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diff --git a/old/14324.txt b/old/14324.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0fc91ff --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14324.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8852 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lippincott's Magazine Of Popular Literature +And Science, April 1875, Vol. XV., No. 88, 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: Lippincott's Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science, April 1875, Vol. XV., No. 88 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: December 11, 2004 [EBook #14324] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIPPINCOTT'S MAGAZINE *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, David Gundry and the PG Online +Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + +[Note: The Table of Contents and the list of illustrations were added +by the transcriber. Footnotes will be found at the end of the text.] + + + + +LIPPINCOTT'S MAGAZINE OF POPULAR LITERATURE AND SCIENCE. + +APRIL, 1875. + +Vol. XV, No. 88 + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + +AUSTRALIAN SCENES AND ADVENTURES. + CONCLUDING PAPER. + +THE GOLDEN EAGLE AND HIS EYRIE by W. A. BAILLIE-GROHMAN. + +THREE FEATHERS by WILLIAM BLACK. + CHAPTER XXIX MABYN DREAMS. + CHAPTER XXX FERN IN DIE WELT. + CHAPTER XXXI "BLUE IS THE SWEETEST." + CHAPTER XXXII. THE EXILE'S RETURN. + +SONNET by F. A. HILLARD. + +NICE by R. DAVEY. + +THE RASKOL, AND SECTS IN RUSSIA. + I. ORIGIN OF THE RASKOL. + II. OPPOSITION TO MODERN CIVILIZATION. + III. INTERNAL DIVISIONS. + +ELEANOR'S CAREER by ITA ANIOL PROKOP. + +AN AMERICAN LADY'S OCCUPATIONS SEVENTY YEARS AGO by + ETHEL C. GALE. + +A MARCH VIOLET by EMMA LAZARUS. + +WHAT IS A CONCLAVE? by T. ADOLPHUS TROLLOPE. + +MONSOOR PACHA by GEORGE H. BOKER. + +HOW HAM WAS CURED by JENNIE WOODVILLE. + +ON THE STUDY OF SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS by KATE HILLARD. + +OUR MONTHLY GOSSIP. + ARTISTS' MODELS IN ROME by T. A. T. + FAUST IN POLAND by E. C. R. + A LETTER FROM HAVANA by F. C. N. + FRENCH SLANG by F. A. + NOTES. + +LITERATURE OF THE DAY. + +Books Received. + +FOOTNOTES. + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + FOREST OF COCKATOOS. + + SYDNEY. + + ASTROLABE AND ZELEE ON CORAL REEFS + + CANNIBAL FIRES. + + MONUMENT TO BURKE AND WILLS. + + BAS-RELIEF: RETURN TO COOPER'S CREEK. + + BAS-RELIEF: DEATH OF BURKE. + + BAS-RELIEF: FINDING OF BURKE. + + VALLEY OF LAUNCESTON, VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. + + COURSE OF THE TAMAR, VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. + + GORGE OF THE TAMAR, VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. + + HOBART TOWN. + + ON THE WAY TO THE WOOD-DRIFT. + + OUR ARRIVAL AT THE DRIFT-KEEPER'S COTTAGE. + + INTERIOR OF TOMERL'S COTTAGE. + + "FIXING THE BOAT-HOOK INTO AN INDENTATION, I PULLED MYSELF IN." + + ENTERING THE EYRIE. + + + * * * * * + + + + +LIPPINCOTT'S MAGAZINE + +OF + +_POPULAR LITERATURE AND SCIENCE_. + + +APRIL, 1875. + +Vol. XV, No. 88 + + + * * * * * + + + + +AUSTRALIAN SCENES AND ADVENTURES. + +CONCLUDING PAPER. + +[Illustration: FOREST OF COCKATOOS.] + + +People who go to Australia expecting every other man they meet to be a +convict, and every convict a ruffian in felon's garb, will assuredly +find themselves mistaken. And if contemplating a residence in Sydney or +Melbourne they need not anticipate the necessity of living in a tent or +a shanty, nor yet of accepting the society of convicts or negroes as the +only alternative to a life of solitude. Neither will it be necessary to +go armed with revolvers by day, nor to place plate and jewels under +guard at night. Sydney, the capital of the penal colony, is a quiet, +orderly city, abounding in villas and gardens, churches and schools, and +about its well-lighted streets ride and walk well-dressed and well-bred +people, whose visages betray neither the ruffian nor the cannibal. Some +of them may be convicts or "ticket-of-leave-men," but this a stranger +would need to be told, as they dress like others, their equipages are +quite as stylish, and many of them not only amass more property, but are +really more honest, than some of those never sentenced, because they +know that the continuance of their freedom depends on their reputation. + +[Illustration: SYDNEY.] + +The city, built on the south side of a beautiful lake, is perfectly +unique in design, being composed of five broad promontories, looking +like the five fingers of a hand slightly expanded. All the important +streets run from east to west, and each terminates in a distinct harbor, +while clearly visible from the upper portion of the street is a grand +moving panorama of vessels of every description, with masts, sails and +colors that seem peering out from every interstice between the houses. +Each day witnesses the arrival and departure of eight or ten steamers, +ferry-boats leave every half hour all the principal landings for the +various sections of the city, and the wharves are lined with the +shipping of every nation, many of the vessels ranging from fifteen +hundred to two thousand tons burden. On a huge rock in Watson's Bay +stands the lighthouse at the entrance of Port Jackson. The sea lashes +the black rock with ceaseless fury, the light from the summit rendering +even the base visible at a great distance. The light is 350 feet above +the level of the sea, yet it was almost under its very rays that the +good ship Dunbar came to grief. Missing the passage, she was engulfed in +the raging sea, and her three hundred and ninety passengers perished in +full view of the homes they were seeking. + +Orange and almond trees, with other tropical plants, loaded with +blossoms and fruit, beautify the lowlands, while in more elevated +localities are found the fruits and foliage of the temperate zone, very +many of them exotics brought by the settlers from their English homes. +Down to the very water's edge extends the verdure of tree and shrub, +overshadowing to the right Fort Jackson, and to the left Middle Harbor. +The Government House commands the bay with the imposing mien of a +fortress, and the magnificent reception-rooms are worthy of a +sovereign's court. The garden surrounding it occupies a beautiful +promontory, its borders washed by the sea, the walks shaded by trees +imported from Europe, and the whole parterre redolent with tropical +beauty and fragrance. On the promenades are frequently assembled at +evening two or three hundred ladies and gentlemen in full dress, while +military bands discourse sweet music for the entertainment of the +brilliant throng. + +Ballarat may be called the city of gold; Melbourne, of clubs, democracy +and thriving commerce; Hobart Town takes the premium for hospitality and +picturesque beauty; but Sydney bears the impress of genuine English +aristocracy, in combination with a sort of Creole piquancy singularly in +contrast with English exclusiveness, yet giving a wonderful charm to the +society of this city of high life, so full of gayety, brilliancy and +luxury. Who would recognize in the Sydney of to-day, with its four +hundred thousand inhabitants, its churches, theatres and libraries, the +outgrowth of the penal colony of Botany Bay, planted only eighty-seven +years ago on savage shores? It was in May, 1787, that the first colony +left England for Botany Bay, a squadron of eleven vessels, carrying +eleven hundred and eighteen colonists to make a lodgment on an unknown +shore inhabited by savages. Of these eleven hundred and eighteen, there +were six hundred male and two hundred and fifty female convicts, the +remaining portion being composed of officers and soldiers to take charge +of the new penal settlement, under the command of Governor Phillip. From +so unpromising a beginning has grown the present rich and flourishing +settlement, and in lieu of the few temporary shanties erected by the +first colonists there stands a magnificent city of more than ordinarily +fine architecture, with banks and hospitals, schools and churches--among +the latter a superb cathedral--all displaying the proverbial prodigality +of labor and expense for which the English are noted in the erection and +adornment of their public edifices. Among the educational establishments +are the English University, with a public hall like that of Westminster; +St. John's College (Catholic); and national primary and high schools, +where are educated about thirty-four thousand pupils at an annual +expense to the government of more than three hundred thousand dollars. +From the parent colony have sprung others, while the poverty and +corruption that were the distinguishing features of the original element +have been gradually lost in the more recent importations of honest and +respectable citizens. + +Apart from the wealth and gayety of Sydney, there is much in its various +grades of society to interest the average tourist. The "ticket-of-leave +men"--that is, convicts who, having served out a portion of their term +and been favorably reported for good conduct, are permitted to go at +large and begin life anew--form a distinct class, and exert a widespread +influence by their wealth, benevolence and commercial enterprise. + +[Illustration: ASTROLABE AND ZELEE ON CORAL REEFS.] + +Very many of the better class are talented and well educated, with the +manners and appearance of gentlemen; and in some cases there has been +perhaps but the _single_ crime for which they suffered expatriation +and disgrace. Such as these, as a rule, conduct themselves with +propriety from the moment of being sentenced; never murmur at their work +or discipline, be it ever so hard; and probably after a single year of +hardship are favorably reported, and permitted to seek or make homes for +themselves. Many of them own bank shares and real estate, and some +become immensely rich, either by ability or chance good-fortune. The +property is their own, but the owners are always watched by those in +power, and are liable at any moment to be ordered back to their old +positions. These "remanded men" are treated with the greatest severity, +and few have sufficient power of endurance to live out even a short term +with its increase of rigor and hardship. Yet to the energy and +enterprise of the liberated felons is probably due, more than to any +other cause, that increase of prosperity which has long since rendered +these colonies not only self-supporting, but a source of revenue to the +Crown. + +[Illustration: CANNIBAL FIRES.] + +Another and the most dangerous class of convicts are those known as +"bushrangers." They are desperate fellows, composed of the very lowest +scum of England, have ordinarily been sentenced for life, and, having no +hope of pardon or desire for amendment, they escape as soon as possible, +often by the murder of one or more of their guards, and take refuge in +the wilds of the interior. Some of these bushrangers are associated +together in large hordes, but others roam solitary for months before +they will venture to trust their lives in the hands of other desperadoes +like themselves. There are hundreds of these lawless men prowling like +wild beasts for their prey in the vicinity of every thoroughfare between +the cities and the mines, robbing and murdering defenceless passengers, +plundering the mails, and constantly exacting the best of their flocks +and herds from the stockmen and shepherds, who in their isolated +positions dare not refuse their demands. So desperate is the character +of these outlaws that they are seldom taken, though thousands of pounds +are occasionally offered for the head of some noted ringleader. They may +be killed in skirmishes, but will not suffer themselves to be taken +alive. A man calling himself "Black Darnley" ranged the woods for years, +committing all sorts of crimes, but at length met a violent death at the +hands of another convict, whose daughter he had outraged. + +A curious memento of the first theatre opened in Sydney and the first +performance within its walls has come down to us from the year 1796, +about eight years after the establishment of the penal colony. It was +opened by permission of the governor: all the actors were convicts who +won the privilege by good behavior, and the price of admission was one +shilling, payable in silver, flour, meat or wine. The prologue, written +by a _cidevant_ pickpocket of London, illustrates the character of +the times in those early days of the colony: + + From distant climes, o'er widespread seas, we come, + Though not with much _eclat_ or beat of drum, + True patriots all; for be it understood, + We left our country for our country's good: + No private views disgraced our generous zeal; + What urged our travels was our country's weal; + And none will doubt but that our emigration + Has proved most useful to the British nation. + But, you inquire, what could our breasts inflame + With this new passion for theatric fame? + What in the practice of our former days + Could shape our talents to exhibit plays? + Your patience, sirs: some observations made, + You'll grant us equal to the scenic trade. + He who to midnight ladders is no stranger + You'll own will make an admirable Ranger, + And sure in Filch I shall be quite at home: + Some true-bred Falstaff we may hope to start. + The scene to vary, we shall try in time + To treat you with a little pantomime. + Here light and easy Columbines are found, + And well-tried Harlequins with us abound. + From durance vile our precious selves to keep, + We often had recourse to the flying leap, + To a black face have sometimes owed escape, + And Hounslow Heath has proved the worth of crape. + But how, you ask, can we e'er hope to soar. + Above these scenes, and rise to tragic lore? + Too oft, alas! we've forced the unwilling tear, + And petrified the heart with real fear. + Macbeth a harvest of applause will reap, + For some of us, I fear, have murdered sleep. + His lady, too, with grace will sleep and talk: + Our females have been used at night to walk. + Grant us your favor, put us to the test: + To gain your smiles we'll do our very best, + And without dread of future Turnkey Lockets, + Thus, in an honest way, still _pick your pockets_! + +It was by the coral-bound Straits of Torres, reckoned by navigators the +most difficult in the world, that the English government determined a +few years ago to send an envoy to open communication between the +Australian colony and the Dutch possessions of Java and Sumatra. The +Hero was the vessel selected for this perilous mission--a voyage of +twelve hundred miles through seas studded thickly with reefs and islands +of coral, many of which lay just beneath the surface of the +waves--hidden pitfalls of death whose yawning jaws threatened instant +destruction to the unwary voyager. The splendid steamer Cowarra had been +wrecked on these reefs only a few months before, but a single one of her +two hundred and seventy-five passengers escaping a watery grave. Her +tall masts, still standing bolt upright amid the coral-reefs, presented +a gaunt spectacle, plainly visible from the Hero's decks as she threaded +her way among the shoaly waters, while a similar though less tragical +warning was the disaster that had overtaken two other vessels, the +Astrolabe and the Zelee, which by a sudden ebb of the tide were thrown +high and dry upon the sands, and remained in this frightful condition +for eight days before the returning waters drifted them off. But the +Hero was a staunch craft--an iron blockade-runner, built at Glasgow +during our late war. She was of twelve hundred tons burden, manned by +forty-two men, and had already weathered storms and dangers enough to +earn a right to the name she bore. Right nobly she fulfilled her +dangerous mission, threading her way with difficulty among whole fields +of coral, that sometimes almost enclosed her low hull as between two +walls; again seeming upon the very verge of the breakers or ready to be +engulfed in their whirling eddies, but emerging at last into the open +channel, a monument of the skill and watchfulness of her officers. Many +of these for days together never left the deck, and the lead was cast +three or four times an hour during the whole passage of these dangerous +seas. Such is the history of navigation in coral seas, but if full of +danger, they are equally replete with picturesque beauty. In the coral +isle, with its blue lagoon, its circling reef and smiling vegetation, +there is a wondrous fascination; while in the long reefs, with the ocean +driving furiously upon them, only to be driven pitilessly back, all +wreathed in white foam and diamond spray, there is enough of the sublime +to transfix the most careless observer. The barrier reef that skirts the +north-east coast of the Australian continent is the grandest coral +formation in the world, stretching for a distance of a thousand miles, +with a varying breadth of from two hundred yards to a mile. The maximum +distance from the shore is seventy miles, but it rarely exceeds +twenty-five or thirty. Between this and the mainland lies a sheltered +channel, safe, for the most part, when reached; but there are few open +passages from the ocean, and the shoals of imperfectly-formed coral that +lie concealed just below the surface render the most watchful care +necessary to a safe passage. The fires of the cannibals, visible on +every peak all along the coast, shed their ruddy light over the blue +waters, illumining here and there some lofty crest, and adding a weird +beauty to the enchanting scene. + +[Illustration: MONUMENT TO BURKE AND WILLS.] + +"America has no monuments," say our Transatlantic cousins, "because it +is but two hundred years old." Well, Australia, with little more than +three-quarters of a hundred, has already its monument--a beautiful +bronze monument erected to the memory of the explorers Burke and Wills +on a lofty pedestal of elegant workmanship, and occupying a commanding +eminence in the city of Melbourne. The figures, two in number, are of +more than life size, one rising above the other--the chief, with noble +form and dignified air, fraternally supporting his younger confrere. The +pedestal shows three bas-reliefs of exquisite design--one the return to +Cooper's Creek, + +[Illustration: BAS-RELIEF: RETURN TO COOPER'S CREEK.] + +where the torn garments and emaciated limbs tell with sad emphasis the +woeful tale of hardship and toil through which the heroic explorers had +been passing; another exhibiting the subsequent death of Burke; + +[Illustration: BAS-RELIEF: DEATH OF BURKE.] + +and the third the finding of the remains. + +[Illustration: BAS-RELIEF: FINDING OF BURKE.] + +Burke and Wills, to whom belongs the honor of being the first explorers +that crossed the entire continent of Australia, extending their +researches from the Australian to the Pacific Ocean, set out on the 20th +of August, 1860, with a party of fifteen hardy pioneers upon their +perilous mission. Burke was in the prime of life, a man of iron frame, +dauntless courage and an enthusiasm that knew neither difficulty nor +danger. Wills, who belonged to a family that had already given one of +its members to Sir John Franklin's fatal expedition, to find a martyr's +grave among the eternal icebergs of the north, was somewhat younger, and +perhaps less enthusiastic, but was endowed with a rare discretion and +far-seeing sagacity that peculiarly fitted him to be the friend and +counselor of the enthusiastic Burke in such an undertaking. All +Melbourne was in excitement: the government gave fifty thousand dollars, +various individuals ten thousand, to aid the enterprise; and every heart +was aglow with aspirations for their success as the little band of +heroes waved their adieus and turned their faces outward to seek paths +hitherto untrodden by the white man's foot. Besides horses, twenty-seven +camels had been imported from India for the express use of the explorers +and for the transportation of tents, baggage, equipments, and fifteen +months' supply of provisions, with vessels for carrying such supplies of +water as the character of the country over which they were passing +should require them to take with them. Their plan of march divided +itself into three stages, of which Cooper's Creek was the middle one, +and about the centre of the Australian continent. At first their +progress was slow, encumbered as they were by excess of baggage and +equipments: then discontents arose in the little band, and Burke, too +ardent and impulsive for a leader, was first grieved, and then angered, +at what he deemed a want of spirit among some of his men. On the 19th of +October, at Menindie, he left a portion of the troop under the command +of Lieutenant Wright, with orders after a short rest to rejoin him at +Cooper's Creek. It was the end of January before Wright set out for the +point indicated. Meanwhile, as month followed month, bringing to +Melbourne no news of Burke's party, the worst fears were awakened +concerning its fate, and an expedition was fitted out to search for the +lost heroes. To young Howitt was given the command, and it was his +fortune to unveil the sad mystery that had enveloped their fate. On the +29th of June, 1861, crossing the river Loddon, Howitt encountered a +portion of Burke's company under the lead of Brahe, the fourth +lieutenant. Four of his men had died of scurvy, and the rest of his +little band seemed utterly dispirited. Howitt learned that in two months +Burke had crossed the entire route, sometimes desert, sometimes prairie, +between Menindie and Cooper's Creek, and had reached the borders of the +Gulf of Carpentaria, on the extreme north of the continent; also, that +he was there in January, enduring the fiercest heat of summer, and men +and beasts alike languishing for water, and nearly out of provisions. It +was all in vain that he deplored the tardiness of Wright, and hoped, as +he neared Cooper's Creek, for the coming of those who alone had the +means of life for his little squad of famished men. Equally in vain that +Wills with three camels reconnoitred the ground for scores of miles, +hoping to find water. Not an oasis, not a rivulet, was to be found, and +without a single drop of water to quench their parched lips they set out +on another long and dreary march. Desiring to secure the utmost speed, +Burke had left Brahe on the 16th of December with the sick and most of +his provisions at Cooper's Creek, to remain three months at least, and +longer if they were able, while he, with Wills, Grey and King, and six +camels, pushed bravely on, determined not to halt till the Pacific was +reached. Battling with the terrible heat, sometimes for days together +without water, and again obtaining a supply when they had almost +perished for want of it, having occasional fierce conflicts with the +natives, and more deadly encounters with poisonous serpents, but with an +energy and courage that knew no such word as failure, the indomitable +quartette went bravely on. The wished-for goal was reached, and the +heroes, jubiliant though worn and weary, then returned once more to +Cooper's Creek, to find the post deserted by Brahe, and Wright not +arrived, while neither water nor provisions remained to supply their +need. + +[Illustration: VALLEY OF LAUNCESTON, VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.] + +All this Howitt learned after his arrival at the rendezvous, where he +observed cut in the bark of a tree the word "Dig," and on throwing up +the earth found an iron casket deposited by Brahe, giving the date of +his departure and reasons for withdrawal before the appointed time. Of +far deeper interest were papers written by Burke, announcing that he had +reached the Pacific coast, and retraced his steps as far as Cooper's +Creek--that for two months the little party had advanced rapidly, making +constantly new discoveries of fertile lands, widespread prairies, +gushing streams and well-watered valleys. Occasionally they had found +lagoons of salt water, hills of red sand, trees of beautiful foliage, +and mounds indicating the presence at some unknown period of the +aboriginal inhabitants. They had discovered a range of high mountains in +the north, and called them the Standish Mountains, while at their foot +lay outspread a scene so lovely, of verdant groves and fertile meadows, +of well-watered plains and heavy forest trees, that they christened it +the Land of Promise. Then they reached again more sterile lands, parched +and dry, without a rivulet or an oasis. They suffered for water and food +grew scarce, but, sure of relief at Cooper's Creek, they pushed bravely +on, and reached the rendezvous to learn that the men who could have +saved them had passed on but seven hours before! After having +accomplished so much, so bravely battled with heat and hunger, serpents +and cannibals, to perish at last of starvation, seemed a fate too +terrible; and we cannot wonder that the little band fought their destiny +to the last. Little scraps of the journal of Burke and his friends tell +the sad tale of the last few weeks of agony. On March 6th, Burke seemed +near dying from having eaten a bit of a large serpent that he had +cooked. On the 30th they killed one of their camels, and on April 10th +they killed "Billy," Burke's favorite riding-horse. On the 11th they +were forced to halt on account of the condition of Grey, who was no +longer able to proceed. On the 21st they reached an oasis--a little +squad of human skeletons, scarcely more than alive. + + +[Illustration: COURSE OF THE TAMAR, VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.] + +Far and wide their longing eyes gazed in search of succor: they called +aloud with all their little remaining strength, but the oasis was +deserted, and the echo of their own sad voices was all the reply that +reached the despairing men. Then, at their rendezvous, finding the word +"Dig" on the tree where Howitt found it at a later day, they opened the +soil, and so learned the departure of Brahe on that very morning. How +terribly tantalizing, after their exhausting march and still more +exhausting return, after having killed and eaten all their camels but +two, and all their horses, after making discoveries that unlocked to the +world the vast interior of this hitherto unknown continent, to find that +they were just too late to be saved! Despair and death seemed staring +them in the face: their long overtaxed powers of endurance failed them +utterly, and the gaunt spectre of famine that had been journeying with +the brave men for weeks threatened now to enfold them in its terrible +embrace. Should they yield without another struggle? Burke suddenly +remembered Mount Despair, a cattle-station about one hundred and fifty +leagues away, and with his indomitable resolution persuaded his +companions to start for it, depositing first in the little iron casket +the journal of his discoveries and the date of his departure. As if to +add the last finishing stroke of agony to the sad story, Burke and his +companions had hardly turned their faces westward ere Brahe and Wright, +who had met at the passage of the Loddon, and were now overwhelmed with +remorse at their careless neglect of their leader's orders, determined +to revisit Cooper's Creek, and see if any tidings were to be gained of +the missing party. + +[Illustration: GORGE OF THE TAMAR, VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.] + +Thoughtless as imprudent, they did not examine the casket, but supposing +it had remained undisturbed where they left it, they turned their faces +southward to the Darling, utterly unsuspicious of the recent visit of +Burke and his unfortunate comrades. Within two days after the trio began +their dreary march to Mount Despair both their camels fell from +exhaustion, but still the poor weary travelers pressed onward, +continuing their search till the 24th of May. Discovering no eminence +above the horizon, they then gave up in despair and began to retrace +their steps, leaving on a tree the date of departure. In one more day's +march they would have reached the summit and been saved! + +On the 20th of June it was evident that young Wills could not long +survive, and on the 29th are dated his last words, a letter to his +father full of tenderness and resignation: "My death here within a few +hours is certain, but my soul is calm." Still, almost in the last agony +he made another effort to escape his fatal destiny, and set forth to +reconnoitre the ground once more if perchance succor might be found. +Alone, with none to close his eyes, he fell asleep, and Howitt after +long search found the skeleton body stretched upon the sands, the +natives having compassionately covered it with boughs and leaves. +Burke's last words are dated on the 28th, one day earlier than those of +Wills: "We have gained the shores of the ocean, but we have been +aband--" The last word is unfinished, as if his pen had refused to make +the cruel record. Burke's wasted remains too were found, covered with +leaves and boughs. By his side lay his revolver, and the record of his +great exploits was in the little casket at the foot of the tree. King +survived, and was found by Howitt, naked, famished and unable to speak +or walk; but after long recruiting he was able to relate the details of +suffering of those last few months, unknown to all the world save +himself. Howitt reverently wrapped the precious remains in the union +jack, and, leaving them in their lonely grave, retraced his steps to +Melbourne with the precious casket of papers, the last legacy of the +dead heroes. On the 6th of the following December, Howitt again visited +the desolate spot, charged with the melancholy mission of bringing back +the remains for interment in Melbourne. The chaste and elegant monument +that marks the spot where the heroes sleep is a far less enduring +memorial than exists in the wonderful development and unprecedented +prosperity which mark the colony as the fruit of the labors, sufferings +and death of these martyred heroes. + +A pretty romance is associated with the discovery and naming of Van +Diemen's Land. A young man, Tasman by name, who had been scornfully +rejected by a Dutch nabob as the suitor of his daughter, resolved to +prove himself worthy of the lady of his heart. So, while his inamorata +was cruelly imprisoned in the palace of her sire at Batavia, young +Tasman, instead of wasting time in regrets, set forth on a voyage of +adventure, seeking to win by prowess what gallantry had failed to +effect. On his first voyage he so far circumnavigated the island as to +be convinced of its insular character, but really saw little of the +land. In subsequent voyages he made extensive explorations, calling not +only the mainland, but all the little islets he discovered, by the +several names and synonyms of Mademoiselle Van Diemen, his beloved. When +at length he was able to lay before the Dutch government the charts of +his voyages and a digest of his discoveries in the beautiful land where +he had already planted the standard of Holland, the cruel sire relented +and consented to receive as a son-in-law the successful adventurer. +Tasman, it seems, never very fully explored the waters that surrounded +his domain, and the honor was reserved to two young men, Flinders and +Bass, of discovering in 1797 the deep, wide strait of two hundred and +seventy miles in width that bears the name of Bass. The scenery of Van +Diemen's Land is full of picturesque beauty--a sort of miniature +Switzerland, with snow-clad peaks, rocks and ravines, foaming cataracts +and multitudinous little lakes with their circling belt of green and +dancing rivulets bordered with flowers. The Valley of Launceston is a +very Arcadia of pastoral repose, while the Tamar--which in its whole +course is rather a succession of beautiful lakes than an ordinary +river--with its narrow defiles, basaltic rocks and sparkling cataracts, +picturesque rocks that cut off one lake and suddenly reveal another, is +a very miracle of beauty, dancing, frothing, foaming, like some playful +sprite possessed with the very spirit of mischief. + +[Illustration: HOBART TOWN.] + +Hobart Town, the capital of Tasmania, is a quiet, hospitable little +town, but a very hotbed of aristocracy--the single spot on the +Australian continent where English exclusiveness can, after the gay +seasons of the large cities, retire to aristocratic country-seats, to +nurse and revivify its pride of birth, without fear of coming in contact +with anything parvenu or plebeian. The town is prettily laid out, with a +genuine Gothic chateau for its government palace, and elegant private +residences. It seems tame and deserted when visited from Sydney or +Melbourne, but offers just the rest and refreshment one needs after a +season of exhausting labor in the mines of Ballarat. + + +The rapid growth of the Australian colonies, their remoteness from the +mother country, and the vastness of the territory over which they are +spread, naturally suggest the question whether they are destined to +remain in a condition of dependence or are likely to follow the example +of their American prototypes. On this point the opinion of the count of +Beauvoir is entitled to consideration, as that of an impartial as well +as intelligent observer. He had expected, he tells us, in visiting the +country, to find it preparing for its speedy emancipation; but he left +it with the conviction that, far from desiring a severance of the +connection, the colonists would regard it as a blow to their material +interests--the one event, in fact, capable of arresting their +unparalleled progress. It can only occur as the result of a European war +in which the power of England shall be so crippled as to disable her +from protecting these distant possessions, casting upon them the whole +burden of self-defence, and forcing them to assume the responsibilities +of national existence. + + + + +THE GOLDEN EAGLE AND HIS EYRIE. + +[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO THE WOOD-DRIFT.] + + +A somewhat tedious journey of thirty hours from Paris brought me one +fine afternoon in the early part of July to Kulstein, an ancient +fortress forming the frontier-town of the North Tyrol, toward Bavaria. +While occupied in passing my portmanteau through the prying and +unutterably dirty hands of the custom-house officials I was accosted by +a man dressed in the garb of a Tyrolese mountaineer--short leathern +breeches reaching to the knee, gray stockings, heavy hobnailed shoes, a +nondescript species of jacket of the roughest frieze, and a battered hat +adorned with two or three feathers of the capercailzie and a plume of +the royal eagle. Old Hansel was one of the gamekeepers on a large +imperial preserve close by, with whom some years previously I had on +more than one occasion shared a hard couch under the stunted pines when +inopportune night overtook us near the glaciers while in hot pursuit of +the chamois. + +This unexpected meeting proved a source of the liveliest interest to me, +inasmuch as this old veteran of the mountains was on the point of +starting on an expedition of a somewhat remarkable character. A pair of +golden eagles, it appeared, had made a neighboring valley the scene of +their frequent ravages and depredations among the cattle and game, and +Hansel was about to organize an expedition to search for, and if +possible despoil, the eyrie. Of late years these birds have become very +rare. Switzerland is nearly, if not quite, cleared of them, while the +Tyrol, affording greater solitude and a larger stock of game, can boast +of eight or at the most ten couples. They are, as is well known, the +largest and most powerful of all the birds of prey inhabiting Europe, +measuring from eight to eight and a half feet in the span, and +possessing terrible strength of beak, talons and wings. A full-grown +golden eagle can easily carry off a young chamois, a full-grown roe or a +sheep, none of them weighing less than thirty pounds; and well-attested +cases have occurred of young children being thus abstracted. In the fall +of 1873 a boy nearly eight years of age was carried away by one of these +birds from the very door of his parents' cottage, situated not far from +the celebrated Koenigsee, near Salzburg. + +[Illustration: OUR ARRIVAL AT THE DRIFT-KEEPER'S COTTAGE.] + +The breeding-season falls in the month of June, and in the course of the +first fortnight of the succeeding month the young offspring take wing +and commence their raids in quest of pillage on their own account. The +eyrie or nest is an object of the greatest care with the parent birds, +the site being chosen with a view to the greatest possible security, +generally in some crevice on the face of a perpendicular precipice +several hundred feet in height. It is built of dry sticks of wood coated +on the inside with moss. Hansel informed me of a surmise that the eyrie +of this pair would be discovered in the face of the terribly steep +"Falknerwand;" and although I had once before been engaged in a similar +exploit, I could not resist the temptation to join in this expedition, +and despatched on the spot a telegram to the friend who was awaiting my +arrival in Ampezzo in order to make some ascents in the Dolomites, +announcing a detention of some days. This done, we re-entered the cars +and proceeded a few stations farther down the line to quaint old +Rattenberg, a small town on the banks of the swift Inn. Not an hour from +this place the scantily-inhabited Brandenberg valley opens on the broad +and sunny Innthal. The former is merely a mountain-gorge. Far up in its +recesses stands a small cottage belonging to the keeper of a wood-drift, +and in close proximity to this solitary habitation is a second very wild +and wellnigh inaccessible ravine, the scene of the coming adventure. + +Having passed the night in the modest little inn at Rattenberg, Hansel +and I set off next morning long before sunrise on our eight hours' tramp +to the wood-drift by a path which was in most places of just sufficient +breadth to allow of one person passing at a time. Few of my +fellow-travelers of the day before would have recognized me in the +costume I had donned for the occasion--an old and much-patched coat, +short leathern trousers, as worn and torn as the poorest woodcutter's, +and a ten-seasoned hat which had been originally green, then brown, and +had now become gray. My face and knees were still bronzed from the +exposure attendant on a long course of Alpine climbing the year before. + +[Illustration: INTERIOR OF TOMERL'S COTTAGE.] + +The keeper of the wood-drift was an old acquaintance of mine, whose +qualities as a keen sportsman had shone forth when four or five years +previously I had quartered myself for a month in his secluded +neighborhood, spending the day, and frequently also the night, on the +peaks and passes surrounding his cottage. To the buxom Moidel, his +pretty young wife, I was also no stranger, and her smile and blush +assured me that she still remembered the time when, reigning supreme +over her father's cattle on a neighboring alp, she had administered to +the wants of the young sportsman seeking a night's lodging in the +lonesome chalet. Many a merry evening had I spent in the low, +oak-paneled "general room" of Tomerl's cottage when he was still a gay +young bachelor, and no change had since been made in the aspect of the +apartment. In one corner stood the huge pile of pottery used for heating +the room, and round it were still fixed the rows of wooden laths by +means of which I had so frequently dried my soaking apparel. Running the +whole length of the room was a broad bench, in front of which were +placed two strong tables; and at one of these were seated, at our +entrance, two woodcutters, who had heard of the intended expedition and +come to offer their help. They informed us that four more men engaged in +wood-felling in a forest an hour or so distant would also be delighted +to join us, as they did at the close of their day's work. + +The evening was spent in discussing the details of the approaching +exploit and getting our various arrangements and implements in order. At +nine o'clock, leaving Tomerl and his wife their accustomed bed on the +top of the stove, the rest of us retired to our common bed-room, the +hayloft. We were up again by three, and an hour later were all ready to +start. Tomerl led the way, but stopped ere we lost sight of the cottage +to shout a last "jodler" to his wife, who returned the greeting with a +clear, bell-like voice, though her heart was doubtless beating fast +under her smartly-laced bodice. + +Three hours later we had reached the gorge, and after some difficult +scrambling and wading through turbulent torrents we arrived at the base +of the Falknerwand, which rises perpendicularly upward of nine hundred +feet--an altitude diminished in appearance by the tenfold greater height +of the surrounding mountains. Finding, after a few minutes' close +observation, that nothing could be done from the base of the cliff, we +proceeded to scale it by a circuitous route up a practicable but +nevertheless terribly steep incline. Safely arrived at the top, we threw +down our burdens and began to reconnoitre the terrain, which we did +_ventre a terre_, bending over the cliff as far as we dared. Great +was our dismay to perceive that some eighty or ninety feet below us a +narrow rocky ledge, which had escaped our notice when looking up from +the foot of the cliff, projected shelf-wise from the face of the +precipice, shutting out all view of a crevice which we had descried from +the bottom, and which, as we anticipated, contained the eyrie. + +After consulting some time, we decided to lower ourselves down to this +rock-band, and make it the base of our further movements, instead of +operating, as we had intended, from the crest of the cliff, where +everything but for this obstacle would have been tenfold easier. Posting +one of the men at the top of the cliff to lower the heavy rope, three +hundred feet in length, by means of a cord, we descended to the ledge, +which was nowhere more than three feet in width, and in several places +scarcely over a foot and a half. Standing in a single row on this +miniature platform, we had to manipulate the rope with a yawning gulf +some eight hundred feet in depth beside us, and nothing to lay hold of +for support but the smooth face of the rock. + +We began operations by driving a strong iron hook into the solid rock, +at a point some two or three feet above the ledge. Through this hook the +rope was passed, one end pendent over the cliff; and to obviate the +peril of its being frayed and speedily severed by the sharp outer edge +of our platform, we rigged up a block of wood with some iron stays to +serve as an immovable pulley. These preparations completed, the men were +assigned to their respective positions. Hansel and Tomerl, two renowned +shots, were to lie at full length, rifle in hand, one at each end of the +row, to act as my guardian angels if I were surprised and attacked by +the old eagles while engaged in the work of spoliation. The remaining +woodcutters, with the exception of the one who had been left on the top +of the cliff, were placed in file along the ledge to lower and raise the +plank which was to serve as my seat, and to which the rope was securely +fastened after being passed through an iron ring attached to my stout +leathern girdle. A signal-line was to hang at my side, and a +hunting-knife, a revolver, a strong canvas bag to hold the booty, and an +ashen pole iron-shod at one end and provided with a strong iron boathook +at the other, completed my equipment, each article of which had +undergone the strictest scrutiny before its adoption. + +Taking the pole from the hands of Hansel, I let myself glide over the +edge of the cliff, and the next moment hung in empty space. After being +lowered about eighty feet, I found myself on a level with the crevice +before mentioned, and gave the preconcerted signal for arresting my +downward progress. Owing, however, to a beetling crag or boulder which +overhung the recess, I was still at a distance of ten or twelve feet +horizontally from the goal. Fixing the boathook into a convenient +indentation of the rock, I gradually pulled myself in till I reached the +face of the wall. Then leaving the plank, I crawled up an inclined slab +of rock which led to the actual crevice, until I was stopped by a +barrier of dry sticks about two feet in height. Raising myself on my +knees, I peered into the oval-shaped eyrie, and saw perched up at the +farther side two splendid young golden eagles. + +[Illustration: "FIXING THE BOAT-HOOK INTO AN INDENTATION, I PULLED +MYSELF IN."] + +It is a very rare occurrence to find two young eagles in one eyrie. +These, though only four or five weeks old, were formidable birds, +measuring considerably over six feet in the span, and displaying beaks +and talons of imposing size. It took some time to capture and pinion +these powerful and refractory ornithological specimens, whose loud, +discordant screams caused me several times to glance involuntarily over +my shoulder at the strip of horizon visible, to assure myself that the +old eagles were not swooping down to the rescue. I was in the more haste +to leave the eyrie that the stench which emanated from the remains of +numerous victims strewn in and about it was something terrific. These +relics, which I had the curiosity to count, consisted of a half-devoured +carcass of a chamois, three pairs of chamois' horns and the +corresponding bones of the animals, the skeleton of a goat picked clean, +the remains of an Alpine hare, and the head and neck of a fawn. + +[Illustration: ENTERING THE EYRIE.] + +The canvas bag being too small to contain both the eaglets, I was +obliged to hang one of them to my belt, after tying my handkerchief +round his beak. The game secured, I crept cautiously down the slab to +the plank, and fixing the hook of my pole in the indentation of which I +had made use in drawing myself in, I gave the preconcerted two jerks +with the signal-line. Now occurred the first of a series of accidents +which came near resulting fatally to the whole party. Contrary to my +strict injunctions, the men hauling the rope gave a sudden and violent +pull, wrenching the pole from my grasp, and communicating to the plank a +motion like that of a pendulum, which sent me flying out into space, +with the immediate prospect of being dashed by the retrograde swing +against the solid wall of rock. Happily, I preserved my presence of +mind, and grasped instantly the only chance of escape. Tilting myself +back as far as the rope and the ring on my belt allowed, and stretching +out my legs horizontally, I awaited the contact. Half a second later +came a heavy blow on the soles of my feet, the pain of which ran through +my whole frame like the shock of a galvanic battery. Had it been my +head, the reader would probably never have been troubled with any +account of my sensations. As it was, my feet, though protected by +immensely heavy iron-shod shoes, received a concussion the effects of +which continued to be felt for weeks. + +Almost at the moment of this incident I had noticed a dark object +shooting past me, at so close a proximity that I distinctly heard the +whistling sound as it cleft the air. Supposing it to be a stone, I gave +it no further thought, and my attention was presently occupied by a +sharp gash which the young eagle at my belt managed to inflict on my +left thigh. It was not until I had stopped the haemorrhage by strewing +some grains of powder into the wound that I perceived with surprise that +I was still stationary, instead of ascending, as in due course I ought +to have been. The boulder of rock projecting a few feet over my head +prevented any view of the ledge, and my shouts inquiring the cause of +the delay received indistinct answers, the words "patience" and "wait" +being the only intelligible ones. These might have had a consoling +influence but for the fact that a thunderstorm--an occurrence of great +frequency in the beginning of summer in the High Alps--was fast +approaching, and my position was one that exposed me to its full fury +without any possibility of escape. Ere long it burst over my head, +drenching me to the skin in the first five minutes, while the lightning +played about me in every direction, and terrific claps of thunder +followed each other at intervals of scarcely a few seconds. What +heightened the danger as well as the absurdity of my situation was the +chance that one or both of the old eagles might return at any moment, +under circumstances that must render a struggle, if any ensued, a most +unequal one. Supposing my guards to be still at their post, the distance +of the ledge was such as to make a shot at a flying bird, large as it +might be, anything but a sure one; and the tactics of the golden eagle +when defending its home do not allow of any second attempt. A speck is +seen on the horizon, and the next moment the powerful bird is down with +one fell swoop: a flap with its strong wing and the unhappy victim is +stunned, and immediately ripped open from the chest to his hip, while +his skull is cleft or fractured by a single blow of the tremendous beak. +Instances are, however, known in which the cool and self-possessed +"pendant" has shot or cut down his foe at the very instant of the +encounter. Happily, my own powers were not put to so severe a test: the +old birds were that day far off, circling probably in majestic swoops +over some distant valley or gorge. + +I was forced, however, to be constantly on the alert, and my impatience +and perplexity may be imagined as hours elapsed and there were still no +signs of my approaching deliverance. The storm had long since passed +over, and darkness was settling down when I again felt a pull at the +rope, and continued my ascent, begun nearly four hours before. It was of +the utmost importance that the whole party should regain the top of the +cliff before night had fairly set in. I therefore deferred, on my +arrival at the ledge, all questions and rebukes till we had gained a +place of safety. The heavy rope, fastened to the cord, was hauled up by +the man on the top, and after it had been secured to a tree-stump we +swarmed up without loss of time. We had still before us a somewhat +perilous scramble in the darkness down the steep incline, but the +exhaustion we had undergone made it necessary that we should first +recruit our strength by means of the food and bottle of "Schnapps" with +which we were fortunately provided. While we were thus engaged I +received from my companions an account of the causes of the perilous +delay. + +On receiving my signal they had begun to haul, but after the first pull +had felt a sudden jerk, and perceived that the block, supposed to have +been securely fastened at the edge of the platform, was gone. They +imagined at first that it had struck and killed me, but my shouts soon +apprised them of my safety. Fearing to continue the process of hauling +lest the rope should be cut by the sharp-edged stones, they informed the +man on the cliff of the mishap, and despatched him to procure a second +block. He accordingly ran down the slope to the bottom of the mountain, +cut a young pine tree, shaped a block, and was in the act of carrying it +up when the storm burst forth, and the lightning, playing around him in +vivid flashes, cleft and splintered a rock weighing hundreds of tons +that had stood within thirty paces of him. He received no injury except +being thrown on the ground and partially stunned by the terrible +concussion, but it was not till after a considerable time that he was +able to rise and continue his ascent. Had he been killed, our situation +would have been a most precarious one. There would have been no +possibility of regaining the cliff without help, and as our party +comprised all the working force of the neighborhood, and Tomerl's +cottage was the only dwelling within fifteen or twenty miles, our +chances of rescue would have been extremely slight. + +We reached the bottom of the mountain as the upper part was beginning to +be lit by the rays of a full moon, and a three hours' tramp brought us +without further mishap to the cottage. Moidel, forewarned of our return +by a series of "jodlers," a sound which may challenge competition as a +joyful acclaim, had prepared an ample supper; and when Tomerl produced +his well-tuned "zither," a species of guitar producing simple but soft +and highly musical strains, the mirth was at its height. Then followed +songs eulogistic of the life of the chamois-stalker, who, "with his gun +in his hand, a chamois on his back and a girl in his heart," has no +cause to envy a king. A dance called the "Schuhblatteln," in which the +art consists in touching the soles of one's shoes with the palm of the +hand, finished our evening's amusement, and we retired, rather worn out, +just as day was breaking. + +After four hours' sleep we rose refreshed and eager to examine our two +captives. Attached to Tomerl's cottage was a diminutive barn, from which +we removed the door, and nailing strong laths across the aperture, +managed to improvise a large and roomy cage. A couple of rabbits +furnished a luxurious breakfast, which was devoured with extraordinary +voracity. The hen-bird, as is the case with all birds of prey, was +considerably larger and stronger than her brother, though the latter had +the finer head and eyes. + +A week after their capture they were "feathered" for the first time. +This process consists in pulling out the long down-like plumes situated +on the under side of the strong tail-feathers. These plumes, which, if +taken from a full-grown eagle, frequently measure seven or eight inches +in length, are highly prized by the Tyrolese peasants, but still more by +the inhabitants of the neighboring Bavarian Highlands, who do not +hesitate to expend a month's wages in the purchase of two or three with +which to adorn their hats or those of their buxom sweethearts. The value +of a crop of plumes varies somewhat. Generally, however, an eagle yields +about forty florins' ($16) worth of feathers per annum. + +Six weeks after this incident I again wended my steps into the secluded +Brandenburg valley, and found the eagles thriving and much grown. Being +curious to see if their confinement had subdued their wild and ferocious +spirit, I removed one of the laths and entered the barn. An angry hiss, +similar to that of a snake, warned me of danger, but too late to save my +hands some severe scratches. With one bound and a flap of their gigantic +wings they were on me, and had it not been for Tomerl, who was standing +just behind me armed with a stout cudgel, I should have paid dearly for +my incautious visit. + +I know of no instance where human skill has subdued in the slightest +degree the haughty spirit of the free-born golden eagle. An untamable +ferocity is the predominating characteristic of this noble bird, more +than of any other animal. Circling majestically among the fleeting +clouds, he reigns lord paramount over his vast domain, avoiding the +sight and resenting the approach of man. + + W.A. BAILLIE-GROHMAN. + + + + +THREE FEATHERS. + +BY WILLIAM BLACK, AUTHOR OF "A PRINCESS OF THULE." + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +MABYN DREAMS. + + +"Yes, mother," said Mabyn, bursting into the room, "here I am; and +Jennifer's down stairs with my box; and I am to stay with you here for +another week or a fortnight; and Wenna's to go back at once, for the +whole world is convulsed because of Mr. Trelyon's coming of age; and +Mrs. Trelyon has sent and taken all our spare rooms; and father says +Wenna must come back directly, for it's always 'Wenna, do this,' and +'Wenna, do that;' and if Wenna isn't there, of course the sky will +tumble down on the earth--Mother, what's the matter, and where's Wenna?" + +Mabyn was suddenly brought up in the middle of her voluble speech by the +strange expression on her mother's face. + +"Oh, Mabyn, something dreadful has happened to our Wenna." + +Mabyn turned deadly white. "Is she ill?" she said, almost in a whisper. + +"No, not ill, but a great trouble has fallen on her." + +Then the mother, in a low voice, apparently fearful that any one should +overhear, began to tell her younger daughter of all she had learnt +within the past day or two--how young Trelyon had been bold enough to +tell Wenna that he loved her; how Wenna had dallied with her conscience +and been loath to part with him; how at length she had as good as +revealed to him that she loved him in return; and how she was now +overwhelmed and crushed beneath a sense of her own faithlessness and the +impossibility of making reparation to her betrothed. + +"Only to think, Mabyn," said the mother in accents of despair, "that all +this distress should have come about in such a quiet and unexpected way! +Who could have foreseen it? Why, of all the people in the world, you +would have thought our Wenna was the least likely to have any misery of +this sort; and many a time--don't you remember?