbs with the emotions of genuine +life, depicting the influence of Christianity as a school for the +soul, and showing its radiant signatures of Divinity in its moral +triumphs through centuries. + +"His smaller work on the first development of Christianity in the +Apostolic Age is marked by the same spirited characteristics, while +his 'Life of Jesus' is an able defense of the historical verity of +the sacred narrative against the ingenious and subtle suggestions of +Strauss. + +"The writings and theological position of NEANDER have been fully +brought before the American public by Profs. ROBINSON, TORREY, +McCLINTOCK, SEARS, and other celebrated scholars who have done much to +diffuse a knowledge of the learned labors of Germany among intelligent +thinkers in our own country. NEANDER was free from the reproach which +attaches to so many of his fellow laborers, of covertly undermining +the foundation of Christianity, under the pretense of placing it on a +philosophical basis. His opinions are considered strictly evangelical, +though doubtless embodied in a modified form. In regard to the extent +and soundness of his learning, the clearness of his perceptions, +and the purity and nobleness of his character, there can be but one +feeling among those who are qualified to pronounce a judgment on the +subject. + +"NEANDER was never married. He was the victim of almost constant ill +health. In many of his personal habits he was peculiar and eccentric. +With the wisdom of a sage, he combined the simplicity of a child. Many +amusing anecdotes are related of his oddities in the lecture-room, +which will serve to enliven the biography that will doubtless be +prepared at an early date. We have received no particulars concerning +his death, which is said to have been announced by private letters to +friends in Boston." + + * * * * * + +JACOB JONES, U.S.N. + +COMMODORE JACOB JONES, of the United States Navy, died in Philadelphia +on the 6th inst. He was born in Smyrna, Kent county, Delaware, in +the year 1770, and was therefore, eighty years of age. He was of +an eminently respectable family, and commenced life as a physician, +having studied the profession at the University of Pennsylvania. He +afterward became clerk of the Supreme Court of Delaware for his native +county. When about twenty-nine years old he entered the navy, and made +his first cruises under Commodore Barry. He was a midshipman on board +the frigate United States, when she bore to France Chief Justice +Ellsworth and General Davie, as envoys extraordinary to the French +Republic. He was next appointed to the Ganges as midshipman. On the +breaking out of the war with Tripoli, he was stationed on the frigate +Philadelphia, under Commodore Bainbridge. The disaster which befell +that ship and her crew before Tripoli, forms a solemn page in our +naval history; atoned, however, by the brilliant achievements to which +it gave rise. Twenty months of severe captivity among a barbarous +people, and in a noxious climate, neither broke the spirit nor +impaired the constitution of Jones. Blest by nature with vigorous +health and an invincible resolution, when relieved from bondage by the +bravery of his countrymen, he returned home full of life and ardor. +He was soon after promoted to a lieutenancy. He was now for some time +employed on the Orleans station, where he conducted himself with +his usual judgment and propriety, and was a favorite in the polite +circles of the Orleans and Mississippi territories. He was shortly +after appointed to the command of the brig Argus, stationed for the +protection of our commerce on the southern maritime frontier. In this +situation he acted with vigilance and fidelity, and though there were +at one time insidious suggestions to the contrary, it has appeared +that he conformed to his instructions, promoted the public interest, +and gave entire satisfaction to the government. In 1811, he was +transferred to the command of the sloop-of-war Wasp, mounting eighteen +twenty-four pound carronades, and dispatched, in the spring of 1812, +with communications to the courts of St. Cloud and St. James. Before +he returned, war had been declared against Great Britain. He refitted +his ship with all possible dispatch, and repaired to sea, but met with +no other good fortune than the capture of an inconsiderable prize. He +next sailed from Philadelphia on the 13th of October, and on the 18th +of the same month encountered a heavy gale, during which the Wasp +lost her jibboom and two seamen. On the following night, the watch +discovered five strange sail steering eastward. The Wasp hauled to +the windward and closely watched their movements until daylight next +morning, when it was found that they were six large merchant vessels +under convoy of a sloop of war. The former were well manned, two +of them mounting sixteen guns each. Notwithstanding the apparent +disparity of force. Captain Jones determined to hazard an attack; +and as the weather was boisterous, and the swell of the sea unusually +high, he ordered down top-gallant yards, closely reefed the top-sails, +and prepared for action. We cannot give a detail of this brilliant +engagement, which resulted in the capture of the Frolic. It was one of +the most daring and determined actions in our naval history. The force +of the Frolic consisted of sixteen thirty-two pound carronades, four +twelve-pounders on the maindeck, and two twelve-pound carronades. +Both vessels had more men than was essential to their efficiency; but +while there was an equality of strength in the crews, there was an +inequality in the number of guns and weight of metal--the Frolic +having four twelve-pounders more than the Wasp. The exact number of +killed and wounded on board the Frolic could not be ascertained with +any degree of precision; but, from the admissions of the British +officers, it was supposed that their loss in killed was about thirty, +including two officers, and in wounded, between forty and fifty. The +captain and every other officer on board were more or less severely +wounded. The Wasp sustained a loss of only five men killed, and five +wounded. + +While erecting jurymasts on board the Frolic, soon after, a suspicious +sail was seen to windward, upon which Captain Jones directed +Lieutenant Biddle to shape her course for Charleston, or any other +port of the United States, while the Wasp should continue upon +her cruise. The sail coming down rapidly, both vessels prepared +for action, but it was soon discovered, to the mortification of +the victors in this well-fought action, that the new enemy was a +seventy-four, which proved to be the Poictiers, commanded by Admiral +Beresford. Firing a shot over the Frolic, she passed her, and soon +overhauled the Wasp, which, in her crippled state, was unable to +escape. Both vessels were thus captured, and carried into Bermuda. +After a few weeks, a cartel was proposed by which the officers +and crew of the Wasp were conveyed to New York. On the return of +Captain Jones to the United States, he was everywhere received with +demonstrations of respect for the skill and gallantry displayed in his +combat with the enemy. The legislature of Delaware gave him a vote +of thanks, and a piece of plate. On the motion of James A. Bayard, +of Delaware, Congress appropriated twenty-five thousand dollars, as +a compensation to the commander, his officers, and crew, for the loss +they had sustained by the recapture of the Frolic. They also voted +a gold medal to the Captain, and a silver medal to each of his +commissioned officers. As a farther evidence of the confidence of +government, Captain Jones was ordered to the command of the frigate +Macedonian, recently captured from the British by Decatur. She was +rapidly fitted out under his direction, in the harbor of New York, +and proposed for one of Decatur's squadron, which was about to sail on +another expedition. In May 1811, the squadron attempted to put to +sea, but, in sailing up Long Island Sound, encountered a large British +force, which compelled the United States vessels to retreat into +New London. In this situation the enemy continued an uninterrupted +blockade during the war. Finding it impossible to avoid the vigilance +of Sir Thomas Hardy, who commanded the blockading fleet, the +government ordered Captain Jones to proceed with his officers and crew +to Sackett's Harbor, and report to Commodore Chauncey, as commander of +the frigate Mohawk, on lake Ontario. There the Americans maintained +an ascendency, and continued to cruise until October, when the British +squadron, under Sir James Yeo, left Kingston, with a greatly superior +force, which caused the United States squadron to return to Sackett's +Harbor. It seemed, indeed, that the contest now depended on the +exertions of the ship carpenters. Two line of battle ships were placed +on the stocks, and were advancing rapidly to completion, when, in +February 1815, the news of peace arrived, with orders to suspend +further operations on these vessels. A few weeks after the peace was +announced, Captain Jones with his officers and crew was ordered to +repair to the seaboard, and again to take command of the Macedonian, +to form part of the force against the Algerines, then depredating on +our commerce in the Mediterranean. As soon as the Algerian Regency was +informed that war existed between the United States and Great Britain, +the Dey dispatched his cruisers to capture all American merchant +vessels. To punish these freebooters, nine or ten vessels were fitted +out and placed under Decatur. This armament sailed from New York in +May, 1815, and when off Cadiz was informed that the Algerines were +along the southern coast of Spain. Two days after reaching the +Mediterranean, the United States squadron fell in with and captured +the Algerine frigate Messuado, mounting forty-six guns, and the next +day captured a large brig of war, both of which were carried into the +port of Carthagena, in Spain. The American squadron then proceeded to +the bay of Algiers, where its sudden and unexpected appearance excited +no slight surprise and alarm in the Regency. The Dey reluctantly +yielded to every demand to him; he restored the value of the property +belonging to American merchants which he had seized, released all the +prisoners he had captured, and relinquished forever all claims on the +annual tribute which he had received. After having thus terminated +the war with Algiers, and formed an advantageous treaty, the +squadron proceeded to other Barbary capitals, and adjusted some minor +difficulties, which, however, were of importance to our merchants. +After touching at several of the islands in the Mediterranean, at +Naples, and at Malaga, the entire force came back to the United States +early in December. From this period till his death, no event of +much importance distinguished the career of Commodore Jones. He was, +however, almost constantly employed in various responsible positions, +his appointment to which evinced the confidence government placed +in his talents and discretion. In 1821, he took the command of a +squadron, for the protection of our trade in the Mediterranean, in +which he continued for three years. On his return he was offered a +seat in the Board of Navy Commissioners, but, finding bureau duties +irksome, he accepted, in 1826, the command of our navy in the +Pacific, where he also continued three years, Afterward he was placed +in command of the Baltimore station, where he remained, with the +exception of a short interval, until transferred to the harbor of +New York. Since 1847, he had held the place of Governor of the United +States Naval Asylum, on the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia. + + * * * * * + +JULIA BETTERTON GLOVER. + +An actress who has been admired and respected by three generations of +play-goers has quitted the stage of life in the person of Mrs. Glover. +The final exit was somewhat sudden, as it seemed to the general +public; but it was anticipated by her friends. A friendly biographer +in the _Morning Chronicle_ explains the circumstances; first referring +to the extraordinary manifestations of public feeling which attended +Mrs. Glover's last farewell, at Drury-Lane Theater, on Friday, the +12th of July. + +"In our capacity of spectators we did not then see occasion to mention +what had otherwise come to our knowledge--that the evidences of +extreme suffering manifested by Mrs. Glover on that evening--her +inability to go through her part, except as a mere shadow of her +former self, and the substitution of an apologetic speech from Mr. +Leigh Murray for the address which had been written for her by a +well-known and talented amateur of the drama--arose not merely from +the emotion natural on a farewell night, after more than half a +century of active public service, but also from extreme physical +debility, the result of an attack of illness of a wasting character, +which had already confined that venerable lady to her bed for many +days. In fact, it was only the determination of Mrs. Glover herself +not to disappoint the audience, who had been invited and attracted for +many weeks before, that overruled the remonstrances of her friends +and family against her appearing at all. She was then utterly unfit +to appear on the stage in her professional character, and the most +serious alarm was felt lest there should be some sudden and fatal +catastrophe. The result of the struggle of feeling she then underwent, +superadded as it was to the physical causes which had undermined her +strength, was, that Mrs. Glover sunk under the disease