--I used to say it was so +wise of her getting engaged to a prudent and elderly man, who would save +her from the plagues and trials that young girls often suffer at the +hands of their lovers. I thought she was so comfortably settled. +Everything promised her a quiet and gentle life. And now this sudden +shock has come upon her, she seems to think she is not fit to live, and +she goes on in such a wild way--" + +"Where is she?" Mabyn said abruptly. + +"No, no, no!" the mother said anxiously, "you must not speak a word to +her, Mabyn. You must not let her know I have told you anything about it. +Leave her to herself, for a while at least: if you speak to her, she +will take it you mean to accuse her, for she says you warned her, and +she would pay no heed. Leave her to herself, Mabyn." + +"Then where is Mr. Trelyon?" said Mabyn, with some touch of indignation +in her voice. "What is he doing? Is he leaving her to herself too?" + +"I don't know what you mean, Mabyn," her mother said timidly. + +"Why doesn't he come forward like a man and marry her?" said Mabyn +boldly. "Yes, that is what I would do if I were a man. She has sent him +away? Yes, of course: that is right and proper. And Wenna will go on +doing what is right and proper, if you allow her, to the very end, and +the end will be a lifetime of misery: that's all. No, my notion is, that +she should do something that is not right and is quite improper, if only +it makes her happy; and you'll see if I don't get her to do it. Why, +mother, haven't you had eyes to see that these two have been in love for +years? Nobody in the world had ever the least control over him but her: +he would do anything for Wenna; and she--why she always came back +singing after she had met and spoken to him. And then you talk about a +prudent and sensible husband! I don't want Wenna to marry a watchful, +mean, old, stocking-darning cripple, who will creep about the house all +day and peer into cupboards, and give her fourpence-halfpenny a week to +live on. I want her to marry a man--one that is strong enough to protect +her. And I tell you, mother--I've said it before, and I say it +again--she _shall not_ marry Mr. Roscorla." + +"Mabyn," said her mother, "you are getting madder than ever. Your +dislike to Mr. Roscorla is most unreasonable. A cripple! Why--" + +"Oh, mother!" Mabyn cried with a bright light on her face, "only think +of our Wenna being married to Mr. Trelyon, and how happy and pleased and +pretty she would look as they went walking together! And then how proud +he would be to have so nice a wife! and he would joke about her and be +very impertinent, but he would simply worship her all the same, and do +everything he could to please her. And he would take her away and show +her all the beautiful places abroad; and he would have a yacht, too; and +he would give her a fine house in London. And don't you think our Wenna +would fascinate everybody with her mouselike ways and her nice small +steps? And if they did have any trouble, wouldn't she be better to have +somebody with her not timid and anxious and pettifogging, but somebody +who wouldn't be cast down, but make her as brave as himself?" + +Miss Mabyn was a shrewd young woman, and she saw that her mother's +quick, imaginative, sympathetic nature was being captivated by this +picture. She determined to have her as an ally. + +"And don't you see, mother, how it all lies within her reach? Harry +Trelyon is in love with her: there was no need for him to say so. I knew +it long before he did. And she--why, she has told him now that she cares +for him; and if I were he, I know what I'd do in his place. What is +there in the way? Why, a--a sort of understanding." + +"A promise, Mabyn," said the mother. + +"Well, a promise," said the girl desperately, and coloring somewhat. +"But it was a promise given in ignorance: she didn't know--how could she +know? Everybody knows that such promises are constantly broken. If you +are in love with somebody else, what's the good of your keeping the +promise? Now, mother, won't you argue with her? See here: if she keeps +her promise, there's three people miserable. If she breaks it, there's +only one; and I doubt whether he's got the capacity to be miserable. +That's two to one, or three to one, is it? Now, will you argue with her, +mother?" + +"Mabyn, Mabyn," the mother said with a shake of the head, but evidently +pleased with the voice of the tempter, "your fancy has run away with +you. Why, Mr. Trelyon has never proposed to marry her." + +"I know he wants to," said Mabyn confidently. + +"How can you know?" + +"I'll ask him and prove it to you." + +"Indeed," said the mother sadly, "it is no thought of marriage that is +in Wenna's head just now. The poor girl is full of remorse and +apprehension. I think she would like to start at once for Jamaica, and +fling herself at Mr. Roscorla's feet and confess her fault. I am glad +she has to go back to Eglosilyan: that may distract her mind in a +measure: at present she is suffering more than she shows." + +"Where is she?" + +"In her own room, tired out and fast asleep. I looked in a few minutes +ago." + +Mabyn went up stairs, after having seen that Jennifer had properly +bestowed her box. Wenna had just risen from the sofa, and was standing +in the middle of the room. Her younger and taller sister went blithely +forward to her, kissed her as usual, took no notice of the sudden flush +of red that sprang into her face, and proceeded to state, in a +business-like fashion, all the arrangements that had to be made. + +"Have you been enjoying yourself, Wenna?" Mabyn said with a fine air of +indifference. + +"Oh yes," Wenna answered; adding hastily, "Don't you think mother is +greatly improved?" + +"Wonderfully! I almost forgot she was an invalid. How lucky you are to +be going back to see all the fine doings at the Hall! Of course they +will ask you up." + +"They will do nothing of the kind," Wenna said with some asperity, and +with her face turned aside. + +"Lord and Lady Amersham have already come to the Hall." + +"Oh, indeed!" + +"Yes. They said some time ago that there was a good chance of Mr. +Trelyon marrying the daughter--the tall girl with yellow hair, you +remember?" + +"And the stooping shoulders? Yes. I should think they would be glad to +get her married to anybody. She's thirty." + +"Oh, Wenna!" + +"Mr. Trelyon told me so," said Wenna sharply. + +"And they are a little surprised," continued Mabyn in the same +indifferent way, but watching her sister all the while, "that Mr. +Trelyon has remained absent until so near the time. But I suppose he +means to take Miss Penaluna with him. She lives here, doesn't she? They +used to say there was a chance of a marriage there too." + +"Mabyn, what do you mean?" Wenna said suddenly and angrily. "What do I +care about Mr. Trelyon's marriage? What is it you mean?" + +But the firmness of her lips began to yield: there was an ominous +trembling about them, and at the same moment her younger sister caught +her to her bosom, and hid her face there and hushed her wild sobbing. +She would hear no confession. She knew enough. Nothing would convince +her that Wenna had done anything wrong, so there was no use speaking +about it. + +"Wenna," she said in a low voice, "have you sent him any message?" + +"Oh no, no!" the girl said trembling. "I fear even to think of him; and +when you mentioned his name, Mabyn, it seemed to choke me. And now I +have to go back to Eglosilyan; and oh, if you only knew how I dread +that, Mabyn!" + +Mabyn's conscience was struck. She it was who had done this thing. She +had persuaded her father that her mother needed another week or +fortnight at Penzance; she had frightened him by telling what bother he +would suffer if Wenna were not back at the inn during the festivities at +Trelyon Hall; and then she had offered to go and take her sister's post. +George Rosewarne was heartily glad to exchange the one daughter for the +other. Mabyn was too independent; she thwarted him; sometimes she +insisted on his bestirring himself. Wenna, on the other hand, went about +the place like some invisible spirit of order, making everything +comfortable for him without noise or worry. He was easily led to issue +the necessary orders; and so it was that Mabyn thought she was doing her +sister a friendly turn by sending her back to Eglosilyan in order to +join in congratulating Harry Trelyon on his entrance into man's estate. +Now Mabyn found that she had only plunged her sister into deeper +trouble. What could be done to save her? + +"Wenna," said Mabyn rather timidly, "do you think he has left Penzance?" + +Wenna turned to her with a sudden look of entreaty in her face: "I +cannot bear to speak of him, Mabyn. I have no right to: I hope you will +not ask me. Just now I--I am going to write a letter--to Jamaica. I +shall tell the whole truth. It is for him to say what must happen now. I +have done him a great injury: I did not intend it, I had no thought of +it, but my own folly and thoughtlessness brought it about, and I have to +bear the penalty. I don't think he need be anxious about punishing me." + +She turned away with a tired look on her face, and began to get out her +writing materials. Mabyn watched her for a moment or two in silence; +then she left and went to her own room, saying to herself, "Punishment! +Whoever talks of punishment will have to address himself to me." + +When she got to her own room she wrote these words on a piece of paper +in her firm, bold, free hand: "A friend would like to see you for a +minute in front of the post-office in the middle of the town." She put +that in an envelope, and addressed the envelope to Harry Trelyon, Esq. +Still keeping her bonnet on, she went down stairs and had a little +general conversation with her mother, in the course of which she quite +casually asked the name of the hotel at which Mr. Trelyon had been +staying. Then, just as if she were going out to the Parade to have a +look at the sea, she carelessly left the house. + +The dusk of the evening was growing to dark. A white mist lay over the +sea. The solitary lamps were being lit along the Parade, each golden +star shining sharply in the pale purple twilight, but a more confused +glow of orange showed where the little town was busy in its narrow +thoroughfares. She got hold of a small boy, gave him the letter, a +sixpence and his instructions. He was to ask if the gentleman were in +the hotel. If not, had he left Penzance, or would he return that night? +In any case, the boy was not to leave the letter unless Mr. Trelyon was +there. + +The small boy returned in a couple of minutes. The gentleman was there, +and had taken the letter. So Mabyn at once set out for the centre of the +town, and soon found herself in among a mass of huddled houses, bright +shops and thoroughfares pretty well filled with strolling sailors, women +getting home from market and townspeople come out to gossip. She had +accurately judged that she would be less observed in this busy little +place than out on the Parade; and as it was the first appointment she +had ever made to meet a young gentleman alone, she was just a little +nervous. + +Trelyon was there. He had recognized the handwriting in a moment. He had +no time to ridicule or even to think of Mabyn's school-girl affectation +of secresy: he had at once rushed off to the place of appointment, and +that by a short cut of which she had no knowledge. + +"Mabyn, what's the matter? Is Wenna ill?" he said, forgetting in his +anxiety even to shake hands with her. + +"Oh no, she isn't," said Mabyn rather coldly and defiantly. If he was in +love with her sister, it was for him to make advances. "Oh no, she's +pretty well, thank you," continued Mabyn, indifferently. "But she never +could stand much worry. I wanted to see you about that. She is going +back to Eglosilyan to-morrow; and you must promise not to have her asked +up to the Hall while these grand doings are going on--you must not try +to see her and persuade her. If you could keep out of her way +altogether--" + +"You know all about it, then, Mabyn?" he said suddenly; and even in the +dusky light of the street she could see the rapid look of gladness that +filled his face. "And you are not going to be vexed, eh? You'll remain +friends with me, Mabyn--you will tell me how she is from time to time. +Don't you see, I must go away; and--and, by Jove, Mabyn! I've got such a +lot to tell you!" + +She looked round. + +"I can't talk to you here. Won't you walk back by the other road behind +the town?" he said. + +Yes, she would go willingly with him now. The anxiety of his face, the +almost wild way in which he seemed to beg for her help and friendship, +the mere impatience of his manner, pleased and satisfied her. This was +as it should be. Here was no sweetheart by line and rule, demonstrating +his affection by argument, and acting at all times with a studied +propriety; but a real, true lover, full of passionate hope and as +passionate fear; ready to do anything, and yet not knowing what to do. +Above all, he was "brave and handsome, like a prince," and therefore a +fit lover for her gentle sister. + +"Oh, Mr. Trelyon," she said with a great burst of confidence, "I did so +fear that you might be indifferent!" + +"Indifferent!" said he with some bitterness. "Perhaps that is the best +thing that could happen, only it isn't very likely to happen. Did you +ever see anybody placed as I am placed, Mabyn? Nothing but +stumbling-blocks every way I look. Our family have always been +hot-headed and hot-tempered: if I told my grandmother at this minute how +I am situated, I believe she would say, 'Why don't you go like a man and +run off with the girl?'" + +"Yes!" said Mabyn, quite delighted. + +"But suppose you've bothered and worried the girl until you feel ashamed +of yourself, and she begs of you to leave her, aren't you bound in fair +manliness to go?" + +"I don't know," said Mabyn doubtfully. + +"Well, I do. It would be very mean to pester her. I'm off as soon as +these people leave the Hall. But then there are other things. There is +your sister engaged to this fellow out in Jamaica--" + +"Isn't he a horrid wretch?" said Mabyn between her teeth. + +"Oh, I quite agree with you. If I could have it out with him now! But, +after all, what harm has the man done? Is it any wonder he wanted to get +Wenna for a wife?" + +"Oh, but he cheated her," said Mabyn warmly. "He persuaded her and +reasoned with her, and argued her into marrying him. And what business +had he to tell her that love between young people is all bitterness and +trial, and that a girl is only safe when she marries a prudent and +elderly man who will look after her? Why, it is to look after him that +he wants her. Wenna is going to him as a housekeeper and a nurse. +Only--only, Mr. Trelyon, _she hasn't gone to him just yet_!" + +"Oh, I don't think he did anything unfair," the young man said gloomily. +"It doesn't matter, anyhow. What I was going to say is, that my +grandmother's notion of what one of our family ought to do in such a +case can't be carried out: whatever you may think of a man, you can't go +and try to rob him of his sweetheart behind his back. Even supposing she +were willing to break with him--which she is not--you've at least got to +wait to give the fellow a chance." + +"There I quite disagree with you, Mr. Trelyon," Mabyn said warmly. "Wait +to give him a chance to make our Wenna miserable! Is she to be made the +prize of a sort of fight? If I were a man I'd pay less attention to my +own scruples and try what I could do for her--Oh, Mr. Trelyon--I--I beg +your pardon." + +Mabyn suddenly stopped on the road, overwhelmed with confusion. She had +been so warmly thinking of her sister's welfare that she had been +hurried into something worse than an indiscretion. + +"What then, Mabyn?" said he, profoundly surprised. + +"I beg your pardon: I have been so thoughtless. I had no right to assume +that you wished--that you wished for the--for the opportunity--" + +"Of marrying Wenna?" said he with a great stare. "But what else have we +been speaking about? Or rather, I suppose we did assume it. Well, the +more I think over it, Mabyn, the more I am maddened by all these +obstacles, and by the notion of all the things that may happen. That's +the bad part of my going away. How can I tell what may happen? He might +come back and insist on her marrying him right off." + +"Mr. Trelyon," said Mabyn, speaking very clearly, "there's one thing you +may be sure of. If you let me know where you are, nothing will happen to +Wenna that you don't hear of." + +He took her hand and pressed it in mute thankfulness. He was not +insensible to the value of having so warm an advocate, so faithful an +ally, always at Wenna's side. + +"How long do letters take in going to Jamaica?" Mabyn asked. + +"I don't know." + +"I could fetch him back for you directly," said she, "if you would like +that." + +"How?" + +"By writing and telling him that you and Wenna were going to get +married. Wouldn't that fetch him back pretty quickly?" + +"I doubt it. He wouldn't believe it of Wenna. Then he is a sensible sort +of fellow, and would say to himself that if the news was true he would +have his journey for nothing. Besides, Barnes says that things are +looking well with him in Jamaica--better than anybody expected. He might +not be anxious to leave." + +They had now got back to the Parade, and Mabyn stopped: "I must leave +you now, Mr. Trelyon. Mind not to go near Wenna when you get to +Eglosilyan." + +"She sha'n't even see me. I shall be there only a couple of days or so; +then I am going to London. I am going to have a try at the Civil Service +examinations--for first commissions, you know. I shall only come back to +Eglosilyan for a day now and again at long intervals. You have promised +to write to me, Mabyn. Well, I'll send you my address." + +She looked at him keenly as she offered him her hand. "I wouldn't be +downhearted if I were you," she said. "Very odd things sometimes +happen." + +"Oh, I sha'n't be very down-hearted," said he, "so long as I hear that +she is all right, and not vexing herself about anything." + +"Good-bye, Mr. Trelyon. I am sorry I can't take any message for you." + +"To her? No, that is impossible. Good-bye, Mabyn: I think you are the +best friend I have in the world." + +"We'll see about that," she said as she walked rapidly off. + +Her mother had been sufficiently astonished by her long absence: she was +now equally surprised by the excitement and pleasure visible in her +face. + +"Oh, mammy, do you know whom I've seen? Mr. Trelyon." + +"Mabyn!" + +"Yes. We've walked right round Penzance all by ourselves. And it's all +settled, mother." + +"What is all settled?" + +"The understanding between him and me. An offensive and defensive +alliance. Let tyrants beware!" + +She took off her bonnet and came and sat down on the floor by the side +of the sofa: "Oh, mammy, I see such beautiful things in the future! You +wouldn't believe it if I told you all I see. Everybody else seems +determined to forecast such gloomy events. There's Wenna crying and +writing letters of contrition, and expecting all sorts of anger and +scolding; there's Mr. Trelyon haunted by the notion that Mr. Roscorla +will suddenly come home and marry Wenna right off; and as for him out +there in Jamaica, I expect he'll be in a nice state when he hears of all +this. But far on ahead of all that I see such a beautiful picture!" + +"It is a dream of yours, Mabyn," her mother said, but there was an +imaginative light in her fine eyes too. + +"No, it is not a dream, mother, for there are so many people all wishing +now that it should come about, in spite of these gloomy fancies. What is +there to prevent it when we are all agreed?--Mr. Trelyon and I heading +the list with our important alliance; and you, mother, would be so proud +to see Wenna happy; and Mrs. Trelyon pets her as if she were a daughter +already; and everybody--every man, woman and child--in Eglosilyan would +rather see that come about than get a guinea apiece. Oh, mother, if you +could see the picture that I see just now!" + +"It is a pretty picture, Mabyn," her mother said, shaking her head. "But +when you think of everybody being agreed, you forget one, and that is +Wenna herself. Whatever she thinks fit and right to do, that she is +certain to do, and all your alliances and friendly wishes won't alter +her decision, even if it should break her heart. And indeed I hope the +poor child won't sink under the terrible strain that is on her: what do +you think of her looks, Mabyn?" + +"They want mending--yes, they want mending," Mabyn admitted, apparently +with some compunction, but then she added boldly, "and you know as well +as I do, mother, that there is but the one way of mending them." + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +FERN IN DIE WELT. + + +If this story were not tied by its title to the duchy of Cornwall, it +might be interesting enough to follow Mr. Roscorla into the new world +that had opened all around him, and say something of the sudden shock +his old habits had thus received, and of the quite altered views of his +own life he had been led to form. As matters stand, we can only pay him +a flying visit. + +He is seated in a verandah fronting a garden, in which pomegranates and +oranges form the principal fruit. Down below him some blacks are +bringing provisions up to Yacca Farm along the cactus avenue leading to +the gate. Far away on his right the last rays of the sun are shining on +the summit of Blue Mountain Peak, and along the horizon the reflected +glow of the sky shines on the calm sea. It is a fine, still evening; his +cigar smells sweet in the air; it is a time for indolent dreaming and +for memories of home. + +But Mr. Roscorla is not so much enraptured by thoughts of home as he +might be. "Why," he is saying to himself, "my life in Basset Cottage was +no life at all, but only a waiting for death. Day after day passed in +that monotonous fashion: what had one to look forward to but old age, +sickness, and then the quiet of a coffin? It was nothing but an hourly +procession to the grave, varied by rabbit-shooting. This bold breaking +away from the narrow life of such a place has given me a new lease of +existence. Now I can look back with surprise on the dullness of that +Cornish village, and on the regularity of habits which I did not know +were habits. For is not that always the case? You don't know that you +are forming a habit: you take each act to be an individual act, which +you may perform or not at will; but, all the same, the succession of +them is getting you into its power; custom gets a grip of your ways of +thinking as well as your ways of living; the habit is formed, and it +does not cease its hold until it conducts you to the grave. Try Jamaica +for a cure. Fling a sleeping man into the sea, and watch if he does not +wake. Why, when I look back to the slow, methodical, common-place life I +led at Eglosilyan, can I wonder that I was sometimes afraid of Wenna +Rosewarne regarding me as a somewhat staid and venerable individual, on +whose infirmities she ought to take pity?" + +He rose and began to walk up and down the verandah, putting his foot +down firmly. His loose linen suit was smart enough: his complexion had +been improved by the sun. The consciousness that his business affairs +were promising well did not lessen his sense of self-importance. + +"Wenna must be prepared to move about a bit when I go back," he was +saying to himself. "She must give up that daily attendance on cottagers' +children. If all turns out well, I don't see why we should not live in +London, for who will know there who her father was? That consideration +was of no consequence so long as I looked forward to living the rest of +my life in Basset Cottage: now there are other things to be thought of +when there is a chance of my going among my old friends again." + +By this time, it must be observed, Mr. Roscorla had abandoned his hasty +intention of returning to England to upbraid Wenna with having received +a ring from Harry Trelyon. After all, he reasoned with himself, the mere +fact that she should talk thus simply and frankly about young Trelyon +showed that, so far as she was concerned, her loyalty to her absent +lover was unbroken. As for the young gentleman himself, he was, Mr. +Roscorla knew, fond of joking. He had doubtless thought it a fine thing +to make a fool of two or three women by imposing on them this +cock-and-bull story of finding a ring by dredging. He was a little angry +that Wenna should have been deceived; but then, he reflected, these +gypsy rings are so much like one another that the young man had probably +got a pretty fair duplicate. For the rest, he did not want to quarrel +with Harry Trelyon at present. + +But as he was walking up and down the verandah, looking a much younger +and brisker man than the Mr. Roscorla who had left Eglosilyan, a servant +came through the house and brought him a couple of letters. He saw they +were respectively from Mr. Barnes and from Wenna; and, curiously enough, +he opened the reverend gentleman's first--perhaps as schoolboys like to +leave the best bit of a tart to the last. + +He read the letter over carefully; he sat down and read it again; then +he put it before him on the table. He was evidently puzzled by it. "What +does this man mean by writing these letters to me?"--so Mr. Roscorla, +who was a cautious and reflective person, communed with himself.--"He is +no particular friend of mine. He must be driving at something. Now he +says that I am to be of good cheer. I must not think anything of what he +formerly wrote. Mr. Trelyon is leaving Eglosilyan for good, and his +mother will at last have some peace of mind. What a pity it is that this +sensitive creature should be at the mercy of the rude passions of this +son of hers! that she should have no protector! that she should be +allowed to mope herself to death in a melancholy seclusion!" + +An odd fancy occurred to Mr. Roscorla at this moment, and he smiled: "I +think I have got a clew to Mr. Barnes's disinterested anxiety about my +affairs. The widower would like to protect the solitary and unfriended +widow, but the young man is in the way. The young man would be very much +in the way if he married Wenna Rosewarne; the widower's fears drive him +into suspicion, then into certainty; nothing will do but that I should +return to England at once and spoil this little arrangement. But as soon +as Harry Trelyon declares his intention of leaving Eglosilyan for good, +then my affairs may go anyhow. Mr. Barnes finds the coast clear: I am +bidden to stay where I am. Well, that is what I mean to do; but now I +fancy I understand Mr. Barnes's generous friendship for me and his +affectionate correspondence." + +He turned to Wenna's letter with much compunction. He owed her some +atonement for having listened to the disingenuous reports of this +scheming clergyman. How could he have so far forgotten the firm, +uncompromising rectitude of the girl's character, her sensitive notions +of honor, the promises she had given? + +He read her letter, and as he read his eyes seemed to grow hot with +rage. He paid no heed to the passionate contrition of the trembling +lines--to the obvious pain that she had endured in telling the story, +without concealment, against herself--to the utter and abject +wretchedness with which she awaited his decision. It was thus that she +had kept faith with him the moment his back was turned! Such were the +safeguards afforded by a woman's sense of honor! What a fool he had +been, to imagine that any woman could remain true to her promise so soon +as some other object of flirtation and incipient love-making came in her +way! + +He looked at the letter again: he could scarcely believe it to be in her +handwriting. This the quiet, reasonable, gentle and timid Wenna +Rosewarne, whose virtues were almost a trifle too severe? The despair +and remorse of the letter did not touch him--he was too angry and +indignant over the insult to himself--but it astonished him. The +passionate emotion of those closely-written pages he could scarcely +connect with the shy, frank, kindly little girl he remembered: it was a +cry of agony from a tortured woman, and he knew at least that for her +the old quiet time was over. + +He knew not what to do. All this that had happened was new to him: it +was old and gone by in England, and who could tell what further +complications might have arisen? But his anger required some vent: he +went in-doors, called for a lamp, and sat down and wrote with a hard and +resolute look on his face: + + "I have received your letter. I am not surprised. You are a woman, + and I ought to have known that a woman's promise is of value so + long as you are by her side to see that she keeps it. You ask what + reparation you can make: I ask if there is any that you can + suggest. No: you have done what cannot be undone. Do you think a + man would marry a woman who is in love with, or has been in love + with, another man, even if he could overlook her breach of faith + and the shameless thoughtlessness of her conduct? My course is + clear, at all events. I give you back the promise that you did not + know how to keep; and now you can go and ask the young man who has + been making a holiday toy of you whether he will be pleased to + marry you. + + "RICHARD ROSCORLA." + +He sealed and addressed this letter, still with the firm, hard look +about his face: then he summoned a servant--a tall, red-haired Irishman. +He did not hesitate for a moment: "Look here, Sullivan: the English +mails go out to-morrow morning. You must ride down to the post-office as +hard as you can go; and if you're a few minutes late, see Mr. Keith and +give him my compliments, and ask him if he can possibly take this letter +if the mails are not made up. It is of great importance. Quick, now!" + +He watched the man go clattering down the cactus avenue until he was out +of sight. Then he turned, put the letters in his pocket, went in-doors, +and again struck a small gong that did duty for a bell. He wanted his +horse brought round at once. He was going over to Pleasant Farm: +probably he would not return that night. He lit another cigar, and paced +up and down the gravel in front of the house until the horse was brought +round. + +When he reached Pleasant Farm the stars were shining overhead, and the +odors of the night-flowers came floating out of the forest, but inside +the house there were brilliant lights and the voices of men talking. A +bachelor supper-party was going forward. Mr. Roscorla entered, and +presently was seated at the hospitable board. They had never seen him so +gay, and they had certainly never seen him so generously inclined, for +Mr. Roscorla was economical in his habits. He would have them all to +dinner the next evening, and promised them such champagne as had never +been sent to Kingston before. He passed round his best cigars, he hinted +something about unlimited loo, he drank pretty freely, and was +altogether in a jovial humor. + +"England!" he said, when some one mentioned the mother-country. "Of one +thing I am pretty certain: England will never see me again. No, a man +lives here: in England he waits for his death. What life I have got +before me I shall live in Jamaica: that is my view of the question." + +"Then she is coming out to you?" said his host with a grin. + +Roscorla's face flushed with anger. "There is no _she_ in the matter," +he said abruptly, almost fiercely. "I thank God I am not tied to any +woman!" + +"Oh, I beg your pardon," said his host good-naturedly, who did not care +to recall the occasions on which Mr. Roscorla had been rather pleased to +admit that certain tender ties bound him to his native land. + +"No, there is not," he said. "What fool would have his comfort and peace +of mind depend on the caprice of a woman? I like your plan better, +Rogers: when they're dependent on you, you can do as you like, but when +they've got to be treated as equals, they're the devil. No, my boys, you +don't find me going in for the angel in the house--she's too exacting. +Is it to be unlimited?" + +Now to play unlimited loo in a reckless fashion is about the easiest way +of getting rid of money that the ingenuity of man has devised. The other +players were much better qualified to run such risks than Mr. Roscorla, +but none played half so wildly as he. His I.O.U.'s went freely about. At +one point in the evening the floating paper bearing the signature of Mr. +Roscorla represented a sum of about three hundred pounds, and yet his +losses did not weigh heavily on him. At length every one got tired, and +it was resolved to stop short at a certain hour. But from this point the +luck changed: nothing could stand against his cards; one by one his +I.O.U.'s were recalled; and when they all rose from the table he had won +about forty-eight pounds. He was not elated. + +He went to his room and sat down in an easy-chair; and then it seemed to +him that he saw Eglosilyan once more, and the far coasts of Cornwall, +and the broad uplands lying under a blue English sky. That was his home, +and he had cut himself away from it, and from the little glimmer of +romance that had recently brightened it for him. Every bit of the place, +too, was associated somehow with Wenna Rosewarne. He could see the seat +fronting the Atlantic on which she used to sit and sew on the fine +summer forenoons. He could see the rough road leading over the downs on +which he met her one wintry morning, she wrapped up and driving her +father's dog-cart, while the red sun in the sky seemed to brighten the +pink color the cold wind had brought into her cheeks. He thought of her +walking sedately up to church; of her wild scramblings among the rocks +with Mabyn; of her enjoyment of a fierce wind when it came laden with +the spray of the great rollers breaking on the cliff outside. What was +the song she used to sing to herself as she went along the quiet +woodland ways?-- + + Your Polly has never been false, she declares, + Since last time we parted at Wapping Old Stairs. + +He could not let her go. All the anger of wounded vanity had left his +heart: he thought now only of the chance he was throwing away. Where +else could he hope to find for himself so pleasant a companion and +friend, who would cheer up his dull daily life with her warm sympathies, +her quick humor, her winning womanly ways? + +He thought of that letter he had sent away, and cursed his own folly. So +long as she was bound by her promise he knew he could marry her when he +pleased, but now he had voluntarily released her. In a couple of weeks +she would hold her manumission in her hands; the past would no longer +have any power over her; if ever they met they would meet as mere +acquaintances. Every moment the prize slipping out of his grasp seemed +to grow more valuable; his vexation with himself grew intolerable; he +suddenly resolved that he would make a wild effort to get back that +fatal letter. + +He had sat communing with himself for over an hour: all the household +was fast asleep. He would not wake any one, for fear of being compelled +to give explanations; so he noiselessly crept along the dark passages +until he got to the door, which he carefully opened and let himself out. +The night was wonderfully clear, the constellations throbbing and +glittering overhead: the trees were black against the pale sky. + +He made his way round to the stables, and had some sort of notion that +he would try to get at his horse, until it occurred to him that some +suddenly awakened servant or master would probably send a bullet +whizzing at him. So he abandoned that enterprise, and set off to walk as +quickly as he could down the slopes of the mountain, with the stars +still shining over his head, the air sweet with powerful scents, the +leaves of the bushes hanging silently in the semi-darkness. + +How long he walked he did not know: he was not aware that when he +reached the sleeping town a pale gray was lightening the eastern skies. +He went to the house of the postmaster and hurriedly aroused him. Mr. +Keith began to think that the ordinarily sedate Mr. Roscorla had gone +mad. + +"But I must have the letter," he said. "Come now, Keith, you can give it +me back if you like. Of course I know it is very wrong, but you'll do it +to oblige a friend." + +"My dear sir," said the postmaster, who could not get time for +explanation, "the mails were made up last night--" + +"Yes, yes, but you can open the English bag." + +"They were sent on board last night." + +"Then the packet is still in the harbor: you might come down with me." + +"She sails at daybreak." + +"It is not daybreak yet," said Mr. Roscorla, looking up. + +Then he saw how the gray dawn had come over the skies, banishing the +stars, and he became aware of the wan light shining around him. With the +new day his life was altered; he would no more be as he had been; the +chief aim and purpose of his existence had been changed. + +Walking heedlessly back, he came to a point from which he had a distant +view of the harbor and the sea beyond. Far away out on the dull gray +plain was a steamer slowly making her way toward the east. Was that the +packet bound for England, carrying to Wenna Rosewarne the message that +she was free? + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +"BLUE IS THE SWEETEST." + + +The following correspondence may now, without any great breach of +confidence, be published: + + "EGLOSILYAN, Monday morning. + + DEAR MR. TRELYON: Do you know what Mr. Roscorla says in the + letter Wenna has just received? Why, that you could not get + up that ring by dredging, but that you must have bought the + other one at Plymouth. Just think of the wicked old wretch + fancying such things! As if you would give a ring _of emeralds + to any one_! Tell me that this is a story, that I may bid + Wenna contradict him at once. I have got no patience with a man + who is given over to such mean suspicions. Yours faithfully, + + MABYN ROSEWARNE." + + + "LONDON, Tuesday night. + + Dear Mabyn: I am sorry to say Mr. Roscorla is right. It was a + foolish trick--I did not think it would be successful, for my + hitting the size of her finger was rather a stroke of luck--but + I thought it would amuse her if she did find it out after an + hour or two. I was afraid to tell her afterward, for she would + think it impertinent. What's to be done? Is she angry about it. + Yours sincerely, + + HARRY TRELYON." + + + "EGLOSILYAN. + + Dear Mr. Trelyon: How could you do such a thing? Why, to give + Wenna, of all people in the world, an emerald ring, just after I + had got Mr. Roscorla to give her one, for bad luck to himself! + Why, how could you do it? I don't know what to say about it, + unless you demand it back, _and send her one with sapphires in + it at once_. + + Yours, M.R. + + P.S.--As quick as ever you can." + + + "LONDON, Friday evening. + + Dear Mabyn: Why, you know she wouldn't take a sapphire ring or + any other from me. Yours faithfully, + + H. TRELYON." + + + "MY DEAR MR. TRELYON: Pray don't lose any time in writing, but + send me at once a sapphire ring for Wenna. You have hit the size + once, and you can do it again; but in any case I have marked the + size on this bit of thread, and the jeweler will understand. And + please, dear Mr. Trelyon, don't get a very expensive one, but a + plain, good one, just what a poor person like me would buy for a + present if I wanted to. And post it at once, please: _this is + very important_. Yours most sincerely, + + MABYN ROSEWARNE." + +In consequence of this correspondence Mabyn one morning proceeded to +seek out her sister, whom she found busy with the accounts of the sewing +club, which was now in a flourishing condition. Mabyn seemed a little +shy. "Oh, Wenna," she said, "I have something to tell you. You know I +wrote to ask Mr. Trelyon about the ring. Well, he's very, very +sorry--oh, you don't know how sorry he is, Wenna--but it's quite true. +He thought he'd please you by getting the ring, and that you would make +a joke of it when you found it out; and then he was afraid to speak of +it afterward." + +Wenna had quietly slipped the ring off her finger. She betrayed no +emotion at the mention of Mr. Trelyon's name. Her face was a trifle red: +that was, all. "It was a stupid thing to do," she said, "but I suppose +he meant no harm. Will you send him back the ring?" + +"Yes," she said eagerly. "Give me the ring, Wenna." + +She carefully wrapped it up in a piece of paper and put it in her +pocket. Any one who knew her would have seen by her face that she meant +to give that ring short shrift. Then she said timidly, "You are not very +angry, Wenna?" + +"No. I am sorry I should have vexed Mr. Roscorla by my carelessness." + +"Wenna," the younger sister continued, even more timidly, "do you know +what I've heard about rings?--that when you've worn one for some time on +a finger, you ought never to leave it off altogether: I think it affects +the circulation, or something of that kind. Now, if Mr. Trelyon were to +send you another ring, just to--to keep the place of that one until Mr. +Roscorla came back--" + +"Mabyn, you must be mad to think of such a thing," said her sister, +looking down. + +"Oh yes," Mabyn said meekly, "I thought you wouldn't like the notion of +Mr. Trelyon giving you a ring. And so, dear Wenna, I've--I've got a ring +for you--you won't mind taking it from me--and if you do wear it on the +engaged finger, why, that doesn't matter, don't you see?" + +She produced the ring of dark blue stones, and herself put it on Wenna's +finger. + +"Oh, Mabyn," Wenna said, "how could you be so extravagant? And just +after you gave me that ten shillings for the Leans!" + +"You be quiet," said Mabyn briskly, going off with a light look on her +face. + +And yet there was some determination about her mouth. She hastily put on +her hat and went out. She took the path by the hillside over the little +harbor, and eventually she reached the face of the black cliff, at the +foot of which a gray-green sea was dashing in white masses of foam: +there was not a living thing around her but the choughs and daws, and +the white seagulls sailing overhead. + +She took out a large sheet of brown paper and placed it on the ground. +Then she sought out a bit of rock weighing about two pounds. Then she +took out the little parcel which contained the emerald ring, tied it up +carefully along with the stone in the sheet of brown paper: finally, she +rose up to her full height and heaved the whole into the sea. A splash +down there, and that was all. + +She clapped her hands with joy: "And now, my precious emerald ring, +that's the last of you, I imagine! And there isn't much chance of a fish +bringing you back, to make mischief with your ugly green stones." + +Then she went home, and wrote this note: + + "EGLOSILYAN, Monday. + + DEAR MR. TRELYON: I have just thrown the emerald ring you gave + Wenna into the sea, and she wears the other one now _on her + engaged finger_, but she thinks I bought it. Did you ever + hear of an old-fashioned rhyme that is this?-- + + Oh, green is forsaken, + And yellow's forsworn; + And blue is thesweetest + Color that's worn. + + You can't tell what mischief that emerald ring might not have + done. But the sapphires that Wenna is wearing now are perfectly + beautiful; and Wenna is not so heartbroken that she isn't very + proud of them. I never saw such a beautiful ring. Yours + sincerely, + + MABYN ROSEWARNE. + + P.S.--Are you never coming back to Eglosilyan any more?" + +So the days went by, and Mabyn waited with a secret hope to see what +answer Mr. Roscorla would send to that letter of confession and +contrition Wenna had written to him at Penzance. The letter had been +written as an act of duty, and posted too; but there was no mail going +out for ten days thereafter, so that a considerable time had to elapse +before the answer came. + +During that time Wenna went about her ordinary duties just as if there +was no hidden fire of pain consuming her heart; there was no word spoken +by her or to her of all that had recently occurred; her mother and +sister were glad to see her so continuously busy. At first she shrank +from going up to Trelyon Hall, and would rather have corresponded with +Mrs. Trelyon about their joint work of charity, but she conquered the +feeling, and went and saw the gentle lady, who perceived nothing altered +or strange in her demeanor. At last the letter from Jamaica came; and +Mabyn, having sent it up to her sister's room, waited for a few minutes, +and then followed it. She was a little afraid, despite her belief in the +virtues of the sapphire ring. + +When she entered the room she uttered a slight cry of alarm and ran +forward to her sister. Wenna was seated on a chair by the side of the +bed, but she had thrown her arms out on the bed, her head was between +them, and she was sobbing as if her heart would break. + +"Wenna, what is the matter? what has he said to you?" + +Mabyn's eyes were all afire now. Wenna would not answer. She would not +even raise her head. + +"Wenna, I want to see that letter." + +"Oh no, no!" the girl moaned. "I deserve it: he says what is true. I +want you to leave me alone, Mabyn: you--you can't do anything to +help this." + +But Mabyn had by this time perceived that her sister held in her hand, +crumpled up, the letter which was the cause of this wild outburst of +grief. She went forward and firmly took it out of the yielding fingers: +then she turned to the light and read it. "Oh, if I were a man!" she +said; and then the very passion of her indignation, finding no other +vent, filled her eyes with proud and angry tears. She forgot to rejoice +that her sister was now free. She only saw the cruel insult of those +lines, and the fashion in which it had struck down its victim. "Wenna," +she said hotly, "you ought to have more spirit. You don't mean to say +you care for the opinion of a man who would write to any girl like that? +You ought to be precious glad that he has shown himself in his true +colors. Why, he never cared a bit for you--never!--or he would never +turn at a moment's notice and insult you." + +"I have deserved it all; it is every word of it true; he could not have +written otherwise." That was all that Wenna would say between her sobs. + +"Well," retorted Mabyn, "after all, I am glad he was angry. I did not +think he had so much spirit. And if this is his opinion of you, I don't +think it is worth heeding, only I hope he'll keep to it. Yes, I do. I +hope he'll continue to think you everything that is wicked, and remain +out in Jamaica. Wenna, you must not lie and cry like that. Come, get up, +and look at the strawberries that Mr. Trewhella has sent you." + +"Please, Mabyn, leave me alone, there's a good girl." + +"I shall be up again in a few minutes, then: I want you to drive me over +to St. Gwennis. Wenna, I _must_ go over to St. Gwennis before lunch; and +father won't let me have anybody to drive. Do you hear, Wenna?" + +Then she went out and down into the kitchen, where she bothered Jennifer +for a few minutes until she had got an iron heated at the fire. With +this implement she carefully smoothed out the crumpled letter, and then +she as carefully folded it, took it up stairs, and put it safely away in +her own desk. She had just time to write a few lines: + + "DEAR MR. TRELYON: Do you know what news I have got to tell you? + Can you guess? The engagement between Mr. Roscorla and Wenna + _is broken off_; and I have got in my possession the letter + in which he sets her free. If you knew how glad I am! I should + like to cry 'Hurrah! hurrah!' all through the streets of + Eglosilyan; and I think every one else would do the same if only + they knew. Of course she is very much grieved, for he has been + most insulting. I cannot tell you the things he has said: you + would kill him if you heard them. But she will come round very + soon, I know: and then she will have her freedom again, and no + more emerald rings, and letters all filled with arguments. Would + you like to see her, Mr. Trelyon? But don't come yet--not for a + long time: she would only get angry and obstinate. I'll tell you + when to come; and in the mean time, you know, she is still + wearing your ring, so that you need not be afraid. How glad I + shall be to see you again! Yours most faithfully, + + "MABYN ROSEWARNE." + +She went down stairs quickly and put this letter in the letter-box. +There was an air of triumph on her face. She had worked for this +result--aided by the mysterious powers of Fate, whom she had conjured to +serve her--and now the welcome end of her labors had arrived. She bade +the hostler get out the dog-cart, as if she were the queen of Sheba +going to visit Solomon. She went marching up to her sister's room, +announcing her approach with a more than ordinarily accurate rendering +of "Oh, the men of merry, merry England!" so that a stranger might have +fancied that he heard the very voice of Harry Trelyon, with all its +unmelodious vigor, ringing along the passage. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +THE EXILE'S RETURN. + + +Perhaps you have been away in distant parts of the earth, each day +crowded with new experiences and slowly obscuring the clear pictures of +England with which you left: perhaps you have only been hidden away in +London, amid its ceaseless noise, its strange faces, its monotonous +recurrence of duties. Let us say, in any case, that you are returning +home for a space to the quiet of Northern Cornwall. + +You look out of the high window of a Plymouth hotel early in the +morning. There is a promise of a beautiful autumn day--a ring of pink +mist lies around the horizon; overhead the sky is clear and blue; the +white sickle of the moon still lingers visible. The new warmth of the +day begins to melt the hoarfrost in the meadows, and you know that out +beyond the town the sun is shining brilliantly on the wet grass, with +the brown cattle gleaming red in the light. + +You leave the great world behind, with all its bustle, crowds and +express engines, when you get into the quiet little train that takes you +leisurely up to Launceston, through woods, by the sides of rivers, over +great valleys. There is a sense of repose about this railway journey. +The train stops at any number of small stations--apparently to let the +guard have a chat with the station-master--and then jogs on in a quiet, +contented fashion. And on such an autumn day as this, that is a +beautiful, still, rich-colored and English-looking country through which +it passes. Here is a deep valley, all glittering with the dew and the +sunlight. Down in the hollow a farmyard is half hidden behind the +yellowing elms; a boy is driving a flock of white geese along the +twisting road; the hedges are red with the withering briers. Up here, +along the hillsides, the woods of scrub-oak are glowing with every +imaginable hue of gold, crimson and bronze, except where a few dark firs +appear, or where a tuft of broom, pure and bright in its green, stands +out among the faded brackens. The gorse is profusely in bloom: it always +is in Cornwall. Still farther over there are sheep visible on the +uplands; beyond these, again, the bleak brown moors rise into peaks of +hills; overhead the silent blue, and all around the sweet, fresh country +air. + +With a sharp whistle the small train darts into an opening in the hills: +here we are in the twilight of a great wood. The tall trees are becoming +bare; the ground is red with the fallen leaves; through the branches the +blue-winged jay flies, screaming harshly; you can smell the damp and +resinous odors of the ferns. Out again we get into the sunlight! and lo! +a rushing, brawling, narrow stream, its clear flood swaying this way and +that by the big stones; a wall of rock overhead crowned by glowing +furze; a herd of red cattle sent scampering through the bright-green +grass. Now we get slowly into a small white station, and catch a glimpse +of a tiny town over in the valley: again we go on by wood and valley, by +rocks and streams and farms. It is a pleasant drive on such a morning. + +In one of the carriages in this train Master Harry Trelyon and his +grandmother were seated. How he had ever persuaded her to go with him to +Cornwall by train was mysterious enough, for the old lady thoroughly +hated all such modern devices. It was her custom to go traveling all +over the country with a big, old-fashioned phaeton and a pair of horses; +and her chief amusement during these long excursions was driving up to +any big house she took a fancy to, in order to see if there was a chance +of its being let to her. The faithful old servant who attended her, and +who was about as old as the coachman, had a great respect for his +mistress, but sometimes he swore--inaudibly--when she ordered him to +make the usual inquiry at the front-door of some noble lord's country +residence, which he would as soon have thought of letting as of +forfeiting his seat in the House of Peers or his hopes of heaven. But +the carriage and horses were coming down, all the same, to Eglosilyan, +to take her back again. + +"Harry," she was saying at this moment, "the longer I look at you, the +more positive I am that you are ill. I don't like your color: you are +thin and careworn and anxious. What is the matter with you?" + +"Going to school again at twenty-one is hard work, grandmother," he +said. "Don't you try it. But I don't think I'm particularly ill: few +folks can keep a complexion like yours, grandmother." + +"Yes," said the old lady, rather pleased, "many's the time they said +that about me, that there wasn't much to complain of in my looks; and +that's what a girl thinks of then, and sweethearts and balls, and all +the other men looking savage when she's dancing with any one of them. +Well, well, Harry; and what is all this about you and the young lady +your mother has made such a pet of? Oh yes, I have my suspicions; and +she's engaged to another man, isn't she? Your grandfather would have +fought him, I'll be bound; but we live in a peaceable way now. Well, +well, no matter; but hasn't that got something to do with your glum +looks, Harry?" + +"I tell you, grandmother, I have been hard at work in London. You can't +look very brilliant after a few months in London." + +"And what keeps you in London at this time of the year?" said this +plain-spoken old lady. "Your fancy about getting into the army? +Nonsense, man! don't tell me such a tale as that. There's a woman in the +case: a Trelyon never puts himself so much about from any other cause. +To stop in town at this time of the year! Why, your grandfather, and +your father too, would have laughed to hear of it. I haven't had a brace +of birds or a pheasant sent me since last autumn--not one. Come, sir, be +frank with me. I'm an old woman, but I can hold my tongue." + +"There's nothing to tell, grandmother," he said. "You just about hit it +in that guess of yours: I suppose Juliott told you. Well, the girl is +engaged to another man: what more is to be said?" + +"The man's in Jamaica?" + +"Yes." + +"Why are you going down to-day?" + +"Only for a brief visit: I've been a long time away." + +The old lady sat silent for some time. She had heard of the whole affair +before, but she wished to have the rumor confirmed. And at first she was +sorely troubled that her grandson should contemplate marrying the +daughter of an innkeeper, however intelligent, amiable and well-educated +the young lady might be; but she knew the Trelyons pretty well, and knew +that if he had made up his mind to it, argument and remonstrance would +be useless. Moreover, she had a great affection for this young man, and +was strongly disposed to sympathize with any wish of his. She grew in +time to have a great interest in Miss Wenna Rosewarne: at this moment +the chief object of her visit was to make her acquaintance. She grew to +pity young Trelyon in his disappointment, and was inclined to believe +that the person in Jamaica was something of a public enemy. The fact +was, her mere sympathy for her grandson would have converted her to a +sympathy with the wildest project he could have formed. + +"Dear! dear!" she said, "what awkward things engagements are when they +stand in your way! Shall I tell you the truth? I was just about as good +as engaged to John Cholmondeley when I gave myself up to your +grandfather. But there! when a girl's heart pulls her one way, and her +promise pulls her another way, she needs to be a very firm-minded young +woman if she means to hold fast. John Cholmondeley was as good-hearted a +young fellow as ever lived--yes, I will say that for him--and I was +mightily sorry for him; but--but you see, that's how things come about. +Dear! dear! that evening at Bath--I remember it as well as if it was +yesterday; and it was only two months after I had run away with your +grandfather. Yes, there was a ball that night; and we had kept very +quiet, you know, after coming back; but this time your grandfather had +set his heart on taking me out before everybody, and you know he had to +have his way. As sure as I live, Harry, the first man I saw was John +Cholmondeley--just as white as a ghost: they said he had been drinking +hard and gambling pretty nearly the whole of these two months. He +wouldn't come near me: he wouldn't take the least notice of me. The +whole night he pretended to be vastly gay and merry: he danced with +everybody, but his eyes never came near me. Well--you know what a girl +is--that vexed me a little bit; for there never was a man such a slave +to a woman as he was to me. Dear! dear! the way my father used to laugh +at him, until he got wild with anger! Well, I went up to him at last, +when he was by himself, and I said to him, just in a careless way, you +know, 'John, aren't you going to dance with me to-night?' Well, do you +know, his face got quite white again; and he said--I remember the very +words, all as cold as ice--'Madam,' says he, 'I am glad to find that +your hurried trip to Scotland has impaired neither your good looks nor +your self-command.' Wasn't it cruel of him?