which had been +consuming her, and quitted this life on Monday night." + +Mrs. Glover, born Julia Betterton, was daughter of an actor named +Betterton, who held a good position on the London stage toward +the close of the last century. She is said to have been a lineal +descendant of the great actor of the same name. Her birthday was +the 8th January, 1781. Brought up, as most of our great actors and +actresses have been, "at the wings," she was even in infancy sent on +the stage in children's parts. She became attached to the company of +Tate Wilkinson, for whom she played, at York, the part of the _Page_ +in _The Orphan_; and she also exercised her juvenile talents in the +part of _Tom Thumb_, for the benefit of George Frederick Cooke, who on +the occasion doffed his tragic garb and appeared in the character of +_Glumdalcar_. Another character which she played successfully with +Cooke was that of the little _Duke of York_ in _Richard the Third_; +into which, it is recorded, she threw a degree of spirit and childish +roguishness that acted as a spur on the great tragedian himself, who +never performed better than when seconded by his childish associate. +In 1796 she had attained such a position in the preparatory school +of the provincial circuits, chiefly at Bath, that she was engaged at +Covent Garden; in the first instance at L10 a week, and ultimately for +five years at L15 a week, rising to L20; terms then thought "somewhat +extraordinary and even exorbitant". Miss Betterton first appeared in +London in October 1797, fifty-three years ago, as _Elvira_, in Hannah +More's tragedy of _Percy_. Her success was great; and in a short time +she had taken such a hold of popular favor, that when Mrs. Abington +returned for a brief period to the stage, Miss Betterton held her +ground against the rival attraction, and even secured the admiration +of Mrs. Abington herself. Her subsequent engagements were at +Drury-Lane and Covent-Garden alternately, till she made that long +engagement at the Haymarket, during which she has become best known to +the present generation of playgoers. Her more recent brief engagement +with Mr. Anderson, at Drury-Lane, and her last one with Mr. W. Farren, +at the Strand Theater, whither she contributed so much to attract +choice audiences, are fresh in the memory of metropolitans. Looking +back to Mrs. Glover's "long and brilliant career upon the stage, we +may pronounce her one of the most extraordinary women and accomplished +actresses that have ever graced the profession of the drama." Mrs. +Glover had a daughter, Phillis, a very clever young actress, at the +Haymarket Theater, who has been dead several years. Her two sons are +distinguished, the one as a popular musical composer, and the other as +a clever tragedian--the latter with considerable talent, also, as an +amateur painter. + +A London correspondent of the _Spirit of the Times_ gives an +interesting account of the Glover benefit, and the "last scenes." + + * * * * * + +MADAME GAVAUDAN is dead. To many it will be necessary to explain +that Madame Gavaudan was, in her time, one of the most favorite +singing-actresses and acting songstresses belonging to the _Opera +Comique_ of Paris; and that, after many years of popularity, she +retired from the stage in 1823. + + * * * * * + +GENERAL BERTHAND, Baron de Sivray, died early in July at Luc, in +France, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. He was an officer before +the first revolution, and served through all the wars of the Republic +and the Empire. + + * * * * * + +ROBERT R. BAIRD, a son of the Rev. Dr. Baird, and a young man of +amiable character and considerable literary abilities, which had been +illustrated for the most part, we believe, in translation, was drowned +in the North River at Yonkers on Tuesday evening, the 6th instant, +about seven o'clock. The deceased had gone into the water to bathe in +company with several others, and was carried by the rising tide into +deep water, where, as he could swim but little, he sunk to rise no +more, before help could reach him. This premature and sudden death has +overwhelmed his parents and friends in the deepest distress. He was +twenty-five years old. + + * * * * * + +THE DEATH OF MR. S. JOSEPH, the sculptor, known by his statue of +Wilberforce in Westminster Abbey and his statue of Wilkie in the +National Gallery, is mentioned in the English papers. His busts +exhibit a fine perception of character, and many a delicate grace in +the modeling. Mr. Joseph was long a resident in Edinburgh. He modeled +a bust of Sir Walter Scott about the same time that Chantrey modeled +his--that bust which best preserves to us the features and character +of the great novelist. + + * * * * * + +JAMES WRIGHT, author of the _Philosophy of Elocution_ and other works +chiefly of a religious character, died at Brighton, England, on the +9th of July, aged 68. + + * * * * * + +SIR THOMAS WILDE, who has just been promoted to the Woolsack, as Baron +Truro, we learn from the _Illustrated News_, was born in 1782. After +practicing as an attorney, he was called to the bar by the Honorable +Society of the Inner Temple, the 7th February, 1817. He joined +the Western Circuit, and soon rose into considerable practice. His +knowledge of the law, combined with his great eloquence, made him one +of the most successful advocates of his time. He was for many years +the confidential and legal adviser of the late Alderman Sir Matthew +Wood, and his connection with that gentleman caused him to be engaged +as one of the senior counsel for the Queen on the celebrated trial of +Queen Caroline. Though surrounded by rivals of the highest eminence +and the brightest fame, Wilde always stood among the foremost, +and obtained briefs in some of the greatest causes ever tried. For +instance, he was engaged on the winning side in the famous action +of Small v. Atwood, in which his fees are said to have amounted to +something enormous. In 1824 he became a sergeant-at-law; and he was +appointed King's Sergeant in 1827, and Solicitor-General in 1839, +when he received the honor of knighthood. In 1841 he first became +Attorney-General; and after a second time holding that office, he +succeeded the late Sir Nicholas Conyngham Tindal, as Lord Chief +Justice of the Common Pleas. His recent appointment as Lord Chancellor +places him at the very summit of his profession. + + * * * * * + +[FROM THE _LONDON LADIES' COMPANION_.] + +THE MORNING SONG. + +BY BARRY CORNWALL. + +A new "English Song," by Barry Cornwall, is now--more's the pity--a +too rare event in the musical year. We are at once doing our readers +a pleasure, and owning a welcome kindness, in publishing, by the +author's permission, these words, set by M. Benedict, and sung by +Madame Sontag. + + The world is waking into light; + The dark and sullen night hath flown: + Life lives and re-assumes its might, + And nature smiles upon her throne. + And the Lark, + Hark! + _She_ gives welcome to the day, + In a merry, merry, lay, + Tra la!--lira, lira, lira, la! + + Soft sounds are sailing through the air; + Sweet sounds are springing from the stream; + And fairest things, where all is fair, + Join gently in the grateful theme. + And the Lark, &c., &c. + + The morn, the morn is in the skies; + The reaper singeth from the corn; + The shepherd on the hills replies; + And all things now salute the morn, + Even the Lark, &c., &c. + + * * * * * + +[FROM ELIZA COOK'S JOURNAL.] + +A LESSON. + +If society ever be wholly corrupted, it will be by the idea that it is +already so. Some cynics believe in virtue, sincerity, and happiness, +only as traditions of the past, and by ridicule seek to propagate the +notion. This vain and pedantic philosophy would turn all hearts to +stone, and arm every man with suspicion against all others, declaiming +against the romance of life, as empty sentimentalism; against the +belief in goodness, as youth's sanguine folly; and the hope of pure +happiness, as a fanciful dream, created by a young imagination, to be +dissipated by the teaching of a few years' struggle with the world. + +If this be wisdom, I am no philosopher, and I never wish to be one; +for sooner would I float upon the giddy current of fancy, to fall +among quicksands at last, than travel through a dull and dreary world, +without confidence in my companions. That we may be happy, that we +may find sincere friends, that we may meet the good, and enjoy the +beautiful on earth, is a creed that will find believers in all hearts +unsoured by their own asceticism. Virtue will sanctify every fireside +where we invite her to dwell, and if the clouds of misfortune darken +and deform the whole period of our existence, it is a darkness that +emanates from ourselves, and a deformity created by us to our own +unhappiness. + +Yet this is not relating the little story which is the object of my +observations. The axiom which I wish to lay down, to maintain, and to +prove correct, is, that married life may be with most people, should +be with all, and is with many, a state of happiness. The reader +may smile at my boldness, but the history of the personages I shall +introduce to walk their hour on this my little stage, will justify my +adopting the maxim. + +M. Pierre Lavalles, owner of a vineyard, near a certain village +in the south of France, wooed and wedded Mdlle. Julie Gouchard. +Exactly where they dwelt, and all the precise circumstances of their +position, I do not mean to indicate, and if I might offer a hint to +my contemporaries, it would be a gentle suggestion that they occupy +too much time, paper, and language in geographical and genealogical +details, very wearisome, because very unnecessary. Monsieur Pierre +Lavalles then lived in a pretty house, near a certain village in a +vine-growing district of the south of France, and when he took his +young wife home, he showed her great stores of excellent things, +calculated well for the comfortable subsistence of a youthful and +worthy couple. Flowers and blossoming trees shed odor near the lattice +windows, verdure soft and green was spread over the garden, and the +mantling vine "laid forth the purple grape," over a rich and sunny +plantation near at hand. The house was small, but neat, and well +furnished in the style of the province, and Monsieur and Madame Pierre +Lavalles lived very happily in plenty and content. + +Here I leave them, and introduce the reader to Monsieur Antoine +Perron, notary in the neighboring village. + +Let me linger over a notice of this individual. He was a good man, and +what is more curious an honest lawyer. Indeed, in spite of my happy +theory, I may say that such a good man, and such a good lawyer you +could seldom meet. All the village knew him; he mixed up in every +one's quarrels; not, as is usually the case, to make confusion worse +confounded by a double-tongued hypocrisy, but to produce conciliation; +he mingled in every one's affairs, not to pick up profit for himself, +but to prevent the villagers from running into losses and imprudent +speculations; he talked much, yet, it was not slander, but advice; he +thought more, yet it was not over mischief, but on schemes of good; +he was known to everybody, yet none that knew him respected him the +less on that account. He was a little, spare, merry-looking man, that +sought to appear grave when he was most inclined to merriment, and +if he considered himself a perfect genius in his plans for effecting +good, his vanity may be pardoned, because of the food it fed on. + +M. Antoine Perron considered himself very ingenious, and if he had a +fault, it was his love of originality. He never liked to perform any +action in a common way, and never chuckled so gaily to himself, as +when he had achieved some charitable end by some extraordinary means. + +It was seven months after the marriage of M. Pierre Lavalles, M. +Antoine Perron sat in his little parlor, and gazed with a glad eye +upon the cheerful fire, for the short winter was just terminating. +Leaning forward in his chair, he shaded his face with his hands, and +steadily perused the figures among the coals with a most pleasant +countenance. The room was small, neat, and comfortable, for the notary +prospered, in his humble way and seeking only comfort found it, and +was content. + +Suddenly a violent knocking at the door aroused him from his reverie, +and he heard his old servant rushing to open it. In a moment, two +persons were ushered into the room, and the notary leaped to his +feet in astonishment at the extraordinary scene before him. Had a +thunderbolt cloven the roof, and passed through his hearth to its +grave in the center of the globe, or had the trees that nodded their +naked branches without the window commenced a dance upon the snowy +ground, he had not been more surprised. + +Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, and Madame Pierre Lavalles stood just inside +the doorway. Never had Monsieur Perron seen them before, as he saw +them now. Like turtle-doves, with smiling eyes, and affectionate +caress, they had lived in happy harmony during the seven months of +their married life, and motherly dames, when they gave their daughters +away, bade them prosper and be pleasant in their union, as they had +been joyous in their love, pleasant and joyous, as neighbor Lavalles +and his wife. + +Now, Pierre stood red and angry, with his right arm extended, +gesticulating toward his wife. Julie stood red and angry, with her +left arm extended, gesticulating toward her husband. Eyes, that had +only radiated smiles, flashed with fierce passion, as the turtle doves +remained