--but then, poor fellow! he +had been badly used, I admit that. Poor young fellow! he never did +marry; and I don't believe he ever forgot me to his dying day. Many a +time I'd like to have told him all about it, and how there was no use in +my marrying him if I liked another man better; but though we met +sometimes, and especially when he came down about the Reform Bill +time--and I do believe I made a red-hot radical of him--he was always +very proud, and I hadn't the heart to go back on the old story. But I'll +tell you what your grandfather did for him: he got him returned at the +very next election, and he on the other side, too; and after a bit a man +begins to think more about getting a seat in Parliament than about +courting an empty-headed girl. I have met this Mr. Roscorla, haven't I?" + +"Of course you have." + +"A good-looking man rather, with a fresh complexion and gray hair?" + +"I don't know what you mean by good looks," said Trelyon shortly. "I +shouldn't think people would call him an Adonis. But there's no +accounting for tastes." + +"Perhaps I may have been mistaken," the old lady said, "but there was a +gentleman at Plymouth Station who seemed to be something like what I can +recall of Mr. Roscorla: you didn't see him, I suppose?" + +"At Plymouth Station, grandmother?" the young man said, becoming rather +uneasy. + +"Yes. He got into the train just as we came up. A neatly-dressed man, +gray hair and a healthy-looking face. I must have seen him somewhere +about here before." + +"Roscorla is in Jamaica," said Trelyon positively. + +Just at this moment the train slowed into Launceston Station, and the +people began to get out on the platform. + +"That is the man I mean," said the old lady. + +Trelyon turned and stared. There, sure enough, was Mr. Roscorla, looking +not one whit different from the precise, elderly, fresh-colored +gentleman who had left Cornwall some seven months before. + +"Good Lord, Harry!" said the old lady nervously, looking at her +grandson's face, "don't have a fight here." + +The next second Mr. Roscorla wheeled round, anxious about some luggage, +and now it was his turn to stare in astonishment and anger--anger, +because he had been told that Harry Trelyon never came near Cornwall, +and his first sudden suspicion was that he had been deceived. All this +had happened in a minute. Trelyon was the first to regain his +self-command. He walked deliberately forward, held out his hand, and +said, "Hillo, Roscorla! back in England again? I didn't know you were +coming." + +"No," said Mr. Roscorla, with his face grown just a trifle grayer--"no, +I suppose not." + +In point of fact, he had not informed any one of his coming. He had +prepared a little surprise. The chief motive of his return was to get +Wenna to cancel for ever that unlucky letter of release he had sent her, +which he had done more or less successfully in subsequent +correspondence; but he had also hoped to introduce a little romanticism +into his meeting with her. He would enter Eglosilyan on foot. He would +wander down to the rocks at the mouth of the harbor on the chance of +finding Wenna there. Might he not hear her humming to herself, as she +sat and sewed, some snatch of "Your Polly has never been false, she +declares"? or was that the very last ballad in the world she would now +think of singing? Then the delight of regarding again the placid, bright +face and earnest eyes, of securing once more a perfect understanding +between them, and their glad return to the inn! + +All this had been spoiled by the appearance of this young man: he loved +him none the more for that. + +"I suppose you haven't got a trap waiting for you?" said Trelyon with +cold politeness. "I can drive you over if you like." + +He could do no less than make the offer: the other had no alternative +but to accept. Old Mrs. Trelyon heard this compact made with +considerable dread. + +Indeed, it was a dismal drive over to Eglosilyan, bright as the forenoon +was. The old lady did her best to be courteous to Mr. Roscorla and +cheerful with her grandson, but she was oppressed by the belief that it +was only her presence that had so far restrained the two men from giving +vent to the rage and jealousy that filled their hearts. + +The conversation kept up was singular. + +"Are you going to remain in England long, Roscorla?" said the younger of +the two men, making an unnecessary cut at one of the two horses he was +driving. + +"Don't know yet. Perhaps I may." + +"Because," said Trelyon with angry impertinence, "I suppose if you do, +you'll have to look round for a housekeeper." + +The insinuation was felt; and Roscorla's eyes looked anything but +pleasant as he answered, "You forget I've got Mrs. Cornish to look after +my house." + +"Oh, Mrs. Cornish is not much of a companion for you." + +"Men seldom want to make companions of their housekeepers," was the +retort, uttered rather hotly. + +"But sometimes they wish to have the two offices combined, for economy's +sake." + +At this juncture Mrs. Trelyon struck in, somewhat wildly, with a remark +about an old ruined house which seemed to have had at one time a private +still inside: the danger was staved off for the moment. "Harry," she +said, "mind what you are about: the horses seem very fresh." + +"Yes, they like a good run: I suspect they've had precious little to do +since I left Cornwall." + +Did she fear that the young man was determined to throw them into a +ditch or down a precipice, with the wild desire of killing his rival at +any cost? If she had known the whole state of affairs between them--the +story of the emerald ring, for example--she would have understood at +least the difficulty experienced by these two men in remaining decently +civil toward each other. + +So they passed over the high and wide moors until far ahead they caught +a glimpse of the blue plain of the sea. Mr. Roscorla relapsed into +silence: he was becoming a trifle nervous. He was probably so occupied +with anticipations of his meeting with Wenna that he failed to notice +the objects around him; and one of these, now become visible, was a very +handsome young lady, who was coming smartly along a wooded lane, +carrying a basket of bright-colored flowers. + +"Why, here's Mabyn Rosewarne! I must wait for her." + +Mabyn had seen at a distance Mrs. Trelyon's gray horses: she guessed +that the young master had come back, and that he had brought some +strangers with him. She did not like to be stared at by strangers. She +came along the path with her eyes fixed on the ground: she thought it +impertinent of Harry Trelyon to wait to speak to her. + +"Oh, Mabyn," he cried, "you must let me drive you home. And let me +introduce you to my grandmother. There is some one else whom you know." + +The young lady bowed to Mrs. Trelyon; then she stared and changed color +somewhat when she saw Mr. Roscorla; then she was helped up into a seat. + +"How do you do, Mr. Trelyon?" she said. "I am very glad to see you have +come back.--How do you do, Mr. Roscorla?" + +She shook hands with them both, but not quite in the same fashion. + +"And you have sent no message that you were coming?" she said, looking +her companion straight in the face. + +"No--no, I did not," he said, angry and embarrassed by the open enmity +of the girl. "I thought I should surprise you all." + +"You have surprised me, any way," said Mabyn, "for how can you be so +thoughtless? Wenna has been very ill--I tell you she has been very ill +indeed, though she has said little about it--and the least thing upsets +her. How can you think of frightening her so? Do you know what you are +doing? I wish you would go away back to Launceston or London, and write +her a note there, if you are coming, instead of trying to frighten her." + +This was the language, it appeared to Mr. Roscorla, of a virago; only, +viragoes do not ordinarily have tears in their eyes, as was the case +with Mabyn when she finished her indignant appeal. + +"Mr. Trelyon, do you think it is fair to go and frighten Wenna so?" she +demanded. + +"It is none of my business," Trelyon answered with an air as if he had +said to his rival, "Yes, go and kill the girl. You are a nice sort of +gentleman, to come down from London to kill the girl!" + +"This is absurd," said Mr. Roscorla contemptuously, for he was stung +into reprisal by the persecution of these two: "a girl isn't so easily +frightened out of her wits. Why, she must have known that my coming home +was at any time probable." + +"I have no doubt she feared that it was," said Mabyn, partly to herself: +for once she was afraid of speaking out. Presently, however, a brighter +light came over the girl's face. "Why, I quite forgot," she said, +addressing Harry Trelyon--"I quite forgot that Wenna was just going up +to Trelyon Hall when I left. Of course she will be up there. You will be +able to tell her that Mr. Roscorla has arrived, won't you?" + +The malice of this suggestion was so apparent that the young gentleman +in front could not help grinning at it: fortunately, his face could not +be seen by his rival. What _he_ thought of the whole arrangement +can only be imagined. And so, as it happened, Mr. Roscorla and his +friend Mabyn were dropped at the inn, while Harry Trelyon drove his +grandmother up and on to the Hall. + +"Well, Harry," the old lady said, "I am glad to be able to breathe at +last: I thought you two were going to kill each other." + +"There is no fear of that," the young man said: "that is not the way in +which this affair has to be settled. It is entirely a matter for her +decision; and look how everything is in his favor. I am not even allowed +to say a word to her; and even if I could, he is a deal cleverer than me +in argument. He would argue my head off in half an hour." + +"But you don't turn a girl's heart round by argument, Harry. When a girl +has to choose between a young lover and an elderly one, it isn't always +good sense that directs her choice. Is Miss Wenna Rosewarne at all like +her sister?" + +"She's not such a tomboy," he said, "but she is quite as straightforward +and proud, and quick to tell you what is the right thing to do. There's +no sort of shamming tolerated by these two girls. But then Wenna is +gentler and quieter, and more soft and lovable, than Mabyn--in my fancy, +you know; and she is more humorous and clever, so that she never gets +into those school-girl rages. But it is really a shame to compare them +like that; and, indeed, if any one said the least thing against one of +these girls, the other would precious soon make him regret the day he +was born. You don't catch me doing that with either of them. I've had a +warning already when I hinted that Mabyn might probably manage to keep +her husband in good order. And so she would, I believe, if the husband +were not of the right sort; but when she is really fond of anybody, she +becomes their slave out and out. There is nothing she wouldn't do for +her sister; and her sister thinks there's nobody in the world like +Mabyn. So you see--" + +He stopped in the middle of this sentence. + +"Grandmother," he said, almost in a whisper, "here she is coming along +the road." + +"Miss Rosewarne?" + +"Yes: shall I introduce you?" + +"If you like." + +Wenna was coming down the steep road between the high hedges with a +small girl on each side of her, whom she was leading by the hand. She +was gayly talking to them: you could hear the children laughing at what +she said. Old Mrs. Trelyon came to the conclusion that this merry young +lady, with the light and free step, the careless talk and fresh color in +her face, was certainly not dying of any love-affair. + +"Take the reins, grandmother, for a minute." + +He had leapt down into the road, and was standing before her almost ere +she had time to recognize him. For a moment a quick gleam of gladness +shone on her face: then, almost instinctively, she seemed to shrink from +him, and she was reserved, distant, and formal. + +He introduced her to the old lady, who said something nice to her about +her sister. The young man was looking wistfully at her, troubled at +heart that she treated him so coldly. + +"I have got to break some news to you," he said: "perhaps you will +consider it good news." + +She looked up quickly. + +"Nothing has happened to anybody--only some one has arrived. Mr. +Roscorla is at the inn." + +She did not flinch. He was vexed with her that she showed no sign of +fear or dislike. On the contrary, she quickly said that she must then go +down to the inn; and she bade them both good-bye in a placid and +ordinary way, while he drove off with dark thoughts crowding into his +imagination of what might happen down at the inn during the next few +days. He was angry with her, he scarcely knew why. + +Meanwhile Wenna, apparently quite calm, went on down the road, but there +was no more laughing in her voice, no more light in her face. + +"Miss Wenna," said the smaller of the two children, who could not +understand this change, and who looked up with big, wondering eyes, "why +does oo tremble so?" + +[TO BE CONTINUED.] + + + + +SONNET. + + + The curious eye may watch her lovely face, + Whereon such rare and roseate tinctures glow, + And cry, How fair the rose and lily show + Mid all the glories of a maiden grace! + If this sweet show, this bloom and tender glance, + Would so attract a stranger's unskilled eyes, + Until he sees the light of Paradise + Dawn in the garden of that countenance-- + I, to whom love hath given finer powers, + See there the emblems of a flowering soul + That hath its root in other world than ours, + And which doth ever seek its native goal; + Meanwhile decks life with love and grace and flowers, + And in one beauteous garland binds the whole. + + F.A. HILLARD. + + + + +NICE. + + +Twenty-Two centuries ago--eighteen hundred years before Columbus sailed +in quest of the New World--a Phocean colony from Marseilles founded this +celebrated city, calling it Niche (Nice or Victory), in honor of a +signal triumph obtained by their arms over their enemies, the Ligurians, +or inhabitants of the northern coast of Italy. For ages it flourished, +being almost as famous with the ancients as a health-resort as it is +to-day; but its evil hour came when the Goths, Lombards and Franks in +A.D. 405, pouring through the defiles and gorges of the Maritime Alps, +laid Nice and almost all the other cities of Italy, even beyond Rome, in +ashes. A hundred years later it was rebuilt, but its beautiful forum, +its classical temples, its mosaic-paved villas and marble theatres had +disappeared utterly, and the new city was but a shadow of the old. In +the tenth century the Saracens conquered Nice, and remained in quiet +possession for seventy years, and during their stay introduced much of +the tropical vegetation which we still admire. They were finally driven +away by the insurgent natives in A.D. 975, but they left the impress of +their occupation in many Arabic words which still mark the local +_patois_; and as a number of the fugitives were captured and reduced to +slavery, intermarrying in the course of time with the native population, +the Moorish type is still very noticeable amongst the peasantry. Freed +from the Saracenic yoke, the Nicois lived in peace for nearly two +centuries, being only disturbed from time to time by the unwelcome +visitations of pirates. Later on, toward the middle of the thirteenth +century, like most other Southern and Italian cities, Nice fell a victim +to the constant quarrels of the powerful families allied respectively to +the Ghibelline and Guelphic factions. Thus, the incessant broils between +the Lascaris of Tenda, the Grimaldis of Monaco and the Dorias of +Dolceacqua desolated the surrounding country, and often reduced the city +to a state of siege. The Nicois were compelled to keep up a perpetual +guerilla, which, however inspiriting, was by no means conducive to their +material prosperity. In 1364 an invasion of locusts from Africa led to a +famine, and ultimately a plague which destroyed two-thirds of the +population. The people, attributing their misfortunes to the +intercession of the Jews with the powers below, rose up and massacred +them: only five Israelites out of over two thousand are said to have +escaped their blind fury. When order was at last re-established, and the +Nicois began to settle down again, they perceived their impoverished and +subordinate position to be so alarming that their only chance of safety +was immediately to place themselves under the protection of the dukes of +Savoy, who for a century and a half defended them from the attacks of +their numerous enemies in a most valiant manner. But in 1521, Francis I. +of France wrenched the city and province from the beneficent rule of the +Savoyards and proclaimed himself count of Nice. In 1524 war broke out +between Francis and the emperor Charles V., and the contending armies +alternately devastated and pillaged Nice and its environs. The pest +reappeared, and with it a drought and famine of so fearful a character +that many thousand persons perished, and others in their despair slew +themselves. Pope Paul III. undertook the difficult task of reconciling +the belligerents, and even went so far as to travel to Nice for the +purpose. A marble cross which gives its name to a suburb of the town +("La Croix de Marbre") still marks the spot where the conference took +place in which Francis and Charles swore a peace in the presence of His +Holiness which they took the first opportunity to violate. In 1540 the +war recommenced, and a number of dissolute young men of good family +formed themselves into organized companies of bandits and overran +the country, to the terror of the wretched peasantry and the utter ruin +of many hundreds of honest families. But in 1543 a second Joan of Arc +was raised up by Providence to deliver the Nicois in the person of the +still popular heroine, Catterina Segurana. Francis I. had recently +scandalized Christendom by allying himself with the famous Mohammedan +corsair, Barbarossa of Algiers with a view of reconquering Nice, which +he considered the key of Italy. Accordingly, one fine morning three +hundred vessels belonging to the Algerine pirate entered the neighboring +port of Villefranche, and presently the whole country was filled with a +horde of turbaned freebooters. Cimiez, Montboron, Mont Gros and a +hundred other villages and hamlets were soon alive with French marauders +and Turkish pirates, who presently proceeded to bombard the city itself. +The siege was short, but terrible, and the inhabitants were at the last +gasp when the energetic Catterina Segurana, a washer-woman by trade, and +surnamed _Mao faccia_ ("Ugly face"), on account of the homeliness of her +countenance, seized a hatchet, and, after a vigorous address to her +fellow-citizens, placed herself at their head and led them against the +enemy. The same result attended her efforts as did those of her +immediate prototype, the glorious Maid of Orleans. She so animated the +people, so roused their patriotism, that before the day was over the +French and infidels were conquered, and the bold and generous Catterina. +stood surrounded by her enthusiastic fellow-citizens, waving the +conquered Algerine flag, in token of victory, from the summit of the +castle hill, on the spot where formerly stood her statue.[001] + +From the time of the brave Catterina to our own, Nice has sustained at +least a dozen sieges of more or less severity. That of 1706 was perhaps +one of the most shocking on record. The city, by the treaty of Turin of +1696, had once more passed under the protectorate of the dukes of Savoy, +but the French, who have always had a longing eye for the "Department of +the Maritime Alps," as they even then called it, broke the treaty they +had themselves framed, and sent the duc de la Feuillade over the +frontier with twenty thousand men to conquer the country. Nice was then +governed by the marquis de Caraglio, who, although entreated by the +enemy to allow the women and children to leave the city's gates, +positively refused to do so. The consequence was that during the siege, +which lasted six months, more than a third of the inhabitants perished +from starvation. Men are said to have killed their wives for food, and +women their children. Sixty thousand shells fell in various parts of the +town, and the castle, cathedral and many churches were entirely +destroyed.[002] + +In 1792, under the First Republic, Nice was again occupied by the +French, and declared a _chef-lieu de departement_. By the treaty of 1814 +the place was handed over to the Piedmontese, and stayed contentedly +beneath the rule of the Sardinian kings until 1860, when, by the treaty +of March 24, Napoleon III. annexed the county of Nice and the duchy of +Savoy to his imperial possessions, in exchange for the services his army +had rendered Italy at Magenta and Solferino. How long Nice will continue +French is a question somewhat difficult to answer just now. There exists +in the city and province a very strong Italian party, and during the war +of 1870, Nice was declared in a state of siege, owing to the constant +and very serious demonstrations of a certain part of the population. One +of the leading inhabitants, a noted banker, even went so far as +to travel to Florence with the intention of proving to the Italian +government that whilst the French troops were concentrated in the north +those of Victor Emmanuel would find no difficulty in crossing the +frontier and uniting Nice to Italy. To the honor of the Italian +government, this treacherous suggestion was rejected, but in those days +the feeling between France and Italy was more cordial than it has since +been. The Italian party is so active in the city and the department that +the government has difficulty in keeping note of its proceedings. +Thousands of pamphlets are secretly circulated amongst the lower orders, +in which the advantages of the city's return to Italy are vividly +contrasted with the disadvantages it suffers from by remaining French. +The clergy, however, who are both numerous and influential, are French +to a man, and dread the hour which will see them governed by the "jailer +of Pius IX.," and consequently prove a very great assistance to the +authorities in counteracting the intrigues of the Italians. But should +ever, in future years, a war break out between either France and Italy, +or between France and Italy's new ally, Prussia, the _question de Nice_ +will be once more on the _tapis_, and victory alone will preserve this +magnificent possession to its present owners. + +Nice may well boast herself a rival in point of splendor of natural +position of the most famous cities of the South--of Lisbon, Genoa, +Naples and Constantinople--and she eclipses them in point of climate. +Built at the eastern extremity of a fine gulf--that of Les Anges--and +backed by an amphitheatre of hills and lofty mountains, she is sheltered +from cold winds in winter, and in summer the Alpine breezes temper an +atmosphere which would else be unendurably sultry, owing to the +prevalence of the sirocco, a hot wind which passes directly hither over +the Mediterranean from the burning shores of Africa. One can scarcely +imagine a more glorious panorama than that of this city and its environs +as seen from the sea or from any neighboring elevation. Let us suppose +it a fine morning late in spring, and that we stand upon the deck of a +yacht about a mile and a half distant from the shore. Nice, we see, +surrounds a steep and rugged rock which rises almost perpendicularly +from the Mediterranean to the height of about six hundred feet, and is +crested by the ruins of the ancient castle, and covered with terraced +gardens forming a delicious promenade. Groves of cypresses and sycamores +hang on the declivities of this rock, which in places is rough with +cactuses and aloes and with the Indian fig, whose bright orange flowers, +when the sun's rays fall on them, have a magic splendor of color. A +group of palm trees at the extremest elevation, standing out on a high +crag, add not a little to the picturesque appearance of this singular +urban hill. On one side of this rock the rapid torrent Paillon, +traversed by several handsome bridges, some of them adorned with +statues, separates the "old" from the "new" town. On the other is the +port, filled with steamers and innumerable fishing-craft. Beyond the +port stretches the Boulevard de l'Imperatrice, inaugurated a few years +since by the late empress of Russia, with its fine villas, notably the +splendid Venetian Palace, an exact reproduction of the celebrated +Moncenigo Palace at Venice, belonging to Viscount Vigier, whose wife was +once a popular idol of the musical world of Paris and London--Sophie +Cruvelli--and the extraordinary Moresque-looking castle of Mr. Smith, +which is well called the _Folie d'un Anglais_--the "craze of an +Englishman." The latter stands on the end of a promontory, and with its +lofty towers and domes closes in the view. It is perhaps the most +curious residence in the world, being built on a barren rock, and its +apartments literally hewn out of the marble of which it is composed. On +the top of the hill is a long building, with two curious twin towers and +a dome, built of red brick faced with white marble. Here is situated the +chief entrance. You descend from the spacious entry-hall a long well +staircase cut in the rock and lighted from above, until you reach a +superb octagonal chamber of white marble ornamented with +statues and Oriental divans covered with Persian silk. This is the great +saloon, and leading out of it are other fine chambers, all of them lined +with polished marble and furnished with Eastern magnificence. +Externally, there is no trace of these chambers visible. They are, as I +have said, excavated, like Egyptian tombs, in the heart of the mountain. +The proprietor, an eccentric English bachelor, never inhabits this +fantastic mansion, but lives in a second-rate hotel, spending thousands +annually in adding embellishments to his astonishing castle, where, +notwithstanding its magnificent suites of apartments, no human being has +ever slept a night or eaten a meal. + +"Smith's Craze," as I have said, closes in the view to our right. To the +left, beyond the torrent Paillon, is situated modern Nice, with its +quays, leviathan hotels, and an almost interminable line of villas +marking the celebrated Promenade des Anglais. The background of the +scene is filled up by a semicircle of well-wooded hills, verdant with +vines, fig, orange, olive and pomegranate trees, and sparkling with +white country-seats, convents, and campanili. Towering over these hills +appears another range, of rocky and bold outlines, and then another, of +lofty mountains whose peaks lose themselves in clouds, and by their +fantastic figures form as delightful an horizon as the eye can behold. +In the centre rises the conical peak of Monte Cao, an extinct volcano, +exactly resembling Vesuvius in conformation, and only wanting a curl of +smoke issuing from its crater to make the illusion perfect. Alongside of +Monte Cao is another extinct volcano, on which are seen the ruins of the +ancient and deserted village of Chateauneuf, while between the two +summits (thirty-five hundred feet high) are distinctly visible the peaks +of some of the ever-snowy Alps. The foreground of the picture is formed +by the deep indigo waters of the Mediterranean, diversified by a hundred +sunny sails, and overhead hangs the cloudless Italian sky. + +Let us now put back to port and walk through the city, visiting first +Old Nice, then the modern Pompeii, as Alphonse Karr pleasantly calls +the new town. Old Nice resembles Genoa on a small scale, and has very +narrow streets of lofty (and in some cases really fine) houses, no end +of churches, gloomy-looking convents, and one or two palaces. In the +narrow streets surrounding the cathedral--a large and showy building, +formerly a parish church--is a market supplied with native +fruits--oranges, lemons, grapes, figs, and many varieties of melons and +nuts. The streets, which are in places so narrow that you can almost +stretch your arms across them, are full of bright-looking shops, with +all their varied goods displayed at the open, unglazed windows. Here and +there one comes across remains of ancient times of considerable +interest. Thus, in the Rue Droite is an old house, with a series of +quaint little arches and a curious Gothic gateway, which was formerly +part of the palace inhabited by Joanna II. of Naples. Near the church of +St. Jacques is another old residence, with an odd decoration on its +front in the shape of colossal figures of Adam and Eve, executed in +alto-rilievo, which have their feet on either side of the doorway and +their heads above the fifth story. The tree of knowledge, over-laden +with its dangerous fruit, flourishes between the windows of what was +once the saloon, and is now a manufactory of maccaroni. In the Rue du +Centre is the quondam palace of the Lascaris family, an old Italian +mansion, with marble balconies, wide, majestic staircases adorned with +Corinthian columns, and vast apartments frescoed by Carlone, a reputable +Genoese painter of mythological subjects. Carlone's gods and goddesses +look down no longer on the members of the House of Lascaris, who once +ruled over Tenda, and were the lineal descendants of the imperial +Byzantine house of Del Comneno, but on those of an amiable Nicois +family, who most willingly show the old palace to any stranger who may +choose to knock at their door. + +Some years ago a Turinese lawyer, looking over his father's private +papers, discovered that he was the legitimate heir to the Lascaris +titles and estates, which had been left unreclaimed for many +centuries. This gentleman, on proving his claim, assumed the grandiose +title of Prince Lascaris del Comneno, grand duke of Macedonia. His glory +was short-lived. His wife went to Rome and obtained a full recognition +of her rights from the Holy Father and admission into the first circles +of Roman society, but was subsequently expelled from the city for +plotting against the papal government; but she returned with the +Piedmontese occupation in 1870, only, however, to get into a still worse +pickle by exposing herself to the charge of defrauding Flaminio Spada's +bank of a large sum of money. During the trial she _mizzled_, and has +not, I believe, been heard of since. This lady is the famous "Princess +Mopsa" about whose adventures the Roman papers have entertained their +readers considerably during the last year or so. + +The churches are usually in the Italian style, having heavy facades, +plain brick sides and queer but rather picturesque bell-towers. +Internally, they are gaudy and tasteless, the altars ornamented on high +days and holidays with innumerable wax candles, festoons of red, white +and blue drapery, and huge pyramids of paper roses with gold foliage. +Ecclesiastical affairs are presided over by Monsignor Pietro Sola, a +charming old bishop, who is the essence of kindliness and charity. He +was formerly one of the spiritual directors of Queen Adelaide of +Austria, the late wife of Victor Emmanuel. The number of priests, monks +and nuns is very considerable. There is a very large Franciscan +monastery up at Cimiez on the hill, and a rambling old Capuchin convent +at St. Bartolome. The Nice Capuchins are a splendid body of men, and a +goodly sight to see marching in a procession with their +chocolate-colored hooded robes and long, flowing beards. Their present +prior is a marquis Raggi of Genoa, a man of high family and rank, who +some years since abandoned a world he had known only too well, gave all +his fortune to the poor, and turned monk. + +There is a street in the old part of Nice which is perfectly unique. It +is nearly a mile and a half long, runs parallel with the sea, and +consists of a double row of low, one-storied houses having a paved +terrace on their roofs, to which you ascend by several handsome +staircases. The terrace forms a very popular promenade of an evening, +and from it are enjoyed lovely views of the bay and mountains. Between +these two rows of houses is the fish-market, where are frequently seen +displayed monsters like Victor Hugo's famous _pieuve_ sprawling out +their dozen glutinous legs fringed with eyes and deadly weapons in +almost supernatural hideousness, to the admiration of a group of English +or American tourists. Hard by the fish-market is the Corso, a shady +promenade round which the gala carriages drive in Carnival time, while +the masked inmates pelt and get pelted in turn with comfits made of +painted clay. The Corso is also the scene of numerous religious +processions, some of which are quaint and picturesque. There are a +number of ancient confraternities established amongst the trades-people +of Nice, who wear costumes of, red, white, black and blue serge, +according to the guild they belong to. This sack-like garment covers +them from head to foot, face and all, there being only two eyeholes slit +in the mask to permit the wearer to see out. These brotherhoods attend +the sick, bury the dead and take care of the widows and orphans, and in +Holy Week make the narrow streets of the old city delightful to the +artistic eye by the bright mass of their vivid-colored raiment, the +flickering of their tapers, and the gigantic crucifixes of gold and +silver they carry in procession from church to church. Every morning +there is a market held on the Corso of fruits, vegetables and flowers. +Such magnificent baskets of camellias, japonicas and roses, such +nosegays of violets and orange-blossoms, can be seen, I fancy, nowhere +but at Nice. Here also the peasant-women sometimes bring immense pots of +Peruvian aloes for sale, whose snowy blossoms are scented like those of +the magnolia, and rise in gigantic pyramids of magnificent cup-shaped +flowers. They are plants to salute respectfully as you pass by +them, such is their size and dignity. In Holy Week women are to be seen +all over the old town selling plaited palm branches of a pale +straw-color, some of which are bedecked with little bows of ribbon or +stars of tinsel, used in the ceremonies of Palm Sunday. The +peasant-girls who come to market at Nice are rather handsome, but as +dark as Nubians, with almond-shaped eyes and long, coarse black hair, +which they wear plaited into tails bound round the head with broad +velvet ribbons, like a coronet. On the top of this headgear they sport a +wide-brimmed straw hat of peculiar shape, ornamented with little black +crosses made of narrow velvet. In Princess Marie Lichtenstein's _Holland +House_ there is a portrait of Lady Augusta Holland wearing one of these +Nice hats. + +But it is time for us to cross the bridges and pay our respects to Nice +the "new." When I first visited Nice in 1856 at least two-thirds of this +part of the city were not in existence. There were no splendid +railway-stations then; only one or two, instead of twenty, monster +hotels; the Promenade des Anglais only extended about a mile along the +shore, instead of four; and there were but one quay and two bridges. Now +superb quays line the river on either side, and there are six bridges, +and Heaven only knows how many churches for the accommodation of all the +denominations imaginable and unimaginable, from Pere Lavigne's very +beautiful and very orthodox church, in which Monsignor Capel has +preached in Lent, down to Leon Pilate's, where collections are made for +the evangelical missions presided over by Mrs. Gould and W.C. Van Metre. +There is a Greek church of exceeding beauty, the altar-screen of which +was sent from Moscow as a present from the czar; and an Episcopal +church, surrounded by a beautiful cemetery, where sleeps the philosophic +Bussy d'Anglas, with many others whose names are well known. The real +Nicois almost all dwell in Old Nice, leaving the new city to the foreign +colony. Indeed, the natives are rarely if ever seen, except in the +street. They keep to their old quiet way of living, and, beyond letting +their houses and selling their goods, appear to be utterly unconscious +even of the existence of the strangers on the other side of Paillon. +Many of the Nice families are titled and wealthy, but with the exception +of that of the count de Cessoles, it is very rare to meet the Nicois in +society. Mademoiselle Mathilde de Cessoles is the reigning belle, and +deserves the honor. She is a superb-looking woman, with a head and +countenance worthy of a regal diadem. Her features resemble those of the +House of Bourbon, her complexion is admirable, and she has a certain +good-natured, indolent, sultana way of moving which is perfectly +charming. Cupid alone knows how many have sighed for her hand since her +long reign as a queen of society began, but none have as yet been +favored with a kinder glance than that of friendship. Scottish dukes, +Roman princes and American officers have wooed, but never won: la belle +Mathilde still walks the orange groves of her villa, "in virgin +meditation, fancy free." + +"But it waxes late--'tis near three o'clock:" let us hasten past the +casinos, cafes, reading-rooms, Turkish baths and American drinking-bars +which flourish on the quays, and make our way to the Promenade des +Anglais, by this time alive with fashionables. The "Promenade," as I +have said, is nearly four miles long, and faces the sea. It is very +broad, and has on one side a row of villas and hotels--on the other a +walk shaded by oleanders and palm trees, through the openings of which +are obtained magnificent views of the Mediterranean. Some of these +villas are remarkably beautiful, especially that of the Princes Stirby, +the former sovereigns of Wallachia, which is surrounded with exquisite +gardens abounding with noble camellia trees, some of which produce as +many as fifteen hundred flowers. The Villa de Dempierre is very pretty, +and is the property of the countess of that name, who is a most +noteworthy person. Madame de Dempierre belongs to one of the most +ancient and wealthy families of France. She was once a great +beauty, and is still a brilliant wit and charming artist. Some years ago +she visited the empress of Russia, then residing at Nice, where she +died. Her Imperial Majesty, who was noted for her habit of making +personal remarks, said bluntly, "Madame la comtesse, how beautiful you +must have been!" "Majesty," answered the _spirituelle_ Madame de +Dempierre, "you were complaining of the nearness of your sight: since +you can distinguish my beauty through the vista of so many years, I +think you enjoy long-sightedness in a remarkable degree." The empress +wrinkled her nose, and presently observed: "I think, countess, I +remember to have seen your husband, General de Dempierre, in Russia." +"Doubtless Your Majesty did so: he was the first Frenchman that entered +the Kremlin." The czarina was silent: the fall of Moscow was not a +pleasant subject of conversation to the wife of Nicholas. The Villa de +Diesbach comes next, the winter residence of the historical family of +that name, into which married a few years since a tall, gazelle-eyed +American belle, Miss Meta McCall. Then follows the pretty Villa +Bouxhoevden, the property of a Corlandese count of a very noble house, +whose wife hails from New Jersey. The countess is much the fashion, and +her hospitable house is a rendezvous of the elite of the foreign and +American colony. She is a tall, graceful woman, with a pale and +interesting countenance, shadowed with clusters of light-brown curls, +which reminds one of Vandyke's portraits of Queen Henrietta Maria--a +likeness somewhat increased by costumes admirably suited to her +style--long flowing robes of rich silk trimmed with ermine and costly +lace. Then there is Mrs. Williams's garden, with Indian creepers and +gaudy Eastern plants, sent to her by her gallant son, the Crimean hero, +from the slopes of the Himalayas. Here on a Sunday gathers a pleasant +circle to drink five-o'clock tea and listen to the bright remarks of +Madame de la Caume, the daughter of the hostess, who knows more about +French politics than many a deputy at Versailles. But whilst we have +been looking in at villa-gardens the Promenade has filled up rapidly. A +continuous stream of carriages occupies the centre of the road, a throng +of gay folks animate with their showiest toilets the oleander walk and +the Jardin Publique, where a tolerable band plays for two or three hours +thrice a week. The marble stairs of the Casino are crowded with +loungers, and the windows and balconies of every villa are filled with +well-dressed men and women. Nowhere, perhaps, excepting in Rotten Row or +the Bois de Boulogne, can so many celebrated and beautiful women and +handsome or famous men be seen parading up and down together as on the +Promenade des Anglais of a fine afternoon in the season. Here gathers +the _creme de la creme_ of two worlds, the Old and the New, Europe and +America. In the winter of 1870 the town was crowded to excess. Never +before were there so many notabilities assembled at Nice--never was +there so much gossip, so much _cancan_ and small talk. It was amusing to +sit in the shade of a palm tree on the promenade and review the +_personae_ of this Vanity Fair. Frederick Charles of Prussia and his +princess in a landau, with two Nubians on the box; the crown-princess +Victoria of England and her sister of Hesse-Darmstadt, on a trip from +Cannes, where they were then visiting; Her Grace of Newcastle; De +Villemessant of the _Figaro_, in an invalid's chair, the most +accomplished of _causeurs_; Count Montalivet, the former minister of +Louis Philippe, and by him, for a few days at the full of the season, a +little old gentleman with a squeaky voice, M. Adolphe Thiers. Next comes +a group of ladies, the three daughters of the Hispano-Mexican duchess De +Fernan-Nunez; all three looking exactly alike, tall and dark; all three +of a height; all three invariably dressed in black, with lofty Tyrolese +hats and cocks' feathers; all three unmarried; all three marriageable, +and worth Croesus only knows how many millions; all three invariably +alone--a fact which made old Madame Colaredo scream out of her window +one day, "_Tiens! voila les trois cent (sans) gardes_!" Then follow +Lord Rokeby, the most affable of lordships; Lord Portarlington; +General Sir William Williams of Kars; Princess Kantacuzene, the last +descendant of the imperial Byzantine house of that name; the ideally +lovely Miss Amy Shaw of Boston; the three pretty Miss Warrens of New +York; Madame Gavini de Campile, the wife of the prefect, a fine-looking +dame gloriously arrayed in showy robes, whom half the society adored and +the rest cordially hated; the duke de Mouchy, who married Anna Murat; +the duke de Perigord-Talleyrand, who married an American; the duke de la +Conquista, who derives his title from the conquest of Peru; the lovely +countess Del Borgo; and the famous Italian beauty, Madame Bellotti, a +Milanese lady, whose maiden name was Visconti, of that semi-royal house. +Theresa Bellotti's beauty is of a grand style seen nowhere out of Italy. +Picture her to yourself as I once saw her at a masquerade at the +prefecture. Round her superb figure swept an ample robe of crimson +velvet looped up with bands of gold. Her bare arms, models worthy of the +chisel of Canova, gleamed from the rich sables which lined the hanging +sleeves of her dress. Her hair, dark as night, was gathered up in the +high fashion Sir Joshua Reynolds loved to depict. A half-moon of +enormous diamonds fastened a plume over her left temple, and her neck +and fingers flashed back the colors of the rainbow from a thousand gems. +As to her face, it was radiant. Rich color flushed her cheeks, her eyes +sparkled with animation when she spoke; but at times, when her features +resumed a calm after conversation, she resembled the portraits of some +of the famous Italian women of the Renaissance--her own ancestress, for +instance, Bianca Visconti, duchess of Milan, or Veronica Cibo, or +Lucrezia Petroni, whose daughter was the ill-fated Beatrice Cenci. And +now come by the fascinating Mrs. Lloyd, whom all the world knows and +likes; grand-looking Mrs. Senator Grymes of Louisiana, a witty, +brilliant old lady, whose salon is one of the most elegant in Nice; +Baron Haussmann, and with him his colossal daughter, Madame de Perneti, +the handsomest of giantesses, who was once asked to join in private +theatricals, but when the stage was built up in her friend's +drawing-room, being about five feet from the level of the rest of the +chamber, it was discovered that _la belle Caryatide_, as her friends +call her, could not act on it, for the simple reason that she was a full +head taller than the scenery; clever Madame de Skariatine, the daughter +of the famous Count Schouvalof (the "Shoveloff" of our times), who, +after being Russian ambassador half over Europe, turned Barnabite monk +at Rome; Lady Dalling and Bulwer, the great duke of Wellington's niece, +and now the widow of one of England's most illustrious statesmen; +hospitable Marquise de St. Agnan, and her pretty daughter, Mademoiselle +Henriette; and Princess Souvarow, _ci-devant_ widow Apraxine, _ci-devant_ +widow Kisselof, the most fascinating of Russian princesses, and one of +the greatest of female gamblers, who one night broke the bank at Monte +Carlo for two hundred and fifty thousand francs, and lost them the next. +On the opposite side of the way, screening herself from observation, +demurely clad in sober-colored attire, Madame Volnis passes along from +some mission of charity. This lady was once one of the most popular +actresses on the French stage, and with Mademoiselle Mars and Rose Cheri +was the idol of Paris--Leontine Fay. She was, if possible, a still +greater favorite in St. Petersburg, where, on her retirement from the +stage, she became French reader to the late czarina. Since the death of +the empress she has always resided at Nice, where she is distinguished +for her exalted piety and extreme charity. Even when on the stage this +lady devoted her leisure to charitable works. She was always remarked +for her modesty of manner: her dress was simplicity itself. At the +theatre she wore costumes rich and elegant, suited to the parts she +enacted, but in society she invariably appeared in plain white muslin or +dark silk. It would be impossible to exaggerate her goodness. Her whole +life has been passed amongst the poor, in the minute fulfillment +of her duties, and on her knees in church. After acting one part of +the evening, she would hasten, on the fall of the curtain, to pass the +rest of it watching by the bedside of some poor wretch stricken low +perhaps by some infectious disease. During the war of 1870, Madame +Volnis's conduct was angelical. If there was some awful operation to be +performed upon any of the wounded soldiers sent to Nice from the field +of battle, it was she who was present, who held the sufferer's hand, and +who consoled and cheered with the tenderness of a Sister of Charity--of +a mother. + +As the austere figure of Leontine Fay passes away, hidden in a cloud of +sunny dust raised by the wheels of a hundred carriages, another form +comes upon the stage, radiant amongst the most brilliant, the observed +of all observers--Madame Rattazzi, _nee_ Princess Bonaparte Wyse. What a +wonderful toilette is hers! One fine afternoon she appeared upon the +Promenade clad in a purple velvet robe, edged and flounced with +canary-colored satin, looped up voluminously _en panier_, and adorned +with big bows of yellow ribbon. Her hat was a broad-brimmed Leghorn +straw trimmed with large bunches of pansies. No one but Madame Rattazzi +could have worn such an attire in the public streets without the risk of +being hooted, but such are the grace and beauty of this celebrated woman +that her costume seemed in perfect keeping. She was in Nice one winter +for at least five months, and every day saw her out in a fresh dress. +When she travels she has more boxes than Madame Ristori. She dwelt on +the Promenade, over the dowager of Colaredo, who had a special spite +against her; in consequence of which she invariably illuminated her +windows, when she had company, with the Italian colors, red, white and +green, to the supreme disgust of the old Ultramontane countess. Her +apartment was elegantly furnished, and adorned with beautiful vases of +mignonette and plants of moss-roses. When she received of an evening the +chambers were agreeably lighted up with many pale and subdued lamps. Her +tables were always covered with new books, magazines and several copies +of her own poems and novels, including an exceedingly clever story, +_Louise Keller_, which she had just finished. On the walls hung pictures +in oil and water-colors of her own execution; on the piano were +scattered, together with much classical music, some hymns, polkas and +ballads of her composition. One night she acted in a comedy of her own +writing, and her rendering of the part of the heroine, a witty and +intriguing widow, was inimitable. Many severe critics have declared that +Madame Rattazzi is, as an actress, a worthy rival of Fargeuil or +Madeleine Brohan. Her manners are very fascinating--a little bit too +natural to be quite French, and a little too ceremonious to be quite +Italian. She would have proved an invaluable acquisition at the downfall +of the tower of Babel, for she is mistress of I dare not say how many +languages. As a rule, women hate her, and men do just the contrary. This +is not to be wondered at, for she is very beautiful even now. Her face +has the chiseled cameo features of her uncle, Napoleon I.; her eyes are +deep violet, fringed with long sweeping lashes; her mouth is perfectly +exquisite, and on either side of it two pretty dimples appear whenever +she smiles. So many enemies has she amongst her own sex that to avenge +herself for the affronts they constantly offer her she published a +magazine in Florence called the _Matinees Italiennes_, for the purpose +of showing up her female antagonists. Here is a sample: "At Nice a grand +ball; Madame la Viscomtesse de B---- _en grande toilette_, looking for +all the world like a big Nuremberg doll, with her black hair dyed an +impossible straw-color, and appearing at least five years younger than +she did when I first saw her make her _debut_ in society five-and-twenty +years ago; and she was then a gushing maiden of twenty-one." By and by +comes the hour of vengeance. Madame Rattazzi gives a ball, and not a +woman will go to it. In 1870 she gave one at the Grand Hotel, to which +half the town was invited. There arrived at the festal scene +about five hundred men and just thirty-two women. It was funny enough. +The thirty-two women besported themselves with thirty-two partners in +the centre of the hall to the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, +psaltery, and all kinds of musical instruments, whilst the rest of the +men stood round the hall five deep, like a deep dark fringe on a Turkish +carpet. Madame Rattazzi, however, achieved a great triumph against all +odds. By dint of grace, charm of manners and tact she put all her guests +in the best humor. The "thirty-two" had a fine time of it, and danced to +their hearts' content. The five hundred men were introduced and grouped +and wined and punched until every man there swore that earth did not +hold a fairer or more genial hostess. Madame Rattazzi was "supported," +as the phrase goes, on this memorable occasion by Madame la Princesse, +her mother, a rather formidable-looking dowager, a daughter of Lucian +Bonaparte, and widow of Sir Thomas Wyse, once British consul at Athens. +Her Imperial Highness Princess Letitia must have been a wonderful beauty +in her youth--a stately grand being who one could easily imagine might +have resembled the Roman Agrippina or empress Livia. Once the barrier of +her stately manners overcome, she proved to be a talkative, affable +woman of the world, with a huge experience thereof. I can see her now, +dressed in a scarlet satin robe and glittering with jewels. She wore a +headdress of diamonds with two long ostrich feathers in it, one of +which, a white one, got out of its place and stood bolt upright, as if +it was frightened, until some charitable hand laid it down. This was, I +fancy, the last ball Princess Letitia ever graced, for she died a very +little while afterward. Poor Rattazzi was there too. He was not a +striking-looking man, but agreeable and excessively polite. He rarely +talked politics--I rather suspect from the fear of compromising +himself--but his conversation was was pleasant and varied. After his +death Madame Rattazzi removed to Monaco, where she busied herself with +editing his letters and memoirs--a task which, it appears, the Italian +government would be delighted that she should spare herself, as his +papers are said to be very full of compromising matter relative to the +Mentana expedition. A large sum of money was offered her to relinquish +her hold on these documents, but she answered by a letter published in +the Italian papers that they were left to her as a sacred trust, and +that she felt herself in duty bound to make their contents public, in +order to justify her husband's memory. As a curious proof of her +political sagacity--unless it is to be considered a mere coincidence--I +may mention that in January, 1870, she came to a masked ball at the +Casino dressed as Mars, in a short skirt of red satin, a cuirass of +gold, on her head a helmet, in one hand a spear, and in the other a +shield, and on it was written "Roma." Did Madame Rattazzi foresee that +by September of the same year there would be a war, and that as one of +its results Rome would so soon become the capital of that Italy which +her husband had helped to build up?[003] + +From this somewhat rambling sketch the reader will readily understand +that Nice is one of the great centres of society in Europe, and indeed +in late years it is rather, as a place of gay reunion that it is +frequented than as a resort for invalids. Since the foundation of +quieter colonies at Mentone and San Remo, Nice has somewhat lost its +reputation as a sanitarium, for it is rather difficult, especially for +young people, to resist the temptation of its innumerable balls and +round of gayeties; and these are not considered conducive to the +preservation of health even amongst the healthiest. The medical men, +therefore, recommend places along the neighboring coast which enjoy +the same or even greater advantages of climate. That of Nice, after +all that has been written about it, still seems to me one of the finest +in the world. The air is exquisitely pure and clear, and has proved +beneficial in many hundreds of cases of incipient consumption. But the +fatal error is often made of sending hither patients in whom the disease +has made considerable progress. In such cases the irritating air hastens +death. I have known people brought here in the second and last stages of +consumption, who have been carried off in a fortnight after their +arrival, and who might have lingered on for years elsewhere. The patient +who finds himself benefited should remain at Nice for at least three or +four years, only varying the air in summer by a visit to some of the +many pleasant places in the neighboring mountains, where the atmosphere +is pure, cool and wholesome. Perhaps, it is owing in part to the +brightness of the sunshine and the beauty of the scenery that soon after +his arrival the health of the invalid often revives as if by +enchantment. Alphonse Karr, a resident of many years, who knows every +nook and corner of the place, and who has cultivated a garden in its +environs as celebrated throughout the world as his own sparkling pen, +says well: "Who is there so downhearted as to resist the glorious heat +of the sun, the beauty of that deepest of blue seas, the loveliness of +the varied trees, the tropical vegetation, the scent of the +orange-flowers, the music of the brooks, the sight of the ever-changing +hues of the mountains of _Nizza la bella_?" + + R. DAVEY. + + + + +THE RASKOL, AND SECTS IN RUSSIA. + +FROM THE FRENCH OF ANATOLE LEROY-BEAULIEU. + + + + +I.--ORIGIN OF THE RASKOL. + + +For more than two centuries Russian orthodoxy has been undermined by +obscure sects, unknown to foreigners, and little known to Russians +themselves. Beneath the imposing pile of the official Church have been +hollowed out vast underground burrows and a labyrinth of gloomy crypts, +which form a retreat for the popular beliefs and superstitions. We +propose to descend into these catacombs of ignorance and fanaticism. We +shall attempt to map them out, to explore their remotest nooks, and to +lay hold in this, their hiding-place, of the character and aspirations +of the people. Nothing could yield better means of acquaintance with the +genius of the nation and the groundwork of Russian society. The +_Raskol_, with its thousand sects, is perhaps the most original +feature of Russia, and what most sharply distinguishes it from Western +Europe. + +Like rivers colored by the soil through which they flow, religions often +change their characteristics according to the nations who practice them. +The Raskol is Byzantine Christianity issuing from the Russian lower +classes. In the thick and muddy waters of Muscovite sectarianism we can +distinguish foreign admixtures, sometimes Protestant, sometimes Jewish, +or even Mohammedan, more frequently Gnostic or pagan. The Raskol, +nevertheless, remains wholly different, in principle and in tendency, +from all the religions and religious movements of the world: it is +original and national from the foundation up. So thoroughly Russian is +it that outside of its native country it has never made a proselyte, and +even within the empire has hardly any adherents excepting among the +people of "Greater Russia," the most thoroughly national of all. So +spontaneous has been its growth that in all its phases it is its own +best interpreter, and if confined to an isolated continent, its +development would have been the same. The Raskol is the most national of +all the religious movements to which Christianity has given birth, and +at the same time the most exclusively popular. It took its rise, not in +the schools, nor in the monasteries, but in the mujik's hovel and in the +shop; and it has never spread beyond its birthplace. Hence, the student +of politics and the philosopher take a keener interest in ignorant +heresies than is to be found in their doctrines alone. These sects of +lately-liberated peasants claim an attention by no means due to their +meagre theology, from their being the symptom of a mental condition and +a social state for even a distant approach to which all Western Europe +would be scoured in vain. + +The Raskol (schism) is neither a sect nor a group of sects. It is, +rather, an aggregate of doctrines and heresies, which are often +divergent or even contradictory, with no other tie than a common +starting-point and a common hostility to the official orthodox Church. +In this respect the Raskol is more nearly analogous to Protestantism +than to anything else. It is inferior to Protestantism in the numbers +and education of its adherents, but it almost equals it as regards the +variety and originality of its developments. Further the likeness cannot +be fairly said to go. In the midst of their unfilial revolt, German +Protestantism and the Russian Raskol preserve alike the signs of their +origin, the stamp (so to speak) of the Church whence they have issued, +as well as of the widely-differing states of society which gave them +birth. In Western Europe love of speculation and a critical spirit gave +rise to the larger part of modern sects, while in Russia they are the +offspring of reverence and unenlightened obstinacy. In the West, the +predominance of feeling over the value attached to the externals of +religion has been the cause of religious divisions, whereas the same +result has been produced in Russia by an extraordinary reverence for +external forms for ritual and ceremonial. The two movements thus seem to +be in absolutely opposite directions, but they have nevertheless +terminated at the same point. In other words, the Raskol, when once +freed from the authority which maintained the unity of the faith, was as +powerless as Protestantism to establish any authority within itself. It +has in consequence become a prey to the same license of opinion, to the +same individualism, and, finally, to the same anarchy. + +Few religious revolutions have involved results so, complex as the +Raskol, yet few have been simpler in their inception. The countless +sects which for two centuries have had their being among the Russian +people took their rise, in general, from the revision of the liturgy. +One stock produced them nearly all: only a few sects (though these, by +the way, are by no means the least curious) date from an earlier time or +have another origin than this liturgic reform. The Middle Ages in +Russia, as elsewhere, were marked by the rise of heresies. Of these the +oldest may have arisen before the Mongol conquest, from contact with +Greeks or Slaves, particularly with the Bulgarian Bogomiles, the +ancestors or Oriental brethren of the Albigenses. Other heresies sprang +up later in the North, in the Novgorod region, from intercourse with +Jewish or other Western traders. Of most of these the name alone +remains: such are the _Martinovtsy_, the _Strigolniki_, the +Judaizers, and so on. All these sects were dying away when the Raskol +broke out; and it absorbed all the vague, embryonic beliefs floating in +the popular mind. Some of these antique heresies--the Strigolniki, for +instance--after having disappeared from history, seem to have come to +light again in the shape of certain sects of our own days; and one might +fancy that they had been for centuries running on in an underground +channel. + +In the dim disputes of mediaeval times, however, one may make out with +some clearness the fundamental principle of the Raskol: it is a +scrupulous veneration for the letter--formalism, in a word. "In such a +year," says a Novgorod chronicler of the fifteenth century, "certain +philosophers began to chant, '_O_ Lord, have mercy upon us!' while +others said, '_Lord_, have mercy upon us!'"