near the door, each endeavoring to anticipate the other in +some address to the worthy notary. He, aghast and perplexed, waited +for the _denouement_. + +"Madame," said Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, "allow me to speak." + +"Monsieur," said Madame Pierre Lavalles. "I insist--" + +"But, Madame, it is my--" + +"But, Monsieur, I say I will." + +"And yet I will." + +"But no--" + +"Madame, I shall." + +"Then be careful what you do; M. Perron, M. Lavalles is mad." + +Then the lady, having thus emphatically declared herself, resigned the +right of speech to her husband, who began to jerk out in disconnected +phrases a statement of his case. Seven days ago he had annoyed his +wife by some incautious word; she had annoyed him by an incautious +answer; he had made matters worse by an aggravating retort; and she +had widened the breach by a bitter reply. This little squall was +succeeded by a cool calm, and that by a sullen silence, until some +sudden friction kindled a new flame, and finally, after successive +storms and lulls, there burst forth a furious conflagration, and +in the violent collision of their anger, the seven-months' married +pair vowed to separate, and with that resolve had visited M. Perron. +Reconciliation they declared was beyond possibility, and they +requested the notary at once to draw up the documents that should +consign them to different homes, to subsist on a divided patrimony, +in loveless and unhappy marriage. Each told a tale in turn, and the +manner of relation added fuel to the anger of the other. The man and +the woman seemed to have leaped out of their nature in the accession +of their passion. Pity that a quarrel should ever dilate thus, from a +cloud the size of a man's hand to a thunder-storm that covers heaven +with its black and dismal canopy. + +Neither would listen to reason. The duty of the notary was to prepare +the process by which they were to be separated. + +"Monsieur," he said, "I will arrange the affair for you; but you are +acquainted with the laws of France in this respect!" + +"I know nothing of the law," replied M. Pierre Lavalles. + +"Madame," said the notary, "your wish shall be complied with. But you +know what the law says on this head?" + +"I never read a law book," sharply ejaculated Madame Pierre Lavalles. + +"Then," resumed the notary, "the case is this. You must return to +your house, and I will proceed to settle the proceedings with the +Judicatory Court at Paris. They are very strict. You must furnish me +with all the documents relative to property." + +"I have them here," put in the husband, by way of parenthesis. + +"And the whole affair including correspondence, preparations of +instruments, &c., will be settled in less than three months." + +"Three months?" + +"Three months. Yes, in less than three months." + +"Then I will live with a friend at the village, until it is finished," +said Madame Lavalles, in a decided, peremptory tone, usual with ladies +when they are a little ashamed of themselves, or any one else. + +"Oh, very well, Madame,--oh, very well." + +"Not at all well, Madame; not at all well, Monsieur," said the notary, +with a solid, immovable voice. "You must live as usual. If you doubt +my knowledge of the law, you will, by reading through these seven +books, find that this fact is specified." + +But the irritated couple were not disposed to undertake the +somniferous task, and shortly left the house, as they had come, +walking the same way, but at a distance of a yard or so one from +another. + +Two months and twenty-seven days had passed, when the notary issued +from his house, and proceeded toward the house where Monsieur and +Madame Lavalles dwelt. Since the fatal night I have described, he +had not encountered them, and he now, with a bland face and confident +head, approached the dwelling. + +It was a pretty place. Passing through the sunny vineyards where the +spring was just calling out the leaves, and the young shoots in their +tints of tender green were sprouting in the warmth of a pleasant day; +the notary entered a garden. Here the flowers, in infant bloom, had +prepared the earth for the coming season, for summer in her gay attire +was tripping from the south, and as she passed, nature wove garlands +to adorn her head, and wreathe about her arms. Early blossoms lent +sweetness to the breath of the idle winds that loitered in this +delightful spot, and the fair young primrose was sown over the +parterres, with other flowers of spring, the most delicate and softly +fragrant, that come out to live their hour in modesty and safety, +while the earth affords them room, and before the bright and gaudy +bloom of a riper season eclipses their beauty, bidding them, blushing, +close their petals. + +Early roses twined on either side the porch, and as the notary +entered, nothing struck him more than the neat and cheerful appearance +of the place. A demoiselle ushered him into a little parlor, where +Monsieur Pierre Lavalles, and Madame Julie Lavalles, had just sat down +to partake breakfast. + +A small table was drawn up close to the open window, and vernal +breezes found welcome in the chamber. A snowy cloth hung down to the +well-polished floor, and tall white cups were placed upon it to rival +it in purity and grace. Cakes of bread, such bread as is only had in +France, with delicious butter, and rich brown foaming coffee frothed +with cream, were spread before them, and a basket of fresh spring +flowers, sparkling with dew and beautifully odorous, scented the whole +chamber with a delicate perfume. + +The husband and wife sat side by side, with pleasant looks, and so +engaged in light and amiable conversation, that they hardly noticed +the entrance of the notary. The storm had vanished and left no trace. +Flushes of anger, flashes of spite, quick breathings, and disordered +looks--all these had passed, and now smiles, and eyes lit only with +kindness, and bosoms beating with calm content, and looks all full of +love, were alone to be observed. + +When M. Antoine Perron entered, they started; at length, and then +recollecting his mission, blushed crimson, looked one at another, and +then at the ground, awaiting his address. + +"Monsieur, and Madame," said the notary, "according to your desires +I come with all the documents necessary for your separation, and the +division of your property. They only want your signature, and we will +call in your servant to be witness." + +"Stay," exclaimed Madame Julie, laughing at her husband, "Pierre, +explain to M. Perron." + +"Ah, Monsieur Perron," said Monsieur Antoine Lavalles, "we had +forgotten that, and hoped you had also. Say not a word of it to any +one." + +"No, not a word," said Madame Julie. "We never quarreled but once +since we married, and we never mean to quarrel again." + +"Not unless you provoke it," said Monsieur Lavalles, audaciously. "But +M. Perron, you will take breakfast with us?" + +"You're a wicked wretch," said Madame Julie, tapping him on the cheek. +"After breakfast, M. Perron, we will sign the papers." + +"After breakfast," said M. Pierre Lavalles, "we will burn them." + +"We shall see," said the notary. "Sign them or burn them. Madame Julie +Lavalles, your coffee is charming." + + * * * * * + +After seven months' harmony, do not let seven days' quarrel destroy +the happiness of home. Do not follow the directions of a person in a +passion. Allow him to cool and consider his purpose. + + * * * * * + +[FROM DICKENS'S HOUSEHOLD WORDS.] + +DUST; + +OR UGLINESS REDEEMED. + +On a murky morning in November, wind north-east, a poor old woman +with a wooden leg was seen struggling against the fitful gusts of the +bitter breeze, along a stony zigzag road, full of deep and irregular +cart-ruts. Her ragged petticoat was blue, and so was her wretched +nose. A stick was in her left hand, which assisted her to dig and +hobble her way along; and in her other hand, supported also beneath +her withered arm, was a large rusty iron sieve. Dust and fine ashes +filled up all the wrinkles in her face; and of these there were a +prodigious number, for she was eighty-three years old. Her name was +Peg Dotting. + +About a quarter of a mile distant, having a long ditch and a +broken-down fence as a foreground, there rose against the muddled-gray +sky, a huge Dust-heap of a dirty black color, being, in fact, one +of those immense mounds of cinders, ashes, and other emptyings +from dust-holes and bins, which have conferred celebrity on certain +suburban neighborhoods of a great city. Toward this dusky mountain old +Peg Dotting was now making her way. + +Advancing toward the Dust-heap by an opposite path, very narrow, and +just reclaimed from the mud by a thick layer of freshly-broken flints, +there came at the same time Gaffer Doubleyear, with his bone-bag slung +over his shoulder. The rags of his coat fluttered in the east-wind, +which also whistled keenly round his almost rimless hat, and troubled +his one eye. The other eye, having met with an accident last week, he +had covered neatly with an oyster-shell, which was kept in its place +by a string at each side, fastened through a hole. He used no staff +to help him along, though his body was nearly bent double, so that his +face was constantly turned to the earth, like that of a four-footed +creature. He was ninety-seven years of age. As these two patriarchal +laborers approached the great Dust-heap, a discordant voice hallooed +to them from the top of a broken wall. It was meant as a greeting of +the morning, and proceeded from little Jem Clinker, a poor deformed +lad, whose back had been broken when a child. His nose and chin were +much too large for the rest of his face, and he had lost nearly +all his teeth from premature decay. But he had an eye gleaming with +intelligence and life, and an expression at once patient and hopeful. +He had balanced his misshapen frame on the top of the old wall, over +which one shriveled leg dangled, as if by the weight of a hob-nailed +boot that covered a foot large enough for a plowman. + +In addition to his first morning's salutation of his two aged friends, +he now shouted out in a tone of triumph and self-gratulation, in which +he felt assured of their sympathy-- + +"Two white skins, and a tor'shell-un!" + +It may be requisite to state that little Jem Clinker belonged to the +dead-cat department of the Dust-heap, and now announced that a prize +of three skins, in superior condition. had rewarded him for being +first in the field. + +He was enjoying a seat on the wall, in order to recover himself from +the excitement of his good fortune. + +At the base of the great Dust-heap the two old people now met their +young friend--a sort of great-grandson by mutual adoption--and they +at once joined the party who had by this time assembled as usual, and +were already busy at their several occupations. + +But besides all these, another individual, belonging to a very +different class, formed a part of the scene, though appearing only on +its outskirts. A canal ran along at the rear of the Dust-heap, and on +the banks of its opposite side slowly wandered by--with hands clasped +and hanging down in front of him, and eyes bent vacantly upon his +hands--the forlorn figure of a man, in a very shabby great-coat, which +had evidently once belonged to one in the position of a gentleman. And +to a gentleman it still belonged--but in _what_ a position! A scholar, +a man of wit, of high sentiment, of refinement, and a good fortune +withal--now by a sudden turn of law bereft of the last only, and +finding that none of the rest, for which (having his fortune) he +had been so much admired, enabled him to gain a livelihood. His +title-deeds had been lost or stolen, and so he was bereft of +everything he possessed. He had talents, and such as would have been +profitably available had he known how to use them for his new purpose; +but he did not; he was misdirected; he made fruitless efforts in his +want of experience; and he was now starving. As he passed the great +Dust-heap, he gave one vague, melancholy gaze that way, and then +looked wistfully into the canal. And he continued to look into the +canal as he slowly moved along, till he was out of sight. + +A Dust-heap of this kind is often worth thousands of pounds. The +present one was very large and very valuable. It was in fact a large +hill, and being in the vicinity of small suburb cottages, it rose +above them like a great black mountain. Thistles, groundsel, and rank +grass grew in knots on small parts which had remained for a long time +undisturbed; crows often alighted on its top, and seemed to put on +their spectacles and become very busy and serious; flocks of sparrows +often made predatory descents upon it; an old goose and gander might +sometimes he seen following each other up its side, nearly midway; +pigs rooted around its base,--and now and then, one bolder than the +rest would venture some way up, attracted by the mixed odors of some +hidden marrow-bone enveloped in a decayed cabbage-leaf--a rare event, +both of these articles being unusual oversights of the Searchers +below. + +The principal ingredient of all these Dust-heaps is fine cinders +and ashes; but as they are accumulated from the contents of all the +dust-holes and bins of the vicinity, and as many more as possible, +the fresh arrivals in their original state present very heterogeneous +materials. We cannot better describe them than by presenting a brief +sketch of the different departments of the Searchers and Sorters, +who are assembled below to busy themselves upon the mass of original +matters which are shot out from the carts of the dustmen. + +The bits of coal, the pretty numerous results of accident and +servants' carelessness, are picked out, to be sold forthwith; the +largest and best of the cinders are also selected, by another party, +who sell them to laundresses, or to braziers (for whose purposes coke +would do as well;) and the next sort of cinders, called the _breeze_, +because it is left after the wind has blown the finer cinders through +an upright sieve, is sold to the brick-makers. + +Two other departments, called the "soft-ware" and the "hard-ware," +are very important. The former includes all vegetable and animal +matters--everything that will decompose. These are selected and bagged +at once, and carried off as soon as possible, to be sold as manure +for plowed land, wheat, barley, &c. Under this head, also, the dead +cats are comprised. They are generally the perquisites of the women +searchers. Dealers come to the wharf, or dust-field, every evening; +they give sixpence for a white cat, fourpence for a colored cat, and +for a black one according to her quality. The "hard-ware" includes all +broken pottery pans, crockery, earthenware, oyster-shells, &c., which +are sold to make new roads. + +The bones are selected with care, and sold to the soap-boiler. He +boils out the fat and marrow first, for special use, and the bones are +then crushed and sold for manure. + +Of rags, the woollen rags are bagged and sent off for hop-manure; the +white linen rags are washed, and sold to make paper, &c. + +The "tin things" are collected and put into an oven with a grating at +the bottom, so that the solder which unites the parts melts, and runs +through into a receiver. This is sold separately; the detached pieces +of tin are then sold to be melted up with old iron, &c. + +Bits of old brass, lead, &c., are sold to be molted up separately, or +in the mixture of ores. + +All broken glass vessels, as cruets, mustard-pots, tumblers, +wine-glasses, bottles, &c., are sold to the old-glass shops. + +As for any articles of jewelry, silver spoons, forks, thimbles, or +other plate and valuables, they are pocketed off-hand by the first +finder. Coins of gold and silver are often found, and many "coppers." + +Meantime, everybody is hard at work near the base of the great +Dust-heap. A certain number of cart-loads having been raked and +searched for all the different things just described, the whole of it +now undergoes the process of sifting. The men throw up the stuff, and +the women sift it. + +"When I was a young girl," said Peg Dotting-- + +"That's a long while ago, Peggy," interrupted one of the sifters: but +Peg did not hear her. + +"When I was quite a young thing," continued she, addressing old John +Doubleyear, who threw up the dust into her sieve, "it was the fashion +to wear pink roses in the shoes, as bright as that morsel of ribbon +Sally has just picked out of the dust; yes, and sometimes in the +hair, too, on one side of the head, to set off the white powder and +salve-stuff. I never wore one of these head-dresses myself--don't +throw up the dust so high, John--but I lived only a few doors lower +down from those as did. Don't throw up the dust so high, I tell +'ee--the wind takes it into my face." + +"Ah! There! What's that?" suddenly exclaimed little Jem, running as +fast as his poor withered legs would allow him toward a fresh heap, +which had just been shot down on the wharf from a dustman's cart. He +made a dive and a search--then another--then one deeper still. "I'm +sure I saw it!" cried he, and again made a dash with both hands into a +fresh place, and began to distribute the ashes and dust and rubbish on +every side, to the great merriment of all the rest. + +"What did you see, Jemmy?" asked old Doubleyear, in a compassionate +tone. + +"Oh, I don't know," said the boy, "only it was like a bit of something +made of real gold!" + +A fresh burst of laughter from the company assembled followed this +somewhat vague declaration, to which the dustmen added one or two +elegant epithets, expressive of their contempt of the notion that they +could have overlooked a bit of anything valuable in the process of +emptying sundry dust-holes, and carting them away. + +"Ah," said one of the sifters, "poor Jem's always a-fancying something +or other good but it never comes." + +"Didn't I find three cats this morning?" cried Jem, "two on 'em white +'uns! How you go on!" + +"I meant something quite different from the like o' that," said the +other; "I was a-thinking of the rare sights all you three there have +had, one time and another." + +The wind having changed, and the day become bright, the party at work +all seemed disposed to be more merry than usual. The foregoing remark +excited the curiosity of several of the sifters, who had recently +joined the "company": the parties alluded to were requested to favor +them with the recital; and though the request was made with only a +half-concealed irony, still it was all in good-natured pleasantry, and +was immediately complied with. Old Doubleyear spoke first: + +"I had a bad night of it with the rats some years ago--they runn'd +all over the floor, and over the bed, and one on 'em come'd and guv a +squeak close into my ear--so I couldn't sleep comfortable. I wouldn't +ha' minded a trifle of it, but this was too much of a good thing. +So I got up before sunrise, and went out for a walk; and thinking I +might as well be near our work-place, I slowly come'd down this way! +I worked in a brick-field at that time, near the canal yonder. The sun +was just a rising up behind the Dust-heap as I got in sight of it, +and soon it rose above, and was very bright; and though I had two eyes +then, I was obligated to shut them both. When I opened them again, the +sun was higher up; but in his haste to get over the Dust-heap, he had +dropped something. You may laugh--I say he dropped something. Well +I can't say what it was, in course--a bit of his-self, I suppose. +It was just like him--a bit on him, I mean--quite as bright--just +the same--only not so big. And not up in the sky, but a-lying and +sparkling all on fire upon the Dust-heap. Thinks I--I was a younger +man then by some years than I am now--I'll go and have a nearer look. +Though you be a bit o' the sun, maybe you won't hurt a poor man. So +I walked toward the Dust-heap, and up I went, keeping the piece of +sparkling fire in sight all the while. But before I got up to it, the +sun went behind a cloud--and as he went out--like, so the young 'un +he had dropped, went out arter him. And I had to climb up the heap for +nothing, though I had marked the place vere it lay very percizely. But +there was no signs at all on him, and no morsel left of the light as +had been there. I searched all about; but found nothing 'cept a bit 'o +broken glass as had got stuck in the heel of an old shoe. And that's +my story. But if ever a man saw anything at all, I saw a bit o' the +sun; and I thank God for it. It was a blessed sight for a poor ragged +old man of threescore and ten, which was my age at that time." + +"Now, Peggy!" cried several voices, "tell us what you saw. Peg saw a +bit o' the moon." + +"No," said Mrs. Dotting, rather indignantly; "I'm no moon-raker. Not +a sign of the moon was there, nor a spark of a star the time I speak +on." + +"Well--go on, Peggy--go on." + +"I don't know as I will," said Peggy. + +But being pacified by a few good-tempered, though somewhat humorous, +compliments, she thus favored them with her little adventure: + +"There was no moon, or stars, or comet, in the 'versal heavens, nor +lamp nor lantern along the road, when I walked home one winter's night +from the cottage of Widow Pin, where I had been to tea with her and +Mrs. Dry, as lived in the almshouses. They wanted Davy, the son of +Bill Davy the milkman, to see me home with the lantern, but I wouldn't +let him, 'cause of his sore throat. Throat!--no it wasn't his throat +as was rare sore--it was--no, it wasn't--yes, it was--it was his toe +as was sore. His big toe. A nail out of his boot had got into it. I +_told_ him he'd be sure to have a bad toe, if he didn't go to church +more regular, but he wouldn't listen; and so my words come'd true. +But, as I was a-saying, I wouldn't let him by reason of his sore +throat--toe, I mean--and as I went along, the night seemed to grow +darker and darker. A straight road, though, and I was so used to it by +day-time, it didn't matter for the darkness. Hows'ever, when I come'd +near the bottom of the Dust-heap as I had to pass, the great dark +heap was so 'zackly the same as the night, you couldn't tell one +from t'other. So, thinks I to myself--_what_ was I thinking of at +this moment?--for the life o' me I can't call it to mind; but that's +neither here nor there, only for this--it was a something that led me +to remember the story of how the devil goes about like a roaring lion. +And while I was a-hoping he might not he out a-roaring that night, +what should I see rise out of one side of the Dust-heap, but a +beautiful shining star, of a violet color. I stood as still, as +stock-still as any I don't-know-what! There it lay, as beautiful as +a new-born babe, all a-shining in the dust! By degrees I got courage +to go a little nearer--and then a little nearer still--for, says I +to myself, I'm a sinful woman, I know, but I have repented, and do +repent constantly of all the sins of my youth and the backslidings +of my age--which have been numerous; and once I had a very heavy +backsliding--but that's neither here nor there. So, as I was a-saying, +having collected all my sinfulness of life, and humbleness before +Heaven, into a goodish bit of courage, forward I steps--a little +furder--and a leetle furder more--_un_-til I come'd just up to the +beautiful shining star lying upon the dust. Well, it was a long time I +stood a-looking down at it, before I ventured to do what I arterwards +did. But at last I did stoop down with both hands slowly--in case +it might burn, or bite--and gathering up a good scoop of ashes as +my hands went along. I took it up, and began a-carrying it home, all +shining before me, and with a soft blue mist rising up round about it. +Heaven forgive me! I was punished for meddling with what Providence +had sent for some better purpose than to be carried borne by an old +woman like me, whom it had pleased Heaven to afflict with the loss +of one leg, and the pain, ixpinse, and inconvenience of a wooden one. +Well, I _was_ punished; covetousness had its reward; for, presently, +the violet light got very pale, and then went out; and when I reached +home, still holding in both hands all I had gathered up, and when I +took it to the candle, it had burned into the red shell of a lobsky's +head, and its two black eyes poked up at me with a long stare--and I +may say, a strong smell, too--enough to knock a poor body known." + +Great applause, and no little laughter, followed the conclusion of old +Peggy's story, but she did not join in the merriment. She said it was +all very well for young folks to laugh, but at her age she had enough +to do to pray; and she had never said so many prayers, nor with so +much fervency, as she had done since she received the blessed sight +of the blue star on the Dust-heap, and the chastising rod of the +lobster's head at home. + +Little Jem's turn now came: the poor lad was, however, so excited by +the recollection of what his companions called "Jem's Ghost," that he +was unable to describe it in any coherent language. To his imagination +it had been a lovely vision,--the one "bright consummate flower" of +his life, which he treasured up as the most sacred image in his heart. +He endeavored, in wild and hasty words, to set forth, how that he had +been bred a chimney-sweep; that one Sunday afternoon he had left a set +of companions, most on 'em sweeps, who were all playing at marbles in +the church-yard, and he had wandered to the Dust-heap, where he had +fallen asleep; that he was awoke by a sweet voice in the air, which +said something about some one having lost her way!