[004] In this remark the +whole Raskol stands revealed. Controversies like these begat the schism +which has rent the Russian Church asunder. Religious invocations have +for this people the nature of magical formulae, the slightest change in +which destroys their efficacy. The Russian clings to the heathen +feeling, though he hides it under a Christian veil. He believes in the +power of particular words and gestures. He still seems to regard his +priest as a kind of _chaman_, religious ceremonies as enchantments, +and religion in general as witchcraft. A fondness for rites +(_obriad_) is indeed one of the characteristics of the inhabitant +of Greater Russia. The way in which Russia was converted to Christianity +has much to do with this. The mass of the people became Christians at +the bidding of others, and with no sufficient preparatory instruction, +without even having passed through all the stages of that polytheistic +evolution from which other nations of Europe had emerged before their +adoption of Christianity. The religion of the gospel was, in its highest +statement, too far advanced for the mental and social condition of the +people; and so it was corrupted, or rather reduced to external forms. +Russia adopted merely the outside of Christianity; and there, even more +strictly than in the West, it is true that the peasant was still a +heathen. Other nations have adopted the outside of a religion, and have +afterward absorbed its spirit: from its geographical and historical +remoteness such an absorption was hard for Russia to achieve. It was +separated from the centres of the Christian world by distance and by +Mongol rule: its religion, like everything else, was debased by poverty +and ignorance. Theology, properly speaking, utterly vanished, and its +place was taken by ceremonial, which thus became the whole of religion. +Amidst the general degradation a knowledge of the words and rites of +public worship was all that could be exacted of a clergy which did not +always know how to read. + +The changes which had taken place in the traditional texts and ritual +have little solid ground for the popular devotion entertained for them. +The liturgy was corrupted by the superstitious veneration paid it by the +ignorant. False readings had crept into the books which contained the +various local "uses," to borrow a term from the Anglican terminology. +Liturgical unity had imperceptibly disappeared amidst various readings +and discordant ceremonies. In course of transcription absurdities had +slipped into the missals, along with grotesque additions and arbitrary +intercalations, while the new readings were received with the respect +due to antiquity, and these sometimes unintelligible passages acquired a +sanctity in direct proportion to their obscurity. The devout mind found +in them mysteries and occult meanings. On such perverted texts were +erected theories and systems which pious fraud from time to time +expanded into treatises attributed to the Fathers of the Church. So wild +was the confusion, and so palpable the alterations, that early in the +sixteenth century Vassili IV., a Russian prince, summoned a Greek monk +for the purpose of revising the liturgical books. But the blind +veneration of the clergy and people rendered this attempt abortive. The +reviser, Maximus, was condemned by a council, and confined on a charge +of heresy in a distant monastery. The crisis was superinduced by the +introduction of the press. Here, as elsewhere, the new discovery brought +with it a taste for the study and revision of texts, and ultimately +violent theological contests. The missals which issued from the Russian +presses of the sixteenth century at first only aggravated the evils for +which they should have afforded a remedy. The errors of the manuscripts +from which they were printed received from these missals the authority +and circulation of type. The copyists had introduced countless +variations, but these acquired a fresh unity and unanimity from the very +fact of their publication in such a form. + +The Slavonic liturgy of Russia seemed in a state of hopeless corruption +when, toward the middle of the seventeenth century, the patriarch Nikon +determined upon a measure of reform. In addition to a degree of +cultivation unusual in his age and country, and an enterprising and +determined character, he possessed what was specially required for such +a step: he had learning, firmness and power, for through his influence +over Alexis, the czar, he ruled the State almost as thoroughly as he +ruled the Church. In Russia, as it was before Peter the Great, a task so +completely dependent on learning was indeed a bold undertaking. By order +of the patriarch ancient Greek and Slavonic manuscripts were gathered +from all quarters, and monks were summoned from Byzantium and from the +learned community of Athos to collate the Slavic versions with their +Greek originals. The interpolations due to the ignorance or whims of +copyists were remorselessly stricken out, and into the ritual, thus +purified, was introduced the pomp customary at the court of Byzantium. +The new missals were printed and adopted by a council (through the +patriarch's influence), and finally imposed, with all the authority of +the state government, on every Russian province. "A sore trembling laid +hold upon me," says a copyist of the sixteenth century, "and I was +affrighted when the reverend Maximus the Greek bade me blot out certain +lines from one of our Church books." Not less was the scandal under +Peter the Great. The man who laid hands on the sacred books was +everywhere held guilty of sacrilege. Whether from a knowledge of the +propriety of the measure, or from the spirit of ecclesiastical fidelity, +the higher clergy upheld the patriarch, but their inferiors and the +common people made a determined fight. And even now, after the lapse of +more than two centuries, a large body adhere immovably to the ancient +books and the ancient ritual, which are made sacred to them by the +approbation of national councils and the blessing of generations of +patriarchs. Such was the inception of the schism, the Raskol, which +still divides the Russian Church. Tracing the matter back to its source, +the contest is seen to turn upon the knotty question of the transmission +and the translation of the sacred texts, which has more than once +divided the churches of the West. In Russia no one was competent to form +a proper judgment of the essence of the dispute, and it was thus +rendered only more lasting and bitter. Monks, deacons, plain sextons, +denounced the innovations as novelties borrowed from Rome or from the +Protestants, and as being tantamount to the bringing in of a new +religion. When the Church brought to bear upon these recusants the pains +and penalties everywhere employed against heretics, the only result was +to give the schism martyrs, and with martyrs a fresh impetus. Ten years +after the promulgation of the revised liturgy its rash author fell a +victim to the jealousy of the boyards and to his own arrogance, and was +solemnly deposed by a council. To the Raskol his deposition appeared in +the light of a justification of their own course. The condemnation of +the reformer seemed necessarily to involve the condemnation of the +reform. Great, then, was the popular bewilderment when the council +turned from deposing the author of the liturgic revision to hurl its +anathemas against those who opposed that revision. The share taken in +this excommunication by the Oriental patriarchs rather lessened than +added to its weight, since the dissenters denied to Greek and Syrian +bishops, who knew not a letter of the Slavonic alphabet, the right of +passing judgment on Slavonic books. + +The theological world is no stranger to subtleties, but never perhaps +did causes so trifling breed such interminable quarrels. The sign and +the form of the cross, the heading of processions westward or eastward, +the reading of a particular article of the Creed, the spelling of the +name of Jesus, the inscription to be placed over the crucifix, the +single or double repetition of the Hallelujah, the number of eucharistic +wafers to be consecrated,--such are the leading points in the +controversy which ever since has rent the Russian Church. The orthodox +make the sign of the cross with three fingers, while the dissenters +follow the Armenian practice of only two. The former permit the cross +with four arms, like our own: the latter cannot away with any but that +with eight arms, with a crosspiece for the Saviour's head and another +for his feet. Since the reform the Church chants the Hallelujah thrice, +the Raskolniks only twice. The dissenters defend their persistence by +symbolical interpretations, and delight to make a profession of faith +out of the simplest rite. For instance, they insist that after their +fashion of making the sign of the cross the three closed fingers render +homage to the Trinity, while the two others testify to the double nature +of Christ, so that, without uttering a word, the sign of the cross is an +act of adherence to the three fundamental dogmas of Christianity--the +Trinity, the incarnation and the atonement. In like manner they +interpret the double Hallelujah following the three Glorias, and cast it +in the teeth of their opponents that they ignore in their ritual one or +another of the great Christian doctrines. Such interpretations, based on +corrupted texts or feigned visions, show the grotesque blending of +coarseness and subtlety which makes up the Raskol. + +If we may judge from the origin of the schism, its essence lies in the +worship of the letter, the servile respect for forms. To the +anti-reforming Russian, ceremonies form the whole of Christianity, and +liturgy is one with orthodoxy. The same confusion between faith and the +outward forms of worship is revealed by the chosen name in which the +dissenters delight. Not content with the title of _Starovbriadtsy_ +(old ritualists), they adopt that of _Starovery_ (maintainers of +the old faith), which amounts to styling themselves _true_ +believers, the genuine orthodox, since in religious matters, unlike +those of human science, authority is on the side of antiquity, and even +innovations must come forward invoking the past. Here, as often happens, +there is little ground for the Starovery's boast, for if they preserve +the ancient Russian books, their opponents have gone back to the old +Byzantine liturgy; and the party which most loudly vaunts its claim to +antiquity does so with least reason. + +The principle of the Raskol, which sometimes runs out into the wildest +dreams of mysticism, is essentially realistic. Under this materialistic +_cultus_, however, there lurks a sort of idealism, of coarse +spiritualism. Religious vagaries, with all their absurdities, always +have a lofty, sometimes even a sublime, side. It would be wrong to fancy +that there is nothing but ignorant superstition in the Starovere's +scrupulous attachment to his ancestral worship. The vulgar heresy is, in +fact, only an overdone ritualism, whose logic lands it in absurdity. The +Old Believer's reverence for the letter comes from his belief that +letter and spirit are indissolubly united, and that the forms of +religion are as needful as its essence. Religion is to him, both as +regards forms and dogmas, a whole, all whose parts hang together; and no +human hand can touch this masterpiece of Providence without blemishing +it. There is an occult sense in every word and in every rite. He cannot +believe that any ceremony or formula of the Church is void of meaning or +of efficacy. Divine service has nothing in it merely accessory, +indifferent or unmeaning. Holy things are holy throughout: in the +worship of the Lord everything is deep and full of mystery; and it is +blasphemy to change anything or to withhold from it its proper +veneration. The Starovere, of course, cannot formulate his doctrine, but +if he could, religion would appear, according to his view, a sort of +completed and adequate representation of the supernatural world. His +simple logic exacts from all public worship an absolute perfection which +it is impossible to realize. Looked at in this light, the Old Believer +who marched to the stake for the sign of the cross, and sacrificed his +tongue rather than chant another Hallelujah, grows highly respectable. +From this standing-point the Russian schism is essentially religious: +its mistake, so to speak, is the excess of religion. Symbolism is the +principle of its formalism, or rather the Raskol is symbolism run into a +heresy. This gives it originality and value in sectarian history. To +these extravagant ritualists ceremonies are not simply the garb of +religion: they are its flesh and blood, in whose absence dogma is but a +lifeless skeleton. Thus, the Raskol is the direct opposite of ordinary +Protestantism, which by its very nature sets small store by outward +ceremonies, regarding them as needless ornament or a dangerous +superfluity. Ritual to the Starovere is as much an integral part of +traditional Christianity as doctrine: it, is equally the legacy of +Christ and the apostles; and the sole mission of the Church and the +clergy is to preserve both intact. This leaning to symbolism saves his +scrupulous fidelity to outward forms from degenerating into a slavish +superstition. On the other hand, the allegorizing tendency which clings +fast to the letter sometimes takes odd liberties with the spirit of +ceremonies and texts. It is the peculiarity of the symbolizing temper +scrupulously to respect the form while arbitrarily dealing with the +spirit. Thus, the ritual and the sacred books become a kind of heavenly +charade, whose answer must be found by the imagination. And so, in their +hunt after the hidden sense of narratives and words, some of the +Raskolniks have allegorized the histories of the Old and New Testaments, +and changed the gospel records into parables. Some have gone so far as +to see in the greatest of the gospel miracles nothing but types.[005] +Such a system of exegesis easily leads to a kind of mystic rationalism: +the forms of religion tend to gain more consistency than the essence, +and public worship to be placed above doctrine. Some of the extreme +sects of the Raskol have actually reached this point. A perfect carnival +of wild interpretation prevailed among this ignorant rabble, and crazy +doctrines and grotesque tenets were not slow in following in its train. + +The Old Believer loves his peculiar rites, not only for the meaning he +puts into them, but also for the sake of the authority on which he holds +them: the moral and social _rationale_ of the schism is a deep +respect for traditional customs and for the habits handed down from his +forefathers. But even in his slavish devotion to ancestral ritual and +prayers the Starovere simply exaggerates a feeling which, if not +properly religious, commonly links itself with religion and adds to its +influence. All men and all nations set great store by the maintenance of +their hereditary faith, and even the common rhetorical abuse of such +phrases demonstrates its power. When thus intertwined with the +associations of family and country, religion assumes the guise of an +inheritance solemnly committed to our trust by the departed. This +feeling is singularly powerful in Russia from linking itself with a +superstitious veneration for antiquity. You can often get no other +reason from many of these sectaries for the faith that is in them. Quite +recently a judge tried to bring to reason a group of peasants who were +under prosecution for celebrating clandestine religious rites, but he +could extract no other answer than this: "Our fathers practiced these +customs. Take us anywhere you please, but leave us free to worship as +our fathers did." A like reply is said to have been made by the Old +Believers of Moscow to the late czarovitch on occasion of a visit to +their burying-ground at Rogojski. + +The liturgic reform of the seventeenth century was a revolution in the +simplest elements of worship: it called upon the son to unlearn the sign +of the cross that his mother had taught him. Such a change would have +been hazardous anywhere, but it caused a peculiarly serious disturbance +in Russia, where all prayer is connected with a kind of ceremonial of +repeated bowings and crossings, which more closely resemble the +devotional customs of the Mohammedans than those of other Christian +countries. The people violently rejected the new sign of the cross and +the entire reformed liturgy. It mattered little that the new ritual was +more ancient than their own. The ignorant Russian knows no antiquity +older than his fathers and grandfathers, and his attachment to the outer +forms of orthodoxy was only intensified by remembering the recent +attempts of popes and Jesuits to gain a foothold in the country. If he +suffered the least change in his cherished customs, he might risk being +Romanized, and, like the United Greeks of Poland, one day wake up and +find himself part and parcel of the spiritual dominion of the papacy. +With such dim fears the Old Believer opposed to the orthodox hierarchy a +blind fidelity to orthodoxy. Their dread of seeing the Church corrupted +inspired people and clergy with suspicion of all foreigners, even of +their brethren in the faith whom the czars or the patriarchs had invited +from Byzantium and from Kief. The Russian alone, of all the orthodox +nations, had maintained his independence against infidel and pope, and +he held himself the people of God, chosen to preserve the true faith. +Everything European was indiscriminately rejected by this long-isolated +nation. Their detestation of the West, its churches and its +civilization, leads some of the Old Believers to anathematize even the +language of theology and learning. Not longer ago than the close of the +last century one of their writers waxed hot against the orthodox priests +of Lesser Russia, many of whom, he said, "study the thrice-accursed +Latin tongue." He reviled them for their readiness to commit the mortal +sin of calling God _Deus_, and God the Father _Pater_, as +though the Deity could have no other than the Slavic name of _Bog_, +or the change of appellation involved a change of God. A like spirit is +evident in the resistance offered by the Staroveres to the correct +spelling of the name of Jesus, whom they persist in calling Issous, +rejecting as diabolical the more accurate form Iissous. Such +peculiarities show a nation shut up in its own vastness and isolated by +its position and its history. It is a kind of Christianized China, +knowing, and desiring to know, nothing beyond itself. + +The revolt against the innovating patriarch was, in reality, a revolt +against foreign, particularly against Western, influences. Instead of +the accusation that he leaned to Romanism or Lutheranism, it would have +been a better representation of the real grievance to charge him and the +czar with borrowing from the West, not its theology, but its spirit and +civilization, and even this, perhaps, unwittingly. The outbreak of the +Raskol synchronizes with the introduction of foreign influence; and the +coincidence is not accidental. The schism was but the reaction against +the reforms which the Romanoffs carried out in so European a spirit. The +patriarch's enterprise has been sometimes attributed to his vanity or +his thirst for literary fame, but it was really the first indication of +the approaching revolution, and of a growing sympathy with the West, +where (as in England, for instance) at about the same period +analogous[006] reforms gave birth to similar disturbances. If the former +hermit of the White Sea invited criticism and learning to review the +ritual of his Church, it was only in obedience to the same +_Zeitgeist_ which under Peter the Great's elder brother, who +succeeded Alexis, was to found at Moscow a kind of ecclesiastical +university modeled on that of Kief. The Church, not less than the State, +felt the Western breeze that was rising on the Russian steppes. And, as +the Western spirit first attempted to introduce itself in the sphere of +religion, so religion confronted it with its most formidable barrier. +From the historian's point of view, the Raskol is that same popular +resistance to the introduction of Western novelties which under Peter +the Great passed from its original aspect of an ecclesiastical and +religious revolt into the further stage of a social and civil +insurrection. + + + + +II.--OPPOSITION TO MODERN CIVILIZATION. + + +In spite of himself, Peter the Great both inherited and aggravated +the schism. At the present day it is hard to picture the impression +produced upon his subjects by Peter I. He not merely astonished and +bewildered them: he scandalized them. An open, systematic and +sometimes brutal attack was made upon the customs, traditions and +prejudices of the people. The reformer did not confine himself to +the civil institutions: he laid violent hands upon the Church, and +forced his way into the family, regulating, as the whim seized him, +both public affairs and the private life of the citizen. The +old-fashioned Russian was a stranger in Peter's new empire. His eyes +were shocked by the spectacle of an unaccustomed garb, and novel +administrative titles fell strangely on his ear. Names and things, +the almanac and the laws, the alphabet and the fashions of +dress,--everything was transformed. The very elements of +civilization were hardly recognizable. The year began on the first +of January, instead of the first of September. Men were no longer to +date from the creation, but must adopt the Latin era. The old +Slavonic characters, hallowed by immemorial ecclesiastical use, were +partly cast aside, and what were retained took a new shape. The +masculine attire was altered and the chin was shorn of its beard, +while the veil no longer might protect the modesty of the women. The +impression made by such a succession of shocks upon a nation so +bigotedly attached to its ancestral ways was comparable only to an +earthquake rocking Old Russia to its foundations. + +Many of these innovations, as being borrowed from the Romanists or +the Lutherans of the West, had a religious significance for the +people. The change introduced by Peter the Great in the ancient +calendar, in the Slavonic alphabet and in the national costume +seemed but a carrying out of those which Nikon had initiated. So +natural was the parallel that the Old Believers held the one to be +but the continuation of the other; and the notion took shape in a +seditious legend, according to which Peter was the adulterous +offspring of the patriarch. The popular aversion felt for the +reforms of the latter was augmented by that aroused by the emperor's +innovations: the social revolt took the disguise of religion, since +it had been provoked by a Church measure, and still more because +Russia had not yet emerged from that stage of civilization in which +every great popular movement assumes a religious aspect. A national +prestige was thus communicated to the Raskol, which in its turn lent +to the popular resistance the energy of religion. By giving the +social revolt the semblance of a struggle for the rights of +conscience the schism imparted to it a vigor and persistency which +the lapse of two centuries has not succeeded in crushing. + +But the Raskol rebelled not only against innovations and the +introduction of foreign elements, but still more obstinately against +the principle of the reforms and the modern method of state +administration. The Russian, like the Mohammedan East of to-day and +all other primitive societies, was most keenly sensitive to the +burdens and vexations made necessary by this imitation of the +European governmental system. From this point of view the Raskol was +the opposition of a half-patriarchal society to the regular, +scientific, omnipresent, impersonal system of European +administration. It kicks instinctively against centralization and +bureaucracy--against the state's encroachments upon private life, +the family and the community. It struggles to tear itself loose from +the pitiless machinery of government, hemming every life within its +iron pale. The Cossack took refuge in the wild freedom of nomadic +life, and the Old Believer was equally averse to giving in to the +complicated mechanism of government. He would have nothing to do +with the census, with passports or stamped paper. He strove to elude +the new systems of taxation and conscription, and to this day some +of the Raskolniks are in a state of systematic revolt against the +simplest of governmental methods. Religious grounds, of course, are +found for this insubordination, and they have theological arguments +to urge against the census, as well as against the registration of +births and deaths. In the opinion of a strict Old Believer the right +of numbering the people belongs to God alone, as is shown by the +biblical record of David's punishment. Sometimes the official +designations strengthen the scruples of these simple folk, with +their tendency to attach a great importance to phrases and names; +and hence, partly at least, the popular antipathy to the poll-tax +under its Russian form, "soul-tax." The revolt against such phrases +is the fashion in which this nation of serfs, whose body was chained +to the soil, asserted its possession of a soul.[007] + +The struggle against the supervision and interference of the state +has gone with some sects to the length of refusing submission to +obligations imposed by every civilized country. The _Stranniki_ +(wanderers) in particular boast of keeping up a ceaseless struggle +with the civil authority, and make rebellion a moral principle and a +religious duty. From condemning the state as the protector and +helper of the Church, they have come to cursing it for its own +tendencies and claims. Thus, the singular spectacle is presented of +the more extreme schismatics looking upon their native government +with the same feelings as were entertained by some of the Christians +of the first three centuries toward the pagan empire of Rome. To +these fanatics the government of the orthodox czars came to be the +reign of Satan and the dominion of Antichrist. Nor was this an empty +metaphor: it was a clear, determined conviction, and it still exerts +a strong religious and political influence upon the schism. The +Raskolniks could see but one interpretation of the overturning of +public and private order under Peter the Great, and for what they +regarded as the triumph of darkness: to them it was the coming end +of the world and the advent of Antichrist. The old customs, it +seemed, must carry with them in their fall the Church, society and +all mankind. For centuries the extremity of agony or of wonder has +wrung this cry from Christendom. After political revolutions and +disastrous wars, in the most enlightened countries of Europe, in +France and elsewhere, religious persons, in the panic of calamity, +have been seen to take refuge in this last solution for the woes of +Church or of State, and proclaim with the Raskolniks that the time +was at hand. But what must have been the state of mind in Old Russia +when the stunning blows of Peter the Great seemed to be dashing +everything to pieces? Even at the period of the liturgic reform the +fanatics had cried that the patriarch's fall was the harbinger of +the world's end. The days of man, they said, are numbered; the +Apocalyptic woes are at hand; Antichrist draws nigh. With the +accession of Peter the Great, while he was reducing everything to +confusion before their bewildered eyes, and trampling under foot the +old customs, along with morality itself at times, the Raskolniks +were at no loss to recognize in him the coming Antichrist. Nations +are not always clear-sighted: the creator of modern Russia was +regarded by a considerable portion of his subjects as an envoy or +representative of hell; and his empire has never ceased to hold the +unexampled position of a government cursed by a part of its own +people as the dominion of Antichrist. + +This Satanic apotheosis derived no little support from some of the +reformer's idiosyncrasies. He was to his subjects what a rejected +claimant of the Messianic office may have been to the Jews--a stone +of stumbling and a rock of offence to the people whom he came to +bring to a new birth. His civil and ecclesiastical reforms, with the +seeming decapitation of the Church by the abrogation of the +patriarchate, were to the mass of the people an enigma only one +shade less disreputable than the demeanor of himself and his +courtiers. The repudiation of his legitimate wife, Eudoxia, and his +adulterous connection with a foreign concubine, the death +(perhaps by his own hand) of his son Alexis, even the morbid state +of his health and the nervous twitching of his face, and his +astonishing triumphs after equally incredible disasters, contributed +to invest the sombre and gigantic physiognomy of the reformer with a +kind of diabolic halo. The vices of Ivan the Terrible had been as +monstrous, but even in the thick of his crimes he was a true +Russian, as superstitious a devotee as the meanest of his subjects. +But the astonishment and bewilderment inspired by Peter the Great +were only deepened by the reverence felt by the old Russian for the +person of his sovereign. Men could not help doubting whether such a +man, who had cast aside his national and scriptural title for the +foreign and heathen style of emperor, could be the true, the "white" +czar. The story of the usurpers and the false Dmitri had not faded +from the popular memory; and thus there grew up amidst the +unlettered and bewildered Russian people a string of legends in +which were harmonized their belief in the reign of Antichrist and +the popular respect for the czar. In this way the Raskolniks have +created a fantastic history which has been handed down to our own +days, according to one version of which, as has been said, Peter the +Great is the impious bastard of the patriarch Nikon (and from such a +parentage only a devil's offspring could be looked for); while +another asserts that Peter Alexovitch was a pious prince, like his +forefathers, but that he had perished at sea, and in his stead had +been substituted a Jew of the race of Danof, or Satan. On gaining +possession of the throne, continues the legend, the false czar +immured the czarina in a convent, slew the czarovitch, espoused a +German adventuress and filled Russia with foreigners. Such is the +Old Believers' explanation of the portentous phenomenon of a Russian +czar engaged in destroying the institutions of Holy Russia. In the +midst of the nineteenth century the incidents of Peter's career, +whether insignificant or important--his vices not less than his +glory--are used as proofs of his infernal mission. The remarkable +victories with which he recovered from terrible disasters were +miracles wrought by the help of the devil and the Freemasons. The +extension of his power beyond that of all previous Russian monarchs +and of all the ancient _bogatyrs_ was effected by the determination +of Satan that his offspring should receive divine honors. The same +interpretation is applied to the simplest events. Thus, Peter's +celebration with allegorical figures and festivals of the beginning +of the year on the first of January was due to his desire to restore +the worship of false deities and "the old Roman idol Janus." These +silly fables, and this incapacity of understanding how a pagan name +or emblem can be used without falling back into paganism, betray one +of the peculiar features of the Raskol--namely, the realistic +nature, of its symbolism, and its matter-of-fact determination to +fill images, allegories and words with occult meaning. + +When once the presence of Antichrist was clearly made out, there was +nothing to hinder the application to Russia of the gloomy +descriptions of the prophets. Their disposition to hunt out +mysterious enigmas in names and numbers made it easy for the +fanatics to find the whole Apocalypse in modern Russia; and the +number of the Beast was sought in the names of Peter and of his +successors. Each letter of the Slavonic alphabet, as of the Greek, +has a numerical value, and the problem is thus to add up the total +of the letters of a name, and so obtain the Apocalyptic number 666 +(Rev. xiii. 18). By inserting, reduplicating or omitting certain +letters, and not insisting too strongly on an exact result, the +sectaries have discovered the infernal number in the names of most +of the Russian sovereigns from Peter the Great to Nicholas. Such +alterations are defended on the ground that to throw investigators +off the scent the Beast changes the number which is meant to +designate him, so that he should be recognized under the number 662 +or 664 as clearly as under 666. Turning from the particular +sovereign to the imperial title, the Raskolniks have unearthed the +number of the Beast in the letters composing it. Singularly +enough, it happens that all which is needed to obtain the +Apocalyptic number from the word _imperator_ is the omission of the +second letter; whence they say that Antichrist hides his accursed +name behind the letter M. By an equally odd and embarrassing +coincidence the Council of Moscow--which, after deposing Nikon, +definitively excommunicated the schismatics--met in 1666. Here, +plainly enough was the fatal number, and when the reform of the +calendar attracted the attention of the Old Believers to the point, +they considered it a weapon thrust into their hands by their +opponents. The year in question, accordingly, was fixed as the date +of Satan's accession. But not content with turning the line of +monarchs into so many emissaries of hell, some of these champions of +Old Russia have managed, by the help of an anagram, to identify +their native country with the mysterious land which is the object of +so many prophetic curses. In the _Asshur_ of the Bible they find +_Russia_, and apply to it the anathemas launched by the prophets +against Nineveh and Babylon. + +The infernal sign, however, was visible to the Raskolniks not only +in the title and the names of their rulers, but in all their +innovations as well, and in all that they imported from abroad. +Since Russia is under the dominion of the "devil, the demon's son," +the truly faithful are bound to reject all that has been introduced +during "the years of Satan." Encouraged by the notion of Antichrist, +the Raskol's opposition against the modern reform of government +spread until it embraces in its hostility everything brought from +the West. In no other of its developments do we see more distinctly +the characteristic features of the schism, its narrow formalism and +its coarse allegorizing, its blind worship of the past and its +national exclusiveness. It presented the novel spectacle of a group +of popular sects holding in abomination every object of foreign +commerce, everything new--material articles of consumption not less +than the discoveries of science. While the products of the East and +West Indies were pouring into the rest of Europe, the Old Believer +rigorously excluded them. He frowned upon the use of tobacco, of +tea, of coffee and of sugar, and by a curious transfer of his +respect for antiquity to his meat and drink, he stormed against +almost all colonial produce as heretical and diabolical. All that +had come in since Nikon and Peter was put under the ban by the +champions of the ancient liturgy. One Raskolnik forbade traveling on +turnpikes, because they were an invention of Antichrist. More +recently, another showed that the potato was the forbidden fruit +which caused the fall of our first mother. On every side the Old +Believer raised about him a wall of scruples and prejudices, +entrenching himself behind his stagnation and ignorance, and +anathematizing all civilization in a breath. To meet Peter's edicts +enjoining a new costume or alphabet or calendar, the Raskol put +forth a second decalogue: "Thou shalt not shave; Thou shalt not +smoke; Thou shalt use no sugar," etc. In the North, where they are +stricter and more numerous, many Raskolniks still have conscientious +scruples about using tobacco and putting sugar in their tea. The +scriptural arguments urged for this opposition are generally marked +by the coarsest realism. The Old Believer who will not smoke adduces +the passage, "There is nothing from without a man that entering into +him can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are +they that defile the man." The rebuker of the use of sugar urges +that blood is used in its manufacture; whereas Scripture forbids the +eating of the blood of animals--a prohibition, by the way, which +seems to have been maintained longer in Russia than in any other +Christian country. The true ground of the opposition to this or that +article or habit is to be sought not in these theological arguments, +but in its novelty and late introduction. As regards his way of life +and his faith, his table and his devotions, he is minded to tread in +his forefathers' footsteps. A Raskolnik and a member of the orthodox +Church were drinking together, when the latter took a cigar. "Out on +the infernal poison!" cried the Raskolnik.--"What do you, think of brandy?" +asked his companion. "Oh! Wine" (_vino_, the Russian name for +brandy)--"wine was Noah's favorite drink."--"Very good!" said the +other: "now prove to me that Noah was not a smoker." These folk are +still in the patriarchal stage, and an appeal to antiquity is an end +of controversy, "Jeer not at the old," says one of their proverbs, +"for the old man knows old things and teaches justice." + +The parties to any political or religious contest need a +standard--some outward sign which appeals to the eye and the +intelligence of all. The most serious of the political questions +that convulse France to-day are symbolized and summed up in the +color of a flag; and thus in the Russian conflict between popular +obstinacy and the modern propagandism the rallying-sign of the Old +Believers, and the emblem of the champions of nationality and +conservatism, was the beard. The national chin was the centre of a +conflict less puerile than might be fancied. Long before Peter the +Great imitators of Western ways had begun to shave, thus setting at +defiance the Oriental custom which everywhere prevailed in Russia. +Under Peter's father one of the Raskol leaders, the protopope +Avvakum, denounced "these bold-faced" men--bold-faced meaning +shaven. The prohibition of Leviticus (xxix. 27; xxi. 5) was first +adduced, in conformity with the love for alleging religious +scruples. Recourse was next had to the ancient missals and the +decrees of the _Stoglaf_, a sort of ecclesiastical code attributed +to a national council. The prohibition of the razor was at first +confined to the clergy, but it spread by little and little to all +the faithful of the orthodox Church. Up to the time of Nikon the +patriarchs had laid hardly less stress on forms and on the exclusion +of foreign ways than their future opponents of the Raskol, and had +condemned shaving as "an heretical practice which disfigures the +image of God, and makes men look like dogs and cats." This is the +main theological argument of the foes of the barber, and their +current interpretation of the verse of Genesis, "God created man in +His own image," "The image of God is the beard," writes a Raskolnik +about 1830, "and His likeness is the moustache." "Look at the old +images of Christ and the saints," urge the Old Believers: "all of +them wear their beards." And so cogent is the argument that the +orthodox theologians are fain to hunt up the scanty list of +beardless saints to be found in Byzantine iconography. Whatever the +force of the arguments drawn from divinity, at bottom the opposition +was only the simple folks' one way of seeing things--the same +clinging to forms, the same compound of symbolism and realism. The +living work of God is to them as sacred as the text of the divine +word. Every word and letter of the sacred office must have its +separate significance; and they cannot admit that the hair with +which the Almighty has covered a man's face is without a meaning. It +is to them the distinctive mark of the male countenance; to remove +it is to change, and therefore to disfigure, the divine handiwork: +it is, in short, hardly less than mutilation.[008] + +The beard, like the single repetition of the Hallelujah and the +cross with eight branches, has had its martyrs. No later than last +year (1874), on the Gulf of Finland a peasant who had been drafted +for the navy obstinately refused to be shaved, and rather than +betray his religion underwent a sentence of several years for +insubordination. Scruples of this sort have led the government to +grant permission to wear the beard in the case of certain corps (for +instance, the Cossacks of the Ural) which are mainly composed of Old +Believers. Peter the Great used every means to overcome these +popular prejudices, but the beard was too much for the reformer. +Finding himself unable to shave all the recusants by force, he +bethought him of laying a tax on the wearers of long beards, but in +vain. He was similarly foiled in his attempt to lay a double tax on +the schismatic upholders of the ancient ways. He forbade them to live +in the towns; he deprived them of civil rights; he forced them to +wear a bit of red cloth on the shoulder as a distinctive badge; but +these measures only marked them out as the bravest champions of +national traditions, and increased the respect everywhere rendered +them. + +Such an attitude toward civilization leaves no room for mistake as +to the social and political character of the schism. It is a popular +protest against the irruption of foreign customs. It is a reaction +against the reforms of Peter the Great, somewhat as Ultramontanism +is a reaction against the spirit of the French Revolution. The +Staroveres are the champions of ancient customs in the civil sphere +as well as in the religious. The Old Believer is emphatically the +old-fashioned Russian--the Slavophilist of the lower classes--and +hence extreme to the point of absurdity. His revolt against +authority has more resemblance to that of La Vendee than to that of +the Jacobins. Like a conscript obstinately refusing to join his +regiment, he holds back from all part and lot in the changes of +modern Russia; and in this light the schism is the feature which +above all others assimilates Russia to the East. + +And just as the East has bound itself fast to externals, so the +Raskolnik praises his fossilism to the skies, and would gladly run +the risk of petrifying society in its inherited shape. With him, as +with the child or the Oriental, wisdom and science belong to the +infancy of civilization, and the maxims of antiquity leave nothing +to be learnt. Under both aspects the Old Believer is reactionary, +opposed to the very principle of progress--the hero of routine and a +martyr to prejudice. His gaze turns naturally to the past, and if +reform ever enters his mind, he dreams of a return to the good old +times of yore. Even his struggle against authority is based on the +old idea of sovereignty: his political motto, as well as that of +most of the people, is, "No emperor, but a czar!" The czar was one +day pointed out to a Raskolnik conscript. "That is no czar," he +said: "he wears a moustache, a uniform and a sword, like all the +rest of the officers. He is nothing but a general." These +worshipers of the past, with their devotion to ceremonial, think of +the czar only as a long-bearded man in a flowing robe, such as they +see in the ancient images. The Old Believers are the exaggerated +representatives of the spirit of stagnation which everywhere +confronts the Russian government. Nothing gives a clearer conception +of the obstacles still in the way of reforms which elsewhere would +be matters of course (as, for instance, the substitution of the +Gregorian for the Julian calendar) than the resistance which other +measures have already encountered. + +In principle the Raskol is conservative, not to say reactionary, but +its attitude toward the Church and the State, and the habits +engendered by two centuries of opposition and persecution, give it a +revolutionary, or even an anarchical, character. A secret tie unites +all the branches of public authority, and the rejection of one leads +to the rejection of another. As has been said by an eminent +historian of Russia, the refusal to submit to a single form of +authority brings into activity a disposition to rid one's self of +all social and moral ties. The Hussite revolt against Rome speedily +results in the Taborite revolt against society: Luther calls the +Anabaptists into being. The same phenomenon is repeated in Russia, +in England and in Scotland. Once carried away by the spirit of +revolt, an irresistible tendency sweeps the schism on in the +direction of civil liberty; and both in theory and in practice some +of these sects have reached the most unbridled license. Hence, by +one of those contrasts which are so common in Russia, the Raskol is +judged in two utterly different ways, each of which is partly +correct. The reactionary movement in its inception had the +appearance of an assertion of the rights of individual liberty and +national life, as opposed to the autocratic government; and such it +was, after a fashion--the fashion of refractory conscripts or of +smugglers, not to say of brigands--the fashion, in short, in which +all abuses and prejudices are defended. What it claimed +was liberty, indeed, but liberty as the commonalty understand +it--liberty to retain its customs, its superstitions and its +ignorance--liberty to go and come as it chose. But in all this there +was no notion of political freedom. With all his hatred of foreign +importations, the Old Believer is no enemy to reform in the sense of +national tradition or of furthering the interests of the lower +classes, the artisan and the peasant. Like all popular movements, +the Raskol is essentially democratic, and in some of its sects +socialistic and communistic. + +Two things which have especially tended to give the Raskol a +democratic--or even liberal--complexion are serfdom and the +bureaucratic despotism of the country. It was no mere coincidence +which caused the Raskol to break out about half a century after +serfdom was established. Much of its popularity and life was due to +the enslavement of the mass of the people. The slave was proud of +having a different faith from his master; and slavery is always a +propitious soil for the growth of sects. This nation of serfs dimly +felt the Raskol to be an assertion of religious liberty and +self-respect against master, Church and government; and these were +symbolized by the beard and the peculiar sign of the cross. The +Raskol offered to all the oppressed a moral, and often a material, +refuge, an asylum for all enemies of the master and the law, and a +shelter for the fugitive serf, for the deserter, for public debtors +and outlaws of every description. Some sects (as the Wanderers, for +example) are specially organized for such purposes. In these +respects the Raskol was unconsciously one form of the opposition to +serfdom and official despotism; and hence the Old Believers are most +numerous among the most refractory elements of Russia--in the North +among the free peasants (the old colonists of Novgorod), and in the +South among the independent Cossacks of the steppes. Religious and +political opposition have joined hands, and to this combination is +due the strength of the great popular movements of the seventeenth +and eighteenth centuries, such as the Streltsy insurrections at the +time of the revolt of Pougatchef, whose excesses curiously recall +the wars of the Peasants and Anabaptists in the West before the +abolition of serfdom. In the great Russian Jacquerie, and in all the +seditions which held out the hope of emancipation, the first place +was taken by the Old Believers and the Cossacks, most of whom held +the same faith. These two forms of national resistance are naturally +akin. They equally personify the character and the prejudices of the +old Russian. Their main point is their character of protests, so +that an Old Believer may be described as a Cossack in religion, +transporting into that domain the instincts peculiar to the wild +horsemen of the Don. But both Cossack and Starovere have found +themselves forced to give way before the march of civilization, and +the different branches into which the Raskol has split have reached +very divergent conclusions both as to politics and religion. + + + + +III.--INTERNAL DIVISIONS. + + +Nothing is more logical than religious creeds--nothing more rigorously +consequent in its deductions than the theological mind. Religious +thought has an unimpeded course in the twilight of mystery where it +takes its airy flight, and no material facts avail to check it or divert +it from the chosen path. The innate logic of the Russian mind adds force +to the kindred theological quality in its influence upon the Raskol, for +the inhabitant of Greater Russia is distinguished for his logical +consecutiveness and his acceptance of the extremest consequences of a +position. This is partly the cause of the multiplicity and growth of the +strange doctrines prevalent among them; and while this disposition +frequently lands the schism in the most grotesque of absurdities, it +gives a remarkable unity and regularity to even its apparent +divergencies and variations. Irregularity and the play of chance have as +little real place in this spiritual phenomenon as in one belonging to +the region of physics; and a knowledge of the _terminus a quo_ +would have suggested its complications as well as the point ultimately +reached. One is now and then tempted to look upon the various sects as +utterly chaotic, but it is not difficult to trace the general course of +their natural evolution. + +A less robust faith might easily have been cast down by the obstacle +which confronted the schism at the outset. The revolt aimed at +maintaining the ritual, yet the lack of priests to officiate +necessitated its abandonment. The defenders of the old faith found +themselves, at the first step, deprived of the means of practicing its +rites. A single bishop, Paul of Kolomna, had held out for the ancient +books at the time of Nikon's reform, but he had been imprisoned, and +perhaps put to death: at all events, he died without consecrating a +bishop, and the Raskol was consequently left without an episcopate or a +priesthood. Now, Oriental orthodoxy is not simply doctrinal in its +character, but, as M. A. Reville has remarked of Catholicism, "is, above +all, a method of establishing communication between man and God by the +medium of an organized priesthood, whose successive members transmit +uninterruptedly the divine powers which they hold from Christ;" and the +death of Paul of Kolomna snapped the chain uniting the Old Believers +with Christ, for ever depriving the schism of the powers conferred by +Christ on the apostles and essential to the continuance of the +priesthood and the Church. + +The Raskol, so to speak, was stillborn. Unless they retraced their +steps, there were but two paths to take--either to admit priests +consecrated by a Church they had condemned, or to dispense with the +clergy, who alone could celebrate the rites in defence of which they had +revolted. There was little to choose between the two self-contradictory +courses, and each had its partisans. This first check split the schism +into two groups, whose hostility has not been allayed by the lapse of +two centuries. According to some, as Christianity cannot exist without a +priesthood, its complicity with Nikon's heresy has not deprived the +Russian Church of apostolic powers--of the _cheirotonia_, or right +to consecrate bishops and priests by the laying on of hands; and as +their ordination is valid, the schismatics have only to bring back +priests of the official Church to the observance of the ancient ritual. +To this it is answered that by abandoning the ancient books and +anathematizing the ancient traditions the sect of Nikon has lost all +claim to the apostolical succession, so that the established clergy +constitute no longer a Church, but the synagogue of Satan. All communion +with these emissaries of hell is a sin, and ordination by the apostate +bishops a defilement. The Oriental patriarchs have shared the heresy of +the Russian prelates by agreeing to their anathemas against the ancient +rites, and orthodoxy has carried with it in its fall the episcopate, +apostolical succession and the lawful priesthood. + +Thus, in the first generation the Raskol fell into two sections--the +_Popovtsy_, who adhere to the priests, and the _Bezpopovtsy_, +who do not. To recruit their clergy the Popovtsy were fain to have +recourse to deserters from the established Church, and were thus +dependent upon it; though we shall see that of late they have succeeded +in getting an independent episcopate along with a complete +ecclesiastical hierarchy. By maintaining a priesthood, however scanty +and ignorant, the Popovtsy preserve the sacraments and the orthodox +Christian system; and, despite the inconsistency of admitting the +priests of a Church that they condemn, they have paused at the first +step of schism and maintain the original position. It is almost +impossible, on the other hand, for the Bezpopovtsy to stop on the slope +down which their logic inexorably drags them. Involved in the +abandonment of the priesthood is that of orthodoxy, or at least of the +orthodox ritual, and the sacrament of orders carries with it the +sacraments which none but the priest can administer. Of the seven +traditional channels of divine grace, baptism alone remains open: the +other six are dried up for ever. Thus, the first step of the Bezpopovtsy +brings them to the destruction of the first principle of Christian +worship. The more rigid of them do not shrink from this most glaring of +contradictions. To save the entire ritual they have sacrificed its most +essential parts. For the double Hallelujah and the sign of the cross +with two fingers instead of three they have foregone the whole Christian +life and the one visible link between man and God, which is to be found +only in the sacraments. The abolition of the sacred ministry and divine +service is their protest against the trifling changes introduced into +their devotional customs by the established Church. In barring the +entrance to Nikon's so-called innovations they have done away with the +priesthood, and so with every dyke against sectarian whimsies or the +very novelties against which they blindly contend. + +In the melancholy upshot of the Bezpopovtsy movement there was nothing +to satisfy the fondness for ceremonial and tradition to which the schism +owed its birth; and it was hard to fill the gap left by the loss of +priesthood and sacraments. The old orthodox law had become impossible to +carry out, yet it had not been abrogated. Though perfectly united as to +rejecting the priesthood, they accordingly fell into new fragments, +marked now by hesitations and compromises, and now by grotesque fancies +or by cruel doctrines. For the timid and for those who clung to public +worship it was impossible to believe in Christian life and salvation +without the divinely-appointed means; and in the perplexed effort to +supply the loss of the sacraments their piety resorted to all manner of +ingenious make-believes. Priestly absolution being out of the question, +confession is sometimes made to the "elder" or to a woman, and the +promise of pardon has to do duty for the direct absolution. As the +Eucharist cannot be consecrated, famishing souls resort to types or +memorials of the holy sacrament; and for this _quasi_ communion +rites have been devised which are sometimes pleasing, sometimes bloody +and horrible. One of these is the distribution of raisins by a young +girl; while one sect (which is, however, but indirectly connected with +the Raskol) use the breast of a young maiden instead of the element of +bread. To one of the Bezpopovtsy sects the name of "gapers" is given, +because they are accustomed to keep their mouths open during the +Maundy-Thursday service, that the angels, God's only remaining +ministers, may give them drink from an invisible chalice, since, as they +hold, Christ cannot have wholly deprived the faithful of the flesh and +blood offered upon the cross. + +Such are the expedients of the more gentle or enthusiastic to escape +from the religious vacuum into which schism has precipitated them. Quite +different is the course of the more strict and dauntless theologians; +and the ascendency of logic over pious feeling carries with these the +majority of the Bezpopovtsy. No consequence is too revolting for them, +and no hesitating subterfuge worthy of a thought. The priesthood, they +hold, is extinct, leaving only the sacrament of baptism, which the laity +may administer. Make-believes are of no avail. The chain that linked +Heaven with earth is snapped, and can be reunited only by miracle. +Meanwhile, the faithful are like men shipwrecked on a desert island +without a priest among them. Eucharist, penitence, chrism, and, more +than all, marriage, are alike impossible. The priest alone can pronounce +the nuptial benediction; and where there is no priest there can be no +marriage. Such is the ultimate consequence of the schism--the rock on +which the Bezpopovtsy split. With marriage the family goes, society with +the family, and such teachings can never be in harmony with the +feelings, with society or with morality. Marriage is their +stumbling-block and the principal matter on which their discussions and +divisions turn, giving rise to the wildest aberrations and strangest +compromises. The more practical retain marriage as a social +conventionality, while the more logical make celibacy universally +binding, thereby fostering anything but asceticism. Among the Russian +sectaries the familiar combination is repeated of sensuality and +mysticism. Free-love has been both preached and practiced among them; +and among the lower classes