--that he, being now +wide awake, looked up, and saw with his own eyes a young Angel, with +fair hair and rosy cheeks, and large white wings at her shoulders, +floating about like bright clouds, rise out of the dust! She had on +a garment of shining crimson, which changed as he looked upon her +to shining gold. She then exclaimed, with a joyful smile, "I see the +right way!" and the next moment the Angel was gone! + +As the sun was just now very bright and warm for the time of year, +and shining full upon the Dust-heap in its setting, one of the men +endeavored to raise a laugh at the deformed lad, by asking him if he +didn't expect to see just such another angel at this minute, who had +lost her way in the field on the other side of the heap; but his jest +failed. The earnestness and devout emotion of the boy to the vision of +reality which his imagination, aided by the hues of sunset, had thus +exalted, were too much for the gross spirit of banter, and the speaker +shrunk back into his dust-shovel, and affected to be very assiduous in +his work. + +Before the day's work was ended, however, little Jem again had a +glimpse of the prize which had escaped him on the previous occasion. +He instantly darted, hands and head foremost, into the mass of cinders +and rubbish, and brought up a black mass of half-burnt parchment, +entwined with vegetable refuse, from which he speedily disengaged an +oval frame of gold, containing a miniature, still protected by its +glass, but half covered with mildew from the damp. He was in ecstacies +at the prize. Even the white catskins paled before it. In all +probability some of the men would have taken it from him, "to try +and find the owner," but for the presence and interference of his +friends Peg Dotting and old Doubleyear, whose great age, even among +the present company, gave them a certain position of respect and +consideration. So all the rest now went their way, leaving the three +to examine and speculate on the prize. + +These Dust-heaps are a wonderful compound of things. A banker's cheque +for a considerable sum was found in one of them. It was on Merries & +Farquhar, in 1847. But bankers' cheques, or gold and silver articles, +are the least valuable of their ingredients. Among other things, a +variety of useful chemicals are extracted. Their chief value, however, +is for the making of bricks. The fine cinder-dust and ashes are used +in the clay of the bricks, both for the red and gray stacks. Ashes +are also used as fuel between the layers of the clump of bricks, which +could not be burned in that position without them. The ashes burn +away, and keep the bricks open. Enormous quantities are used. In +the brickfields at Uxbridge, near the Drayton Station, one of the +brickmakers alone will frequently contract for fifteen or sixteen +thousand chaldrons of this cinder-dust, in one order. Fine coke, or +coke-dust, affects the market at times as a rival; but fine coal, or +coal-dust, never, because it would spoil the bricks. + +As one of the heroes of our tale had been originally--before his +promotion--a chimney-sweeper, it may be only appropriate to offer a +passing word on the genial subject of soot. Without speculating on +its origin and parentage, whether derived from the cooking of a +Christmas-dinner, or the production of the beautiful colors and odors +of exotic plants in a conservatory, it can briefly be shown to possess +many qualities both useful and ornamental. + +When soot is first collected, it is called "rough soot", which, +being sifted, is then called "fine soot", and is sold to farmers for +manuring and preserving wheat and turnips. This is more especially +used in Herefordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, &c. It is rather a costly +article, being fivepence per bushel. One contractor sells annually as +much as three thousand bushels; and he gives it as his opinion, that +there must be at least one hundred and fifty times this quantity (four +hundred and fifty thousand bushels per annum) sold in London. Farmer +Smutwise, of Bradford, distinctly asserts that the price of the soot +he uses on his land is returned to him in the straw, with improvement +also to the grain. And we believe him. Lime is used to dilute soot +when employed as a manure. Using it pure will keep off snails, slugs, +and caterpillars from peas and various other vegetables, as also from +dahlias just shooting up, and other flowers; but we regret to add that +we have sometimes known it kill or burn up the things it was intended +to preserve from unlawful eating. In short, it is by no means so +safe to use for any purpose of garden manure, as fine cinders and +wood-ashes, which are good for almost any kind of produce, whether +turnips or roses. Indeed, we should like to have one fourth or fifth +part of our garden-beds composed of excellent stuff of this kind. +From all that has been said, it will have become very intelligible +why these Dust-heaps are so valuable. Their worth, however, varies +not only with their magnitude, (the quality of all of them is much +the same,) but with the demand. About the year 1820, the Marylebone +Dust-heap produced between four thousand and five thousand pounds. In +1832, St. George's paid Mr. Stapleton five hundred pounds a year, not +to leave the Heap standing, but to carry it away. Of course he was +only too glad to be paid highly for selling his Dust. + +But to return. The three friends having settled to their satisfaction +the amount of money they should probably obtain by the sale of the +golden miniature-frame, and finished the castles which they had built +with it in the air, the frame was again infolded in the sound part of +the parchment, the rags and rottenness of the law were cast away, and +up they rose to bend their steps homeward to the little hovel where +Peggy lived, she having invited the others to tea, that they might +talk yet more fully over the wonderful good luck that had befallen +them. + +"Why, if there isn't a man's head in the canal!" suddenly cried little +Jem. "Looky there!--isn't that a man's head?--Yes; it's a drownded +man!" + +"A drownded man, as I live!" ejaculated old Doubleyear. + +"Let's get him out, and see!" cried Peggy. "Perhaps the poor soul's +not quite gone." + +Little Jem scuttled off to the edge of the canal, followed by the two +old people. As soon as the body had floated nearer, Jem got down into +the water, and stood breast-high, vainly measuring his distance, with +one arm out, to see if he could reach some part of the body as it was +passing. As the attempt was evidently without a chance, old Doubleyear +Managed to get down into the water behind aim, and holding him by one +hand, the boy was thus enabled to make a plunge forward as the body +was floating by. He succeeded in reaching it, but the jerk was too +much for his aged companion, who was pulled forward into the canal. A +loud cry burst from both of them, which was yet more loudly echoed by +Peggy on the bank. Doubleyear and the boy were now struggling almost +in the middle of the canal, with the body of the man twirling about +between them. They would inevitably have been drowned, had not old +Peggy caught up a long dust-rake that was close at hand--scrambled +down up to her knees in the canal--clawed hold of the struggling group +with the teeth of the rake, and fairly brought the whole to land. Jem +was first up the bank, and helped up his two heroic companions; after +which, with no small difficulty, they contrived to haul the body +of the stranger out of the water. Jem at once recognized in him the +forlorn figure of the man who had passed by in the morning, looking so +sadly into the canal as he walked along. + +It is a fact well known to those who work in the vicinity of these +great Dust-heaps, that when the ashes have been warmed by the sun, +cats and kittens that have been taken out of the canal and buried a +few inches beneath the surface, have usually revived; and the same has +often occurred in the case of men. Accordingly, the three, without a +moment's hesitation, dragged the body along to the Dust-heap, where +they made a deep trench, in which they placed it, covering it all over +up to the neck. + +"There now," ejaculated Peggy, sitting down with a long puff to +recover her breath, "he'll lie very comfortable, whether or no." + +"Couldn't lie better," said old Doubleyear, "even if he knew it." + +The three now seated themselves close by, to await the result. + +"I thought I'd a lost him," said Jem, "and myself too; and when I +pulled Daddy in arter me, I guv us all three up for this world." + +"Yes," said Doubleyear, "it must have gone queer with us if Peggy had +not come in with the rake. How d'yee feel, old girl? for you've had +a narrow escape too. I wonder we were not too heavy for you, and so +pulled you in to go with us." + +"The Lord be praised!" fervently ejaculated Peggy, pointing toward +the pallid face that lay surrounded with ashes. A convulsive twitching +passed over the features, the lips trembled, the ashes over the breast +heaved, and a low moaning sound, which might have come from the bottom +of the canal, was heard. Again the moaning sound, and then the eyes +opened, but closed almost immediately. + +"Poor dear soul," whispered Peggy, "how he suffers in surviving. Lift +him up a little. Softly. Don't be afeard. We're only your good angels, +like--only poor cinder-sifters--don'tee be afeard." + +By various kindly attentions and maneuvers such as these poor people +had been accustomed to practice on those who were taken out of the +canal, the unfortunate gentleman was gradually brought to his senses. +He gazed about him, as well he might--now looking in the anxious, +though begrimed, faces of the three strange objects, all in their +"weeds" and dust--and then up at the huge Dust-heap, over which the +moon was now slowly rising. + +"Land of quiet Death!" murmured he, faintly, "or land of Life, as dark +and still--I have passed from one into the other; but which of ye I am +now in, seems doubtful to my senses." + +"Here we are, poor gentleman," cried Peggy, "here we are, all friends +about you. How did'ee tumble into the canal?" + +"The Earth, then, once more!" said the stranger, with a deep sigh. "I +know where I am, now. I remember this great dark hill of ashes--like +Death's kingdom, full of all sorts of strange things, and put to many +uses." + +"Where do you live?" asked old Doubleyear. "Shall we try and take you +home, sir?" + +The stranger shook his head mournfully. All this time, little Jem had +been assiduously employed in rubbing his feet and then big hands; in +doing which, the piece of dirty parchment, with the miniature-frame, +dropped out of his breast-pocket. A good thought instantly struck +Peggy. + +"Run, Jemmy dear--run with that golden thing to Mr. Spikechin, the +pawnbroker's--get something upon it directly, and buy some nice +brandy--and some Godfrey's cordial--and a blanket, Jemmy--and call a +coach, and get up outside on it, and make the coachee drive back here +as fast as you can." + +But before Jemmy could attend to this, Mr. Waterhouse, the stranger +whose life they had preserved, raised himself on one elbow, and +extended his hand to the miniature-frame. Directly he looked at it he +raised himself higher up--turned it about once or twice--then caught +up the piece of parchment, and uttering an ejaculation which no +one could have distinguished either as of joy or of pain, sank back +fainting. + +In brief, this parchment was a portion of the title-deeds he had lost; +and though it did not prove sufficient to enable him to recover his +fortune, it brought his opponent to a composition, which gave him an +annuity for life. Small as this was, he determined that these poor +people, who had so generously saved his life at the risk of their +own, should be sharers in it. Finding that what they most desired was +to have a cottage in the neighborhood of the Dust-heap, built large +enough for all three to live together, and keep a cow, Mr. Waterhouse +paid a visit to Manchester Square, where the owner of the property +resided. He told his story, as far as was needful, and proposed to +purchase the field in question. + +The great Dust-Contractor was much amused, and his daughter--a very +accomplished young lady--was extremely interested. So the matter was +speedily arranged to the satisfaction and pleasure of all parties. The +acquaintance, however, did not end here. Mr. Waterhouse renewed his +visits very frequently, and finally made proposals for the young +lady's hand, she having already expressed her hopes of a propitious +answer from her father. + +"Well, Sir," said the latter, "you wish to marry my daughter, and she +wishes to marry you. You are a gentleman and a scholar, but you have +no money. My daughter is what you see, and she has no money. But I +have; and therefore, as she likes you and I like you, I'll make you +both an offer. I will give my daughter twenty thousand pounds,--or you +shall have the Dust-heap. Choose!" + +Mr. Waterhouse was puzzled and amused, and referred the matter +entirely to the young lady. But she was for having the money, and no +trouble. She said the Dust-heap might be worth much, but they did not +understand the business. + +"Very well," said her father, laughing, "then, there's the money." + +This was the identical Dust-heap, as we know from authentic +information, which was subsequently sold for forty thousand pounds, +and was exported to Russia to rebuild Moscow. + + * * * * * + +[FROM HOUSEHOLD WORDS.] + +AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY. + +In one of the dirtiest and most gloomy streets leading to the Rue +St. Denis, in Paris, there stands a tall and ancient house, the lower +portion of which is a large mercer's shop. This establishment is held +to be one of the very best in the neighborhood, and has for many years +belonged to an individual on whom we will bestow the name of Ramin. + +About ten years ago, Monsieur Ramin was a jovial red-faced man of +forty, who joked his customers into purchasing his goods, flattered +the pretty _grisettes_ outrageously, and now and then gave them a +Sunday treat at the barrier, as the cheapest way of securing their +custom. Some people thought him a careless, good-natured fellow, and +wondered how, with his off-hand ways, he contrived to make money so +fast, but those who knew him well saw that he was one of those who +"never lost an opportunity." Others declared that Monsieur Ramin's +own definition of his character was, that he was a "_bon enfant_," +and that "it was all luck." He shrugged his shoulders and laughed when +people hinted at his deep scheming in making, and his skill in taking +advantage of Excellent Opportunities. + +He was sitting in his gloomy parlor one fine morning in spring, +breakfasting from a dark liquid honored with the name of onion soup, +glancing at the newspaper, and keeping a vigilant look on the shop +through the open door, when his old servant Catharine suddenly +observed: + +"I suppose you know Monsieur Bonelle has come to live in the vacant +apartment on the fourth floor?" + +"What!" exclaimed Monsieur Ramin, in