the grossest heresies of ancient Gnosticism +have mingled with the wildest and most morbid of modern social theories. +Most of their theological writers, while avoiding such extremes, urge +the most extraordinary maxims in connection with their forbiddance of +marriage, such as that immorality, being but a passing weakness, is less +criminal than marriage, which is interdicted by the faith.... To such a +point as this have the conscientious champions of old ceremonial been +brought. They have carried with them a few shreds of ancient ritual, and +they have not only abandoned Christian and natural morality, but in +their struggle with modern government and civilization deny the +principle which upholds all society. + +Even fanatics must stand affrighted before conclusions like these, and +the Bezpopovtsy feel the need of some justification for their subversal +of the _cultus_ and the morality of Christianity. They find but one +solution for the awful enigma presented by Christ's abandonment of the +Church and mankind, by the extinction of appointed sacraments and means +of grace, and by the impious rupture of the tie between man and God. The +downfall of Church and priesthood and the triumph of falsehood and wrong +were foretold by the prophets. This is the time predicted in Holy Writ, +when the very elect shall be wellnigh seduced, and when God shall seem +to give up His own into the hand of the Adversary. The priestless Church +is the Church in the state of widowhood foretold by Daniel in the last +days. Thus, the Raskol was brought by the new path of theology to that +belief in the approaching end of the world and the reign of Antichrist +to which we have already seen it led by its aversion to ecclesiastical +and civil reforms. That the reign of Antichrist is begun is the +fundamental doctrine of the Raskol, and particularly of the +Bezpopovstchin. In the light of this new dogma all the contradictions of +the latter are explained and justified. This is the reason for the +extinction of the priesthood, of marriage and of the family. +Wherefore--many ask--wherefore continue the race when the archangel's +trump is about to proclaim the end of humanity? + +The end of the world was announced to be nigh even before Peter the +Great; and they who proclaimed it are not yet weary of awaiting it. Like +Christians in the West in other periods, they are not undeceived by the +delay of the destined time, and are at no loss to explain it. Many +consider the reign of Antichrist to be a period or era which may last +for centuries, as one of the three great epochs in religious history, +and as having, like those of the old and the new dispensations, a law of +its own which abrogates what went before. All of the Raskolniks, or even +of the Bezpopovtsy, however, do not agree as to Antichrist; for while +his reign is generally admitted, it seems to be very differently +understood. Those who retain the priesthood and the more moderate of +their opponents hold his reign to be spiritual and invisible, and +government and established Church to be the unconscious or unwilling +tools of Satan; while the extremists of the Bezpopovstchin maintain that +Antichrist reigns materially and palpably. He it is, as we have seen, +who occupies the throne of the czars since Peter the Great, and his +Sanhedrim that usurps the name of the holy synod. Trivial as the +difference is, theologically speaking, its political consequences are +considerable; for the state may arrive at some understanding with sects +that only regard it as blind and misled, while even a truce is out of +the question with those which look upon it as the incarnate enemy of +souls. + +Very singular are the vagaries to which the ignorant peasants are +naturally led by this belief. Since the world is in subjection to +"Satan, the son of Beelzebub," all contact with it was defiling, and +submission to its laws nothing short of a denial of the faith. To escape +the hellish contagion the best means was isolation or rigid withdrawal +into inaccessible retreats or desert places. In their spiritual +confusion and terror some of the sectaries saw no refuge but death, and +murder and suicide were systematically resorted to for the purpose of +shortening the time of probation and hastening their departure from the +accursed world. With some fanatics, called "child-slayers" +(_dietoubuetsy_), it was held a duty to expedite the entrance to +heaven of newborn children, and thus to save them infernal anguish. +Others, called "stranglers" or "butchers" (_duchelstchiki, +tiukalstchiki_), think they render a valuable service to their +relatives and friends by anticipating a natural death, in hastening the +end of those who are seriously ill. Taking with a savage literalness the +text, "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it +by force" (Matt. xi. 12), they hold that none can enter into the kingdom +of heaven but those who die a violent death. One of the most numerous +and powerful bodies in the first century of the Raskol, the +_Philipovtsy_, or "burners," like the Indian fakeers, preached +redemption by suicide, and salvation by the baptism of fire, holding +that the flames alone could purify men from the defilements of a world +which had fallen under the rule of Satan. In Siberia and the +neighborhood of the Ural these sectaries have been known to burn +themselves in hundreds on enormous piles built for the purpose, or by +families in their hovels, to the sound of hymns and chants. Such acts +have been known even during the present century. + +One insanity begets another, and belief in the presence of Antichrist +leads to belief in the approaching restoration of the earth, the second +advent of Christ and the millennium, which has infected the more extreme +sects of the Bezpopovstchin, thus connecting it with Gnostic sects of +various origins. Russian literalism, like many early Christian heresies, +interprets the prophets and the Apocalypse in a purely material sense. +The mujik or artisan looks for the establishment of Christ's temporal +kingdom, and anticipates the dominion promised to the saints. Such a +belief opens the door to a trust in prophets, and to all the +extravagances and rascalities that come in its train. In vain does the +Russian statute-book condemn false prophets and lying miracles: from +time to time the country is overrun by _illuminati_ proclaiming the +Second Advent, and occasionally giving themselves out as the expected +Messiah. They are frequently accompanied by a woman, who plays the part +of mystical mother or spouse, and to whom they give the title of the +Mother of God or the Blessed Virgin. Sometimes it is only the simple +folk who are themselves hunting for the Redeemer; and not long since +appeared a body of Siberian sectaries, called "Christ-hunters," +maintaining that the Saviour was about to appear, and scouring desert +and forest to find him. Peasants have even been known to refuse payment +of their taxes under pretext that Christ was come and had done away with +them. The Messiah of the Russian sectaries is sometimes sought in the +person of a simple peasant, and sometimes in a native or foreign prince. +Some have long beheld the expected liberator in Napoleon, for their +persuasion that the Russian state is the reign of Antichrist easily led +to welcoming as a Saviour any one who seemed destined to destroy it; and +in the great enemy of the empire, the great furtherer of a general +abolition of serfdom, many recognized the conquering Messiah of the +prophets. It is said that at their meetings an image of Napoleon is +worshiped, and busts of him are certainly nowhere met with more commonly +than in Russia. An equal veneration is paid to pictures representing the +first emperor surrounded by his marshals and floating above the clouds +in a kind of apotheosis, which is literally accepted by the +matter-of-fact Russian. The story runs among his worshipers that +Napoleon is not dead, but has escaped from St. Helena and taken shelter +on the shores of Lake Baikal, whence he will one day come forth to +overturn the throne of Satan and found the kingdom of justice and peace. + +The main point of these millennial hopes was the abolition of forced +labor and the _obrok_, the emancipation of the serfs, and the +equitable distribution of land and other property. A ready reception was +sure to await such a gospel, with its combination of promises of liberty +and faint dreams of communism; and something of the kind is necessary to +explain the easy success of so many extravagant sects, lying prophets +and feigned Messiahs. Dreams like these in the West incited the +revolutions of the peasants in mediaeval times and of the Anabaptists in +the sixteenth century, but they must slowly vanish with the slavery +which gave them birth. The age of freedom anticipated by the mujik, the +kingdom of God of which he caught a glimpse in the promises of the +prophets, is come at last: the Messiah and freer of the people has +appeared, and his reign is begun. The emancipation of the serfs has +given a blow to these millennial dreams, and consequently to the more +advanced sects of the Raskol: its ruin will be completed by education +and material improvement. + +The sects whose general evolution we have sketched may appear to us +ridiculous and childish. We are tempted to look with contempt upon a +people capable of such extravagances; but such an estimate would be +erroneous. Absurdity and extravagance have always found a ready welcome +when presented under the garb of religion; and countries boasting of +older and more widespread civilization are not behind Russia in this +regard. The Raskol has its counterpart in the past and the contemporary +sectarianism of England and of the United States. A strong likeness +holds between the Puritans and the Old Believers; and both as to +originality and religious eccentricities the Anglo-Saxon and the +inhabitant of Greater Russia may be compared. The Russians delight in +pointing out the resemblances between their country and the great +republic of the New World; and this is not the least of them. The +Americans have their prophets and prophetesses, just like the old +Russian serfs, and no absurdity or immorality is too gross to find +preachers and converts among them. How shall we account for so striking +an analogy between the two most extensive empires of the two continents? +To characteristics of race and an incomplete blending of different +stocks, or to the nature of the soil, the extremes of heat and cold, and +the strong contrasts of the seasons? to the vastness of their +territories and the scanty diffusion of population and culture over +areas so immense? or still again to the rapid and inharmonious growth of +the two countries--to the lack of popular education in the one, and the +low standard of the higher education in the other? Separately or +combined, these causes fail completely to explain the curious +phenomenon; and still they are the most striking points of resemblance +between the two colossal powers. In some respects, the sectarian spirit +presents itself in a different and almost opposite manner in the +democratic republic and the despotic empire. In the United States the +ranker growths of religious enthusiasm spring from an excess of +individualism and enterprise--from the independent and pushing temper +transported from politics and business into religion. In Russia, on the +contrary, the popular mind has thrown off all restraint in the religious +sphere, simply because this was long the only one in which it could +disport itself unchecked. The religious boldness and extravagance which +in the one country is the direct consequence of the state of society is +in the other rather a reaction against it. Russia's advantage over +America lies in the fact that there the excesses of fancy and zeal +prevail in a more primitive, unsophisticated and childlike race. Some +diseases are best passed through early in life, before the time of full +development. It is no less true of some moral maladies: childhood +suffers from them less than youth or maturity. Russia is still in that +stage of civilization which is naturally subject to attacks of feverish +and mystical religion, but one day it will emerge from it; and the +precocious skepticism of a large portion of its educated classes shows +plainly that no inexorable fate condemns the national character to +credulity and superstition. + +The Raskol is more than a morbid symptom or a sign of weakness. If it +does little credit to the sense or cultivation of the people, it does +much to its heart, its conscience and its will. Independence and +individuality are often said to be lacking in it, but the Old Believers +show that firmness and conception of duty which are as needful as +intelligence to a nation's strength. Beneath the dull, monotonous +surface of political society these sects give us a glimpse of the hard +rock which is the groundwork of this seemingly inert race: its +originality and stern individuality are what are dear to it. One day +Russia will display in other spheres the originality and patient, sturdy +energy which these religious struggles have called forth. That a +considerable portion of the people have revolted against the liturgic +reform shows that it is not the stupid, sluggish herd Europe has so long +imagined. On one ground at least its conscience has displayed sufficient +independence, and told despotism that it is not all-powerful. And if +mere ritual alterations have aroused such opposition, what would result +from a change of religion--from the transition to Catholicism or +Protestantism so often dreamed of and advised by Western theologians? So +far from being always docile and void of will and determination, the +Russian people, even in their religious vagaries, have displayed a +singular power of organization and combination. + + + + +ELEANOR'S CAREER. + + +I first met Eleanor Vachy at a boarding-school in the city of R----, +where we soon became intimate friends. Eleanor was the result of a +system. When but a few months old, and an orphan, she had been left to +the care of her aunt, Miss Willmanson, a reformer, a progressionist, +advanced both in life and opinions, who had spared nothing to make her +niece an example to her sex. No pugilist ever believed more fully in +training than did Miss Willmanson: she looked upon institutions of +learning as forcing-houses, where nipping, budding and improving the +natural growth was the constant occupation, and where the various +branches of knowledge were cultivated, like cabbages, at so much a head. +When Eleanor became, so to speak, her property, she seized with avidity +the opportunity of submitting her principles to the test of +experiment--of demonstrating to an incredulous world the power of +education, and the vigor of the female mind and body when formed by +proper discipline. The child was fed in accordance with the most recent +discoveries in chemistry: she was taught to read after the latest +improvement in primers; she was provided with mathematical toys and +gymnastic exercises. Did she take a walk in summer, her attention was +directed to botany; if she picked up a stone to make it skip over a +passing brook, passages from the _Medals of Creation_ or _Thoughts on a +Pebble_ were quoted; and when the stone went skimming over the surface +of the calm pool, the theory of the ricochet was explained and the +wonders of natural philosophy were dilated upon. Every sentence she +spoke was made the text of a lesson, and the names of sages and +philosophers became as familiar to her as those of Jack the Giant-killer +and Blue Beard are to ordinary children. + +Especially were the stories of distinguished women repeated by Miss +Willmanson in glowing language, pointed out as precedents, and dwelt +upon as worthy of emulation. "If their genius was great enough," she +would remark, "to extort a recognition in times when only masculine pens +wrote history, what could not the same ability do now?--now, when, +strengthened by waiting, encouraged by ungrudging praise, and sure of +having chroniclers of their own sex who will do them justice, a new era +is dawning. The history of the world needs to be reseen from a woman's +point of view, and rewritten by a woman's hand. Men have had +the monopoly of making public opinion, and have distorted facts. What in +a king they name policy, in a queen is called cruelty; what in a +minister is diplomacy, in a favorite is deceit; what in a man is +justice, in a woman is inhumanity; vigor is coarseness, generosity is +weakness, sincerity becomes shallowness; and faults that are passed over +lightly in the hero are sufficient to doom the heroine for all +posterity." + +The peculiar views of Eleanor's aunt did not prevent her from being an +agreeable acquaintance. Although she believed in the intellectual +capacity of woman, she did not look upon herself as a representative of +the class: her admiration of her sex did not degenerate into +self-laudation, and her enthusiasm was not tainted by egotism. Hers was +not a strong-mindedness that showed itself in ungainly coiffures and +tasteless attire. It was content with desiring and claiming for woman +whatever is best, noblest and most lovely in mind and body. She would +have given her life to further this end, but thought it mattered little +if her name were forgotten in the bulletin that announced success to the +cause. + +Owing to her extreme reserve in talking of herself, it was very +gradually that I gained this knowledge of Miss Willmanson's character; +but many of her opinions were received at second hand from Eleanor, who +admired her aunt greatly, and never tired of quoting her. It was she who +told me that this talented lady was engaged upon a book the title of +which was _Footsteps of Women in All Ages_. The aunt returned this +admiration in no stinted measure, and her highest ambition seemed +centred in her niece. + +Eleanor was a tall, well-formed, unaffected girl, with a clear olive +complexion; a slight rose-colored bloom on cheeks and lips; deep blue +eyes, rather purple than blue, rather amethyst than purple, that looked +every one candidly in the face; and hair reminding you of late +twilight--a shade that, though dark, still bore traces of having once +been light, even sunny. + +As to her acquirements, however, what in the older lady was love of +information, in the younger appeared to be what Pepys called a "curious +curiosity." If she had been obliged to investigate a subject by constant +labor, I doubt whether she would have stood the test. At school she was +a parlor-boarder, attended outside lectures on the sciences, went to +concerts and the opera, frequented museums, had small blank-books in +which she took voluminous notes, and was constantly busy with some new +scheme of improvement. In looking at her I often thought that could her +aunt's dreams be realized, could her intellect ever approach the unusual +symmetry and beauty of her face and form, it would indeed be an +achievement. But was it likely that Nature, who is so grudging of her +gifts, after having endowed her so highly physically would do as much +for her mentally? "Aunt Will," as the girl called her, had none of these +misgivings. This beautiful physique she believed to be the effect of her +own foresight and care--of proper food and clothing, of training in the +gymnasium, riding and walking. It was itself an earnest of the success +of her plans, and made her confident for the future. One of the tenets +of her faith was that Eleanor needed only to decide in what direction to +exert herself, and that in any career success was certain. For this +reason she gave her opportunities of every kind, that her choice might +be unlimited. + +In this, as in every other opinion, Eleanor agreed with her aunt, not +through vanity, but through respect and habit. What she intended to +become was the theme of long confidences between us when alone together, +for the time which most other girls of her age devote to dreams of love +and lovers was employed by her in speculations about her future +profession. The artlessness of the girl in thus appropriating to herself +the whole field of human wisdom would have been ludicrous had it not +been so frank: it reminded you of a child reaching out its chubby hands +to seize the moon. + +In regard to love and marriage, Aunt Will was most resolute in speaking +against them, and by precept and example she endeavored to influence her +niece in the same direction. "It is a state which mentally +unfits a woman for anything"--a dictum which was accepted by Eleanor +without argument. It was understood that her life was to be devoted to +being great, not to being loved. But Aunt Will refused to lend her help +or advice in deciding what the career should be, believing that the +prophetic fire would kindle itself without human help, and fearing that +the least hint of what she desired might fetter a waking genius, though +the girl often plaintively remarked, "I wish aunt would settle it for +me." + +The entire faith with which these two women looked forward to the future +roused no little curiosity on my part as to the realization of their +hopes. A year after our acquaintance began the ladies left R---- to +travel abroad. Eleanor assured me solemnly that she should not return +until she had won renown, that vision of so many young hearts on leaving +home. "The great trouble is to decide what to do;" and here she sighed. +"But Aunt Will says our work shapes itself without our knowing. Some +morning we wake and find it ready for our hands, with no more doubt on +the subject. I am waking." + +"Meanwhile enjoying yourself." + +"Why not?" she answered, smiling: "it is what aunt wishes me to do." + +At first I had frequent letters from my friend, but the intervals +between them became longer, as is usual when a new life replaces the +old. In those which I received there was no allusion to the career, and +I felt that inquiries on the subject would be indiscreet. If she were +succeeding, I should hear of it soon enough; and if not, why should I +give her pain? After a separation of about eighteen months, and a +silence of six, one morning, on being sent for to the parlor, what was +my surprise to find myself face to face with Eleanor Vachy, and the +girl, prettier than ever, pressing warm kisses on my cheeks! + +We had been talking on every conceivable topic for perhaps an hour, as +only friends can talk, when I chanced to remark, "You intended to make a +much longer stay when you left: I hope nothing disagreeable has +happened to bring you home." + +"Nothing _dis_agreeable," she replied, looking slightly +embarrassed. "I would have written about it, but thought I would rather +tell you. I hope it won't alter your opinion of me when you hear it: I +hope you won't think less of me;" and the color mounted swiftly in her +cheeks as she gave me one deprecating glance out of her purple eyes, and +then as quickly hid them under their long lashes. + +"I will try to be impartial," I answered gravely, seeing that she was +not in a humor to be laughed at. "I suppose it is in reference to your +career?" + +"Yes it is," she replied, looking attentively at the point of her +boot; "and I fear aunt is disappointed, although she says nothing; +and it is very possible that you will be disappointed also." + +"If you have chosen anything reasonable," I remarked encouragingly, "I +am sure your aunt will be satisfied: she is so unprejudiced, and you +know she always declared that she would not influence you." + +"She trusted me too much," sighing. "What I have preferred, +you--maybe she--that is, many people--would think no career at all." + +"Ah, indeed! Poetry?" (I knew that Aunt Will had no great opinion of +most of the versifiers.) + +She interlocked her fingers and gave them a slight twist, looked still +more intently at the toe of her boot, and dropped ruefully one little +word, "No." + +"It is not the stage, surely?" looking at her perfect beauty with a +sudden start. + +"No, no! it is not that. You cannot guess. I may as well tell you. I +will begin at the beginning, and you will see that I could not help +it: that is--For Mercy's sake don't look at me as if I were a +criminal, or I won't say another word!" + +"Nonsense, Eleanor! I am not looking at you as if you were a criminal. +Go on and tell me." + +"It is too late now," she said hastily: "I have been here so long +already. I will see you to-morrow." + +"If you dare to go without making a full confession, I will never +forgive you. Sit down: the sooner it is over the more composed you +will feel. I have been so anxious to hear about it!" + +"Well, if it must be. I know you will be disgusted. I have to begin when +we left here." + +"I have plenty of time to listen." + + "You remember we started on the voyage by ourselves. At our first + dinner on board aunt recognized an old friend, a Mrs. Kenderdine, + who was also crossing, together with her son. That first dinner was + our last for some time, for, though we tried to be as strong-minded + as possible, in the end we were obliged to stay in our cabins. + Having recovered sooner than aunt, one day I stumbled out as far as + the companion-way, and was sitting there very disconsolately when + Mr. Kenderdine, passing by, stopped to ask if he should assist me on + deck. Of course I was only too glad to go. He had not been sick at + all, and could walk about quite easily, which gave me a high opinion + of his abilities. Later he brought me my dinner, with a glass of + wine, of which he did not spill a drop, and by evening I found that + with the aid of his arm I could promenade. + + "That day was a sample of all until the voyage was over, for if I + attempted to move alone I stumbled, rolled and behaved with a lack + of dignity that was frightful; and yet, after getting a taste of + fresh air, I could not bear to stay below. Somehow, it became + understood that each morning Mr. Kenderdine might find me in the + companion-way at a certain hour; and as aunt would not leave her + state-room, and old Mrs. Kenderdine could not, we had nothing to do + but to try and amuse each other; so we ended by becoming pretty well + acquainted by the time we arrived at Queenstown. + + "In England aunt was very busy. You used to think her a student + here: I wish you could have seen her there. For six months she spent + almost every hour of daylight in the library of the British Museum, + where she had been introduced by a learned friend. Aunt Will has a + wonderful admiration for Boadicea: she was also critically examining + the history of Queen Henrietta and of Elizabeth. She thinks the + latter did not do justice to her opportunities, and that her vanity + was the mark of a feeble mind. You know aunt has no patience with + vanity and--" + +"But about yourself, Eleanor?" + + "I am coming to that directly. Mrs. Kenderdine had gone abroad to + get medical advice: as her health would permit her to take but + little exercise, a morning drive, with receiving and paying visits + (she is of an English family and well connected), was all she was + capable of. + + "It happened in this way that the only ones of our party fit for + active duty were Fred--I mean Mr. Kenderdine--and myself. As we had + formed the habit of amusing each other on the voyage, we still + continued it. Aunt would join us when any historical site was to be + visited; but there were many places that were not historical, but + that were just as pleasant or as beautiful as if they had been, and + to these we went together. We stayed in London until the season was + over, and then started for Paris. + + "You can form no idea how aunt reveled in the antiquities of Paris. + If she went to the Musee Cluny in the morning, we might be sure we + should see no more of her for that day at least. She absolutely took + rooms at Versailles for two weeks that she might study up the + _locale_ of the Pompadour, whom she regards as a female Richelieu, + and she also found a rich field of investigation in the lives of the + French queens." + +"And what were you doing all this time?" + + "Oh! I had professors, French, Italian and German, for the + languages, I visited the galleries, and aunt would read me her + notes, so that I was gaining much information. You see, in a foreign + country it is not the thing to sit in the house to study: you must + go about as much as possible and use your eyes, which is an + education in itself. That is what I was doing." + +"About your career, I mean?" + + "Don't be so impatient: I am about to tell you. We concluded to + spend the winter in Rome, aunt and I: the Kenderdines + remained in Paris. Aunt preceded me to Brussels about two weeks + to explore the libraries there, as we were to make the Rhine tour + before going to Italy. I should have accompanied her, but we were + expecting a remittance from home that had not arrived, and I was + obliged to wait for it. The day before I left Paris I was regretting + that I had not been to Montmorency, and Mr. Kenderdine, who + overheard me, proposed that as I did not mind fatigue we should go. + By starting early in the morning we could make our 'last day,' as he + called it, a _fete_. I consented, and we arranged to take the early + train to Enghien, to breakfast there, ride through Montmorency to + the Chateau de la Chasse, where we could have dinner, and return in + time for the Belgian train in the evening. The next morning I was + ready, my riding-skirt in a satchel, and off we went. The day was + perfect, the air cool and delicious. We took the cars at the Gare du + Nord, and in less than an hour we arrived at Enghien, ordered + breakfast at a charming little hotel that overlooks the lake, and + had it brought to us on the balcony, from whence we could listen to + the band playing, and look at the beautiful villas that border the + water, watch the invalids taking their constitutionals, and see the + brightly-painted boats bobbing over the small waves. While waiting + for the horses, Fred made me go to the springs and taste the water, + which is horrid: then we mounted and cantered leisurely on to + Montmorency, a hilly, desolate-looking place, although so much + lauded by the Parisians: I suppose the beautiful forest in the + vicinity is its attraction. The road for the next five or six miles + was shaded by trees, and most of it was a soft turf on which the + horses' hoofs rebounded noiselessly, with views of rolling country + at intervals. The chateau had been a hunting-lodge two or three + hundred years ago, but nothing remains of it now but a couple of + towers, to which a modern country inn has been added, where + excellent dinners may be had, as I can testify. It is a great place + for the picnics and pleasure-parties of the natives, but foreigners + seldom visit it. After we had wandered about for several hours, + enjoying ourselves in that silly French way, with nothing but light + hearts, fresh air, green grass and blue sky for all incitement + thereto, I, in consideration of my evening journey, recommended our + return. We had the horses brought round, and then my career + commenced." + +"Why, how?" + + "You know that road from the chateau? No you don't, but I will tell + you of it. The woods lie on one side, and an ivy-covered wall + separates it from sloping fields on the other--the prettiest place + on earth." ("Artistic," thought I: "she has decided on + landscape-painting;" but I did not interrupt.) "It was just there + that Mr. Kenderdine came to my side: he had dismounted to open the + gate, and was leading his horse. He came to my side, and, looking up + at me, said half seriously, half smiling, 'You are very happy + to-day, Miss Eleanor: what will you do when I am not with you to + ride and walk and talk to?' + + "'I suppose I shall find some one in Rome who rides, walks and talks + as well. They say the Campagna is lovely for riding.' + + "'And perhaps some one who waltzes as well.' + + "'Certainly: that is no great accomplishment. Like playing a + hurdy-gurdy, if you turn round often enough you cannot fail to make + a successful performance.' + + "'There is one thing you will not find, Eleanor;' and he laid his + hand on my wrist: 'that is, some one who loves you as well.' + + "'Mr. Kenderdine, please get on your horse, and don't talk + nonsense.' + + "'I suppose I have as good a right to talk nonsense as any one, and + I believe the fancy for doing so comes to all of us once in our + lifetime.' + + "'I admit your right to talk, and claim mine to refuse to listen;' + so saying, I gave my horse a cut. The animal started, but Fred's + hand was still on my bridle-wrist, and with a motion he checked the + animal so violently that it reared, afterward coming down on the sod + with a thud that almost unseated me. + + "'I will talk, and you shall listen,' said Mr. Fred, looking + dangerous. + + "'So it appears,' I retorted, thoroughly provoked; 'but I hope you + will oblige me by being as expeditious as possible, for I am very + much afraid that I shall miss the train to-night.' + + "He looked at me a moment as if to be sure he understood my meaning, + then turned and sprang on his horse, at the same time remarking, + 'You are right: I had better not detain you. I had forgotten your + journey.' + + "We cantered on in silence for about three miles. The flush of anger + had slowly faded out of his face, when he commenced abruptly: 'Miss + Vachy, I have no _right_ to ask you what I intend asking, but I have + always thought you had a kind heart, and perhaps you will answer my + question. You may depend that the confidence you may place in me + will be held sacred.' Then less quickly, 'Will you tell me, have you + an understanding, or are you engaged, or do you care for any one + else?' + + "For a moment I thought of entering into an explanation--of telling + him what my aunt expected of me, and what I intended doing--only I + did not myself know what I intended doing; and it seemed absurd to + begin such an account without being able to complete it. Besides, if + he thought I cared for some one else, it would end the matter and + save a world of argument; so I replied hesitatingly, 'I am sorry, + Mr. Kenderdine, that I cannot answer your question, but--' + + "'Enough: I understand.' + + "Then our canter quickened into a gallop, and the gallop into a + race. I am quite sure those horses never went at such a pace in + their lives before. Fred seemed unconscious of the run we were + making of it, unconscious of everything, urging his poor beast + whenever it flagged, and fretting its mouth by alternately jerking + and loosening the reins, until had it been anything but a livery + hack it would have been frantic. Conversation was impossible, and I + had nothing to sustain me during the ride but the satisfaction of + feeling that I had done my duty." + + "It don't seem to me that you are getting any nearer the end of your + story." + + "The darkest hour is that which precedes the dawn," said Eleanor, + adding maliciously, "if you are tired I will tell you the rest + to-morrow. Don't you see that I must bring you up to it gradually, + so that the shock will not be too great?" + + "But think of the suspense I am in." + + "My dear, the first steps in any career are as important as the + last; so curb your curiosity and listen. If you were telling it, you + would not get on one bit faster." + + "Perhaps not," I answered doubtfully: "however, continue." + + "Thanks to our haste, we got to Paris early enough to allow me to + rest and have supper. I had sent on my baggage by express, and had + nothing to worry about Starting at seven, I should arrive next + morning at Brussels. I can sleep famously in the cars, and I + apprehended no difficulty. Fred, looking as black as a thundercloud, + took me to the station, and was preposterous enough to ask me if I + was not sorry I was going." + + "And what did you say?" + + "Say? Why, the truth--that I was glad; and then Mr. Thundercloud + looked blacker than ever. + + "I had several stations to pass before we reached Creil, where I was + to change cars and take the express. I settled myself comfortably, + so that I could look out of the window, and I whiled away the time + by reviewing the whole of my acquaintance with Mr. Kenderdine. I was + forced to admit that I had acted imprudently in not letting him know + from the beginning what my life was to be, but I never thought it + would matter to him. Then my conscience reproached me for the lie I + had implied: I might have told him the truth, and spared him the + mortification of believing that I preferred some one else. I knew, + in thinking of it calmly, that it was not to avoid an argument that + I had done it, but to make him feel as badly as possible, because I + was angry at him for stopping my horse. It was mean in me, + especially as that De Vezin was the person he would pitch on. You + see, I had made a good deal of De Vezin while in Paris, but it was + only to improve my French accent--a fact which poor Fred + could not know. + + "The train whizzed on. The night grew dark: I could scarcely + distinguish objects outside the blurred window, but I still remained + attentive to the voice of the conductor as he called out the names + of the successive stations until--until I heard no more: I had + fallen asleep. + + "I suppose I slept profoundly for about half an hour, when I was + suddenly awakened by a jerk: the cars had stopped. I was not aware I + had been sleeping, but I had an undefined sense that something was + wrong. I hastily opened the window and heard the name Liancourt + shouted. There was no such stopping-place between Paris and Creil, + for I had studied up my route before starting. The truth flashed + upon me, and impulsively I left my car, rushed to the conductor, and + asked, 'What place is this?' + + "'Liancourt.' + + "'And where is Creil?' + + "'We have passed it. Did you want to go there?' + + "'Of course I did. Why did you not call it?' + + "'We did call it,' said he indignantly: 'you must have been asleep.' + + "'No such thing,' I replied, for at the moment I did not think it + could be possible. + + "There was but little time for reflection. Should I go on to the + next large town, or should I stay? If I went on, I should get to my + destination in the middle of the night, and, knowing nothing of the + place, might have great difficulty in finding lodgings. If I stayed, + I might get a train back or a carriage, or even find here a hotel of + some kind where they would accommodate me until morning. I decided + to remain, and off went the cars. + + "One of the ticket-agents came forward from the office--as I + supposed to offer his services: there were but few people about, but + all understood my situation. As I said, the man came forward and + bowed: 'Your fare, if you please.' + + "I handed him my ticket: he stood before me and repeated, 'Your + fare, if you please.' + + "'I have given you my ticket,' said I, looking at him inquiringly. + + "'This one is not for Liancourt: it is for Creil.' + + "'I was going to Creil, only the train brought me past.' + + "'Exactly, and you will please pay for the extra distance,' said he + politely. + + "It was too much. I had the misfortune of being carried out of my + way, and this exasperating clerk was coolly asking me to pay the + company a premium for the result of the conductor's carelessness. It + was one of those situations in which words fail to express the + extent of your indignation. The fellow's audacity verged on the + sublime. He stood there with the calmness of a hero. And what did I + do? Why, I paid him. But I tell you truly that I have hated that + whole railroad company with the blackest hatred ever since. That was + not all. As soon as he received the provoking money--I wish it had + been red hot--he turned on his heel and walked into his office. + + "But it was not the time to indulge in resentment: I must act + promptly. The people there when I arrived were fast dispersing. I + addressed myself to a half-grown boy who was standing near me: 'When + does the next train go to Paris?' I thought I had better return and + start afresh in the morning. + + "'The last has gone for to-night,' answered the lad. + + "'Are you quite sure?' + + "He gave his head a decisive jerk. + + "'How far is this place from Creil?' + + "'About five miles.' + + "'Can I get a carriage to take me there?' + + "'No.' This time he looked for corroboration to the group who had + gathered round us, all of whom with one accord wagged their heads in + the negative. + + "'Is there a hotel here?' + + "'No.' + + "'Isn't it a town?' + + "'No,' much intensified. + + "I knew that there are many stations in France consisting of a + single building located in the midst of fields: these places take + their names from the nearest town (which may be several + miles distant), and are marked on the maps by a black spot like a + hyphen: many of them are served by an omnibus. I found, on further + questioning, that this was one of the aforesaid black spots, minus + the omnibus. + + "'What is the nearest town?' I continued. + + "'Liancourt is a little more than a mile off, but it is a village.' + + "'Is there an inn there?' + + "'I believe there is.' + + "By this time most of my audience had satisfied their curiosity and + departed, leaving only the boy, and an old man who attracted my + attention. He held a lantern which illuminated a kindly, + weatherbeaten face, looking like that of an old sailor. I discovered + later that he had come from Normandy, and like most Normans had + spent half his life on the waves. He seemed interested in my hapless + plight: perhaps he would assist me. + + "'I want to go back to Creil' (I knew I should find a hotel there): + 'won't you come with me and show me the way with your lantern?' + + "'Can't, mademoiselle: can't leave here.' He gave an indicative jerk + of his head and thumb in a certain direction toward the railroad. + + "'Why not?' + + "'I am the night-watchman, and should lose my place if I left.' + + "Then please point out the road: I shall have to return alone.' + + "'Can't, mademoiselle: it is too dark. You would get lost.' + + "I thought I could not get much more lost than I was at that moment, + but did not say so. Just then a bright idea struck me: 'I will walk + back on the railroad: I cannot fail to find my way.' + + "The old man looked aghast at the proposition, and pointed to the + long line of high thick hedge that bordered it on each side. + + "'How could you leave the track if you did get to Creil? They are + locked up there for the night. Besides, you would be crushed by + passing trains, and you would be fined too, for it is against the + law. Now,' he went on in that patronizing manner which, from its + naivete is so charming in the French peasant--'now, mademoiselle + does not wish to die to-night, does she, and be also fined?' + + "'No,' I replied dolefully, seeing my chances of shelter + diminishing, 'but I shall certainly die if you will not help me to + find a hotel.' + + "'Wait,' he whispered--'wait a little until all the world is gone. + It won't be five minutes until every one has departed and every + light is out in the station; then--' + + "I could not see how this was to improve my condition, but, having + no choice, I waited patiently while he went and busied himself about + his work. Presently he returned. Everything was silent, and pointing + mysteriously to the waiting-room in the building, he said in a low + voice, '_There_ is where you can stay till morning. They would not + allow it if they knew, but no one will be the wiser. You can leave + as soon as it is light, and to-night sleep on one of the sofas. + That's where I sit at night, and I will give it up to you.' + + "The idea was repugnant to me. I could not consent; it was too + frightful; it was impossible. I hastened to say, 'It will not do--I + cannot stay here: you must take me back. Do take me to Creil.' + + "'Can't do it.' + + "'Well, take me to the next town: there is an inn, and it is not + far.' + + "He wavered, and seeing my distress his good-nature conquered. 'I + will go with you,' he answered, slowly shaking his head as if + admonishing himself for being such a fool; 'but if they should find + it out--' + + "You may think it was unkind in me to let him run the risk of losing + his place, but what was I to do? I could not submit to stay at the + station like a vagabond, and I could not find my way alone. So, + without allowing him time to change his mind, I set out. The road + was bad and the night dark; the lantern threw a circle of light + around us, but all beyond was impenetrable; still, the hope of + shelter at the end made the walk agreeable to me. We + stumbled along in silence, and by and by heard the barking of dogs + that always heralds a night approach to a village. The first house + that greeted my eyes had the welcome signboard swinging before it, + and above its lintel a bush. It was a tiny place, but it was a + refuge, and I felt quite cheerful as I requested the old tar to + knock. + + "He did so, and the sound echoed and re-echoed, but there was no + response. + + "'Again,' I said, and 'again,' and 'again,' with no better result. + It was anything but encouraging. + + "'They cannot hear, they are asleep: take up a stone and beat the + door. You must awaken them.' + + "He obediently picked up a stone, and there followed a noise like + thunder. I should not have been surprised to see the wee house tilt + over and lie down on its side under the force of the blows. Now a + gruff voice called out, 'What do you want?' + + "'Lodging.' + + "'We have no room for any one: go away.' + + "'Tell him I must stay,' And with the help of my prompting the old + fellow put my case in the most persuasive light possible, but, + although we talked and knocked with perseverance, the owner of the + voice neither appeared, nor would he vouchsafe us another answer. + One might have thought the house had been suddenly enchanted. + + "'It is of no use--of no use whatever: they will not open,' finally + said my exhausted companion. + + "'Is there no other inn here?' + + "'No: you will have to return.' + + "'Then you must take me to Creil.' + + "'That I can't do. I have been away too long already: there is a + freight-train expected, and I must see that the track is clear. We + must go back;' and he turned resolutely and led the way. + + "Just as we left the village a gay party of peasant-girls passed us + coming from a ball, laughing and chatting merrily with their beaus. + I had an insane idea of accosting them, appealing to their pity, and + asking them to keep me for the night, but fear lest they should + refuse restrained me: I was too dejected to risk a second repulse. + I have been able to realize the poetical things they tell us of the + sensations of outcasts, of adventurers; and homeless wanderers ever + since. The sight of this merry party made me feel more terribly + alone; and the beaus--well, I confess I did wonder what Fred was + doing at that moment. Then I thought of the horror of my aunt could + she know where I was, and what she would think of the 'footsteps' + her own niece was making just then, could she see her. + + "When we arrived at the station my guide preceded me to the + waiting-room, and I, completely worn out, meekly followed him. + + "'This is much better than sleeping in the fields,' he remarked + cheerily as we entered: 'shall I make you a fire?' + + "'No, thank you, but let me go into the other room.' My reason for + this was that its sofas and chairs had some pretensions to comfort, + being 'first class.' He went to open the connecting door. It was + locked. + + "'This is the only room that is open: I am sorry. Wait a moment: I + will bring something to make a pillow, and you can sleep like a + top.' He went out, and returned with an old coat, which he folded + for me, and which, after covering it with my handkerchief, made a + tolerable resting-place for my head. My bed was a hard bench. + + "'Now,' said my protector in a tone of much satisfaction--'now, you + will be well. _Voila un bon gite_! Both these other doors are + fastened, and this one you can lock after me. Very early I will come + and take you part of the way back, and by daylight you can easily + find the rest yourself. _Bonne nuit, mademoiselle: dormez bien_.' He + went to the door, and taking the key from the outside put it inside. + It would not turn. The lock had been made to work with two keys, and + the other was absent. + + "'I will tell you what I will do,' said my friend, not in the least + discomfited: 'I will lock the door and take the key with me. I must + go up the road about two miles on my beat, but you can feel + quite safe: no one can get in while I am gone. There is another + watchman on the road: he might come while I am away, and--and raise + a row. It is best to lock you up.' He nodded his head with great + complacency at his good management, and prepared to leave me. I + could suggest nothing better. I was at the end of my resources, and + had to accept my fate. It would be interesting to know what the + Pompadour or Queen Elizabeth would have done under the + circumstances, wouldn't it? + + "It was with no pleasant feeling that I saw the door shut, heard the + key turned, then withdrawn: the lantern glimmered for a moment + through the window, and I was left in the darkness a prisoner. + Thoroughly a prisoner, for none of the three doors had keys on my + side, and the windows, with their tiny panes of ground glass, were + high above the floor. Then, too, the old man had insisted on + speaking in a whisper, and walked about on tiptoe. Who were those + persons he evidently feared to waken? Persons near by, of course. + Probably they carried the missing keys and could enter at any + moment. And the other watchman? What if he should come, and, this + being the room allotted to himself and companion, refuse to be + barred out? Those other unknowns would be aroused by his knocking, + and rush in to seek an explanation. If I were found there, should I + be taken before the police as a vagabond? Or imagine a fire--a fire + and no one knowing that I am here! A fire and no means of escape! My + friends losing all trace of me, unable to ascertain how I came by my + death! And such a horrible death! Four hours yet till dawn! What + might not happen in four hours? The man himself might only have gone + to seek an accomplice to murder me. He might have known that the key + would not turn on the inside. But at last, in spite of myself, + fatigue conquered fear and I slept. + + "I cannot say how long I had been unconscious when I was awakened by + hearing a key turning in the lock: the door cautiously opened, and a + man entered and came toward the bench where I was lying. My + drowsiness calmed me. I wondered quite placidly whether it was to be + robbery or murder. What a paragraph it would make in the _Moniteur_ + next day! I would cheerfully give him my watch and purse if they + would content him. I might call out and rouse the house, but most + likely Brunhilda in my situation would have held a parley. A good + precedent. I sat up to show that I was awake, and in doing so + recognized my old man. Though nothing could look more threatening as + he stealthily advanced, shading his light, taking pains to make no + noise, I could not entirely mistrust the weatherbeaten face with its + anxious, benevolent eyes that met mine. + + "'Is it time to go?' I asked. + + "'Not yet, but soon. I have just returned, and came in to know if + you would have a fire: it is cold outside.' + + "'No, never mind: I am doing well enough. I think I will take + another nap.' + + "'Very well: I shall be near for the rest of the night, so you need + not be afraid.' And he left, carefully locking me in again. + + "When he came for me the dawn was beginning to break; the morning + star was shining in the sky; the earliest birds were twittering, and + cocks answered each other from distance to distance; but not a human + being was to be seen. We crossed ploughed fields and stubble to find + the road, and I felt the truth of my guide's augury of the night + before. Had I attempted to go alone I should have become bewildered, + and ended by sleeping in the fields. It did strike me that if the + man wished to rob me, now would be his chance, and at first I + intentionally kept a little behind; but his innocent garrulity was + such as to allay all suspicions, and we jogged on very amicably + until, coming to two roads, he pointed out that which leads to + Creil, and bade me good-bye. + + "Had I had the giving of a medal of the Legion of Honor, I should + have decorated him on the spot. I believe it repaid me for my + annoyance to have found such ample goodness, such chivalry, such + kindness, growing as it were by the wayside. It was as if + the world had rolled back into the days of knight-errantry, when to + rescue and protect distressed damsels ranked next to religious + worship. Sure am I if my weatherbeaten old man had lived at that + time, none would have been more renowned for gentle deeds: in this + prosaic age he is but a watchman on a railroad. I was about to pour + out my gratitude, when I remembered we were in the nineteenth + century, and looking into his face, I fancied that something more + substantial would be better. I drew out my purse. He was frankly + delighted with what I gave him, saying only that it was too much, + and we separated mutually pleased. + + "I sauntered on, lingering by the way to avoid waiting at Creil; + consequently, I was just able to procure my ticket and a paper of + brioches at the buffet when the English train came in. As I stood at + the door, knowing that as soon as it moved off the Belgian train was + due, whom should I see get out but Fred! I thought he would re-enter + in a moment, and placed myself so that he could not see me. I was + mistaken. The train started, and mine puffed up: there he was still. + In the crowd I hoped I should not be discovered, but as I stepped + from the door his eyes met mine, and he rushed up to me with the + exclamation, 'In the name of Heaven, how did you get here? Was there + an accident? Are you hurt? What is the matter?' + + "It was singular how his voice unnerved me: I could not say a word. + The crowd carried us with them, and he helped me into a car, sitting + by me and recommencing his questions. Then I stammered, 'You will be + taken on if you do not get out: there is nothing wrong.' + + "For answer he shut the door of the compartment, and said, 'I am + going with you. Now tell me how you come to be here?' + + "I do not know why I should have given way when all danger was + over--I believe there is no parallel case in the life of any + celebrated woman--but I suppose I was tired out. My anxiety and + fright, a night spent on a hard board, the surprise of meeting Mr. + Kenderdine,--whatever it was, I leaned back in the corner of the + seat, took out my handkerchief, and cried harder than I had ever + done in my life before. He was greatly alarmed, but, like a sensible + man, waited until I became more composed, and when I was able to + tell him, instead of blaming me or thinking I was stupid, he + censured himself for not accompanying me. + + "'I did mean to ask your permission to do so, Miss Eleanor,' he said + slightly embarrassed, 'and I was prig enough to think you would + allow it, but when you told me of your engagement I did not dare. + After you left I had a dread that something might happen, and I + could not rest satisfied until I had made up my mind to come on and + see that you had arrived safely. I thought you would forgive me, as + it is for the last time, and De Vezin need not be jealous, for he + will have you for ever, while I--' Fred can be wonderfully pathetic. + + "Then I made up my mind to undeceive him, as was my duty, you know. + I told him very gently that he was under a false impression. I was + not engaged: my aunt had educated me for a purpose, and we both had + quite determined that I should never marry, but instead do something + great in the world, though I had not yet decided what. I explained + it to him fully, so that there should be no more mistakes about it. + When I ended I did not venture to look at him for a long time, + fearing to see him grieved at this irrevocable barrier; but when I + did, what was my surprise to see his face beaming with joy! He began + impetuously, 'If you had told me I was to be crowned at Brussels, it + would not be better news. I was sure it was De Vezin who separated + us. Now I can hope.' + + "'You must not talk in that way if you do not want our friendship to + cease: you offend me deeply. Can't you see that if you persist in + this idea of yours, our pleasant acquaintance must end?' It was so + frivolous in Fred, and I spoke very decidedly. + + "'Not at all, Eleanor: it would only begin. Why should not our whole + life be like this past year?' + + "'You know it can't,' said I. 'Haven't I told you the reason?' + + "'It will be no reason when De Vezin asks you,' said he + suspiciously. + + "'De Vezin is nothing to me.' + + "'You carry a _gage d'amour_ from him on your watch-chain at this + very minute.' + + "Now, wasn't that talk silly? De Vezin had brought me a two-centime + piece one day because I said I had never seen one, and I put a hole + in it and hung it to my chain. Fred to call that a _gage d'amour!_ + + "'Nonsense!' said I. + + "'De Vezin thought the same when he saw it there. I took him for a + fool, but I see he was right.' + + "'Well, now you will see you were both fools,' said I angrily, and I + twisted off the coin and threw it from the window. + + "'Is only that preposterous notion in the way?' he asked, looking + happy again and taking a seat by me. + + "I told you how I cried on first entering the cars, and now--would + you believe it?--I got terribly embarrassed. It seemed as if + everything I did or said made matters worse. I was scarcely able to + stammer, 'My aunt--' + + "'I will speak to her. Let me put this on your finger until I can + replace it by another:' and he slipped off his seal and leaned + forward with an entreating look. + + "I shook my head. + + "'I won't ask you to promise anything: only wear it that I may not + be forgotten in Rome.' + + "'No, no, I cannot!' I exclaimed, clasping my hands. I suppose the + action and tone were very exaggerated, for Mr. Kenderdine drew back, + saying, 'I shall not _force_ you to take it;' and then went to the + other window, took a newspaper out of his pocket and pretended to + read it, while I was angry and sorry and miserable, though why I + should feel so much like crying at what had only amused me the day + before I cannot understand. I suppose none of those wonderful ladies + would have acted so, would they? + + "But you are tired long ago, and you can easily imagine what comes + after. See!" and she turned a ring on her finger until I could catch + the shimmer of its stone. "That is how it ended; and though I did + not accept it until the next spring in Rome, I shall always blame + that night for the whole affair. When I asked Fred why he took the + trouble to follow me after the double snubbing I had given him, he + said 'I was worth it.' But since we are engaged he teases me + shamefully--calls me doctor, hopes I intend to support him in + comfort and ease, and says that it always was his ambition to be the + husband of a strong-minded woman, and broadly hints about my + experience in traveling being so useful to him. And aunt? When I + first told her she looked so shocked and disappointed that I threw + myself in her arms, saying I would not distress her for the world; + that I would do anything she desired; that if she wished she might + send Fred off, for I loved her best on earth. But after some minutes + of deep thought she looked at me quizzically and replied, 'You know, + dear, I always said you must choose your career for yourself.' Then + seeing that I seemed hurt and ashamed, she kissed me and whispered, + 'Love makes us selfish: my affection for you has grown stronger than + my ambition. If _you_ are happy, my Eleanor, I can wait patiently + for the advancement of the rest of my sex.'" + +Then Eleanor rose, and drawing her shawl round her preparatory to going, +said shyly, "And what I came to tell you is, that the wedding will take +place at Christmas." + + ITA ANIOL PROKOP. + + + + +AN AMERICAN LADY'S OCCUPATIONS SEVENTY YEARS AGO. + + +We are looking over sundry trunks and boxes, the careful and the +careless gatherings of three generations. There are law-papers in dusty +files; familiar gossipy letters from brothers and sisters and college +chums; dignified letters from reverend judges and law-makers; letters +bursting with scandalized Federalisms, and burning or melting with +long-forgotten joys and sorrows. We have read some thousands of these +papers, and begin to be very uncertain about the times we are living in. +What indeed is this year of our Lord? We have a dim recollection that we +have been wished a happy New Year in 1875, yet we are living and +thinking with the boys and girls of 1776, who have grown to be the men +and women of Jefferson's time. + +To make things more misty to our comprehension, we are sitting by a +dormer window in a high, "hip-roofed" garret of a mansion built just +before the Revolution, and the air is redolent of ancient memories. The +very cobweb that swung across the window just now has a venerable +appearance, entirely inconsistent with the fact that the housemaid's +broom was supposed to have whisked across these beams but yesterday. But +then the housemaids of to-day, as everybody knows, are, as a source of +perplexity and vexation of spirit, always to be relied upon, but never +to be relied upon for anything else. And with the thought we sigh for +the "good old days" and the "good old servants" of our grandmothers. + +Happy grandmothers! so blessed in their simple, quiet lives, unvexed by +ever-changing fashions and domestics! What did they know of trouble +whose best silk gowns remained in fashion from year to year, and whose +cooks never treated them to an empty breakfast-table, and a cool "I +thought I'd be a-lavin' this marnin', mum"? Happy grandmothers! + +Thus thinking, we pick up a little rough paper-book with marbled covers +from the corner of the old hair trunk where it was long ago thrown by +some careless hand. The little tumbled book proves to be a diary. Not a +record of a soul's strivings and pantings after a higher life, or a +curiously minute inquiry into the possible reasons which induced the +Almighty to allow Satan to afflict Job, but a simple daily note-book, +the memoranda of a housekeeper. The old letters had been to us what the +newspapers of to-day will be to the great-grandchildren of the present +generation. The diary carried us back into the immediate home-life of +seventy years ago. + +The diarist had been a fair and stately dame in her day, and it is easy +to remove her from the frame where her portrait hangs on the walls of +the south parlor, and fancy her seated in the same room before the +crackling fire jotting down the memoranda of the day. She is a pretty +sight, we think, sitting in her straight-backed mahogany arm-chair, with +her feet on the polished brass fender and her book resting on the little +stand, which also holds the two tall silver candlesticks with their tall +tallow candles, for wax candles are saved for gala-nights, when diaries +are not in requisition. She must have been nearly forty years old when +she wrote in this little book, but we see her as her portrait shows her, +very young-looking in spite of her stateliness, enhanced though it is by +the high turban of embroidered muslin edged with soft lace falling over +the clusters of fair curls on her temples, and by the black satin gown, +short-waisted and scanty, relieved only by delicate lace frills, which +shade the beautiful throat and the strong, white, shapely hands. The +shadow on her face as she gazes into the fire is not marvelous, for it +is winter in her quiet Connecticut home; the post comes but twice a +week; her husband is representing his State in Washington, and her only +child is studying in distant Yale. Perhaps, though, the shadow is not +that of pure loneliness. Is there not some perplexity in it? And +something also of vexation? Yes, and it is the very vexation of spirit +which--in the face of Solomon's venerable testimony to the contrary--we +had fancied to be peculiar to our own evil days. Almost the first entry +in this quaint little diary is to the effect that "Jim was sulky +to-night and gave short answers." A little farther on we find that +"Yesterday Jim went away without leave, and stayed all night;" which +delinquency, being accompanied by a suspicion of drunkenness, caused the +anxious dame to "send for General T---- to come and give Jim a lecture." +Lecturing, however, was not then so popular as now, and Jim appears to +have profited little by the veteran general's discourse, for on the very +next night he repeats his offence. We have reason also to fear that +Jim's honesty was not above suspicion, for we read that Betsey, an +American woman who acted as assistant housekeeper and companion, "found +in Jim's possession a red morocco pocket-book which I had given her, but +"--alas for Betsey!--"with the contents all gone." + +Other entries to the effect that madam one day lost her key to the +wine-cellar, and the next day discovered the bibulous Jim in the said +cellar "sucking brandy through a straw inserted in the bunghole of the +cask," and that, "furthermore, Jim had confessed to having stolen and +sold a coffee-basin for rum," do not tend to raise in our estimation +this pattern of an ancient darkey. This time it appears that madam did +not need to call in the aid of General T----, for she admits that she +herself "lectured Jim severely;" sarcastically adding, "he professed +penitence, but that did not hinder him from stealing another basin +to-day." + +But the refractory Jim, we think, must have been the exception which +proved the rule that all servants prior to the late Celtic invasion were +models of deportment. Accordingly, we are not surprised to find that +Betsey was a handmaiden held in high estimation, and that "old Jack" was +a servant whose shortcomings were offset by his general good conduct and +affectionate heart. But we find also that there was a certain Sally, who +could be tolerated only because of her great culinary skill; and an +uncertain Silvy, who appears to have been in mind, if not in fact, the +twin-sister of Jim, with a spice of Topsy thrown in. + +The trouble in those days was not the prospect of suddenly losing cook +or nursemaid, but that there was no getting rid of either. The fact of +slavery was, under the act of 1793, slowly fading away from Connecticut, +but all its habits remained in full force. "I wish I could send Jim and +Silvy away," writes madam, "but the poor rascals have no place to go +to." + +Silvy was a tricksome spright that delighted in breaking bottles of the +"best Madeira wine and spilling the contents over the new English +carpet" when the mistress had invited the parson's and the doctor's +families to dinner. This, though of course it was "not to be endured," +might have been accidental, and so was very "tolerable" in comparison +with Silvy's next exploits of poisoning the beloved house-dog and +throwing by the roadside the bottle of wine--possibly emptied first--the +jar of jelly and the fresh quarter of lamb which had been sent to a poor +and sick old woman. These two offences, occurring on the same day, we +are sorry to confess, incited the stately, white-handed dame to do +something more decisive than to "deliver a lecture" to Silvy. It is +demurely recorded that "for these two misdeeds I whipped Silvy." What +effect the whipping had upon that somewhat too frolicsome damsel we are +not informed, but madam admits that it made herself ill, and adds that +"if Silvy does not reform it is impossible to see what can be done for +her, for she will not listen to remonstrance. Betsey is not strong +enough to punish so strapping a wench, and it does not seem right that a +man should be set to whip any woman or girl, even a wench, else Jack +could do it." + +However, Jack's own patience having been tried by the refractory Silvy, +he seems to have taken the matter into his own hands, for his mistress +tells us how she was scandalized, on her return from church, by "finding +Jack whipping Silvy," while that young lady was "screaming vehemently, +so that all the people passing by could hear her." As Jack had +discovered Silvy engaged in the amiable diversion of breaking the legs +of the young calves by throwing stones at them, one can have a little +charity for his summary action, although, as madam gravely remarks, "he +might at least have waited until Monday." + +The calves, by the way, had an unlucky winter of it, and were especially +shaky about the legs. We find that a few weeks later "Jack having +neglected to repair the barn floor, as he had been directed, a plank had +given way and three of the calves' legs had been broken by the fall." We +have felt a deep interest in the fate of these calves, but with all our +anxiety have failed to discover whether three calves had all their legs +broken, or only three legs in all had been sacrificed to Jack's culpable +neglect. + +By this time we begin to think that madam would have been just as well +off if she had not kept so many servants, and to wonder what they could +have had to do. Perhaps it was the idle man's playmate that made the +trouble. But a little farther reading in the old diary dissipates this +illusion. If anybody thinks that our grandmothers must have been cursed +with ennui because they did not attend three parties a night three times +a week, with operas and theatres to fill in the off nights, they are +mightily mistaken. + +Of sociability there could have been no lack in this rural neighborhood, +for besides a ball or two madam records numbers of tea-drinkings and +debating clubs, and meetings of the Clio, a literary club, at which +assisted at least two future judges of the supreme courts of the States +of their adoption, and several other men and women whose names would +attract attention even in our clattering days. Visiting, too, of the +old-fashioned spend-the-day sort had not gone out of date--was indeed so +common that madam one evening enters in her journal--whether in sorrow +or in thankfulness there is nothing to tell us, but at least as a +notable fact--that she had "had no company to-day." + +But it was not company that occupied all the hours of so busy a dame as +our diarist. Though she had not to remodel her dresses in hot chase +after the last novelty of the fashion-weekly, she had to superintend the +manufacture of the stuff of which her maids' gowns and her own +morning-gowns were made, to say nothing of bed-and table-linen, etc. +Bridget in our day seems to think that to do a family washing is a labor +of Hercules. Yet seventy years ago before a towel could be washed the +soap wherewith to cleanse it must be made at home; and this not by the +aid of condensed lye or potash, but with lye drawn by a tedious process +of filtering water through barrels or leach-tubs of hard-wood ashes. The +"setting" of these tubs was one of the first labors of the spring, and +to see that Silvy or Jim poured on the water at regular intervals, and +did not continue pouring after the lye had become "too weak to bear up +an egg," was a part of Betsey's daily duty for some weeks. Then came the +soap-boiling in great iron kettles over the fire in the wide fireplace. +Apparently, this was not always a certain operation. Science had not yet +put her meddling but useful finger into the soap-pot, for madam sadly +records that on the twenty-first of May she had superintended the +soap-boiling, but had not been blessed with "good luck;" and on the +third of June we find the suggestive entry, "Finished the soap-boiling +to-day." Eleven days--for we must of course count out the two +Sundays--eleven days of greasy, odorous soap-boiling! We think that if +we had been in madam's slippers we should have allowed Sally, Silvy and +the rest to try the virtues of the unaided waters of heaven upon the +family washing, and when this ceased to be efficacious should have let +the clothes be purified by fire. But upon second thoughts, no: it was +too much trouble to make those clothes. + +We are not yet through with the preparations for the washing. The +ancient housewife could not do without starch for her "ruffs and cuffs +and fardingales," and for her lord's elaborately plaited ruffles. Yet +she could not buy a box of "Duryea's best refined." The starch, like the +soap, must be made at home. "On this day," writes our diarist, "had a +bushel of wheat put in soak for starch;" and in another place we find +the details of the starch-making process. The wheat was put into a tub +and covered with water. As the chaff rose to the top it was skimmed off. +Each day the water was carefully turned off, without disturbing the +wheat, and fresh water was added, until after several days there was +nothing left but a hard and perfectly white mass in the bottom of the +tub. This mass was spread upon pewter platters and dried in the sun. + +Another sore trouble was the breadmaking. The great wheat-fields of the +West were not then opened, and we find that the wheat was frequently +"smutty;" hence, that "the barrel was bad," which must sorely have tried +the soul of the good housewife. Woe be to Silvy if that damsel did not +carry herself gingerly on the baking-day when the long, flat shovel +removed from the cavernous brick oven only heavy and sticky lumps of +baked dough, in place of the light white loaves which the painstaking +housewife had a right to expect! + +In the absence of husband and son the care of a large farm fell upon our +madam's shoulders, and the details of cost and income are dotted through +the little journal. We can imagine the lady, gracious in her +stateliness, marshaling old General T---- and Colonel C----, two +veterans of the Revolution, out into her barnyard to get their opinion +as to the value of her fat cattle, and the concealed disapproval with +which she received their judgment that forty-five dollars was a fair +price for the pair, "when," as she quietly remarks, "I considered that +fifty dollars was little enough for so fine a pair of fat cattle; and in +fact I got my own price for them the next day." + +Fifty dollars was a much larger sum then than now. Imagine how many +things could be bought for fifty dollars, when butter brought but ten, +veal three or four, beef six or seven cents respectively per pound, and +a pair of fat young chickens brought but twenty-five cents! There is one +article upon whose accession of price we can dwell with pleasure. Madam +records discontentedly that it "took two men all day to kill four hogs, +_notwithstanding_ that she had spent fifty cents for a half gallon +of rum for them to drink." Fancy the sort of liquor that could now be +bought for a dollar the gallon, and the sort of men that could drink two +quarts thereof and live! + +It is heretical, of course, to hint a syllable against the open +wood-fire which crackled and flickered so beautifully while our madam +wrote about her cattle and pigs and Jim and Silvy, but in truth we +cannot envy our ancestors the care of those fires. With three yawning, +devouring fireplaces constantly to be fed, and an additional one for +each of the guest-rooms so often occupied during the winter--for this +was the visiting season--there was no lack of business for Ralph, a +white man; and his colored coadjutors, Jack and Jim. When we look at the +still existing kitchen fireplace, nine feet in width and four in depth, +we cease to blame Jack for neglecting to mend the barn floor. We only +wonder that he found time to whip Silvy. + +Among the occupations of the women one great time-consumer must have +been the daily scouring, so much woodwork was left unpainted to be kept +as white as a clean sea-beach by applications of soap and sand. Probably +a good deal of this hand-and-knee work fell upon the unfortunate Silvy, +as well as the polishing of the pewter plates, the brass fenders, +andirons, tongs, shovels, door-knobs, knockers, and the various brazen +ornaments which bedecked the heavy sideboards and tall secretaries. + +Seventy years ago, when gas and kerosene were not, and wax candles were +an extravagance indulged in only on state occasions, even by the +wealthy, the tallow dip was an article of necessity, and "candle +dip-day" was as certain of recurrence as Christmas, though perhaps even +less welcome than the equally certain annual Fast Day. Fancy an immense +kitchen with the before-mentioned fireplace in the centre of one side. +Over the blaze of backlog and forestick, and something like half a cord +of "eight-foot wood," are swinging the iron cranes laden with great +kettles of melting tallow. On the opposite side of the kitchen two long +poles about two feet apart are supported at their extremities upon the +seats of chairs. Beside the poles are other great kettles containing +melted tallow poured on the top of hot water. Across the poles are the +slender candle-rods, from which depend ranks upon ranks of candle-wicks +made of tow, for cotton wick is a later invention. Little by little, by +endlessly repeating the slow process of dipping into the kettles of +melted tallow and hanging them to cool, the wicks take on their proper +coating of tallow. To make the candles as large as possible was the aim, +for the more tallow the brighter the light. When done, the ranks of +candles, still depending from the rods, were hung in the sunniest spots +of a sunny garret to bleach. + +But all these employments were as play compared with the home +manufacture of dry goods. Ralph, Jack and Jim had no time for such work, +so two other men were all winter kept busy in the barn at "crackling +flax" and afterward passing it through a coarse hetchel to separate the +coarsest or "swingling tow." After this the flax was made up into +switches or "heads" like those which we see in pictures, or that which +Faust's Marguerite so temptingly wields. These were deposited in barrels +in the garret. During the winter the "heads" were brought down by the +women to be rehetcheled once and again, removing first the coarser, and +then the finer tow. This must have been a fearfully dusty operation. It +makes one cough only to think of "the inch depth of flax-dust" which +settled upon Betsey's protecting handkerchief while she "hetcheled." + +The finest and best of the flax was saved for spinning into thread, for +cotton thread there was none, excepting, possibly, a little of very poor +quality in small skeins. The small wheel that we see in the far corner +of the garret--just like Marguerite's--was used for spinning the fine +thread. A larger wheel was used to spin the tow into yarn for the coarse +clothing for boys and negroes or for "filling" in the coarser linens. +All the boys, and very often the men--perhaps even our M.C. +himself--wore in summer trousers made of linen cloth, for which the yarn +was spun at home by the maids, and was then taken to the weaver's to be +made into cloth. Part of the linen yarn was dyed blue, and, mingled with +white or unbleached yarn, was woven into a chequered stuff for the +curtains of servants' beds and for dresses for the maids and aprons for +their mistresses. In view of the fact that all the bed-linen and most of +the table-linen was thus made at home, one cannot wonder that a +house-wife's linen-closet was an object of special care and pride. + +If there were at that time any woolen manufactories in the United +States, their powers of production must have been very limited, while +foreign cloths could only have been worn by the gentlemen, and by them +probably not at all times, for a few years later than the date of +madam's diary we find that English cloths were sold at the then fearful +prices of eighteen and twenty dollars per yard. So sheep must be kept +and sheared, and their wool carded, rolled and spun. As linen-spinning +was the fancy-work of winter, so wool-spinning was that of summer. Back +and forth before the loud-humming big wheel briskly stepped the cheerful +spinner through the long bright afternoons of summer, busily spinning +the yarn that was to be woven into cloths and flannels of different +textures. Busily indeed must both mistress and maids have stepped, for +not without their labors could be provided the coats and trousers, the +undershirts, the petticoats and the woolen sheets, to say nothing of +blankets, white or chequered, and the heavy coverlets of blue or green +and white yarns woven into curiously intermingling figures, all composed +of little squares; and last, but not least, the yarn for countless pairs +of long warm stockings for the feet of master and man, mistress and +maid. For as a legacy from dying slavery the servants were still unable +or unwilling to provide for their own wants, and the house-mistress had +frequently to knit Jack's stockings with her own fair fingers, as well +as to "cut out the stuff for Jim's pantaloons," which she will "try to +teach Silvy to sew." + +Did we think that we had reached the last purpose for which the homespun +woolen yarn was required? We were mistaken, for here is the entry: +"To-day dyed the yarn for back-hall carpet. Remember to tell the weaver +that I prefer it plaided instead of striped." + +Economy of time must, one would think, have been the most necessary of +economies to the old-time housewives. With so many things to do, how did +they find time to make those marvels of misplaced industry, the patched +bed-quilts? Our diarist, rich as her closets were in blankets and linen, +left but few bed-quilts to vex the eyes of her descendants, yet we read +that "Betsey and I quilted a bed-quilt this afternoon"--their fingers +were surely nimble--"and in the evening"--happy change of +employment!--"Betsey finished reading aloud from Blair's +_Lectures._ To-morrow evening we shall begin the _Spectator_. +My husband has sent us by private hand Mr. A. Pope's translation of the +_Iliad_ and _Odyssey_, but it has not yet arrived. Strange +that a private hand should be slower than the post!" + +And indeed the slowness of the post had been a source of frequent +disquietude to our madam during this lonely winter, for very lonely it +was to the waiting wife and mother, notwithstanding all her occupations. +"'Life's employments are life's enjoyments,'" she sadly writes on the +night before Christmas, "and surely I have not a few of them; but with +my beloved husband and son far from me I cannot half enjoy my life. I +have given the servants their presents to-night" (though living in +Puritan Connecticut, our madam was of Hollandish stock, and did not +ignore the Christmas festival), "and paid them eighteen pence apiece not +to wish me a Merry Christmas to-morrow, for little merriment indeed +should there be for me." + +Yet she was a cheerful soul, this stately madam who sadly gazes into the +fire on the Christmas Eve of seventy years ago--a cheerful, loving soul, +and a kindly (notwithstanding her chastisement of the delinquent Silvy); +and after all the winter wore not unhappily away. + +With the opening spring husband and son returned to gladden her heart, +and we close the little diary with a smile at once of sympathy and of +amusement as we read that while madam had intended to meet her loved +ones with the family coach on their landing from the sloop at +Poughkeepsie, thirty miles from her home, she was "so detained by reason +of the depth and vileness of the mud that it was full fifteen miles this +side the river" (Hudson) "that our coach fell in with a hired carriage +coming this way. The road was so bad that we had difficulty in passing, +and it was not until we were almost by that my dear husband noticed his +own coach. There was some trouble in getting from the one carriage to +the other, but when all were safely in the coach there was much +rejoicing, you may be sure." + + ETHEL C. GALE. + + + + +A MARCH VIOLET. + + + Black boughs against a pale, clear sky, + Slight mists of cloud-wreaths floating by; + Soft sunlight, gray-blue smoky air, + Wet thawing snows on hillsides bare; + Loud streams, moist sodden earth; below + Quick seedlings stir, rich juices flow + Through frozen veins of rigid wood, + And the whole forest bursts in bud. + No longer stark the branches spread + An iron network overhead, + Albeit naked still of green; + Through this soft, lustrous vapor seen, + On budding boughs a warm flush glows, + With tints of purple and pale rose. + Breathing of spring, the delicate air + Lifts playfully the loosened hair + To kiss the cool brow. Let us rest + In this bright, sheltered nook, now blest + With broad noon sunshine over all, + Though here June's leafiest shadows fall. + Young grass sprouts here. Look up! the sky + Is veiled by woven greenery, + Fresh little folded leaves--the first, + And goldener than green, they burst + Their thick full buds and take the breeze. + Here, when November stripped the trees, + I came to wrestle with a grief: + Solace I sought not, nor relief. + I shed no tears, I craved no grace, + I fain would see Grief face to face, + Fathom her awful eyes at length, + Measure my strength against her strength. + I wondered why the Preacher saith, + "Like as the grass that withereth." + The late, close blades still waved around: + I clutched a handful from the ground. + "He mocks us cruelly," I said: + "The frail herb lives, and she is dead." + I lay dumb, sightless, deaf as she; + The long slow hours passed over me. + I saw Grief face to face; I know + The very form and traits of Woe. + I drained the galled dregs of the draught + She offered me: I could have laughed + In irony of sheer despair, + Although I could not weep. The air + Thickened with twilight shadows dim: + I rose and left. I knew each limb + Of these great trees, each gnarled, rough root + Piercing the clay, each cone of fruit + They bear in autumn. + What blooms here, + Filling the honeyed atmosphere + With faint, delicious fragrancies, + Freighted with blessed memories? + The earliest March violet, + Dear as the image of Regret, + And beautiful as Hope. Again + Past visions thrill and haunt my brain. + Through tears I see the nodding head, + The purple and the green dispread. + Here, where I nursed despair that morn, + The promise of fresh joy is born, + Arrayed in sober colors still, + But piercing the gray mould to fill + With vague sweet influence the air, + To lift the heart's dead weight of care, + Longings and golden dreams to bring + With joyous phantasies of spring. + + EMMA LAZARUS. + + + + +WHAT IS A CONCLAVE? + + +It may be that before these lines meet the eye of the readers they are +intended for the world will be once again witnessing that function of +the Roman Catholic Church which of all others makes the highest +pretensions to transcendental spiritual significance, and is in reality +the most utterly and grossly mundane--a _conclave_. In any case, it +cannot be long before that singular spectacle is enacted on the +accustomed stage before the converging eyes of Christendom. In any case, +too, it will be nearly thirty years since the world has seen the like. +And never before since St. Peter sat (or did not sit) in the seat of the +Roman bishops has so long a period elapsed unmarked by the election of a +supreme pontiff. The coming conclave will be held under circumstances +essentially dissimilar from those surrounding all its predecessors, as +will be readily understood if we consider the difference which recent +changes, both lay and ecclesiastical, have made in the position of the +pope. If, on the one hand, the political changes in Europe have taken +from the cardinals the power of creating a sovereign prince, the +ecclesiastical changes which the late ecumenical council has wrought in +the constitution of the Church have placed in their hands the power and +duty of selecting a supreme ruler of the Church with acknowledged claims +to a loftier and more tremendous authority than the most high-handed of +his predecessors has hitherto claimed. And the nature of this authority +is such that the political rulers of the world may well feel--and are, +as we know, feeling--a more anxious interest in the result of the +election than they have for many a generation felt in the elevation of a +temporal ruler of the ci-devant States of the Church. Under these +circumstances it may be acceptable to our readers to have some brief +account of what conclaves are and have been. + +That this method of choosing a supreme head of the universal Church was +in its origin abusive--that the earliest popes were chosen by the +suffrages of the entire body of the faithful, that by a process of +encroachment this election was in the course of time arrogated to +themselves by the Roman clergy, and was ultimately, by a further process +of similar encroachment, monopolized by the "Sacred College" of +cardinals,--all this is sufficiently well known. It is, however, curious +enough to merit a passing word, that a precisely analogous process of +progressive encroachment may be observed to have taken place in the mode +of appointing the bishops of the Church, not only in the Catholic, but +also in the Protestant branch of it. First freely elected by the body of +the faithful, they were subsequently chosen by the clergy, and lastly by +a small and select body of these in the form of a "chapter." Only in +this case a further step of encroachment being still possible, that step +has been made; and bishops are nominated in the Catholic Church +formally, and in the Anglican really, by the pope and the sovereign +respectively. + +It does not seem that in the earliest elections made by the cardinals +the precautions of a "conclave," or a shutting up together of the +cardinals, was adopted. The first conclave seems to have been that which +elected Innocent IV. in 1243, and the motive for the locking up appears +to have been the fear of interference by the emperor Frederick, who was +at the time ravaging all the country around Rome. The first conclave +that was guarded by a Savelli, in whose family the office of marshal of +the Church and guardian of the conclaves became hereditary, was that +which elected Nicholas IV. in 1288. The mode in which this pontiff +merited his elevation is worth telling, apropos of conclaves. The +conclave had lasted over ten months, and been prolonged into the hottest +and most unhealthy season, insomuch that six cardinals died, many more +fell ill, and all ran away save one, the bishop of Palestrina. He, +"keeping large fires continually burning to correct the air," stuck to +it, remained in conclave all alone, and was unanimously elected pope at +the return of the cardinals when the pestilence had ceased. In 1270 we +find a conclave sitting under difficulties of another kind. It was at +Viterbo, and their Eminences sat for two years without making any +election; whereupon, we are told, Raniero Gatti, the captain of the +city, took the step of unroofing the palace in which they were assembled +as a means of hastening their decision. That their Eminences were not +thus to be hurried, however, is proved by their having subsequently +dated a bull, still to be seen with its seventeen seals, "from the +unroofed episcopal palace of Viterbo." There were four or five popes +elected subsequently to this, however, without conclaves; but from the +death of Boniface VIII. in 1303 the series of conclaves has been +unbroken. Celestine V., who abdicated in 1294, drew up the rules which, +confirmed by his successor, Boniface VIII., and by many subsequent popes +from time to time down to the last century, still regulate the +assembling and holding of the conclave, modified in some degree, as +regards the food and private comforts of the cardinals, by indulgence of +later pontiffs. + +In old and long-since-forgotten books concerning the conclaves many +curious particulars may be found respecting the customs and ceremonies +connected with the disposal of the body of the deceased pontiff. A +learnedly antiquarian dispute has been raised on the question whether in +early times the body of a pope was embalmed, as we understand the word, +or only exteriorly washed and perfumed. It seems, on the whole, clear +that the first pope who was, properly speaking, embalmed, was Julius +II., who died in 1513. But here is a striking account of the condition +of things in the papal palace after the death of that great, high-handed +and powerful pontiff, Sixtus IV., which occurred in 1484, after a reign +of thirteen years. The statement is that of Burcardo (Burckhardt), the +papal master of the ceremonies, the same writer whose diary, jotted down +from day to day, has revealed to us the incredible atrocities of the +court of Alexander VI., the Borgia pope, who died in 1503. "For all that +I could do," writes the master of the ceremonies, who perhaps at that +time occupied some less conspicuous post in the papal court, "I could +not get a basin, a towel, or any kind of utensil in which the wine and +the water for the odoriferous herbs could be put for washing the body of +the deceased. Nor could I obtain drawers or a clean shirt for putting on +the body, though I asked for them again and again. At length the cook +lent me the copper kettle in which he was wont to heat the water for +washing the plates, together with some hot water; and Andrew the barber +brought me his barber's basin from his shop. So the pontiff was washed. +And as there was no towel to wipe the body with, I caused him to be +wiped with the shirt in which he died, torn into two halves. I could not +change the drawers in which he died and was washed, because there were +no others. His canonical vestments were put upon him without any shirt, +and a pair of red cloth stockings, furnished by the bishop of Cervia, +who was his chamberlain, and a long tunic, if I remember rightly, of red +damask, as well as some other things." This pope, whose body was thus +washed with his shirt torn in half for want of a towel, was that same +Sixtus the enormous wealth and boundless luxury of whose nephews seem +almost fabulous to readers even of these money-abounding days. + +The explanation of the extraordinary state of things above described is +to be found in the custom which existed of sacking the apartments of the +deceased pope as soon as ever the breath was out of his body. The utter +lawlessness which prevailed at Rome _sede vacante_--that is to say, +during the interval between the death of one pope and the election of +his successor--was not, indeed, confined to the residence of the +departed pontiff. Throughout Rome all law used to be on those occasions +in abeyance. The streets were scenes of the most unbridled excesses and +violence of all sorts. That was the time for the satisfying of old +grudges. Murder was as common as murderous hate; and no man's life was +safe save in so far as his own hand or his own walls could protect it. +And walls did not always avail. I find a petition to Leo X. from a +monastery in Rome, setting forth that a document assuring certain +indulgences to the house had been lost at the time of the sack and +plunder of the convent during the last conclave. No sort of claim, it is +to be observed, is attempted to be set up of redress for the plunder and +destruction of the property of the convent; only a prayer that the +privileges in question might be again granted in consideration of the +loss of the document. A very curious illustration of Roman manners in +the sixteenth century is to be found in a practice with regard to these +periods of interregnum which I find recorded by Cancellieri in his work +on the conclaves. Roman wives, it seems, were forbidden--not without +reason--to leave their homes and go forth into the streets of Rome at +their pleasure. But in the articles of the marriage contract it was +stipulated that the lady should be free to go out on certain specified +occasions, mainly ecclesiastical festivals; and among these it was +always specially provided that the lady might go out during the days of +the exposition of the body of a deceased pope for the purpose of kissing +his feet. One would have thought that, looking to the state of things in +the city, the time of the interregnum would have been the very last to +select for ladies to venture into the streets. It would seem, however, +that the Roman matrons thought otherwise. Cancellieri says that it was +in those days a common saying among Roman ladies that "Happy were they +who were married to Spaniards!" For it would seem that the Spanish +husbands in Rome did not think it necessary to enforce this restraint on +their wives--a circumstance that rather curiously contradicts our +general notions of Spanish marital feelings and discipline. + +In truth, the condition of Rome during the period of the conclave down +to very recent times affords a singular evidence of the virtue of the +old French formula, "Le roi est mort! Vive le roi!" as signifying the +non-existence of any period of transition between one embodiment of law +and authority and his successor; for the absence of any similar +provision in the case of the popes made Rome a veritable hell upon earth +during the period of a papal election. + +But if the city outside the walls within which the purple fathers of the +Church were deliberating presented a scene which was a disgrace and a +scandal to Christendom, that which was being enacted within those walls +was very often still more profoundly scandalous. Never probably has any +human institution existed in which practice was more grossly and +notoriously in disaccord with pretensions and theory, and with respect +to which the highest and most sacred of all conceivable human sanctions +was so shamelessly desecrated and profaned to the lowest and vilest +uses. + +Before touching on this part of the subject, however, it is necessary +first to give in as few words as possible some intelligible account of +the formal regulations and method of holding the conclave and electing +the pontiff. All the regulations, which have been made with extreme +minuteness, together with the subsequent modifications of them by +different pontiffs, would occupy far too much space to be given here. +The following rules seem to be the essential points. Ten days, including +that of the pope's death, are to be allowed for the coming of absent +cardinals. This delay may, however, be dispensed with for urgent +reasons. The conclave should properly be held in the building in which +the pope died. Regulations of various degrees of rigor have been made +for securing the isolation of the members of the Sacred College, greater +latitude and indulgence having been permitted as we approach modern +times. Sundry means also were devised for hastening the deliberations of +their Eminences. The old rule of Gregory X. prescribed that if an +election were not made in three days, the cardinals should be supplied +during the following five days with one dish only at dinner and one at +supper; and if at the end of those five days the election was still +uncompleted, the electors should be allowed only bread and water till +they had accomplished their task. But, as may be readily supposed, all +this has been materially modified. Many of the minute and rigorous +precautions for preventing communication with the world outside the +conclave have also fallen into desuetude. The purpose of these, +however--that is, the absolute prevention of any possibility of +consultation between those in conclave and those outside--is still +sought to be, and probably is, maintained. Cardinals obliged to leave +the conclave by ill-health, on sworn certificates of the two physicians +who are shut up with them in conclave, may return to it, if able to do +so, before the election is made. No censure or excommunication or +deposition of any cardinal by the pope whose successor is to be elected +can avail to deprive such cardinal of the right to take part in the +conclave and in the election. No cardinal under pain of excommunication +may say anything, or promise anything, or request anything, to or from +another cardinal for the purpose of influencing him in the giving of his +vote. It may safely be asserted, however, that pretty much all that is +done in the conclave from the beginning to the end of it is one long +contravention of this rule. The whole--at all events, the +main--occupation of those in conclave consists of exactly what is here +forbidden. The rule proceeds to declare that all such bargains, +agreements and obligations, even sworn to, are _ipso facto_ void, +and "he who does not keep them merits praise rather than the blame of +perjury." This merit elected popes have usually been found to strive +after with all their strength. Julius II., by a bull issued in 1505, +declared that any pope elected by means of bargains or promises is +elected simoniacally; that his election is null even if he have the vote +of every cardinal; that he is a heresiarch and no pope; that such an +election cannot become valid by enthronation, or by lapse of time, or by +the obedience of the cardinals; that it is lawful for the cardinals, the +clergy and the people of Rome to refuse obedience to a pope so elected. +On all which Monsignor Spondano in his ecclesiastical annals, remarks, +with a naivete of hypocrisy which is irresistibly amusing, that inasmuch +as there would be considerable difficulty in applying the remedy +proposed, God has specially provided that there should never be any need +of it. How far Monsignor Spondano can have supposed that such was the +case will become evident from the account of the doings of a conclave +which I propose giving to the reader presently. + +Together with the cardinals there are shut up in the conclave two +attendants, called "conclavisti," for each cardinal, or three for such +of them as are ill or infirm; one sacristan, two masters of the +ceremonies, one confessor, two physicians, one surgeon, one carpenter, +two barbers and ten porters. Any conclavist who may leave the conclave +cannot on any account return. The different cells prepared in the +Quirinal, Vatican or other place in which the conclave may be held are +assigned to the cardinals by lot. The election may be made in the +conclave in either of three different manners--by scrutiny of votes, by +compromise, or by acclamation. A vote by scrutiny is to be taken twice +every day in the conclave--once in the morning and once in the +afternoon. All the cardinals, save such as are confined to their cells +by infirmity, proceed to the chapel, and there, after the mass, receive +the communion. They then return each to his cell to breakfast, and +afterward meet in the chapel again. The next morning at 8 A.M. the +sub-master of the ceremonies rings a bell at the door of each cell; at +half-past eight he rings again; and at nine a third time, adding in a +loud voice the summons, "_In capellam Domini!_" + +The arrangement of the Pauline Chapel at the Vatican, in which the +voting takes place, is as follows: The floor is raised by a boarding to +the level of the pontifical throne, which stands by the side of the +altar, and which is left in its place in readiness for the newly-elected +pope to seat himself and receive the "adoration" of his electors. All +around the walls of the chapel are erected as many thrones as there are +cardinals, and over each of them a canopy, so arranged that by means of +a cord it can be suddenly let down; so that at the moment the election +is pronounced all the canopies are suddenly made to fall except that of +the new pope. In front of each throne and under each canopy there is a +little table covered with silk--green in the case of all those cardinals +who have been created previously to the pontificate of the pope recently +deceased, and purple in the case of those created by him. The colors of +the canopies are similar. On each table are printed registers prepared +for registering the votes at each scrutiny, the schedules for giving the +votes, the means for sealing, etc. On the front of each table is +inscribed the name of the cardinal who is to occupy it, together with +his armorial bearings. In the midst of the body of the chapel are six +little tables covered with green cloth, with a seat at each of them for +the use of any cardinal who may fear that his neighbor might overlook +him while writing his voting paper if he wrote it on the table before +his throne. In front of the altar there is a large table covered with +crimson silk, on which are folded schedules, wafers, sealing-wax; four +candles, not lighted, but ready for use; a tinder-box with steel and +matches; scarlet and purple twine for filing the voting schedules; a box +of needles for the same purpose; a tablet with seventy holes in it, +answering to the number of cardinals if the college were full, and in +each hole a little wooden counter with the name of a cardinal, so that +there are as many counters as cardinals in the college; and finally, a +copy of the form of oath respecting the putting the schedules into the +urns, the two urns themselves, and a box with a key, used for receiving +the voting papers of such cardinals as may be too ill to leave their +cells. The two urns, however, at the time of the scrutiny are placed on +the altar. Behind the altar there is placed a little iron brazier or +stove, in which, after every scrutiny which does not succeed in electing +a pope, the voting papers are burned, together with some damp straw, the +object being to cause a dense smoke, which, passing by a pipe outside +the building, serves to inform the Romans that no election has yet been +made. Twice a day, at about the same hour every day till the election is +achieved, this smoke, which is eagerly watched for by all Rome, and +specially by the commandant of the Castle of St. Angleo, who is waiting +to fire a salute for the new pope, tells the city that there is no pope +yet. When the hour passes and no smoke is seen, it is known that the +election is made, and the cannoneers fire away without waiting to know +whom they are saluting. + +There is no portion of the day or of the lives of the cardinals in +conclave which is not regulated by a host of minute regulations and +ceremonies. The introduction of the food supplied to them; the form of +bringing it from their palaces; the method of communication with the +outside world, and the precautions taken to prevent any communication +with reference to the great business in hand; the form and color of the +garments to be worn by their Eminences and by all the subordinates; the +amount of remuneration and perquisites to be received by the latter +(among which regulations I find the following: "Let no man receive +anything who has not purchased the office he holds"); the order of +precedence of everybody, from the dean of the Sacred College to the last +sweeper who enters the conclave with their Eminences,--all subject to +minute rules, which would require, one would imagine, a lifetime to make +one's self master of, and which, curious as some of them are, it is +impossible to find place for here. We must get on to the method of +voting. + +Each cardinal has a schedule about eight inches long by six wide, +divided by printed lines into five parts. On the topmost is printed +"Ego, Cardinalis----," to be filled up with the name and titles of the +elector using it. On the second space are printed, toward either side of +the paper, two circles, indicating the exact place where the paper when +folded is to be sealed. On the middle space is printed the words "Eligo +in Summum Pontificem R'um D'um meum Dom. Card.," leaving only the name +of the person chosen to be filled in. On the fourth space two circles +are printed, as on the second, indicating the places of two more seals, +which, when the paper is folded and sealed down, make it impossible to +see the motto which is written, together with a number, on the last +space. On the back of the second and fourth divisions are printed the +words "nomen" and "signum," denoting that immediately under them are the +name and motto of the elector. There are also printed certain ornamental +flourishes, the object of which is to render it impossible to see the +writing within through the paper. Thus, the schedule, with its top and +bottom folds sealed down, can be freely opened so far as to allow the +name of the cardinal for whom the vote is given to be seen, but not so +far as to make it possible to see the name or motto of the giver of the +vote. + +When the voting papers have been thus prepared, the senior cardinal, the +dean of the Sacred College, rises from his throne and walks to the foot +of the altar, holding his schedule aloft between his finger and thumb. +There he kneels and passes a brief time in private prayer. Then rising +to his feet, he pronounces aloud in a sonorous voice the following oath: +"Testor Christum Dominum qui me judicaturus est, me eligire quem +secundum Deum judico eligi debere, et quod in accessu praestabo" ("I +call to witness the Lord Christ, who shall judge me, that I elect him +whom before God I judge ought to be elected, and which vote I shall give +also in the _accessit_"). The last words allude to a subsequent +part of the business of the election, to be explained presently. It is +hardly necessary to point out to the reader that this oath, solemn as it +sounds, might just as well be omitted. It is as a matter of course +evident that each elector will give his vote for the person who +_ought_ in his opinion to be elected. But as to the _motives_ +of that opinion, as to the _grounds_ on which it seems best to each +elector that such and such a man _ought_ to be elected, the oath +says nothing. The cardinals whose votes Alexander VI. bought thought, no +doubt, that in all honesty they _ought_ to give their voices for +the man who had fairly paid for them. But, putting aside such gross +cases, let the reader reflect for a moment how extensive a ground is +covered by the celebrated "A.M.D.G." formula ("Ad majorem Dei gloriam"). +The conscience of an elector may be supposed to speak to him thus: "It +is true that I know A.B. to be a profligate and thoroughly worldly man, +but his influence with such or such a statesman or monarch will probably +be the means of saving the Church from a schism in this, that or the +other country. And that assuredly is A.M.D.G. And he is the man, +therefore, who ought to be elected." + +Well, the oath having been thus pronounced, the voter places his folded +schedule on a silver salver, and with this casts it into the silver urn +which is on the altar. And one after another every cardinal present does +the same--every cardinal present except, however, any one who may not +have received at least deacon's orders. One so disqualified may indeed +be empowered to vote by dispensation of the deceased pope; but this +dispensation is usually given for a limited period--a few days +probably--only; and if this time has expired before the election is +completed the cardinal who is not in sacred orders must cease to vote +till he have received orders. It has frequently occurred that cardinals +have been ordained under these circumstances in the conclave. When all +the schedules have been placed in the urn, three cardinals, who have +been previously chosen by lot for the purpose, as scrutineers proceed to +verify the result of the voting. First, the schedules are counted to +ascertain that they are equal in number to the number of the cardinals +present. If this should not be the case, all are forthwith burned and +the business is recommenced. But if this is all right, then comes the +moment of interest which sets many an old heart beating under its purple +vestments. The three scrutineers seat themselves at the large table with +their backs turned to the altar, so that they face the assembly. Then +each cardinal in his throne-seat places on the little table before him a +large sheet duly prepared with the names of all the cardinals living, +and ruled columns for the votes, and pen in hand awaits the declaration +of these. The first scrutineer takes a schedule from the urn, unfolds +the central part, leaving the two sealed ends intact, takes note of the +vote declared within, and hands the paper to the second scrutineer, who +also notes the vote and hands it to the third, who declares the vote +aloud in a voice audible to all present, and each cardinal marks it on +his register. Then, if the votes shall have been sufficient to elect the +pope--that is, two-thirds of those voting--there is nothing more to be +done save to number the votes, to verify them, and then burn the +schedules. But if this is not the case, as it rarely if ever is, the +cardinals proceed to the _accessit_. The papers and all the forms +for this are precisely the same as for the first voting, save that in +the place of the word "Eligo" there is the word "Accedo," and that in +the place of the name of the cardinal voted for those who do not choose +to alter their previous vote write "Nemini" ("To no one"). Then the +matter proceeds as before; and if no election is effected, the assembly +breaks up, and meets for another voting and scrutiny that afternoon or +the next morning, as the case may be. And this is done twice every day +till the election is made. The reader, I fear, may think that I have +been prolix in my statement of these particulars of the method of the +election, but I can assure him that I have given him only the main and +important points, selected from some hundreds of pages in the works of +those who have treated on the wonderfully minute regulations and +prescriptions with which the whole matter is surrounded. + +It will be easily seen that the moment of proceeding to the accessit is +the time for fine strokes of policy, for the most cautious prudence and +craftiest cunning. The general condition of the ground has been +disclosed by the results of the previous scrutiny. The possibilities and +chances begin to discover themselves. "Frequently," says the President +de Brosses, who was at Rome during the conclave which elected Benedict +XIV. in 1740, in the charming published volume of his +letters--"Frequently at the accessit everything which was done at the +preceding ceremony is reversed; and it is at the accessit that the most +subtle strokes of policy are practiced. Sometimes, for example, when a +party has been formed for any cardinal, the leader of the party keeps in +reserve for the accessit all the votes that he can count on as certain, +and induces those that he suspects may be doubtful to vote for the +person intended to be made pope at the first scrutiny, so as to make +sure by the number of votes given whether his supporters have been true +to their party, and to avoid unmasking his policy till he shall be sure +of his _coup_." + +The story of the conclave which elected Cardinal Lambertini pope as +Benedict XIV., gives a curious picture of the schemes and intrigues +carried on in the mysterious seclusion of the conclave. Clement XII., of +the Florentine Corsini family, had died. The cardinal Corsini, his +nephew, was at the head of one faction in the conclave, and the cardinal +Albani, nephew of Clement XI., who died in 1721, at the head of the +other. The former party seemed at the beginning of the conclave to be +the most numerous. But De Brosses describes the two men as follows. +Corsini, he says, had little intelligence, less sense, and no capacity +for affairs. Of Albani, he says that he was "highly considered for his +capacity, and both hated and feared to excess--a man without faith, +without principles; an implacable enemy even when appearing to be +reconciled; of a great genius for affairs; inexhaustible in resource and +intrigue; the ablest man in the college, and the worst-hearted man in +Rome." It soon became clear that the struggle between the factions thus +led would be severe, and the conclave a long one. The history of the +plots and counterplots by which each strove to circumvent the other is +extremely amusing, but too long to be given here. After various +fruitless attempts, the Corsini faction concentrated all their forces on +Cardinal Aldrovandi. He was a man of decent character, and had the +support of a small body of independent cardinals, called the "Zelanti," +who, to the great disgust and contempt of their brethren in purple, were +mainly influenced by the consideration of the worthiness of his +character. The number of voices needed to make the election was +thirty-four: Aldrovandi had thirty-three. Cardinal Passionei, the +scrutator who had to declare the votes, and a member of the opposite +faction, became, we are told, as pale as death when he announced with +trembling voice the thirty-third vote. There was every reason to think +that at the accessit he would have the one other vote needful to make +the election. But it was not so. The terrible Albani was too much +feared, and had his own party too well in hand. But the thing was run +very close. The danger was great that during the hours of the night that +must intervene before the next scrutiny some means might be found to +detach _one_ Albani follower from his allegiance. There was the +great bait to be offered that the one who changed his vote would be in +effect the maker of the new pope. Under these circumstances, Albani felt +that nothing but some "heroic" measure could save him. What he did was +this: There was a certain Father Ravali, a Cordelier, and one of the +leading men of his order, on whom Albani could depend, and who was, in +language more expressive than ecclesiastical, "up to anything." This +monk was instructed to seek a conference with Aldrovandi at the +_rota_. (The rota was the opening in the wall at which such +interviews were permitted in presence of certain high dignitaries +specially appointed to attend it, for the express purpose of hearing all +that might be said, and preventing any communication having reference to +the business of the conclave. How they performed their duty the present +story shows.) The monk began by saying that all Rome looked upon the +election of Aldrovandi as a certain thing. Aldrovandi, doing the humble, +replied that to be sure many of his brethren had deigned to think of +him, but that he did not make any progress--that there were those who +were too determinately opposed to his election, etc. The monk thereupon +goes into a long and unctuous discourse on all the sad evils to +Christendom of a conclave so prolonged. (It had already lasted over five +months.) To which Aldrovandi replies that he ought rather to address his +remonstrances to Cardinal Albani, who is in truth the cause of the +inability of the conclave to come to an election. "Ah, monsignor," +returns the Cordelier, "put yourself in the place of the cardinal +Albani. I know his sentiments from the many conversations we have had +together. He is far from feeling any personal objection or enmity to +you. But you know that there has been in the past unpleasant feeling +between your family and his, and he fears that you are animated by +hostility toward him." "I assure you," replies Aldrovandi, falling into +the trap, "that he is greatly mistaken. I have long since forgotten all +the circumstances you allude to. Besides, as I remember, the cardinal +had no part in the matter. He can't doubt that I have the greatest +respect for his personal character. Besides, I am not the man to forget +a service rendered to me." "Since those are the sentiments of Your +Eminence," cries the monk, "I begin to see an end to this interminable +conclave. I perceive that there will be no difficulty in arranging +matters between Your Eminence and the cardinal Albani. Will you permit +me to be the medium of your sentiments upon the subject?" Aldrovandi is +delighted, and feels the tiara already on his head. Then, after a little +indifferent talk, the Cordelier, in the act of taking leave of the +cardinal, turns back and says, "But, after all, the mere word of a poor +monk like me is hardly sufficient between personages such as Your +Eminence and the cardinal Albani. Permit me to write you a letter, in +which I will lay before Your Eminence those considerations concerning +the crying evils of the length of this conclave which I have ventured to +mention to you, and that will give me an opportunity of entering on the +matters we have been speaking of. And then you, in your reply to me, can +take occasion to say what you have already been observing to me of your +sentiments toward the cardinal Albani." Aldrovandi eagerly agreed to +this, and the two letters were at once written. "I am told," adds De +Brosses, "that the letter of Aldrovandi was strong on the subject of the +_gratitude_ he should feel toward Albani." No sooner has the +perfidious Cordelier got the letter into his hand than he runs with it +to Albani, who goes with it at once to the body of the "Zelanti" +cardinals with pious horror in his face: "Here! Look at your Aldrovandi, +your man of God, that you tell me is incapable of intriguing in order to +become His vicar! Here he is making promises to seduce me into violating +my conscience."