a loud key. + +Catharine repeated her statement, to which her master listened in +total silence. + +"Well!" he said at length, in his most careless tones, "what about +the old fellow?" and he once more resumed his triple occupation of +reading, eating, and watching. + +"Why," continued Catharine, "they say he is nearly dying, and that his +housekeeper, Marguerite, vowed he could never get up stairs alive. It +took two men to carry him up; and when he was at length quiet in bed, +Marguerite went down to the porter's lodge, and sobbed there a whole +hour, saying her poor master had the gout, the rheumatics, and a bad +asthma; that though he had been got up stairs, he would never come +down again alive; that if she could only get him to confess his sins +and make his will, she would not mind it so much; but that when +she spoke of the lawyer or the priest, he blasphemed at her like a +heathen, and declared that he would live to bury her and everybody +else." + +Monsieur Ramin heard Catharine with great attention, forgot to finish +his soup, and remained for five minutes in profound rumination, +without so much as perceiving two customers who had entered the shop +and were waiting to be served. When aroused, he was heard to exclaim: + +"What an excellent opportunity!" + +Monsieur Bonelle had been Ramin's predecessor. The succession of the +latter to the shop was a mystery. No one ever knew how it was that +this young and poor assistant managed to replace his patron. Some said +that he had detected Monsieur Bonelle in frauds which he threatened +to expose unless the business were given up to him as the price of his +silence; others averred, that having drawn a prize in the lottery, +he had resolved to set up a fierce opposition over the way, and +that Monsieur Bonelle, having obtained a hint of his intentions, had +thought it most prudent to accept the trifling sum his clerk offered, +and avoid a ruinous competition. Some charitable souls--moved no doubt +by Monsieur Bonelle's misfortune--endeavored to console and pump him; +but all they could get from him was the bitter exclamation, "To think +I should have been duped by _him_!" For Ramin had the art, though +then a mere youth, to pass himself off on his master as an innocent +provincial lad. Those who sought an explanation from the new mercer +were still more unsuccessful. "My good old master," he said in his +jovial way, "felt in need of repose, and so I obligingly relieved him +of all business and botheration." + +Years passed away; Ramin prospered, and neither thought nor heard +of his "good old master." The house, of which he tenanted the lower +portion, was offered for sale. He had long coveted it, and had almost +concluded an agreement with the actual owner, when Monsieur Bonelle +unexpectedly stepped in at the eleventh hour, and by offering a trifle +more secured the bargain. The rage and mortification of Monsieur Ramin +were extreme. He could not understand how Bonelle, whom he had thought +ruined, had scraped up so large a sum; his lease was out, and he +now felt himself at the mercy of the man he had so much injured. But +either Monsieur Bonelle was free from vindictive feelings, or those +feelings did not blind him to the expediency of keeping a good tenant: +for though he raised the rent until Monsieur Ramin groaned inwardly, +he did not refuse to renew the lease. They had met at that period, but +never since. + +"Well, Catharine," observed Monsieur Ramin to his old servant on the +following morning, "How is that good Monsieur Bonelle getting on?" + +"I dare say you feel very uneasy about him," she replied with a sneer. + +Monsieur Ramin looked up and frowned. + +"Catharine," said he, dryly, "you will have the goodness, in the first +place, not to make impertinent remarks: in the second place, you will +oblige me by going up stairs to inquire after the health of Monsieur +Bonelle, and say that I sent you." + +Catharine grumbled, and obeyed. Her master was in the shop, when she +returned in a few minutes, and delivered with evident satisfaction the +following gracious message: + +"Monsieur Bonelle desires his compliments to you, and declines to +state how he is; he will also thank you to attend to your own shop, +and not to trouble yourself about his health." + +"How does he look?" asked Monsieur Ramin, with perfect composure. + +"I caught a glimpse of him, and he appears to me to be rapidly +preparing for the good offices of the undertaker." + +Monsieur Ramin smiled, rubbed his hands, and joked merrily with a +dark-eyed _grisette_, who was cheapening some ribbon for her cap. That +girl made an excellent bargain that day. + +Toward dusk the mercer left the shop to the care of his attendant, and +softly stole up to the fourth story. In answer to his gentle ring, a +little old woman opened the door, and giving him a rapid look, said +briefly: + +"Monsieur is inexorable: he won't see any doctor whatever." + +She was going to shut the door in his face, when Ramin quickly +interposed, under his breath, with "I am not a doctor." + +She looked at him from head to foot. + +"Are you a lawyer?" + +"Nothing of the sort, my good lady." + +"Well then, are you a priest?" + +"I may almost say, quite the reverse." + +"Indeed, you must go away, Master sees no one." + +Once more she would have shut the door, but Ramin prevented her. + +"My good lady," said he in his most insinuating tones, "it is true +I am neither a lawyer, a doctor, nor a priest. I am an old friend, +a very old friend of your excellent master; I have come to see good +Monsieur Bonelle in his present affliction." + +Marguerite did not answer, but allowed him to enter, and closed the +door behind him. He was going to pass from the narrow and gloomy +ante-chamber into an inner room--whence now proceeded a sound of loud +coughing--when the old woman laid her hand on his arm, and raising +herself on tip-toe, to reach his ear, whispered: + +"For Heaven's sake, sir, since you are his friend, do talk to him: +do tell him to make his will, and hint something about a soul to be +saved, and all that sort of thing: do, sir!" + +Monsieur Ramin nodded and winked in a way that said "I will." He +proved however his prudence by not speaking aloud; for a voice from +within sharply exclaimed, + +"Marguerite, you are talking to some one! Marguerite! I will see +neither doctor nor lawyer; and if any meddling priest dare--" + +"It is only an old friend, sir;" interrupted Marguerite, opening the +inner door. + +Her master, on looking up, perceived the red face of Monsieur Ramin +peeping over the old woman's shoulder, and irefully cried out: + +"How dare you bring that fellow here? And you, sir, how dare you +come?" + +"My good old friend, there are feelings," said Ramin, spreading his +fingers over the left pocket of his waistcoat--"there are feelings," +he repeated, "that cannot be subdued. One such feeling brought me +here. The fact is, I am a good-natured easy fellow, and I never +bear malice. I never forget an old friend, but love to forget old +differences when I find one party in affliction." + +He drew a chair forward as he spoke, and composedly seated himself +opposite to his late master. + +Monsieur Bonelle was a thin old man, with a pale sharp face and keen +features. At first he eyed his visitor from the depths of his vast +arm-chair; but, as if not, satisfied with this distant view, he bent +forward, and laying both hands on his thin knees, he looked up into +Ramin's face with a fixed and piercing gaze. He had not, however, the +power of disconcerting his guest. + +"What did you come here for?" he at length asked. + +"Merely to have the extreme satisfaction of seeing how you are, my +good old friend. Nothing more." + +"Well, look at me--and then go." + +Nothing could be so discouraging: but this was an Excellent +Opportunity, and when Monsieur Ramin _had_ an excellent opportunity in +view, his pertinacity was invincible. Being now resolved to stay, it +was not in Monsieur Bonelle's power to banish him. At the same time +he had tact enough to render his presence agreeable. He knew that his +coarse and boisterous wit had often delighted Monsieur Bonelle of old, +and he now exerted himself so successfully as to betray the old man +two or three times into hearty laughter. "Ramin," said he at length, +laying his thin hand on the arm of his guest, and peering with his +keen glance into the mercer's purple face, "you are a funny fellow, +but I know you; you cannot make me believe you have called just to +see how I am, and to amuse me. Come, be candid for once; what do you +want?" + +Ramin threw himself back in his chair, and laughed blandly, as much as +to say, "Can you suspect me?" + +"I have no shop now out of which you can wheedle me," continued the +old man; "and surely you are not such a fool as to come to me for +money." + +"Money!" repeated the draper, as if his host had mentioned something +he never dreamt of. "Oh, no!" + +Ramin saw it would not do to broach the subject he had really come +about, too abruptly, now that suspicion seemed so wide awake--_the_ +opportunity had not arrived. + +"There is something up, Ramin, I know; I see it in the twinkle of your +eye; but you can't deceive me again." + +"Deceive _you_?" said the jolly schemer, shaking his head +reverentially. "Deceive a man of your penetration and depth? +Impossible! The bare supposition is flattery. My dear friend," he +continued, soothingly, "I did not dream of such a thing. The fact is, +Bonelle, though they call me a jovial, careless, rattling dog, I have +a conscience; and, somehow, I have never felt quite easy about the +way in which I became your successor down-stairs. It was rather sharp +practice, I admit." + +Bonelle seemed to relent. + +"Now for it," said the Opportunity-hunter to himself--"By-the-bye," +(speaking aloud,) "this house must be a great trouble to you in your +present weak state? Two of your lodgers have lately gone away without +paying--a great nuisance, especially to an invalid." + +"I tell you I'm as sound as a colt." + +"At all events, the whole concern must be a great bother to you. If I +were you, I would sell the house." + +"And if I were _you_," returned the landlord, dryly, "I would buy +it--" + +"Precisely," interrupted the tenant, eagerly. + +"That is, if you could get it. Pooh! I knew you were after something. +Will you give eighty thousand francs for it?" abruptly asked Monsieur +Bonelle. + +"Eighty thousand francs!" echoed Ramin. "Do you take me for Louis +Philippe or the Bank of France!" + +"Then we'll say no more about it--are you not afraid of leaving your +shop so long?" + +Ramin returned to the charge, heedless of the hint to depart. "The +fact is, my good old friend, ready money is not my strong point just +now. But if you wish very much to be relieved of the concern, what say +you to a life annuity? I could manage that." + +Monsieur Bonelle gave a short, dry, church-yard cough, and looked as +if his life were not worth an hour's purchase. "You think yourself +immensely clever, I dare say," he said. "They have persuaded you that +I am dying. Stuff! I shall bury you yet." + +The mercer glanced at the thin fragile frame, and exclaimed to +himself, "Deluded old gentleman!" "My dear Bonelle," he continued, +aloud, "I know well the strength of your admirable constitution: but +allow me to observe that you neglect yourself too much. Now, suppose +a good sensible doctor--" + +"Will you pay him?" interrogated Bonelle, sharply. + +"Most willingly," replied Ramin, with an eagerness that made the old +man smile. "As to the annuity, since the subject annoys you, we will +talk of it some other time." + +"After you have heard the doctor's report," sneered Bonelle. + +The mercer gave him a stealthy glance, which the old man's keen look +immediately detected. Neither could repress a smile: these good souls +understood one another perfectly, and Ramin saw that this was not the +Excellent Opportunity he desired, and departed. + +The next day Ramin sent a neighboring medical man, and heard it was +his opinion that if Bonelle held on for three months longer, it would +be a miracle. Delightful news! + +Several days elapsed, and although very anxious, Ramin assumed a +careless air, and did not call upon his landlord, or take any notice +of him. At the end of the week old Marguerite entered the shop to make +a trifling purchase. + +"And how are we getting on up-stairs?" negligently asked Monsieur +Ramin. + +"Worse and worse, my good sir," she sighed. "We have rheumatic pains +which often make us use expressions the reverse of Christian-like, and +yet nothing can induce us to see either the lawyer or the priest; the +gout is getting nearer to our stomach every day, and still we go on +talking about the strength of our constitution. Oh, sir, if you have +any influence with us, do, pray do, tell us how wicked it is to die +without making one's will or confessing one's sins." + +"I shall go up this very evening," ambiguously replied Monsieur Ramin. + +He kept his promise, and found Monsieur Bonelle in bed, groaning with +pain, and in the worst of tempers. + +"What poisoning doctor did you send?" he asked, with an ireful glance; +"I want no doctor, I am not ill; I will not follow his prescription; +he forbade me to eat; I _will_ eat." + +"He is a very clever man," said the visitor. "He told me that never +in the whole course of his experience has he met with what he called +so much 'resisting power' as exists in your frame. He asked me if you +were not of a long-lived race." + +"That is as people may judge," replied Monsieur Bonelle. "All I +can say is, that my