--"Alas! alas! It is too true! Clearly the Holy Ghost +will none of him. Speak to us of him no more!" So Aldrovandi's chance +was gone, and Albani found the means of uniting the necessary number of +voices on Lambertini, a good-enough sort of man, by all accounts, but +hardly of the wood from which popes are or should be made. He became +that Benedict XIV. who was Voltaire's correspondent, and who, as the +story goes, when he was asked by a young Roman patrician to make him a +list of the books he would recommend for his studies, replied, "My dear +boy, we always keep a list of the best books ready made. It is called +the _Index Expurgatorius_!" + +Such were the doings of conclaves, and such the popes which resulted +from them, in that eighteenth century whose boasted philosophy pretty +well culminated in the conviction that pudding was good and sugar sweet. +Such will not be the conclave which will assemble at the death of the +present pontiff. The election will doubtless be scrupulously canonical +on all points; and, though it may be doubted how far the deliberations +of the Sacred College will be calculated to advance the truly understood +spiritual interests of humanity, there is, I think, little doubt that +they will be directed, according to the lights of the members, to the +choice of that individual who shall in their opinion be most likely to +advance the interests of the Church "A.D.M.G." + + T. ADOLPHUS TROLLOPE. + + + + +MONSOOR PACHA. + + + Monsoor Pacha, it is pleasant to meet + Here, in the heart of this treacherous town-- + Where faith is a peril and courtship a cheat, + More false to the touch than a rose overblown-- + With a soul that is true to itself, as your own. + + Monsoor Pacha, as two gentlemen may, + Civilized, city-bred, link we our hands: + Now from the town to the desert away! + Ours is a friendship whose spirit demands + The scope of the sky and the stretch of the sands. + + Monsoor Pacha, doff your courtier's garb; + We have given to courtesy all of its dues; + Spring to your throne on the back of your barb, + Shake to the breezes your regal burnous, + Wave your lance-sceptre wherever you choose! + + Monsoor, my chief! ah, I know you at length! + King of the desert, your children are come + To cluster, like sheep, in the shade of your strength, + Or to strike, like young lions, for country and home, + When your eyes are ablaze at the roll of the drum! + + Monsoor, my chief! now one gallop, to see + The land you have sworn that no despot shall grind! + Though sun-tanned and arid, by Allah! 'tis free! + Its crops are these lances: these sons of the wind, + Our steeds, are its flocks--a grim harvest to bind! + + Monsoor, my chief! how we dash o'er the sand, + Hissing behind us like storm-driven snow! + Flash the long guns of your wild Arab band, + Brandish the spears, and the light jereeds throw, + As, half-winged, through the shrill singing breezes we go! + + Monsoor, my chief! send the horses away: + The sports of your tribe I have seen with delight. + Now let us watch while the rose-tinted day + Fades from the desert, and peace-bearing Night + Shakes the first gem on her brow in our sight. + + Monsoor, my host! lo, I enter your tent, + As brother by brother, hands clasping, is led: + I sleep like a child in a dream Heaven-sent; + For have I not eaten the salt and the bread? + And Monsoor will answer for me with his head. + + GEORGE H. BOKER. + +CONSTANTINOPLE, Jan. 10, 1875. + + + + +HOW HAM WAS CURED. + + +This was in slave times. It was also immediately after dinner, and the +gentlemen had gone to the east piazza. Mr. Smith was walking back and +forth, talking somewhat excitedly for him, while Dr. Rutherford sat with +his feet on the railing, thoughtfully executing the sentimental +performance of cutting his nails. Dr. Rutherford was an old friend of +Mr. Smith who had been studying surgery in Philadelphia, and now, on his +way back to South Carolina, had tarried to make us a visit. + +"You see," Mr. Smith was saying, "about a week ago one of our old +negroes died under the impression that she was 'tricked' or bewitched, +and the consequence has been that the entire plantation is demoralized. +You never saw anything like it." + +"Many a time," said Dr. Rutherford, and calmly cut his nails. + +"There is not a negro on the place," continued Edward, "who does not lie +down at night in terror of the Evil Eye, and go to his work in the +morning paralyzed by dread of what the day may bring. Why, there is a +perfect panic among them. They are falling about like a set of ten-pins. +This morning I sent for Wash (best hand on the place) to see about +setting out tobacco plants, and behold Wash curled up under a haystack +getting ready to die! It is enough to--So as soon as you came this +morning a plan entered my head for putting a stop to the thing. It will +be necessary to acknowledge that two or three of them are under the +spell, and it is better to select those who already fancy themselves +so.--Rosalie!" I appeared at the window. "Are any of the house-servants +'witched?" + +"Mercy is," said I, "and I presume Mammy is going to be: I saw her make +a curtsey to the black cat this morning." + +"Well, what is your plan?" inquired Dr. Rutherford. + +Mr. Smith seated himself on the piazza railing, dangling his feet +thereagainst, rounding his shoulders in the most attractive and engaging +manner, as you see men do, and proceeded to develop his idea. I was +called off at the moment, and did not return for an hour or two. As I +did so I heard Dr. Rutherford say, "All right! Blow the horn;" and the +overseer down in the yard + + Blew a blast as loud and shrill + As the wild-boar heard on Temple Hill-- + +an event which at this unusual hour of the day produced perfect +consternation among the already excited negroes. They no doubt supposed +it the musical exercise set apart for the performance of the angel +Gabriel on the day of judgment, and in less than ten minutes all without +exception had come pell-mell, helter-skelter, running to "the house." +The dairymaid left her churn, and the housemaid put down her broom; the +ploughs stood still, and when the horses turned their heads to see what +was the matter they found they had no driver; she also who was cooking +for the hands "fled from the path of duty" (no Casabianca nonsense for +_her!_), leaving the "middling" to sputter into blackness and the +corn-pones to share its fate. Mothers had gathered up their children of +both sexes, and grouped them in little terrified companies about the +yard and around the piazza-steps. + +Edward was now among them, endeavoring to subdue the excitement, and +having to some extent succeeded, he made a signal to Dr. Rutherford, who +came forward to address the negroes. Throwing his shoulders back and +looking around with dignity, he exclaimed, "I am the great Dr. +Rutherford, the witch-doctor of Boston! I was far away in the North, +hundreds of miles from here, and I saw a spot on the sun, and it looked +like the Evil Eye! And I found it was a great black smoke. Then I knew +that witch-fires were burning in the mountains, and witches were dancing +in the valleys; and the light of the Eye was red! I am the great Dr. +Rutherford, the witch-doctor of Boston! I called my black cat up and +told her to smell for blood, and she smelled, and she smelled, and she +smelled! She smelled, and she smelled, and she smelled! And presently +her hair stood up like bristles, and her eyes shot out sparks of fire, +and her tail was as stiff as iron!" He threw his shoulders back, looked +imposingly around and repeated: "I am the great Dr. Rutherford the +witch-doctor of Boston! My black Cat tells me that the witch is +here--that she has hung the deadly nightshade at your cabin-doors, and +your blood is turning to water. You are beginning to wither away. You +shiver in the sunshine; you don't want to eat; your hearts are heavy and +you don't feel like work; and when you come from the field you don't +take down the banjo and pat and shuffle and dance, but you sit down in +the corner with your heads on your hands, and would go to sleep, but you +know that as soon as you shut your eyes she will cast hers on you +through the chinks in the cabin-wall." + +"Dat's me!" said Mercy--"dat certny is me!" + +"Gret day in de mornin', mas' witch-doctor! How you know? Is you been +tricked?" inquired Martha, who, having been reared on the plantation, +was unacquainted with the etiquette observed at lectures. + +Wash groaned heavily, and shook his head from side to side in silent +commendation of the doctor's lore. + +"My black cat tells me that the witch is here; and she _is_ here!" +(Immense sensation among the children of Ham.) "But," continued he with +a majestic wave of the arm, "she can do you no harm, for I _also_ am +here, the great Dr. Rutherford, the witch-doctor of Boston!" + +"Doctor," inquired Edward in a loud voice, "can you tell who is conjured +and who is not?" + +"I cannot tell unless robed in the blandishments of plagiarism and the +satellites of hygienic art as expunged by the gyrations of nebular +hypothesis. Await ye!" He and Mr, Smith went into the house. + +The negroes were very much impressed. They have excessive reverence for +grandiloquent language, and the less they understand of it the better +they like it. + +"What dat he say, honey?" asked old Mammy. "I can't heer like I used +ter." + +"He says he will be back soon, Mammy, and tell if any of you are +tricked," said I; and just then Edward and the doctor reappeared, +bearing between them a pine table. On this table were arranged about +forty little pyramids of whitish-looking powder, and in their midst +stood a bottle containing some clear liquid, like water. Dr. Rutherford +seated himself behind it, robed in the black gown he had used in the +dissecting-room, and crowned by a conical head-piece about two feet +high, manufactured by Edward and himself, and which they had completed +by placing on the pinnacle thereof a human skull. The effect of this +picturesque costume was heightened by two large red circles around the +doctor's eyes--whether obtained from the juice of the pokeberry or the +inkstand on Edward's desk need not be determined. + +In front of the table stood the negroes, men, women and children. There +was the preacher, decked in the clerical livery of a standing collar and +white cravat, but, perhaps in deference to the day of the week, these +were modified by the secular apparel of a yellow cotton shirt and +homespun pantaloons, attached to a pair of old "galluses," which had +been mended with twine, and pieced with leather, and lengthened with +string, till, if any of the original remained, none could tell the color +thereof nor what they had been in the day of their youth. The effect was +not harmonious. There was Mammy, with her low wrinkled forehead, and +white turban, and toothless gums, and skin of shining blackness, which +testified that her material wants were not neglected. There was Wash, a +great, stalwart negro, who ordinarily seemed able to cope with any ten +men you might meet, now looking so subdued and dispirited, and of a +complexion so ashy, that he really appeared old and shrunken and weak. +There was William Wirt, the ploughboy, affected by a chronic grin which +not even the solemnity of this occasion could dissipate, but the +character of which seemed changed by the awestruck eyes that rolled +above the heavy red lips and huge white teeth. There was Apollo--in +social and domestic circles known as 'Poller--there was Apollo, his hair +standing about his head in little black tufts or horns wrapped with +cotton cord to make it grow, one brawny black shoulder protruding from a +rent in his yellow cotton shirt, his pantaloons hanging loosely around +his hips, and bagging around that wonderful foot which did not suggest +his name, unless his sponsors in baptism were of a very satirical turn. +There were Martha, and Susan, and Minerva, and Cinderella, and +Chesterfield, and Pitt, and a great many other grown ones, besides a +crowd of children, the smallest among the latter being clad in the +dishabille of a single garment, which reached perhaps to the knee, but +had little to boast in the way of latitude. + +There they all stood in little groups about the yard, looking with awe +and reverence at the great Dr. Rutherford, who sat behind the table with +his black gown and frightful eyes and skull-crowned cap. + +"You see these little heaps of powder and this bottle of water. You will +come forward one at a time and pour a few drops of the water in this +bottle on one of these little heaps of powder. If the powder turns +black, the person who pours on the water is 'witched. If the powder +remains white, the person who pours on the water is _not_ 'witched. You +may all examine the powders, and see for yourselves whether there is any +difference between them, and you will each pour from the same bottle." + +During a silence so intense that nothing was heard save the hum of two +great "bumblebees" that darted in and out among the trees and flew at +erratic angles above our heads, the negroes came forward and stretched +their necks over each other's shoulders, peering curiously at the +little mounds of powder that lay before them, at the innocent-looking +bottle that stood in their midst, and the great high priest who sat +behind. They stretched their necks over each other's shoulders, and each +endeavored to push his neighbor to the front; but those in front, with +due reverence for the uncanny nature of the table, were determined not +to be forced too near it, and the result was a quiet struggle, a silent +wrestle, an undertone of wriggle, that was irresistibly funny. + +Then arose the great high priest: "Range ye!" + +Not knowing the nature of this order, the negroes scattered instanter +and then collected _en masse_ around Mr. Smith. + +"Range ye! range!" repeated the doctor with dignity, and Edward +proceeded to arrange them in a long, straggling row, urging upon them +that there was no cause for alarm, as, even should any of them prove +'witched, the doctor had charms with him by which to cast off the spell. + +"Come, Martha," said Edward; but Martha was dismayed, and giving her +neighbor a hasty shove, exclaimed, + +"You go fus', Unk' Lumfrey: you's de preacher." + +Uncle Humphrey disengaged his elbow with an angry hitch: "I don't keer +if I is: go 'long yose'f." + +"Well, de Lord knows I'm 'feerd to go," said Martha; "but ef I sot up +for preachin', 'peers to me I wouldn' be'feerd to sass witches nor +goses, nor nuffin' else." + +"I don't preach no time but Sundays, an' dis ain't Sunday," said Uncle +Humphrey. + +"Hy, nigger!" exclaimed Martha in desperation, "is you gwine to go back +on de Lord cos 'tain't Sunday? How come you don't trus' on Him +week-a-days?" + +"I does trus' on Him fur as enny sense in doin' uv it; but ef I go to +enny my foolishness, fus' thing I know de Lord gwine leave me to take +keer uv myse'f, preacher or no preacher--same as ef He was ter say, +'Dat's all right, cap'n: ef you gwine to boss dis job, boss it;' an' +den whar _I_ be? Mas' Ned tole you to go: go on, an' lemme 'lone." + +"Uncle Humphrey," said Edward, "there is nothing whatever to be afraid +of, and you must set the rest an example. Come!" + +Uncle Humphrey obeyed, but as he did so he turned his head and +rolled--or, as the negroes say, _walled_--his eyes at Martha in a manner +which convinced her, whatever her doubts in other matters pertaining to +theology, that there is such a thing as future punishment. The old +fellow advanced, and under direction of the great high priest poured +some of the contents of the bottle on the powder indicated to him, and +it remained white. + +"Thang Gord!" he exclaimed with a fervency which left no doubt of his +sincerity, and hastened away. + +Two or three others followed with a similar result. Then came Mercy, the +housemaid, and as her trembling fingers poured the liquid forth, behold +the powder changed and turned to black! The commotion was indescribable, +and Mercy was about to have a nervous fit when Dr. Rutherford, fixing +his eyes on her, said in a tone of command, "Be quiet--be perfectly +quiet, and in two hours I will destroy the spell. Go over there and sit +down." + +She tottered to a seat under one of the trees. + +One or two more took their turn, among them Mammy, but the powders +remained white. I had entreated Edward not to pronounce her 'witched, +because she was so old and I loved her so: I could not bear that she +should be frightened. You should have seen her when she found that she +was safe. The stiff old limbs became supple and the terrified +countenance full of joy, and the dear ridiculous old thing threw her +arms up in the air, and laughed and cried, and shouted, and praised God, +and knocked off her turban, and burst open her apron-strings, and +refused to be quieted till the doctor ordered her to be removed from the +scene of action. The idea of retiring to the seclusion of her cabin +while all this was going on was simply preposterous, and Mammy at once +exhibited the soothing effect of the suggestion; so the play proceeded. + +More white powders. Then Apollo's turned black, and, poor fellow! when +it did so, he might have been a god or a demon, or anything else you +never saw, for his face looked little like that of a human being, giving +you the impression only of wildly-rolling eyeballs, and great white +teeth glistening in a ghastly, feeble, almost idiotic grin. + +Edward went up to him and laid his hand on his shoulder: "That's all +right, my boy. We'll have you straight in no time, and you will be the +best man at the shucking to-morrow night." + +More white powders. Then came Wash, great big Wash; and when his powder +changed, what do you suppose he did? Well, he just fainted outright. + +The remaining powders retaining their color, and Wash having been +restored to consciousness, Dr. Rutherford directed him to a clump of +chinquapin bushes near the "big gate" at the entrance of the plantation. +There he would find a flat stone. Beneath this stone he would find +thirteen grains of moulding corn and some goat's hair. These he was to +bring back with him. Under the first rail near the same gate Mercy would +find: a dead frog with its eyes torn out, and across the road in the +hollow of a stump Apollo was to look for a muskrat's tail and a weasel's +paw. They went off reluctantly, the entire _corps de plantation_ +following, and soon they all came scampering back, trampling down the +ox-eyed daisies and jamming each other against the corners of the rail +fence, for, sure enough, the witch's treasures had been found, but not a +soul had dared to touch them. Dr. Rutherford sternly ordered them back, +but all hands hung fire, and their countenances evinced resistance of +such a stubborn character that Edward at length volunteered to go with +them. Then it was all right, and presently returned the most laughable +procession that was ever seen--Wash with his arms at right angles, +bearing his grains of moulding grain on a burdock leaf which he held at +as great a distance as the size of the leaf and the length of his arms +would admit, his neck craned out and his eyes so glued to the uncanny +corn that he stumbled over every stick and stone that lay in his path; +Mercy next, with ludicrous solemnity, bearing her unsightly burden on +the end of a corn-stalk; Apollo last, his weasel's paw and muskrat's +tail deposited in the toe of an old brogan which he had found by the +roadside, brown and wrinkled and stiff, with a hole in the side and the +ears curled back, and which he had hung by the heel to a long crooked +stick. On they came, the crowd around them following at irregular +distances, surging back and forth, advancing or retreating as they were +urged by curiosity or repelled by fear. + +It was now getting dark, so Dr. Rutherford, having had the table +removed, brought forth three large plates filled with different colored +powders. On one he placed Mercy's frog, on another Wash's corn, and on +the third the muskrat's tail and weasel's paw taken from Apollo's shoe. +Then we all waited in silence while with his hands behind him he strode +solemnly back and forth in front of the three plates. At length the bees +had ceased to hum; the cattle had come home of themselves, and could be +heard lowing in the distance; the many shadows had deepened into one; +twilight had faded and darkness come. Then he stood still: "I am the +great Dr. Rutherford, the witch-doctor of Boston! I will now set fire to +these witch's eggs, and if they burn the flames will scorch her. She +will scream and fly away, and it will be a hundred years before another +witch appears in this part of the country." + +He applied a match to Apollo's plate and immediately the whole place was +illuminated by a pale blue glare which fell with ghastly effect on the +awestricken countenances around, while in the distance, apparently near +the "big gate," arose a succession of the most frightful shrieks ever +heard or imagined. Then the torch was applied to Mercy's frog, and +forthwith every nook and corner, every leaf and every blade of grass was +bathed in a flood of blood-red light, while the cries grew, if +possible, louder and fiercer. Then came Wash's corn, which burned with a +poisonous green glare, and lashed its sickly light over the house and +yard and the crowd of black faces; and hardly had this died away when +from the direction of the big gate there slowly ascended what appeared +to be a blood-red ball. + +"There she goes!" said the great Dr. Rutherford, and we all stood gazing +up into the heavens, till at length the thing burst into flames, the +sparks died away and no more was to be seen. + +"Now, that is the last of her!" impressively announced the witch-doctor +of Boston; "and neither she nor her sisters will dare come to this +country again for the next hundred years. You can all make your minds +easy about witches." + +Then came triumph instead of dread, and scorn took the place of fear. +There arose a succession of shouts and cheers, laughter and jeers. They +patted their knees and shuffled their feet and wagged their heads in +derision. + +"Hyar! hyar! old gal! Done burnt up, is you? Take keer whar you lay yo' +aigs arfer dis!" advised William Wirt in a loud voice.--"Go 'long, pizen +sass!" said Martha. "You done lay yo' las' aig, you is!"--"Hooray +tag-rag!" shouted Chesterfield.--"Histe yo' heels, ole Mrs. Satan," +cried one.--"You ain't no better'n a free nigger!" said another.--"Yo' +wheel done skotch for good, ole skeer-face! hyar! hyar! You better not +come foolin' 'long o' Mas' Ned's niggers no mo'!" + +The next night was a gala one, and a merrier set of negroes never sang +at a corn-shucking, nor did a jollier leader than Wash ever tread the +pile, while Mercy sat on a throne of shucks receiving Sambo's homage, +and, unmolested by fear, coyly held a corncob between her teeth as she +hung her head and bashfully consented that he should come next day to +"ax Mas' Ned de liberty of de plantashun." + + +"But, Edward," said I, "why did those three powders turn black?" + +"Because they were calomel, my dear, and it was lime-water that was +poured on them," said Mr. Smith. + +"Well, but why did not the others turn black too?" + +"Because the others were tartarized antimony." + +"Where did you get what was in the plates, that made the lights, you +know?" + +"Rutherford had the material. He is going to settle in a small country +town, so he provided himself with all sorts of drugs and chemicals +before he left Philadelphia." + +"But, Edward," persisted I, putting my hand over his book to make him +stop reading, "how came those things where they were found? and the +balloon to ascend just at the proper moment? and who or what was it +screaming so? Neither you nor Dr. Rutherford had left the yard except to +go into the house." + +"No, my dear; but you remember Dick Kirby came over just after dinner, +and he would not ask any better fun than to fix all that." + +"Humph!" said I, "men are not so stupid, after all." + +Edward looked more amused than flattered, which shows how conceited men +are. + + JENNIE WOODVILLE. + + + + +ON THE STUDY OF SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS. + + +The last thing which the student learns, the last thing which the world, +that universal student, comprehends, is how to study. It is only after +our little store of facts has been laboriously accumulated, after we +have tried path after path that promised to take us by an easy way up +the Hill Difficulty, and have abandoned each in turn,--it is only when +we have attained a point somewhere near the top, that we can look down +and see the way we should have come, the one road that avoided +unnecessary steepness and needless windings, and led by the quickest and +easiest direction to the summit. The knowledge that we have thus gained, +however late to profit by it ourselves, should at least be valuable to +others. But, unfortunately, as Balzac has said, experience is an article +that no one will use at second hand. When the great teachers of the +world, who have been its most patient scholars, shall go to work to +teach us how to study, and when we are content to learn, then we shall +all be in a fair way to become sages. + +But, in the mean time, there are two things we must apprehend--truisms +both of them, but, like all truisms, better known theoretically than +practically. The first is, that we must not use a microscope if we want +to study the stars; and the second is, that we must beware of having a +fly between the lenses of our telescope, unless we wish to discover a +monster in the moon. If a discriminating public would not consider it an +insult, one might add, in the third place, that it is useless to look +for lunar rainbows in the daytime. + +It is true that all this sounds like child's play, but it is astonishing +how many of our Shakespearian critics commit one or all of these faults. +Forgetting entirely that criticism demands common sense, impartial +judgment, intense sympathy, a total absence of prejudice, and a great +deal of general information, they bring to their task minds deeply +tinctured with preconceived systems of truth, goodness and beauty, upon +whose Procrustean bed the unfortunate poet must be stretched; while, as +if ignorant of the history of thought, they judge the productions of +another age and another atmosphere by the canons of criticism that hold +good to-day among ourselves. Not only this, but they snuff enigmas in +every line, and scent abstruse theories behind the simplest +statement. They take up passages of Shakespeare whose obvious meaning +any person of average intelligence can understand, and turn and twist +them into such intricate doublings that they cannot undo their own +puzzle. They attack his poetry as if it were a second Rosetta Stone, or +as if it had to be read, like the lines in a Hebrew book, backward. They +study him in the spirit of the fool, who, being given a book upside +down, stood on his head to read it--a position naturally confusing to +the intellect. + +Nor is it only in their methods of investigation that many of our +Shakespearian critics are at fault. Their fondness for rearing vast +temples of possibilities upon small corner-stones of fact is proverbial. +We know that Shakespeare went to London, where he both wrote and acted +plays, and upon this slender basis you may find, in almost any of his +commentators, such added items of biography as this sentence from +Heraud's book upon Shakespeare's _Inner Life:_ "That he had a house in +Southwark, that his brother Edmund lived with him, and that his wife was +his frequent companion in London, are all exceedingly probable +suppositions." So they may be to Mr. Heraud's mind, but the next +biographer shall form a totally different set of "exceedingly probable +suppositions" equally satisfactory to himself. The same critic says that +when Shakespeare, in his Sonnets, spoke of "a black beauty" (a phrase +universally used to express a brunette as late even as the age of Queen +Anne), the poet had his Bible open at Solomon's Song, and meant the +Bride "who is black but comely;" in other words, the Reformed Church. +Mr. Page, the artist, finds in the Chandos portrait, after it has been +cleaned and scraped, and upon the photographs of the German mask, a +certain mark which he thinks the indication of a scar. Two gentlemen, +one an artist, who have seen the mask itself, assure him that they find +his scar to be merely a slight abrasion or discoloration of the plaster; +but Mr. Page, secure in his position, quotes Sonnet 112, + + Your love and pity doth the impression fill + Which vulgar scandal stamped upon my brow, + +and triumphantly asks, "If that doesn't refer to the scar, what does it +refer to?" + +The Sonnets of Shakespeare have been quite too much neglected by the +lovers of his plays, and Stevens said that the strongest act of +Parliament that could be framed would fail to compel readers into their +service. Two classes of minds, however, have always pondered over +them--the poets, who could not fail to appreciate their wonderful power +and beauty, and the psychologists, who have found in them an ample field +for speculation. The variety and extent of the theories of these latter +gentlemen can only be rivaled by the feat of the camel-evolving German. +Indeed, it is the true German school of thought to which these +speculations belong, and it is but just that to a genuine Teuton belongs +the honor of the most extraordinary solution of the mystery yet given. +It would take too long to sum up all the theories that have been +broached upon the subject, but two or three will do as an example. +Without stopping to dwell upon the ideas of M. Philarete Chasles, or of +Gen. Hitchcock, who believes the Sonnets to be addressed to the Ideal +Beauty, we will pass on to the book of Mr. Henry Browne, published in +London in 1870. His idea is that the Sonnets are dedicated to William +Herbert, afterward earl of Pembroke, and are intended chiefly as a +parody upon the reigning fashion of mistress-sonneting and upon the +sonneteers of the day, especially Davies and Drayton; that they also +contain much which is valuable in the way of autobiography, and that +"the key to the whole mystery lies in _Shakespeare's_ conceit (_i. e_., +Mr. Browne's conceit) of the union of his friend and his Muse by +marriage of verse and mind; by which means, and for which favor, his +youth and beauty are immortalized, but which theme does not fully +commence till the friend had declined the invitation to marriage, which +refusal begets the mystic melody." Mr. Browne graciously accepts the +Sonnets in their order, and professes to be unable to name the real +mistress of Herbert, though he considers Lady Penelope Rich to +be the object of their allegorical satire. + +Mr. Heraud also accepts the order of the Sonnets as correct. His book +contains an article on the Sonnets published by him in _Temple Bar_ for +April, 1862, the result, he declares (and far be it from us to dispute +it), of pure induction. He has evolved the theory that Shakespeare in +writing against celibacy had in view the practice of the Roman Catholic +Church; that the friend whom he apostrophizes was the Ideal Man, the +universal humanity, who gradually develops into the Divine Ideal, and +becomes a Messiah, while the Woman is the Church, the "black but comely +bride" of Solomon. "Shakespeare found himself between two loves--the +celibate Church on the one hand, that deified herself, and the Reformed +Church on the other, that eschewed Mariolatry and restored worship to +its proper object.... Thus, Shakespeare parabolically opposed the +Mariolatry of his time to the purer devotion of the word of God, which +it was the mission of his age to inaugurate." + +This is pretty well for a flight of inductive genius, but it is quite +surpassed by the soaring Teutonic mind before mentioned, who, in the +words of the reflective Breitmann, + + Dinks so deeply + As only Deutschers can. + +This mighty philosopher, of whom Mr. Heraud speaks with becoming +reverence, is Herr Barnstorff, who published a book in 1862 to prove +that the "W.H." of the dedication means _William Himself_, and that the +Sonnets are apostrophes to Shakespeare's Interior Individuality! Mr. +Heraud thinks this idea is rather too German, but, after all, not so +very far out of the way, for in Sonnet 42 the poet certainly declares +that his Ideal Man is simply his Objective Self.[009] For, as Mr. Heraud +beautifully and lucidly remarks, "the Many, how multitudinous soever, +are yet properly but the reflex of the One, and the sum of both is the +Universe." And herein, according to Mr. Heraud, we find the key to the +mystery. + +In 1866, Mr. Gerald Massey published a large volume on the same +subject, with the somewhat pretentious title. _Shakespeare's Sonnets, +never before interpreted; his private friends identified; together with +a recovered likeness of himself_. The first chapter contains a summary +of the opinions of Coleridge, Wordsworth and others upon the Sonnets; a +notice of the theory of Bright and Boaden (_Gentleman's Magazine_, +1832), afterward confirmed by a book written by Charles Armitage Brown +(1838); the theories of Hunter, Hallam, Dyce, Mrs. Jameson, M. Chasles, +Ulrici, Gervinus and many others (most of them, by the way, confirming +the theory originated by Boaden and Bright); and having thus gone over +the work of twenty-five _named_ authors, and a space of time extending +from 1817 to 1866, Mr. Massey begins his second chapter by saying that +as yet there has never been any genuine attempt to interpret the +Sonnets, "nothing having been done except a little surface-work." Mr. C. +Armitage Brown in particular (who, by the way, must not be confounded +with Mr. _Henry Browne_) appears to be Mr. Massey's special aversion. +The very name of Brown irritates him as scarlet does an excitable bull. +Armitage Brown was the intimate friend of Keats and Landor, and, Severn +says, was considered to know more about the Sonnets than any man then +living, while the "personal theory," as Mr. Massey styles it, has had a +far larger number of supporters than any other. Unfortunately, the +opinions of others have not the slightest weight with Mr. Massey, and +words are too weak to express his scorn of this theory and its +supporters. Mr. Brown wraps things in a winding sheet of witless words +(delicious alliteration!); he leaves the subject dark and dubious as +ever; his theory has only served to trouble deep waters, and make them +so muddy that it is impossible to see to the bottom; in short, Mr. Brown +and his fellow thinkers, in the opinion of Mr. Massey, are +arch-deceivers and audacious misinterpreters, and have no more idea of +what Shakespeare meant than they have of telling the truth about it. Why +Mr. Massey should have worked himself into a passion before he +began to write is a mystery darker than any he attempts to solve, but +the intemperate, bitter and self-conceited tone of the whole book is +alone an immense injury to its critical value. + +In constructing his elaborate theory of the Sonnets, Mr. Massey has +committed many grave offences against the rules of criticism. He has +gone to his work with the strongest possible prejudices; he has begun it +with certain preconceived ideas of what Shakespeare meant to write; he +has found it necessary to destroy entirely the order of the poems, and +to rearrange them, even sometimes to alter the text, to fit his own +notions; and he has carried his investigations into such puerile and +minute twistings of the text as can only be paralleled by Mr. Page's +quotation in support of his scar. For instance, in Sonnet 78 occur these +lines: + + Thine eyes that taught the dumb on high to sing + And heavy ignorance aloft to fly, + Have added feathers to the learned's wing + And given grace a double majesty. + +Mr. Massey thinks that in this quatrain (which the vulgar mind would +accept as it stands, nor expect to treat as other than figurative) +Shakespeare was passing in review the writers under the patronage of the +earl of Southampton, to whom the sonnet is addressed, and that he can +identify the four personifications! Shakespeare of course is the Dumb +taught to sing by the favor of the earl; resolute John Florio, the +translator of Montaigne, is Heavy Ignorance; Tom Nash is the Learned, +who has had feathers added to his wing; and Marlowe is the Grace to whom +is given a double majesty! Marlowe's chief characteristic was majesty, +says Mr. Massey; therefore, we suppose, he is spoken of as _grace_. The +rest of his "exquisite reasons" may be found at pages 134-143 of the +book. + +This is nothing, however, to the feats of which Mr. Massey's subtlety is +capable. Sonnet 38 begins: + + How can my Muse want subject to invent, + While thou dost breathe, that pour'st into my verse + Thine own sweet argument, too excellent + For every vulgar paper to rehearse? + +That is, kindly explains Mr. Massey--lest we should be tempted to accept +the obvious meaning of the lines, that the poet could not want a +subject while his friend lived, whose worth was too great for every +ordinary writing to celebrate fitly--"that is, the new subject of the +earl's suggesting and the new form of the earl's inventing are too +choice to be committed to _common paper_; which means that Shakespeare +had until then written his personal sonnets on slips of paper provided +by himself, and now the excelling argument of the earl's love is to be +written in Southampton's own book"! Perhaps it means that Shakespeare +had taken to gilt-edged, hot-pressed, double-scented Bath note. + +Mr. Massey's ingenuity in getting over a difficulty is as great as his +faculty of construction. Having assumed Lady Rich (that Stella whose +golden hair makes half the glory of Sidney's verse) to be the "black +beauty" of the Sonnets, he finds that Sonnet 130 perversely says, "If +hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head"--a bit of evidence that +would seem to upset this theory. But Mr. Massey is not to be put down so +easily. This is ironical, he says in effect; Shakespeare did not mean +this; "it is a bit of malicious subtlety to call the lady's hair black +wires, which was so often besung as golden hair; and _she had been so +vain of its mellow splendor!_ ... And there is the '_if_' to be +considered--'much virtue in an _if'!_--'_If_ hairs be wires,' says the +speaker, 'black wires grow on her head!' So that the 'black' is only +used conditionally, and the fact remains that 'hairs' are _not_ +'wires.'" If we are to interpret Shakespeare in this manner, where is +such foolery to cease? + +To sum up the principal facts of Mr. Massey's elaborate theory in a few +words, we find that he considers the Sonnets to be dedicated to William +Herbert, earl of Pembroke, as "their only begetter" (or obtainer) for +the publisher, Mr. Thomas Thorpe; that they consist properly of two +series, the first written for Henry Wriothesley, earl of Southampton, +the second for the earl of Pembroke; that they begin with the poet's +advice to Southampton to marry; that when the earl fell in love with +Elizabeth Vernon, he suggested a new argument (see Sonnet 38), +wherein is no such thing as a _new_ argument, by the way; and that then +the poet begins to write love-poems in the person of his friend. This +continues up to the year 1603, when the earl of Southampton was released +from prison, the dramatic sonnets being interspersed with personal ones. +These dramatic sonnets also include sonnets written for Elizabeth Vernon +of and to Penelope Lady Rich, of whom she is supposed to be jealous; +sonnets from Southampton to herself upon the lovers' quarrel, and the +desperate flirtation of Elizabeth Vernon to punish her lover (which Mr. +Massey says ensued upon this jealousy); together with various other +sonnets between them, and upon the earl's varying fortunes, his +marriage, imprisonment, etc., which make up the first series. The second +series are love-poems written for William Herbert, and addressed to Lady +Rich, who is supposed by Mr. Massey to be the "black beauty" (or +brunette) of the closing sonnets, although it is well known that Lady +Rich was a golden blonde, with nothing dark about her but her black +eyes. To make out this complicated story, Mr. Massey arranges the +Sonnets in groups to suit his fancy, baptizes them as he chooses, and +does not scruple to vilify the fair name of man or woman in order to +make out his argument and to defend the spotless purity of Shakespeare's +moral character. + +_Shakespeare's Autobiographical Poems_, by Charles Armitage Brown +(1838), is the book which more than all others on the subject seems to +have excited Mr. Massey's indignation, chiefly because it is the leading +advocate of "the personal theory"--that is, the autobiographical and +non-dramatic character of the poems. This implies an acceptance of the +statement clearly made in the Sonnets of Shakespeare's infidelity to his +wife; and this Mr. Massey pronounces an outrageous and unwarranted +slander. But in order to leave the name of Shakespeare pure from any +stain of mortal imperfection, Mr. Massey arranges a dramatic intention +for the Sonnets which involves, with more or less of light or evil +conduct, no less than four other names--the earl of Southampton and +Elizabeth Vernon (daughter of Sir John Vernon), whom he afterward +married; William Herbert, earl of Pembroke, and Lady Rich, for whom Mr. +Massey finds no words too abusive, and whom he considers the "worser +spirit" of the later Sonnets. The history of this lady is sufficiently +well known, and, so far as I can ascertain, there is no historical +warrant for supposing her to have been the mistress of Herbert, or the +beguiler of Southampton into such a lapse of duty to his beloved +Elizabeth Vernon as should inspire the expressions of Sonnets 134, 133, +144, which Mr. Massey says are written in the person of this lady to +Lady Rich. Lady Penelope Devereux, sister of Essex, was born in 1563, +and her father, who died when she was but thirteen, expressed a desire +that she should be married to Sir Philip Sidney. For some unknown reason +the intended match was broken off, and the fair Penelope, who is +described as "a lady in whom lodged all attractive graces of beauty, wit +and sweetness of behavior which might render her the absolute mistress +of all eyes and hearts," was married in 1580 to Lord Rich, a man whom +she detested. Sidney's _Astrophel and Stella_, a series of one hundred +and eight sonnets and poems addressed to Lady Rich, and celebrating the +strength and the purity of their love for each other, was first printed +in 1591. Sidney had died five years before, and so long as he lived, at +least, no whisper had been breathed against Lady Rich. In 1600 we have +the first notice of her losing the queen's favor from a suspicion of her +infidelity to her husband, and in 1605, having been divorced, her lover, +the earl of Devonshire, formerly Lord Mountjoy, immediately married her. +He defended her in an eloquent _Discourse_ and an _Epistle to the King_, +in which he says: "A lady of great birth and virtue, being in the power +of her friends, was by them married against her will unto one against +whom she did protest at the very solemnity and ever after." Lord Rich +treated her with great brutality, and having ceased to live with her for +twelve years, "did by persuasions and threatenings move her to +consent unto a divorce, and to confess a fault with a nameless +stranger." In spite of Mountjoy's noble pleadings for his wife, the +whole court rose up against his marriage. The earl's sensitive heart was +broken by the disgrace he had brought upon one whom he had loved so +dearly and so long (for he was Sidney's rival in his early youth, and +had been rejected by Lady Penelope's family before her marriage with +Lord Rich), and he died of grief four months after their marriage, April +3, 1606. His countess, "worn out with lamentation," did not long survive +him. + +Does that look like the conduct of a light and fickle heart? or was it +likely that so noble a man as Charles Mountjoy would have died of grief +for the disgrace he had brought upon a notoriously bad woman? As to Lord +Southampton's alleged flirtation with Lady Rich, which so excited +Elizabeth Vernon's jealousy, Mr. Massey has not one circumstance in +proof of it but the forced interpretation he chooses to put upon certain +lines of certain sonnets which he has wrested from their proper places, +as well as their proper meaning. After using such sonnets as the 144th +to express this jealousy, he quietly confesses at the end of the chapter +that it could not have gone very deep, as the intimacy of the two fair +cousins (for such was their relationship) continued to be of the +closest--that it was to Lady Rich's house that Elizabeth Vernon retired +after her secret marriage to the earl in 1598, and there her baby was +born, named Penelope after her cousin and friend! There was only matter +enough in it for poetry, Mr. Massey concludes after having upset the +whole order of the Sonnets to prove its reality. + +Now, as to the story of Lady Rich's having been the mistress of Herbert, +for whom Mr. Massey says that twenty-four of the Sonnets were written. +William Herbert, afterward earl of Pembroke, was born in 1580. He came +up to London in 1598, being then eighteen years of age, and made the +acquaintance of Shakespeare, who was then thirty-four years old. Lady +Rich, at that time, according to Mr. Massey's own statement, was +"getting on for forty." The fact is that she was just thirty-five, +having been born, as he tells us, in 1563. According to the obvious +meaning of the Sonnets, the lady spoken of is much younger than +Shakespeare, instead of a year older, and, according to Mr. Massey, Lady +Rich was at that time (1597) in the midst of her love-affair with +Mountjoy. The lady of the Sonnets, if we take them literally, could have +borne no such high position as Lady Rich: she seems to have been neither +remarkably beautiful and high-bred, nor virtuous, and was evidently a +married woman of no reputation. (_Sonnets_ 150, 152.) + +It is impossible to bring up separately, in a single article, the items +contained in a volume of 603 pages, so we must be content to leave Mr. +Massey's theory with these meagre allusions to its principal statements, +and pass on to that of Mr. Charles Armitage Brown. Upholding the opinion +that the Sonnets are autobiographical, he maintains that they are in +reality not sonnets, but poems in the sonnet stanza, there being but +three sonnets, properly so called, in the series. The poems are six in +number, terminating each with an appropriate _envoi_, and are addressed, +the first five to the poet's friend, "W.H.," and the sixth to his +mistress. That friend must have been very young, very handsome, of high +birth and fortune; and to all this the description of William Herbert +exactly answers. The divisions made by Mr. Brown are as follows: First +poem, 1 to 26--to his friend, persuading him to marry. Second poem, 27 +to 55--to his friend, who had robbed the poet of his mistress, forgiving +him. Third poem, 56 to 77--to his friend, complaining of his coldness, +and warning him of life's decay. Fourth poem, 78 to 101--to his friend, +complaining that he prefers another poet's praises, and reproving him +for faults that may injure his character. Fifth poem, 102 to 126--to his +friend, excusing himself for having been some time silent, and +disclaiming the charge of inconstancy. Sixth poem, 127 to 152--to his +mistress, on her infidelity. In this last poem, says Mr. Brown, +we find the whole tenor to be "hate of my sin grounded on sinful +loving." However the poet may waver, and for the moment seem to return +to his former thralldom, indignation at the faithlessness of his +mistress and at her having been, through treachery, the cause of his +estrangement from a friend, at the last completely conquers his sinful +loving. "For myself," continues Mr. Brown, "I confess I have not the +heart to blame him at all, purely because he so keenly reproaches +himself for his own sin and folly. Fascinated as he was, he did not, +like other poets similarly guilty, directly or by implication obtrude +his own passions on the world as reasonable laws. Had such been the +case, he might have merited our censure, possibly our contempt." + +Having thus glanced over the work of the principal commentators upon the +Sonnets, let us try the simple plan of reading them as we read +Tennyson's _In Memoriam_, for instance, or the _Sonnets from the +Portuguese_, by Mrs. Browning. In Mr. R.G. White's admirable edition of +Shakespeare he confesses that he has no opinion upon the subject: "Mr. +Thomas Thorpe appears in his dedication as the Sphinx of literature, and +thus far he has not met his Oedipus." But herein have we not the main +difficulty stated? The first great error committed by almost all +students of the Sonnets, if we may be pardoned the opinion, is to take +it for granted that they are a mystery whose key is lost. Just so long +as the Sonnets are considered as a species of enigma they will be +misunderstood and misinterpreted. It was not Shakespeare's habit to talk +in riddles or to propound psychological problems: of all poets except +Chaucer he is the most simple, direct and straightforward. + +We have in the _Amoretti_ of Spenser, and in the _Astrophel and Stella_ +of Sir Philip Sidney, admirable examples of autobiographical poems +written mostly in sonnet stanza, of irregular and varied construction +and subject, although the general theme is the same. Surely we may bring +to the study of Shakespeare's poems the same simple method used in +reading these. Poets of his own day, and using in their highest flights +the form which was Shakespeare's familiar relaxation, nobody has tried +to ascribe to Sidney and Spenser metaphysical mysteries and +psychological conceits. Let us hope that some day this mistaken idolatry +of Shakespeare, which besmokes his shrine with concealing clouds of +incense, will be done away with, and that we shall be allowed to behold +the simple truth, which never suffers in his case for being naked. + +In his 76th Sonnet, Shakespeare says, + + Why write I still all one, ever the same. + And keep invention in a noted weed, + _That every word doth almost tell my name_, + _Showing their birth and whence they did proceed_? + Oh know, sweet love, I always write of you, + And you and love are still my argument. + +With this explicit declaration of Shakespeare, the general character of +the poems, and the similar writings of his friends and contemporaries, +we can but consider the Sonnets as autobiographical poems, written +during a period of time beginning certainly as early as 1598 (when Meres +speaks of Shakespeare's having written sonnets), and ceasing some time +before their first publication in 1609. In the same way were written the +poems composing Tennyson's _In Memoriam_, which, although dedicated to +"A.H.H.," close with a long poem addressed to the poet's sister. + +The first and principal series of the Sonnets (divided from the second +in many editions of Shakespeare by a mark of separation) is clearly +addressed to a male friend. The extremely lover-like use of language by +which they are characterized was a common trait of the age; and here +again we see the necessity of thoroughly understanding the atmosphere +that Shakespeare breathed. To us, with our frigid vocabulary of +friendship, such a style sounds unnatural, and undignified perhaps: with +the Elizabethans it was an every-day habit. Lilly, the author of +_Euphues_, says in his _Endymion,_ "The love of men to women is a thing +common and of course; the friendship of man to man, infinite and +immortal." And indeed it is to the influence of the _Euphues_ that much +of the poetic ardor of language characterizing the masculine friendship +of the time was due. A man's beauty was as often the theme of +verse as a woman's, and the endearing terms only associated by us with +the conversation of lovers were used continually among men. The friends +in Shakespeare's plays, as in all the other dramas and novels of the +period, continually address each other as "sweet," and even "sweet love" +and "beloved." Ben Jonson called himself the "lover" of Camden, and +dedicated his eulogistic lines to "my beloved Mr. William Shakespeare." +There is therefore no reason for considering the language of the first +series of Sonnets as necessarily inapplicable to a masculine friend. The +second series, beginning with the 127th Sonnet, is as evidently +addressed, as Mr. Brown says, "to his mistress, on her infidelity;" and +the Sonnets end with two upon "Cupid's Brand," admitted by all to be +separate poems, and wrongfully tacked on to the Sonnets proper. + +Taking it for granted, then, from this very literal survey of the text, +that the Sonnets are autobiographical, we find their study divided into +two branches: (1) the story that the poems themselves tell by the most +simple and direct statements; and (2) the conjectural explanation of the +personages of that story, involving a careful historical comparison of +names and dates, but amounting, after all is said that can be said, +simply to conjecture, incapable of direct proof. The first part is to +the real lover of Shakespeare and of poetry the only important one; the +second concerns that which is mortal and has passed away. The first +implies a knowledge of the friendship and the love of Shakespeare; the +second the discovery of the names of his friend, of the poet who was his +rival in the praises of that friend, and of the mistress who was +unworthy of them both; not to mention such other items concerning time +and place as might be ascertained by a persevering antiquarian. + +It is impossible, within less than a volume, to quote from the Sonnets +very freely, therefore we shall be compelled to trust to the reader's +recollection of them, assisted by an occasional reference; this +explanation of them being simply a record of the impressions they have +produced upon an unbiased mind reading them as one would read any other +poetry of the same character. + +The story unfolded by the Sonnets, then, is this: Shakespeare had an +ardent friendship, made all the livelier by the fervor of the poetic +temperament, for a young man of noble birth and very great personal +beauty, himself a lover of poetry, if not a poet. This youth was very +much younger than Shakespeare, who was already beginning to speak of +himself as past the prime of life, although he was probably not more +than thirty-four. The friend of Shakespeare was almost perfect in +beauty, intellect and disposition, but he had two faults: he was +extremely fond of flattery (Sonnet 84), and he was over-addicted to +pleasure: + + How sweet and lovely dost thou make the shame + Which, like a canker in the fragrant rose, + Doth spot the beauty of thy budding name! (95.) + +Shakespeare scorned to palter with the truth--"fair, kind and true" he +had called his friend--but he saw his faults with the keen eye of love, +that cannot bear an imperfection in the one who should be all-perfect. + + Thou truly fair wert truly sympathized + In true plain words by thy true-telling friend; (82.) + +and + + I love thee in such sort, + As, thou being mine, mine is thy good report; (36.) + +therefore in all love he warns him to take heed. + +Such was the character of Shakespeare's friend, to whom he begins by +addressing seventeen sonnets (or poems in the sonnet stanza, which is +the better definition), urging him to marry. He knows the weakness of +his character and the temptations that beset him, and in a strain of +loving persuasion, whose theme bears great resemblance to many passages +in Sidney's _Arcadia_, he beseeches him, now that he stands upon the top +of happy hours, + + Make thee another self for love of me. + That beauty still may live in thine or thee. + +Sonnet 17 in a most beautiful manner sums up the argument and ends the +subject. + +The Sonnets from the 18th to the 126th are all addressed to this beloved +friend, who nevertheless, early in the history of their +friendship, inflicted upon the poet a cruel wrong. With the 33d Sonnet +begin the references to this double treachery. It is impossible for an +unprejudiced reader to interpret this and the other poems upon the same +subject in any way but one. The mistress of Shakespeare, fascinated by +the beauty and brilliant qualities of his friend, took advantage of the +poet's absence to win that facile heart, so incapable of resisting the +charms of woman and the tongue of flattery; + + And when a woman woos, what woman's son + Will sourly leave her till she have prevailed? (41.) + +His friend's loss was the greater to the poet, for, although he loved +with passionate strength, it was against his conscience and his reason. +Such a love, he says, is "enjoyed no sooner but despised straight;" +"Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream." + + All this the world well knows; yet none knows well + To shun the heaven that leadeth to this hell. (129.) + +Nor does he mince matters in directly addressing her. She is a brunette, +with black eyes and black hair, yet black in nothing except her deeds, +which have given her an evil reputation. She has sealed false bonds of +love as often as he, and is twice forsworn, having deceived both her +husband and her lover. She is as cruel as if she had that transcendent +beauty which in reality she only possesses in his doting eyes. He knows +that her heart is "a bay where all men ride," and yet love persuades him +to believe her true. + + Who taught thee how to make me love thee more + The more I hear and see just cause of hate? + +She is his "worser spirit," tempting him to ill--his "false plague," +whom he knows to be "as black as hell, as dark as night," though he has +sworn her fair and true. His friend's name is Will also, and Sonnets +135, 136 contain a play upon their names: + + Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy "Will," + And "Will" to boot, and "Will" in overplus. + +Only love my name, he says to her, and then you will still love me, for +_my_ name too is "Will." + +Such are the three actors in this tragedy of sin and sorrow and remorse; +and the more we read these wonderful poems, and perceive the intense +passion that throbs through them, the nearer we seem to get to the great +heart of Shakespeare, the real inner life of that man of whose outer +personality we know so little. We see him wounded to the quick by his +dearest friend, yet weighing the sin of that friend in the balance of +divinest mercy as he acknowledges the strength of the temptation, and, +while he does not extenuate the sin, extends a loving pardon to the +sinner. He knows weakness of his own soul: he himself struggles in the +toils of an unworthy passion, which his reason abhors while his heart is +led captive. His is the battle and the defeat: who is he that he should +judge with indignant virtue the failing of another?