grandfather died at ninety, and my father at +eighty-six." + +"The doctor owned that you had a wonderfully strong constitution." + +"Who said I hadn't?" exclaimed the invalid feebly. + +"You may rely on it, you would preserve your health better if you had +not the trouble of these vexatious lodgers. Have you thought about the +life annuity?" said Ramin as carelessly as he could, considering how +near the matter was to his hopes and wishes. + +"Why, I have scruples," returned Bonelle, coughing. "I do not wish to +take you in. My longevity would be the ruin of you." + +"To meet that difficulty," quickly replied the mercer, "we can reduce +the interest." + +"But I must have high interest," placidly returned Monsieur Bonelle. + +Ramin, on hearing this, burst into a loud fit of laughter, called +Monsieur Bonelle a sly old fox, gave him a poke in the ribs, which +made the old man cough for five minutes, and then proposed that they +should talk it over some other day. The mercer left Monsieur Bonelle +in the act of protesting that he felt as strong as a man of forty. + +Monsieur Ramin felt in no hurry to conclude the proposed agreement. +"The later one begins to pay, the better," he said, as he descended +the stairs. + +Days passed on, and the negotiation made no way. It struck the +observant tradesman that all was not right. Old Marguerite several +times refused to admit him, declaring her master was asleep: there +was something mysterious and forbidding in her manner that seemed to +Monsieur Ramin very ominous. At length a sudden thought occurred to +him: the housekeeper--wishing to become her master's heir--had heard +his scheme and opposed it. On the very day that he arrived at this +conclusion, he met a lawyer, with whom he had formerly had some +transactions, coming down the staircase. The sight sent a chill +through the mercer's commercial heart, and a presentiment--one of +those presentiments that seldom deceive--told him it was too late. He +had, however, the fortitude to abstain from visiting Monsieur Bonelle +until evening came; when he went up, resolved to see him in spite +of all Marguerite might urge. The door was half-open, and the old +housekeeper stood talking on the landing to a middle-aged man in a +dark cassock. + +"It is all over! The old witch has got the priests at him," thought +Ramin, inwardly groaning at his own folly in allowing himself to be +forestalled. + +"You cannot see Monsieur to-night," sharply said Marguerite, as he +attempted to pass. + +"Alas! is my excellent friend so very ill?" asked Ramin, in a mournful +tone. + +"Sir," eagerly said the clergyman, catching him by the button of his +coat, "if you are indeed the friend of that unhappy man, do seek to +bring him into a more suitable frame of mind. I have seen many dying +men, but never so much obstinacy, never such infatuated belief in the +duration of life." + +"Then you think he really _is_ dying," asked Ramin; and, in spite of +the melancholy accent he endeavored to assume, there was something so +peculiar in his tone, that the priest looked at him very fixedly as he +slowly replied, + +"Yes, air, I think he is." + +"Ah!" was all Monsieur Ramin said; and as the clergyman had now +relaxed his hold of the button, Ramin passed in spite of the +remonstrances of Marguerite, who rushed after the priest. He found +Monsieur Bonelle in bed and in a towering rage. + +"Oh! Ramin, my friend," he groaned, "never take a housekeeper, +and never let her know you have any property. They are harpies, +Ramin,--harpies! such a day as I have had; first, the lawyer, who +comes to write down 'my last testamentary dispositions,' as he calls +them; then the priest, who gently hints that I am a dying man. Oh, +what a day!" + +"And _did_ you make your will, my excellent friend?" softly asked +Monsieur Ramin, with a keen look. + +"Make my will?" indignantly exclaimed the old man; "make my will? what +do you mean, sir? do you mean to say I am dying?" + +"Heaven forbid!" piously ejaculated Ramin. + +"Then why do you ask me if I had been making my will?" angrily resumed +the old man. He then began to be extremely abusive. + +When money was in the way, Monsieur Ramin, though otherwise of a +violent temper, had the meekness of a lamb. He bore the treatment +of his host with the meekest patience, and having first locked the +door so as to make sure that Marguerite would not interrupt them, he +watched Monsieur Bonelle attentively, and satisfied himself that the +Excellent Opportunity he had been ardently longing for had arrived: +"He is going fast," he thought; "and unless I settle the agreement +to-night, and get it drawn up and signed to-morrow, it will be too +late." + +"My dear friend," he at length said aloud, on perceiving that the old +gentleman had fairly exhausted himself and was lying panting on his +back, "you are indeed a lamentable instance of the lengths to which +the greedy lust of lucre will carry our poor human nature. It is +really distressing to see Marguerite, a faithful, attached servant, +suddenly converted into a tormenting harpy by the prospect of a +legacy! Lawyers and priests flock around you like birds of prey, +drawn hither by the scent of gold! Oh, the miseries of having delicate +health combined with a sound constitution and large property!" + +"Ramin," groaned the old man, looking inquiringly into his visitor's +face, "you are again going to talk to me about that annuity--I know +you are!" + +"My excellent friend, it is merely to deliver you from a painful +position." + +"I am sure, Ramin, you think in your soul I am dying," whimpered +Monsieur Bonelle. + +"Absurd, my dear sir. Dying? I will prove to you that you have never +been in better health. In the first place you feel no pain." + +"Excepting from rheumatism," groaned Monsieur Bonelle. + +"Rheumatism! who ever died of rheumatism? and if that be all--" + +"No, it is not all," interrupted the old man with great irritability; +"what would you say to the gout getting higher and higher up every +day?" + +"The gout is rather disagreeable, but if there is nothing else--" + +"Yes, there is something else," sharply said Monsieur Bonelle. "There +is an asthma that will scarcely let me breathe, and a racking pain in +my head that does not allow me a moment's ease. But if you think I am +dying, Ramin, you are quite mistaken." + +"No doubt, my dear friend, no doubt; but in the meanwhile suppose we +talk of this annuity. Shall we say one thousand francs a year." + +"What!" asked Bonelle, looking at him very fixedly. + +"My dear friend, I mistook; I meant two thousand francs per annum," +hurriedly rejoined Ramin. + +Monsieur Bonelle closed his eyes, and appeared to fall into a gentle +slumber. The mercer coughed; the sick man never moved. + +"Monsieur Bonelle." + +No reply. + +"My excellent friend." + +Utter silence. + +"Are you asleep?" + +A long pause. + +"Well, then, what do you say to three thousand?" + +Monsieur Bonelle opened his eyes. + +"Ramin," said he, sententiously, "you are a fool; the house brings me +in four thousand as it is." + +This was quite false, and the mercer knew it; but he had his own +reasons for wishing to seem to believe it true. + +"Good Heavens!" said he, with an air of great innocence, "who could +have thought it, and the lodgers constantly running away. Four +thousand? Well, then, you shall have four thousand." + +Monsieur Bonelle shut his eyes once more, and murmured "The mere +rental--nonsense!" He then folded his hands on his breast, and +appeared to compose himself to sleep. + +"Oh, what a sharp man of business he is!" Ramin said, admiringly: +but for once omnipotent flattery failed in its effect: "So acute!" +continued he, with a stealthy glance at the old man, who remained +perfectly unmoved. + +"I see you will insist upon making it the other five hundred francs." + +Monsieur Ramin said this as if five thousand five hundred francs had +already been mentioned, and was the very summit of Monsieur Bonelle's +ambition. But the ruse failed in its effect; the sick man never so +much as stirred. + +"But, my dear friend," urged Monsieur Ramin in a tone of feeling +remonstrance, "there is such a thing as being too sharp, too acute. +How can you expect that I shall give you more when your constitution +is so good, and you are to be such a long liver?" + +"Yes, but I may be carried off one of these days," quietly observed +the old man, evidently wishing to turn the chance of his own death to +account. + +"Indeed, and I hope so," muttered the mercer, who was getting very +ill-tempered. + +"You see," soothingly continued Bonelle, "you are so good a man of +business, Ramin, that you will double the actual value of the house +in no time. I am a quiet, easy person, indifferent to money; otherwise +this house would now bring me in eight thousand at the very least." + +"Eight thousand!" indignantly exclaimed the mercer. "Monsieur Bonelle, +you have no conscience. Come now, my dear friend, do be reasonable. +Six thousand francs a year (I don't mind saying six) is really a very +handsome income for a man of your quiet habits. Come, be reasonable." +But Monsieur Bonelle turned a deaf ear to reason, and closed his eyes +once more. What between opening and shutting them for the next quarter +of an hour, he at length induced Monsieur Ramin to offer him seven +thousand francs. + +"Very well, Ramin, agreed," he quietly said; "you have made an +unconscionable bargain." To this succeeded a violent fit of coughing. + +As Ramin unlocked the door to leave, he found old Marguerite, who had +been listening all the time, ready to assail him with a torrent of +whispered abuse for duping her "poor dear innocent old master into +such a bargain." The mercer bore it all very patiently: he could make +all allowances for her excited feelings, and only rubbed his hands and +bade her a jovial good evening. + +The agreement was signed on the following day, to the indignation of +old Marguerite, and the mutual satisfaction of the parties concerned. + +Every one admired the luck and shrewdness of Ramin, for the old man +every day was reported worse; and it was clear to all that the first +quarter of the annuity would never be paid. Marguerite, in her wrath, +told the story as a grievance to every one; people listened, shook +their heads, and pronounced Monsieur Ramin to be a deuced clever +fellow. + +A month elapsed. As Ramin was coming down one morning from the attics, +where he had been giving notice to a poor widow who had failed in +paying her rent, he heard a light step on the stairs. Presently a +sprightly gentleman, in buoyant health and spirits, wearing the form +of Monsieur Bonelle, appeared. Ramin stood aghast. + +"Well, Ramin," gaily said the old man, "how are you getting on? Have +you been tormenting the poor widow up stairs? Why, man, we must live +and let live!" + +"Monsieur Bonelle," said the mercer, in a hollow tone; "may I ask +where are your rheumatics?" + +"Gone, my dear friend,--gone." + +"And the gout that was creeping higher and higher every day," +exclaimed Monsieur Ramin, in a voice of anguish. + +"It went lower and lower, till it disappeared altogether," composedly +replied Bonelle. + +"And your asthma--" + +"The asthma remains, but asthmatic people are proverbially long-lived. +It is, I have been told, the only complaint that Methusalah was +troubled with." With this Bonelle opened his door, shut it, and +disappeared. + +Ramin was transfixed on the stairs; petrified with intense +disappointment, and a powerful sense of having been duped. When he +was discovered, he stared vacantly, and raved about an Excellent +Opportunity of taking his revenge. + +The wonderful cure was the talk of the neighborhood, whenever Monsieur +Bonelle appeared in the streets, jauntily flourishing his cane. In the +first frenzy of his despair, Ramin refused to pay; he accused every +one of having been in a plot to deceive him; he turned off Catharine +and expelled his porter: he publicly accused the lawyer and priest of +conspiracy; brought an action against the doctor and lost it. He had +another brought against him for violently assaulting Marguerite, in +which he was cast in heavy damages. Monsieur Bonelle did not trouble +himself with useless remonstrances, but when his annuity was refused, +employed such good legal arguments, as the exasperated mercer could +not possibly resist. + +Ten years have elapsed, and MM. Ramin and Bonelle still live on. For a +house which would have been dear at fifty thousand francs, the draper +has already handed over seventy thousand. + +The once red-faced, jovial Ramin is now a pale haggard man, of sour +temper and aspect. To add to his anguish he sees the old man thrive on +that money which it breaks his heart to give. Old Marguerite takes a +malicious pleasure in giving him an exact account of their good cheer, +and in asking him if he does not think Monsieur looks better and +better every day. Of one part of this torment Ramin might get rid, by +giving his old master notice to quit, and no longer having him in his +house. But this he cannot do; he has a secret fear that Bonelle would +take some Excellent Opportunity of dying without his knowledge, and +giving some other person an Excellent Opportunity of persecuting him, +and receiving the money in his stead. + +The last accounts of the victim of Excellent Opportunities represent +him as being gradually worn down with disappointment. There seems +every probability of his being the first to leave the world; for +Bonelle is heartier than ever. + + * * * * * + +[FROM HOUSEHOLD WORDS.] + +THE OLD CHURCHWARD TREE. + +A PROSE POEM. + +There is an old yew tree which stands by the wall in a dark quiet +corner of the churchyard. + +And a child was at play beneath its wide-spreading branches, one fine +day in the early spring. He had his lap full of flowers, which the +fields and lanes had supplied him with, and he was humming a tune to +himself as he wove them into garlands. + +And a little girl at play among the tombstones crept near to listen; +but the boy was so intent upon his garland, that he did not hear the +gentle footsteps, as they trod softly over the fresh green grass. When +his work was finished, and all the flowers that were in his lap were +woven together in one long wreath, he started up to measure its length +upon the ground, and then he saw the little girl, as she stood with +her eyes fixed upon him. He did not move or speak, but thought to +himself that she looked very beautiful as she stood there with her +flaxen ringlets hanging down upon her neck. The little girl was so +startled by his sudden movement, that she let fall all the flowers she +had collected in her apron, and ran away as fast as she could. But the +boy was older and taller than she, and soon caught her, and coaxed her +to come back and play with him, and help him to make more garlands; +and from that time they saw each other nearly every day, and became +great friends. + +Twenty years passed away. Again, he was seated beneath the old yew +tree in the churchyard. + +It was summer now; bright, beautiful summer, with the birds singing, +and the flowers covering the ground, and scenting the air with their +perfume. + +But he was not alone now, nor did the little girl steal near on +tiptoe, fearful of being heard. She was seated by his side, and his +arm was round her, and she looked up into his face, and smiled as she +whispered: "The first evening of our lives we were ever together was +passed here; we will spend the first evening of our wedded life in the +same quiet, happy place." And he drew her closer to him as she spoke. + +The summer is gone; and the autumn; and twenty more summers and +autumns have passed away since that evening, in the old churchyard. + +A young man, on a bright moonlight night, comes reeling through the +little white gate, and stumbling over the graves. He shouts and he +sings, and is presently followed by others like unto himself, or +worse. So, they all laugh at the dark solemn head of the yew tree, and +throw stones up at the place where the moon had silvered the boughs. + +Those same boughs are again silvered by the moon, and they droop +over his mother's grave. There is a little stone which bears this +inscription:-- + +"HER HEART BRAKE IN SILENCE." + +But the silence of the churchyard is now broken by a voice--not of the +youth--nor a voice of laughter and ribaldry. + +"My son!--dost thou see this grave? and dost thou read the record in +anguish, whereof may come repentance?" + +"Of what should I repent?" answers the son; "and why should my young +ambition for fame relax in its strength because my mother was old and +weak?" + +"Is this indeed our son?" says the father, bending in agony over the +grave of his beloved. + +"I can well believe I am not;" exclaimeth the youth. "It is well +that you have brought me here to say so. Our natures are unlike; our +courses must be opposite. Your way lieth here--mine yonder!" + +So the son left the father kneeling by the grave. + +Again a few years are passed. It is winter, with a roaring wind and a +thick gray fog. The graves in the Church-yard are covered with snow, +and there are great icicles in the Church-yard. The wind now carries +a swathe of snow along the tops of the graves as though the "sheeted +dead" were at some melancholy play; and hark! the icicles fall with +a crash and jingle, like a solemn mockery of the echo of the unseemly +mirth of one who is now coming to his final rest. + +There are two graves near the old yew tree; and the grass has +overgrown them. A third is close by; and the dark earth at each side +has just been thrown up. The bearers come; with a heavy pace they +move along; the coffin heaveth up and down, as they step over the +intervening graves. + +Grief and old age had seized upon the father, and worn out his life; +and premature decay soon seized upon the son, and gnawed away his vain +ambition, and his useless strength, till he prayed to be borne, not +the way yonder that was most opposite to his father and his mother, +but even the same way they had gone--the way which leads to the Old +Churchyard Tree. + + * * * * * + +In dreamy hours the dormant imagination looks out and sees vague +significances in things which it feels can at an after time be vividly +conceived and expressed; the most familiar objects have a strange +double meaning in their aspects; the very chair seems to be +patiently awaiting there the expounder of its silent, symbolical +language.--_Boston Morning Post_. + + * * * * * + +[FROM BENTLEY'S MISCELLANY.] + +GREECE AND TURKEY.[2] + +Whatever Mr. AUBREY DE VERE sees, he picturesquely describes; and +so far as words can do so, he makes pictures of all the subjects he +writes upon; and had he painted as he has written, or used his pencil +equally well with his pen, two more delightful volumes, to any lover +of Greece, it would be difficult to name. With an evidently refined +taste, and a perfect acquaintance with the ancient history of the +country he traveled through, and the ever famous characters that +made its history what it is, his descriptions combine most pleasingly +together, the past with the present. He peoples the scenery with the +men whose deeds give to that scenery all its interest; and whether on +the plain of Marathon, or the site of Delphi or the Acropolis, he has +a store of things to say of their past glories, and links together, +with great artistic skill, that which is gone with that which remains. + +[Footnote 2: Picturesque Sketches of Greece and Turkey. By Aubrey De +Vere, 2 vols. [Philadelphia: A. Hart.]] + +By the scholar and the man of taste the volumes will be read with no +little delight, as they abound much more with reflections and sensible +observations, than with the commonplace incidents of travel. Indeed, +the author has left but small space for his accidents at sea and his +hardships on shore, since all the chapters but four are devoted to +Athens, Delphi, and Constantinople. The classical reader will prefer +the chapters on the two first-named places; the general reader will +find perhaps more interesting his sketches of the city of the Sultan, +and an anecdote which he gives of the present Sultan, and which +declares him to possess more of decision, and firmness of character, +and good sense, than the world gives him credit for. His description +of the Bosphorus will create in many a desire to see what he has seen, +and to look upon some, at least, of the fifty-seven palaces which the +sultans have raised upon its banks; and upon the hundreds of others, +which, while the Commander of the Faithful permits it, are the +property of his subjects. + +It argued far more of a wild spirit of adventure than of a sober +understanding in Aubrey de Vere, to go with that clever Frenchman to +the Turk's house, and to play off all those tricks in the presence of +its master and his ten unvailed wives. Rarely indeed, if ever before, +has an Englishman passed an hour so comfortably with the whole of +a rich man's harem, and seen them as de Vere saw them in all their +artlessness and beauty. We live, indeed, in strange times, when the +once scorned and loathed Giaours contrive to possess themselves +of such extraordinary privileges, and to escape unharmed from such +hitherto unheard-of enjoyments. + +Where one thought was given to Constantinople a hundred years since +from the west of the Dalmatian coast, ten thousand eyes are now +constantly directed to it, and with continually increasing anxiety. +The importance of that city is now understood by all the European +powers, and its future fate has become a subject of deep interest to +all the western states, in consequence of the determined set made upon +it by its powerful northern neighbor. With the Cossacks at Istamboul +instead of Turks, we should be very ill satisfied, and the whole charm +of this city on its seven hills would have departed: already is it on +the wane. Sultan Mahmoud's hostility to beards and to flowing robes, +to the turban and the jherid, has deprived his capital city of much +of its picturesqueness and peculiarity; but still enough remains of +eastern manners and costumes to make it one of the most interesting +cities in the world to visit and roam over. Such as, like ourselves, +may not hope to sport a caique on the Bosphorus, will do well to +acquaint themselves with the information Aubrey de Vere can give them, +and to suffer their imagination to transport them to scenes among +the fairest and the loveliest on the earth's surface, and which are +presented to them in these volumes as graphically as words can paint +them. + +By the possessor of Wordsworth's Greece, where every spot almost, of +the slightest historical interest, is given in a picture on its +pages, these "Picturesque Sketches" will be read with the highest +gratification that scenes and descriptions together can supply. +There is so much of mind in them; so much of sound philosophy in +the observations; such beautiful thoughts; so well, so elegantly +expressed; so many allusions to the past, that are continually placing +before us Pericles, Themistocles, or Demosthenes, that we are improved +while amused, and feel at every page that we are reading a work far +above the general works on such subjects; a work of lasting interest, +that may be read and re-read, and still with delight and advantage. + + * * * * * + +DEATH AND SLEEP. + +FROM THE GERMAN OF KRUMMACHER. + +In brotherly embrace walked the Angel of Sleep and the Angel of Death +upon the earth. + +It was evening. They laid themselves down upon a hill not far from the +dwelling of men. A melancholy silence prevailed around, and the chimes +of the evening-bell in the distant hamlet ceased. + +Still and silent, as was their custom, sat these two beneficent Genii +of the human race, their arms entwined with cordial familiarity, and +soon the shades of night gathered around them. + +Then arose the Angel of Sleep from his moss-grown couch, and strewed +with a gentle hand the invisible grains of slumber. The evening breeze +wafted them to the quiet dwelling of the tired husbandman, infolding +in sweet sleep the inmates of the rural cottage--from the old man upon +the staff, down to the infant in the cradle. The sick forgot their +pain: the mourners their grief; the poor their care. All eyes closed. + +His task accomplished, the benevolent Angel of Sleep laid himself +again by the side of his grave brother. "When Aurora awakes," +exclaimed he, with innocent joy, "men praise me as their friend and +benefactor. Oh! what happiness, unseen and secretly to confer such +benefits! How blessed are we to be the invisible messengers of the +Good Spirit! How beautiful is our silent calling!" + +So spake the friendly Angel of Slumber. + +The Angel of Death sat with still deeper melancholy on his brow, and +a tear, such as mortals shed, appeared in his large dark eyes. "Alas!" +said he, "I may not, like thee, rejoice in the cheerful thanks of +mankind; they call me upon the earth their enemy, and joy-killer." + +"Oh! my brother," replied the gentle Angel of Slumber, "and will +not the good man, at his awakening, recognize in thee his friend and +benefactor, and gratefully bless thee in his joy? Are we not brothers, +and ministers of one Father?" + +As he spake, the eyes of the Death-Angel beamed with pleasure, and +again did the two friendly Genii cordially embrace each other. + + * * * * * + +THE MODERN SCHOOLS OF ATHENS.--I visited, with equal surprise and +satisfaction, an Athenian school, which contained seven hundred +pupils, taken from every class of society. The poorer classes were +gratuitously instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and the +girls in needlework likewise. The progress which the children had made +was very remarkable; but what particularly pleased me was that air of +bright alertness and good-humored energy which belonged to them, and +which made every task appear a pleasure, not a toil. The greatest +punishment which can be inflicted on an Athenian child is exclusion +from school, though but for a day. About seventy of the children +belonged to the higher classes, and were instructed in music, drawing, +the modern languages, the ancient Greek, and geography. Most of them +were at the moment reading Herodotus and Homer. I have never seen +children approaching them in beauty; and was much struck by their +Oriental cast of countenance, their dark complexions, their flashing +eyes, and that expression, at once apprehensive and meditative, which +is so much more remarkable in children than in those of a more mature +age.--_De Vere_. + + * * * * * + +At Berlin, the Academy of Sciences has been holding a sitting, +according to its statutes, in honor of the memory of Leibnitz. In the +course of the oration delivered on the occasion, it was stated that +the 4th of August being the fiftieth anniversary of the admission +of Alexander Von Humboldt as a member of the Academy, it had been +resolved, in celebration of the event, to place a marble bust of the +"Nestor of Science" in the lecture room of the society. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The International Weekly Miscellany, +Volume I. 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