-- + + I do forgive thy robbery, gentle thief, + Although thou steal thee all my poverty; + And yet love knows it is a greater grief + To bear love's wrong than hate's known injury. (40.) + +He pardons the penitent as freely as only so great and magnanimous a +soul can, but gently reminds him that "though thou repent, yet I have +still the loss:" + + The offender's sorrow lends but weak relief + To him that bears the strong offence's cross. (34.) + +Hereafter we two must be twain, the poet says, although our undivided +loves are one, for fear thy good report suffer, which is to me as my +own. Do not even remember me after I am dead, if that remembrance cause +you any sorrow, nor rehearse my poor name, but let your love decay with +my life; + + Lest the wise world should look into your moan, + And mock you with me after I am gone. + +Such is the story of the Sonnets, the saddest of all stories, as it +comes to us from the simple and unbiased reading of the series as it +stands, without alteration or transposition. The meaning is sufficiently +obvious without making any change, although, judging from the purely +eulogistic character of some of the first series of the Sonnets, and the +purely reflective style of others, it seems probable that those which +are more or less reproachful in tone may belong together, nearer the +second series. Still, even to this rearrangement there are objections +when we consider the alternations of feeling and the different +conditions that must have affected the poet during the space of time +covered by these poems. In the 104th Sonnet three years are mentioned as +having elapsed since the friends first met, and the time covered by the +whole series was probably still longer. Conjectural evidence points to +William Herbert as the person to whom the Sonnets are addressed. His +name, his age, his beauty, his rank, all agree with Shakespeare's +description. As for the earl of Southampton, the poet's early patron, to +whom the _Venus and Adonis_ and the _Lucrece_ are dedicated, his name +was Henry; he was but nine years younger than Shakespeare, and therefore +not likely to have been called by him "a sweet boy;" he was a remarkably +plain man, instead of an Adonis, and noted, not for his devotion to +women in general, but for his ardent attachment to Mistress Elizabeth +Vernon, whom he married secretly, in spite of the queen's opposition, in +1598. Now, the earliest mention that we have of Shakespeare's poems is +when Meres speaks of "his sugared sonnets among his private friends." +This was in 1598, and, as Hallam and other critics have argued, is +probably a reference to earlier sonnets which have been lost, not to +those published in 1609. It was in 1598 that William Herbert, a +brilliant and fascinating young man, addicted to pleasure and +susceptible to flattery, but strongly disinclined to marriage, came up +to London to live, having visited the metropolis during the previous +year. + +As for Lady Rich, besides the objections already urged on the score of +her personal appearance and her age, Shakespeare would never have dared +to speak of a reigning beauty of the court in the words of Sonnets 137, +144, 152. In fact, Mr. Massey's whole argument upon this head is based +upon his assertion that the poems are dramatic and not personal. + +Mr. Massey's conviction that Marlowe is the rival poet of whose "great +verse" Shakespeare was jealous depends upon Southampton, and not +Herbert, being acknowledged to be the friend addressed, for Marlowe died +in 1593, when Herbert was but thirteen years old, and five years before +we have the first mention of Shakespeare as a writer of sonnets. +Certainly, a writer who had died five years before we find any mention +of the Sonnets can hardly be the living poet of whom Shakespeare +distinctly speaks in Sonnets 80 and 86. Also in Sonnet 82 he makes +mention of the "dedicated words" this rival addresses to his friend. +Now, we have no evidence that Marlowe ever dedicated anything to +Southampton, although Mr. Massey tries to bolster up a desperate case by +saying that "there is nothing improbable in supposing that Marlowe's +_Hero and Leander_ was intended to be dedicated to Southampton" had the +poet lived to finish it! + +A stronger chain of evidence (still conjectural, it must be remembered) +points to Ben Jonson as this rival poet. His _Epigrams_, which contain a +eulogy upon Pembroke, and his _Catiline_, were both dedicated to this +earl, although neither of them was published till after the Sonnets. We +find the earl of Pembroke's name among the actors in Ben Jonson's +masques, and Falkland's eclogue testifies to their intimacy. And in the +80th Sonnet, Shakespeare uses the same comparison of himself and his +rival, to two ships of different bulk, which Fuller used to describe +Shakespeare and Ben Jonson as they appeared at the Mermaid Tavern. + +As for the name of the false woman who ensnared two such noble hearts, +it is lost for ever, let us hope, in a deserved oblivion. The scanty +data that we have given here are about all that can be accepted without +wrenching history and poetry from their proper sphere. But so long as +the spirit is more than the letter, so long will the Sonnets of +Shakespeare be read by all true lovers of true poetry, whether their +historical significance ever be known or not. They are the saddest and +the sweetest story of friendship that we have in all literature; and +while one faithful friend remains possessed of that fine wit that can +"hear with eyes what silent love hath writ," his heart will beat in +answer to the perfect love of the greatest of all poets and the noblest +of all friends. + + KATE HILLARD. + + + + +OUR MONTHLY GOSSIP. + +ARTISTS' MODELS IN ROME. + + +Some visitors to the Eternal City leave it without having found time to +see this one of its wonders, while others are driven by the sad +inelasticity of the hours to leave a different class of objects for +"another time." But it may be safely asserted that none who have been at +Rome for even twenty-four hours ever left it without having had their +attention forcibly arrested by the groups of painters' and sculptors' +models--the former mainly--who haunt the upper part of the great steps +that lead up from the Piazza di Spagna to the Trinita di Monti, and +perhaps even more specially the corner where the Via Sistina falls into +the Piazza Barberini. But very few probably have asked for, and fewer +still obtained, information as to who and what these people are, and +whence they come. Yet to an attentive observer many points about the +appearance of these groups must suggest that a curious interest might +attach itself to the reply to such questions. There are sights in Rome +of grander and greater interest, but there is nothing in all the famous +centre of the Catholic world more distinctively, essentially and +exclusively Roman, more unlike anything that is seen elsewhere, more +instinct with _couleur locale_, than these singularly picturesque groups +of nomads. + +Let us, then, take a stroll among them, starting from that bright centre +of the foreigners' quarter of Rome, the Piazza di Spagna. It is a +brilliant January day, and, we will say, ten o'clock in the morning. In +the Via Babuino and the neighboring streets, which the sun has not yet +visited, the morning cold is a little sharp. _Matutina parum cautos jam +frigora mordent_. But the magnificent flight of the great stair--there +are properly eleven flights, divided by as many spacious and handsomely +balustraded landing-places, each flight consisting of twelve steps, and +all of white marble--with its southern exposure has almost the +temperature of a hothouse. There are two or three beggars basking in the +sunshine near the bottom of the steps. But our models do not consort +with these. Not only are they not beggars, but they belong to a +different caste and a different race. We leisurely saunter up the huge +stair, pausing at each landing-place to turn and enjoy the view over the +city, and the gradually rising luminous haze around the cupola of St. +Peter's, and the heights of Monte Mario clear against the brilliant blue +sky. It is not till we are at the topmost flight that we come upon the +objects of our ramble. There we fall in with a group of them, consisting +perhaps of three or four girls, as many children, a man in the prime of +life, and an aged patriarch. There is not the smallest possibility that +we should pass them unobserved. They are far too remarkable and too +unlike anything else around us. Even those who have no eye for the +specialties of type which characterize the human countenance will not +fail to be struck by the peculiarities of the costume of the group of +figures before us. At the first glance the eye is caught by the quantity +of bright color in their dresses. The older women wear the picturesque +white, flatly-folded linen cloth on their heads which is the usual dress +of the _contadine_ women in the neighborhood of Rome. The younger have +their hair ornamented with some huge filagree pin or other device of a +fashion which proclaims itself to the most unskilled eye as that of some +two or three hundred years ago. All have light bodices of bright blue or +red stuff laced in front, and short petticoats of some equally bright +color, not falling below the ankle. But the most singular portion of the +costume is the universally-worn apron. It consists of a piece of very +stout and coarsely-woven wool of the brightest blue, green or yellow, +about twenty inches broad by thirty-three in length, across which, near +the top and near the bottom, run two stripes, each about eight +inches wide, of hand-worked embroidery of the strangest, +old-world-looking patterns and the most brilliant colors. These things +are manufactured by the peasantry of the hill-country in the +neighborhood of San Germano, who grow, shear, spin, weave, dye and +embroider the wool themselves. And being barbarously unsophisticated by +any adulteration of cotton, and in no wise stinted in the quantity of +material, they are wonderfully strong and enduring. The most remarkable +thing about them, however, is the unerring instinct with which these +uneducated manufacturers harmonize the most audaciously violent +contrasts of brilliant color. It is not too much to assert that they are +_never_ at fault in this respect. So much is this the case, and so truly +artistic is this homely peasant manufacture, that there is hardly a +painter's studio in Rome in which two or three of these richly colored +apron-cloths may not be seen covering a sofa or thrown over the back of +a chair. A great part of the singularly picturesque and striking +appearance of the group of figures we are speaking of is due to the +universal use of these aprons by the women. The men also affect an +unusually large amount of bright color in their costume. The waistcoat +is almost always scarlet; the velveteen jacket or short coat generally +blue; the breeches sometimes the same, but often of bright yellow +leather, and the stockings a lighter blue. The men often wear a long +cloak reaching to the heels, always hanging open in front, and generally +lined with bright green baize. They generally, too, have some +bright-colored ribbons around their high-peaked, conical felt hats. But +I must not forget to mention the costume of the children. It consists of +an exact copy in miniature of that of their elders; and the +inconceivable quaintness and queer old-world look produced is not to be +imagined by those who have never witnessed it. Fancy a little imp of six +or seven years old dressed in little blue jacket, bright-yellow leather +breeches, blue stockings, sheepskin sandals on his little bits of feet, +and long bright flaxen curls streaming down from under a gayly-ribboned +brigand's hat! + +But if the first glance is given to this singularity of costume, the +second will not fail to take cognizance of the remarkable beauty of +feature to be observed in almost every individual of this race of +models. The men are well grown, almost invariably wear their black hair +streaming over their shoulders, and have generally fine eyes and +picturesquely colored, swarthy red faces. But the beauty of the girls is +in almost every case something quite extraordinary; and the same may be +said of the children. The next thing which the closeness of observation +this unusual degree of beauty is calculated to attract will reveal to +the observer is that all these singularly lovely faces are remarkably +like each other, and at the same time remarkably unlike any of the faces +around them. There is often much beauty among the Roman women of the +lower classes, but it is of an essentially different type. The Roman +beauty is generally large in stature and ample in development, with +features whose tendency to heaviness needs the majestic and Juno-like +style of beauty which the Roman women so frequently have to redeem them. +But the countenances of the women of whom we have been speaking have +nothing at all of this. The features are small, delicately cut, the form +of face generally short, rather than tending to oval, being in this +respect also in marked contrast with the ordinary Roman type. There is a +type of face well known to most English eyes, though less so, I take it, +to those on the western side of the Atlantic, which is strangely +recalled to the memory by these model-girls; and that is the gypsy type. +There is the same Oriental look about them, the same brilliancy of dark +eyes under dark low brows, the same delicately-cut noses and full yet +finely-chiseled lips. They have also almost invariably the same wondrous +wealth of long raven black tresses, glossy but not fine. The complexions +are fresher, more delicate, and with more of bloom, than is often seen +among the gypsies; and this is the principal difference between the two +types. There is also another point of similarity, which, if the +accounts of Eastern travelers may be accepted, seems also to point to an +Oriental origin. I allude to the singular gracefulness of "pose" which +is observable in these people, among the men and women alike. There they +stand and lounge, or sit propped, half recumbent, against a balustrade +in the sun, in all sorts of attitudes, but in all they are graceful. +There is that indefinable simplicity and ease in the natural movement +and disposition of their limbs which tuition can never, and birth in the +purple can so rarely, enable a European to assume. It may perhaps be +supposed that the exigencies of their profession have not been without +influence in producing the effect I am speaking of. But I do not think +that such is the case. In the young and the old, in the children even, +the same thing is observable; and the exceeding difficulty of teaching +it may be accepted, I think, as a guarantee that it has not been taught +in the case of creatures so unteachable as these half-wild sons and +daughters of Nature. + +Now, if these people, who for generations past have exercised the +profession of artists' models in Rome, do really belong to a race apart +from the inhabitants of the district around Rome, as I think cannot be +doubted by any one who has carefully observed them, the question +suggests itself, Who and what are they, and whence do they come? +Fortunately, we are not unprovided with an answer, and the answer is +rather a curious one. If the excursionist from Rome to Tivoli will +extend his ramble a little way among the Sabine Mountains which lie +behind it, up the valley through which the Teverone--the _praeceps Anio_ +of Horace--runs down into the Campagna, he will see on his right hand, +when he has left Tivoli about ten miles behind him, a most romantically +situated little town on the summit of a conically shaped mountain. The +name of it is Saracinesco, and its story is as curious as its situation. +It is said--and the tradition has every appearance of truth--that the +town was founded by a body of Saracens after their defeat by Berengarius +in the ninth century. The spot is just such as might have been selected +for such a purpose. It is difficult of access to an extraordinary +degree, and it is said to be no less than two thousand five hundred feet +above the stream which flows at the base of the rocky hill on which it +is built. Tradition, however, is not the only testimony to the truth of +this account of the origin of the strangely placed little town, for in +many cases the inhabitants have preserved their old Arabic names. It is +from this strange eyrie of Saracinesco that our picturesque and handsome +friends of the Piazzi di Spagna descend to seek a living at Rome from +the profession which they have followed for generations of artists' +models. And this is the explanation of the singular sameness of +beautiful feature, the utterly un-Roman type, the sharply-cut features, +and the admirable grace of movement and of attitude which characterize +these denizens of the steps--if of the steppes no longer. + +What a life they lead! From early morn to dewy eve there they lounge, in +every sort of restful attitude, basking in the sun, with nothing on +earth to occupy mind or body save an eternal clatter. On what subjects, +who shall say or attempt to guess? Every now and then one of the tribe +is hired by an artist to go and _pose_ for a Judith, a Lucretia, a +Venus, as the case may be. Some are wanted for an arm, some for a hand, +some for a brow, some for a leg, some for a bust. Some one may have a +special gift for personating an ancient Roman, and another exactly +assume the saintly look of a Madonna or the smile and expression of a +Venus. Their several and special gifts and capacities are all well known +in the world of their patrons, and special reputations are made in the +art-world accordingly. It is a strange life: not probably conducive to a +high development of intellectual and moral excellence, but very much so +to the picturesque peopling of the most magnificent flight of stairs in +Christendom. + + T. A. T. + + + + +FAUST IN POLAND. + + +Nowhere do we see the genuine soul and character of a people so +distinctly as in its myths, legends, popular songs and traditions. They +reflect faithfully, though--perhaps we should say, +_because_--unconsciously, the deeds, aspirations and beliefs of the +earlier ages, and not only afford to our own precious material for +philological and ethnological study, but still exert, in many instances +at least, considerable influence over the ideas and feelings of men. The +Faust legend will never lose its mysterious fascination: many poets have +felt it, but Goethe's insight penetrated all its depth of meaning, and +his marvelous poem is for us the supreme expression of it. + +But it is interesting to find the same legend in Poland, with +characteristic variations from the German conception, illustrative of +the hospitality and chivalry and the dominant influence of woman which +are such marked features in Polish history. Twardowsky (the Doctor +Faustus of Poland) lived in the sixteenth century, in the time of +Sigismund Augustus. He studied at the University of Cracow, rose to the +rank of doctor, and devoted himself especially to chemistry and physics, +having a secret laboratory in a vast cavern of Mount Krzemionki. Science +in those days was regarded as intimately associated with the black arts, +and it was not surprising that Twardowsky's contemporaries added the +title of sorcerer to those of doctor and professor, supposed he had made +an alliance with Satan, and fancied an army of demons always waiting to +do his bidding. All this did not prevent his enjoyment of the king's +favor. Sigismund had married, against his mother's wish, Barbara +Radziwill, the beautiful daughter of a Polish magnate. The nobles, +probably influenced by Bona, the mother of the king, demanded that +Barbara should be repudiated: he indignantly refused, and shortly +afterward she was poisoned. The grief and rage of Sigismund were +without bounds: he exiled his mother, wore black all the rest of his +life, and had the apartments of his palace hung with it. His melancholy +gave him new interest in the occult sciences, and he became more than +ever intimate with Twardowsky, sometimes visiting him in his cavern, +sometimes receiving him secretly in his palace. At first, he was +satisfied with the chemical experiments which the populace regarded as +supernatural, but after a while he urgently desired Twardowsky to +produce for him a vision of Barbara. Twardowsky appointed a night for +the exhibition of his skill, and after drawing a magic circle and +pronouncing some mysterious words, he called Barbara thrice by name, and +she appeared--not as a spectre risen from the tomb, but in all the +beauty and freshness which had been the king's delight. He fainted at +the sight, and his regard for the magician increased greatly. But one +fatal evening he found the door of the cavern shut. Twardowsky, not +expecting him, was not there. After some delay the door was opened by a +beautiful young woman. "Barbara!" exclaimed Sigismund. "Barbara is my +name, but I am alive, not dead," was her reply. Twardowsky's device was +now exposed. He had created an illusion for the satisfaction of +Sigismund by employing this substitute for his lost Barbara. She was a +girl named Barbara Gisemka, whom Twardowsky had rescued from the hands +of a furious mob, had concealed in his cavern, and initiated into the +sciences to which he devoted himself. She became his adept and his +mistress. But the king, furious at the imposition which had been +practiced upon him, and desirous of making this beautiful creature his +own, had Twardowsky murdered, and gave out that the devil had carried +him off. Barbara Gisemka acquired immense influence over the mind of her +royal lover, which lasted while he lived. When he was ill she suffered +no physician to approach him, and was with him when he died in 1572. + +So much for history. Tradition has transformed Twardowsky into a gay and +brilliant gentleman, who, in order to gain all the pleasures of life, +sold his soul to the devil, engaging on his honor to give it up to him +whenever he (the devil) should enter the city of Rome. Twardowsky now +enjoyed to the full his new power, reveling in luxury himself, and +lavishing gifts and banquets on his friends. The populace also +shared his generosity--all the more, too, from the strange manner of it. +On one occasion, we are told, he pierced three holes in a shoemaker's +nose with his own awl, and caused a tun of brandy to flow from it for +the refreshment of the crowd. One day he was informed that a stranger +who was at the inn called the "City of Rome" wished to see him. He went +at once to the place with no misgivings, but on his arrival there found +the devil, who had come to claim the fulfillment of the contract. +Provoked at the quibble, he resolved to employ a ruse himself, and just +as the devil was about to take possession of him he seized the infant +child of the innkeeper from its cradle and held it up before him, its +innocence being a sure defence against Satan's power. He, however, +demanded what had become of his plighted word. The honor of the Polish +gentleman could not resist this appeal. He put down the child and rose +into the air with Satan. But while they were still hovering over Cracow +the sound of church-bells awoke in Twardowsky's recollection a hymn to +the Virgin, which he forthwith sang, and the devil could hold him no +longer. Twardowsky, however, could not get down again, but remains +suspended in the air, only receiving news from the earth by means of a +spider which happened to be on the tail of his coat, and which +occasionally spins a thread and goes down, for a while, returning with +whatever it may have picked up for his information and amusement. + +No Polish story would be complete without a woman, and so we find that +Twardowsky had a wife, beautiful, witty and imperious, with all the +fascinations universally conceded to the Polish women. Madame Twardowsky +is said to have ruled her husband just as he ruled the devil during the +time of that personage's subjection; and there is a second version of +the story which makes her too much for Satan himself. According to this +account, Twardowsky was entertaining a number of friends at the "City of +Rome," when suddenly the devil appeared. While Twardowsky, to gain +time, was reading over the compact, his wife, looking over his +shoulder, suddenly laughed, and addressing the devil, told him there +were still three conditions for him to fulfill, on failure of which the +parchment should be torn up, and asked whether she might impose them. +The devil politely replied in the affirmative. "Here, then," said she, +"see this horse painted on the wall of the inn: I wish to mount him, and +you must make me a whip of sand and a staple of walnuts." The devil +bowed, and in a moment the horse was prancing before their eyes. The +lady now had a large tub of holy water brought in, and invited the +devil, as his second task, to plunge into it and refresh his weary +limbs. He coughed, shivered, then went in resolutely, coming out again +as quickly as possible, and shaking himself well. "The third task will +be a pleasant one," said the lady with her most bewitching smile: "The +first year my husband passes in hell you shall spend with me, swearing +to me love, fidelity and implicit obedience. Will you?" The devil rushed +toward the door, but she was too quick for him, and succeeded in locking +it and putting the key into her pocket. Satan, resolved to escape from +the servitude in store for him, could only do so by going through the +keyhole, which has been black ever since. + + E. C. R. + + + + +A LETTER FROM HAVANA. + +HAVANA, Feb. 14, 1875. + + +It is not a very long sail from home to Cuba--you pass into the Bay of +Havana on the morning of the fifth day, if you have luck--but the sky +and land you left behind at this wintry season at home are very +different from those you find on arriving here. It is a great change in +so short a time from the dun-colored shore and the frozen river to the +waving verdure of the Cuban coast and the sparkling blue and white of +the water. We made the land before daylight, and, the rules forbidding +us to enter the harbor till sunrise, we bobbed up and down for two or +three hours a mile or so outside of the Moro Castle, which guards the +narrow entrance to Havana. The moon was so brilliant that we did not +have to wait for day to enjoy the scene before us: in fact, it could not +have been improved by the sun. The fortress of Moro crouches on a bed of +rock, rearing a tall lighthouse aloft. Its Moorish turrets have a soft +rounded outline, and the undulations of the shore blend with the masonry +of the castle; only a sharp retiring angle here and there gives an +occasional glimpse of a grim purpose. When the Moro light is put out, +ships in the offing may enter the bay. The mouth of the harbor is not +more than half a mile wide, and on the shore opposite to the Moro the +town of Havana comes down to the water's edge, withdrawing up the bay on +one hand, and up the sea-coast on the other. A pilot is not necessary +except for the perquisites of office, but one comes on board, and with +anxious countenance directs the ship straight on through clear water for +a mile, when the anchor is dropped. + +Just as day breaks on the high ground on the Moro shore, and the growing +light brings houses and trees and ships into relief, with all their rich +variety of color, the scene is memorable and full of beauty. On the +green slope behind the castle, while the outline of the tropical +vegetation is only stealing into view, there is hid, and yet visible, a +long, low building of yellow columns, blue facade, brown gables and red +tiles: if you shut out the rest of the landscape with your hands, you +would say it was a picture by Fortuny. The expanse of the bay is fine, +and the large fleet at anchor furnishes it but thinly. Townward, as the +sun's rays begin to dissipate the brown shadows and define shape and +color, the city sparkles like a gorgeous mosaic; but in another half +hour, when the sun is higher, the hazy softness has departed and the +city is ablaze with light, so that your eyes can scarcely look at it. +Then, if you have seen it earlier, it loses its charm. + +I was jealous of Havana from what I had heard and read of it: if the +shore-line, and the entrance, and the bay, and the scene were finer than +Rio, I was prepared to be angry; but Rio is grand and Havana is pretty, +so that one may like both and not divide his allegiance. A patchwork of +good pictures in the Moorish vein of town, and shore, and water would +reproduce, and yet not copy, all that Havana has to offer; but there is +not a picture in the world that aspires to the grandeur of Rio. But I +won't deny the sparkle and brilliancy of Havana. At this moment the sky +is of a perfect "Himmel-blau." I can see from my window, near the roof, +the rich, harmonious Moorish blending of varied colors in the houses; +and beyond these "the white feet of the wind shine along the sea." A +ship with all sail set is coming into port, the white-capped waves +rolling her along before the stiff sea-breeze. Wind is the bane of the +place. It sets in to blow, as the sailors say, soon after daylight nine +days in ten, and blows all day, and sometimes far into the night. It is +not always the soft, perennial zephyr of tradition, but often chill and +raw, and then there is no escape from it except to shut yourself in your +room; and that means hermetically sealing, for when you close a window +here you close a shutter, and thus, if you shut out the breeze, you shut +the light out also. The doors and windows are not meant to exclude the +air, and so when the breeze gets on a frolic it whirls up stairs and +down--goeth, in fact, where it listeth; and sometimes one feels it going +through him like a knife. + +The houses are built in one width of rooms round a hollow square; +consequently, when you put your boots out you put them out of doors. In +the midst of the house, with the sky overhead, the umbrageous palm tree +and banana spread their broad leaves. The rooms are high and white, with +little furniture, and no curtains, with open ceiling of painted rafters, +and iron gratings, like a prison's bars, shutting out the street in the +front of the house. Behind these gratings the passer-by may see the +Cuban family arranged in two prim rows of arm-chairs _vis-a-vis_, +or gathered about the bars as if looking for some means of escape. +Occasionally now in some of the better quarters a child of either sex, +but black as night, disports itself in full view, "covered by the +darkness only." There is an infinite variety of opinion in regard to the +clothing necessary to comfort here. I have often found a light overcoat +comfortable, but there is a tribe or clan from some Spanish province +whose boast it is to wear coat nor vest by day or night. The +representatives of the various provinces maintain their individuality +here, and preserve for festive occasions the costumes which characterize +them in Spain. Some of these are very rich, and many of the men, +especially of the lower orders, being stalwart and handsome, their gala +appearance is decidedly striking. In the fete in honor of Alfonso XII. +there were some beautiful groups of men, women and children in Spanish +costumes, dancing in the procession with silk emblems and flower +wreaths, and singing provincial songs. Others were mounted on the +splendid Andalusian horses, which make one's mouth water with desire to +ride them. They are as beautiful as Fromentin and Gerome have painted +them--such eyes and nostrils, and such action! It has taken centuries to +produce him, but at last there is a saddle-horse: if only for parade +occasions, that is no matter. He is perfect in his kind. The Arab keeps +his horse in his tent, but the Cuban keeps his in his house. We should +say that the horse-owning Cuban sleeps over a stable, but no doubt to +his mind his stable is merely under his room. A rich gentleman in town +has encased his horses in a beautiful drawing-room of cedar and +satin-wood, and it is rather pleasant than otherwise to pass through it +on the way to the other apartments. + +The houses of Havana are low; the streets are narrow; the sidewalks +ditto: there is an occasional plaza of broad, white glare, which must be +intolerable in summer-time. The Prado has trees which are rather Dutch +than tropical; and the Paseo, where the driving is, is quite a fine +avenue. This afternoon, though it is Lent, the Carnival will rage there. +Some people go in masks, but not many; and there are no confetti. It is +mainly a parade--rich people turning out in their best, poor people +making light of their poverty: the rich gorgeous in apparel, and +splendid in equipage, the poor arrayed in some gay, inexpensive motley, +and crowded into miserable vehicles. The particolored costumes give an +aspect of brightness to the street; but it is a solemn sight to see four +Cuban women, of the middle age, drawn by a four-in-hand, arrayed in full +ball-dress, powdered and bejeweled, and passing in review of admiring +mankind. + +The ugliness of the women amounts to a vice, and is unredeemed by any +quality such as sometimes palliates plainness of features. I have cried +aloud for the beautiful Cuban, but in vain. I am assured that she +exists, am told, "My dear fellow, you never made a greater mistake in +your life," am poohpoohed in various ways; but I cannot find her. I hear +it said that owing to the political chaos here she has retired from +public view, but it is not denied that she will go to the Carnival and +the opera. I was warned not to expect her at the ball in Alfonso's honor +at the Spanish Club, and certainly it was a timely warning. Fancy a long +hall of colored marble, pillars running the length of it forming +arcades; balconies on both sides hanging over the streets, and full of +young men smoking cigarettes; men parading up and down the hall and +quizzing the women, who were all seated--two rows of them, hundreds all +together--seriously contemplating the male procession: enameled, +powdered, attired in the wealth of the Indies, saying nothing, doing +nothing, not smiling, not blinking, just sitting there, an awful array +of hideousness. After the band struck up and the dancing began, I +remained long enough to lose in the music the horrible impression of, +the opening scene, and then hurried home. At the opera and the Carnival +it is not so positively unendurable, but a handsome face, or a pretty +face, or even an intelligent, expressive face, I have not yet seen in a +woman in Havana; and at this season of the year, if ever, Havana is +Cuba. I don't condemn them--I merely give my luck. + +The town is of course full of Spanish military and their accessories, +civil functionaries who are all Spanish, money-makers, adventurers, +shoddy. The Spanish army is at "the front," posted across or partly +across the island on a sort of strong picket-line, fortified by +block-houses, whence watch is kept on the movements of the insurgents, +who seem to come and go as they please in the Spanish front, and cross +the lines with impunity. The Spanish hold the whole seaboard, all +important towns and villages, hold the insurgents practically in check, +so far as the fertile region of the island is concerned, and from year +to year keep military matters just about in _statu quo_. The +insurgents dwell in the wildest portion of the island, often in almost +impenetrable woods, living the life of savages, and depending on the +bounty of Nature for their daily bread. + +So the war lingers. It is not what we would call a war: it is a +condition of armed hostility. It is conducted almost wholly at the +expense of Spain in _men_, wholly at the expense of Cuba in +_money_. The Cuban volunteers are a home-guard, but the purse of +the Cubans is open. Spain is not loath to dip into it, and taxation +for carrying on the government and the war has become very +onerous--dreadfully so, in fact, though I believe that the Cubans do not +realize it so fully as strangers do. The government is impoverished; the +war makes no progress; what becomes of the enormous revenue derived from +the taxes? A rich planter said to me dryly, "They are ignorant men: they +make mistakes in applying it." Hard things are openly said of all +Spanish officials; and all officials, from the captain-general to the +harbor pilot, are Spanish. Startling things are heard here every day in +political and military discussions. The people think in classes: there +is the Spanish view, the Creole view, the foreign view--none very +dispassionate, and none very accurate. There is no accepted basis of +fact for anything: nobody believes anybody else, and truth here lies in +a _very_ deep well. But one thing else is clear. Cuba, so gifted by +Nature, is being despoiled by man; and what ought to be a garden will +become overgrown with weeds if there is not a change of fortune. There +is taxation without representation under an iron despotism: there is an +army without war, and the people look on. It is not necessary to find +any new means of going to the bad at a gallop. The rich give practical +support to the Spanish, and moral support to the insurrection; but if +the insurrection should triumph, I can't see how it will benefit the +Creole Cubans of property. I think ideas here are confused on the +subject, and while they are giving hearty encouragement to neither +cause, between the two they are sure to be utterly ruined. + +I have spent a week in all on sugar plantations in the interior. I was +delightfully entertained, and reveled in the luxury of soft air and +out-of-door life. I was on horseback a good deal, riding one of the +shuffling little animals they have here, whose gait is so easy that it +doesn't amount to motion. The crops are to a great extent still uncut; +the green cane, which looks like our broom-corn at a distance, waves in +the winds as far as the eye can reach. The country is level, but has a +frame of mountain-land. The woods are festooned with air-plants and +parasites; palm trees dot the landscape in every direction or run in +splendid avenues, sometimes in double rows, alternating with the round, +full mamey tree, whose deep green foliage brings into fine relief the +white stalk of the palm. The breeze rustles through the broad +plantations of bananas and sways the orange groves. The gardens are rich +in flowers of brilliant hues. The fields swarm with negroes and +ox-carts; the ponderous machinery of the boiling-houses maintains a +steady hum; the picturesque buildings are all touched with Fortuny-like +tints: there is much to see and much to tell of, but I must have some +regard for your patience. I have not finished, but I must stop. + + F. C. N. + + + + +FRENCH SLANG. + + +Reading the slang of a language is much like seeing the said language in +its intellectual shirt-sleeves, off duty and taking its ease: one feels +sure of detecting some essential characteristics of the people who speak +it, and one turns over the pages of a slang dictionary expecting to +recognize through its corruption and perversions the real nature of the +people who have created it. French slang is no exception to this, +theory: the two hundred and thirty double-columned pages of M. Larcher's +_Dictionnaire historique, etymologique et anecdotique de l'argot +parisien_ tell us that the two grand sources and inspirations of our +American slang are entirely wanting: there is not a humorous word or +phrase from beginning to end; and hardly an instance of that incongruous +exaggeration which is so salient a picture of our best-known and most +original slang phrases. But, on the other hand, there is satire keen and +fine on every page, a reckless, devil-may-care gayety, and throughout +that mocking spirit which is so essentially French, making game alike of +its own pain and that of others, and jeering always at the sight of an +altar, never mind what may chance to be thereon, whether its own sacred +things or those of others. Half the words in the book are quaint, +grotesque phrasings of two ideas--ideas which most people on our side of +the water are hardly inclined to joke about: one is the idea of death, +and the other the frailty or falseness of women. One is specially struck +by the wealth of words and the sameness of ideas, and, above all, by the +quickwittedness that must belong to the people who can all catch a +verbal allusion or suggestion as Anglo-Saxons might a plump, square hit. +Sometimes a little unconscious pathos mingles with the mocking vein, for +courage is moving when it is light-hearted. When a Frenchman tells you +he has eaten nothing for two days, he adds, "Ca, ce n'est pas drole" +("Now, that's no joke"). "Coeur d'artichaut" (a heart like an artichoke) +is a felicitous expression for a person who has a succession of caprices +and short-lived fancies; and there is something to the point in the +satire which calls a surgical instrument "baume d'acier" (steel balm), +or in the saying which mocks the credulous faith many people vaguely +have in the efficacy of mineral waters: "Croyez cela et buvez de l'eau" +(Believe that and drink water). There is something desperately +significant in a language in which the lover who supports, protects and +is deceived is called "le dessus," and the one who is favored at his +expense "le dessous;" while the words "une femme," a woman, without +qualification, are identical with frailty, and virtue, being the +exception, demands an adjective to identify and proclaim it. + +But there is something fine in the old French slang for the beginning of +a war: "La danse va commencer" (The dance is about to begin, or the ball +to open), and this dates from time immemorial: fighting has always been +fun to Frenchmen. And there is something better still in the phrase +which has become an official one, and has a proper technical meaning, +with which the orders of a naval officer when sent on a difficult or +dangerous expedition always end. "Debrouillez vous," meaning simply +"Come well out of it." There must be stuff in men who can be trusted to +always extricate themselves from a tight place with credit to their flag +without more words than that simple exhortation. But one cannot say much +for the morality of a country where, when any one says "la muette" (the +dumb one), it is understood to mean conscience. + +The instances are rare of resemblance between our slang phrases and +theirs. Once in a while such a phrase as "Asseyezvous dessus" +(literally, Sit on him) strikes one; but seldom. French slang teems with +words that caricature and satirize personal defects, of which many are +brutally coarse and not quotable. A comical expression for a sumptuous +meal is a "Balthazar" (Belshazzar); and an unpleasant one for a coffin +is a "boite a dominos" (a box of dominoes); a droll phrase for a +plagiarist is "demarqueur de linge" (some one who alters the marking of +another's linen). An interesting fact for the notice of physiologists is +that when the officers of the engineer corps lose a comrade from +insanity, they say, "Il s'est passe au dixieme," in allusion to the fact +that their loss in numbers from this cause amounts to practical +decimation. This is attributed to the close study of the exact sciences. +Under "femme du demi-monde" we find the origin of the phrase as created +by A. Dumas fils: "Femme nee dans un monde distingue, dont elle conserve +les manieres sans en respecter les lois" ("a woman belonging by birth to +the upper class, the manners of which she retains, without respecting +its laws"); but the present meaning is quite different from this, the +phrase being now used as a euphuistic designation of a disreputable +woman. French slang is saturated with irreverence. A common term for an +emaciated-looking man is to call him an "ecce homo," and a "grippe +Jesus" is thieves' slang for a gendarme. + +The author of this dictionary evidently sympathizes with modern +romanticists and light literature in general, for we find "academicien" +defined as "litterateur suranne." One is always inclined to suspect sour +grapes of giving the flavor to French sarcasm concerning the Academy, +and is reminded of Piron's epigram in the shape of his own epitaph: + + Ci git Piron qui ne fut rien, + Pas meme academicien. + +He wrote it, however, after his failure to obtain one of the +much-coveted arm-chairs. + +Our national vanity might be flattered by hearing that the phrase +"L'oeil Americain" is used to describe an eye whose piercing vision is +escaped by nothing, were we not told that it dates from the translation +of Cooper's Leatherstocking tales into French, and has no reference, as +"Natty Bumpo" would say, to "_white_ gifts." + +We find long, elaborate definitions of those much-disputed words, +"chic," "cachet" and "chien," which, after all has been said, seem to +take their meaning from the intention of those who use them and the +perception of those who hear. "Chocnoso" is a delightfully expressive +and absurd onomatopeic word to describe what is brilliant, startling and +remarkable. The most striking feature of this elaborate book is that, +although it contains almost words enough to constitute the vocabulary of +a miniature language, yet the vast majority of these words would be as +unintelligible to an educated Frenchman as to an Englishman. The bulk of +French slang is never heard by the ears of educated people nor uttered +by their lips: it circulates among the classes which create it; and the +size of this dictionary is therefore not necessarily appalling to a +Frenchman's eyes: it does not represent the corruption of the language, +because slang does not taint the speech of those classes who control and +make the standard speech and literature of the nation. If a dictionary +of English slang were published now, how many young ladies and gentlemen +of the educated classes, either in England or America, could profess +honest and absolute ignorance of the meaning of most of the words? The +answer to this question makes the moral of this paper. + + F. A. + + + + +NOTES. + + +If it be true, as a writer in the February Gossip says, that "it is what +Mr. Mill has omitted to tell us in his _Autobiography_, quite as much as +what he has there told us, that excites popular curiosity," the +following anecdote told by John Neal, one of Jeremy Bentham's +secretaries, may be found interesting. The father of John Stuart Mill, +it seems, was in the habit of borrowing books of Bentham, and was even +allowed the privilege of carrying them away without asking permission--a +courtesy so well utilized that from five to seven hundred volumes found +their way in time from Bentham's library into the study of the elder +Mill. He was a more conscientious borrower, however, than most of his +class are, for he had a case made for these books, kept them carefully +locked up, and carried the key in his pocket. This put the owner to some +trouble occasionally when he wanted to consult his books. In one +instance he begged Mr. Mill to leave the key when the latter was going +out of town. In vain, however, for Mill marched off to the country +carrying the key with him, and Bentham had to wait a whole month for a +peep at his own books. If we could know all the facts, doubtless it +would be found that Mill knew too well the careless habits of the +philosopher to trust him to such an extent. It is not prudent to +decide until the evidence is all in. It is that these books--two or +three thousand dollars' worth, according to Neal--were, on the death of +Mr. Bentham, all recovered by his heir. + + +Quarritch, a London bookseller, lately advertised for sale a Chinese +book from the library of the emperor Khang-Hi, bearing the following +title: _Yu Sionan Row-wen youen kien_--that is, "Mirror of the Profound +Resources of Ancient Literature," being extracts from those profound +resources arranged chronologically in the order of their production; but +the singular thing about the book is its typography. It is printed in +inks of four different colors. All the articles dating from the time of +Confucius (B.C. 550) to the Mongol dynasty (A.D. 1260) are printed in +black, with punctuations in red. All names of persons and places are +upon scrolls, to distinguish them from the ordinary text. Observations +upon the emperor Khang-Hi (who annotated the whole book autographically) +are printed in yellow, the color of the reigning dynasty; those upon +scholars and authors living at the time of the publication of the book +are printed in red, the color of the living; those upon persons deceased +in blue, the mourning color of China. The work is in twenty-five +volumes, preserved in four cases. It was printed in 1685. + + +In the infancy of astronomy the moon and all the planets of our solar +system were supposed to be gliding along over the smooth blue firmament +like a boat upon smooth water or a sleigh upon ice. The blue vault was a +solid substance; hence the word _firm_ament. In this vault were set the +"fixed" stars, and of course the moon or any planet passing across it +might run straight into the constellation Leo or some other dreadful +beast; and this explained why direful things happened to this world, +which was supposed to be the only world in the universe. As the moon has +always been the most observed of all the heavenly bodies, and as she +passes most rapidly across the constellations of the zodiac, it is easy +to understand that her phases should excite profound wonder, and that +strange effects should be predicated upon these phases, called "changes" +from time immemorial. In fact, however, the moon is not "changing" at +one time any more than at another. She is continually passing in and out +of the earth's shadow as she revolves around the earth, and the width of +this shadow, with the state of being in the full light of the sun, +constitutes her phases or changes. She does not "enter" any sign of the +zodiac in the sense of entering, as understood by the illiterate; and if +she did, the signs Cancer, Leo, Virgo, have no comprehensible relation, +to plants or parts of the human body. Again, if the moon or sun, or any +of the planets, are said to "enter" these signs, they are not now the +same as the constellations known as the Crab, the Lion, the Virgin. They +did correspond some two thousand or more years ago, when the zodiacal +belt was divided into twelve parts and named; but at present, on account +of the nutation or gyratory motion of the poles of the earth, the signs +of the zodiac (not the constellations) are drifting westward at the rate +of one degree in about seventy-one years. This movement is known in +astronomy as the precession or recession of the equinoxes. It happens, +therefore, that when the astrologer consults his tables, and finds that, +at, the time of the birth of a person whose horoscope he is going to +cast, Venus was in Cancer--a terrible condition of things for happiness +in love--Venus is in reality passing the constellation Gemini or the +Twins, which ought to make everything all lovely. The development of the +Copernican system did a great deal of damage to the interests of +astrology, but it was not until the discovery of the precession of the +equinoxes that this venerable and pretentious art received its +death-blow. To be sure, "the fools are not all dead yet," for certain +people still pay five dollars to have their horoscopes cast, and not a +few rustics consult the moon or the almanac before planting beans or +weaning calves. + + + + +LITERATURE OF THE DAY. + + +The Romance of the English Stage. + By Percy Fitzgerald. + Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott + & Co. + + +According to Carlyle, the only biographies in the English language worth +reading--of course with implied exceptions--are the lives of players. +Over English biographers in general there hangs, as he says, a +"Damocles' sword of Respectability," forbidding revelations that might +either offend somebody's sensibilities or exhibit the subject in any +other than a dignified attitude and sober light, and, as a consequence, +compelling the suppression of details which were needed to render the +portraiture characteristic and lifelike. Actors being as a class outside +the pale of "respectability," no such sacrifice is demanded in their +case; and whereas in their lifetime they assume many characters, and +though constantly before the public are known to it only in disguised +forms and borrowed attributes, after death their personality is laid +bare, and they are made to contribute once more to the entertainment of +the world by a last appearance in which nothing is unreal and nothing +dissembled or concealed. This, of course, applies far better to a former +period than to the present, as does also the explanation of the same +fact offered by Mr. Fitzgerald--namely, the romantic interest attaching +to the stage and exciting curiosity in regard to those wonderful beings +who appear before us as embodiments of passion and poetry, humor and +whimsicality, transporting us into an ideal world, and leaving us, when +they vanish, in a prosaic one to which they do not seem to belong. +Illusions of this kind are scarcely retained by even the young--perhaps, +indeed, least of all by the young--of our generation. Moreover, the +changes which society has undergone during the last half century have +rubbed out much that was distinctive in the actor's life, and have given +to manners and habits in general a uniformity that leaves little that is +striking and piquant to describe. The adventures and the eccentricities +of actors and actresses of a bygone time were paralleled or exceeded by +those of other classes. At present such sources of interest are rare in +any class, and we are obliged to have recourse to sensational novels or +the records of crime. + +Future biographers are no more likely to have such a subject as Samuel +Johnson than such a one as George Frederick Cooke; while both Boswell +and Dunlap, had they written in our day, would probably have been much +more reticent and much less amusing. We cannot therefore agree with Mr. +Fitzgerald in thinking that the colorless character of the few +theatrical biographies that have appeared in recent times is to be +ascribed to the decay of the art of acting and the lack of an ideal +involving a long and arduous struggle in the attainment of eminence. In +France, as he justly observes, the history of the profession has never +possessed the same adventurous interest, the lives of French actors +showing in general a mere record of steady and regular progression, such +as is found in other professions. The stage in France, as in all +Catholic countries, lay under a heavier ban than in England; but on this +very account the actors constituted a separate class, having little +contact with society, receiving few recruits from without, regulated by +fixed usages, and confined to a particular groove. In England, on the +contrary, the stage was an outlet for irregular talent, impatient of +steady labor or severe restrictions, and captivated by the freedom and +diversity of a career which, beginning in vagrancy, might lead at a +single bound to a brilliant and enviable position. Hence the biographies +of English players, taken collectively, offer a vast store of amusing +anecdotes, illustrative not only of the history of the stage, but of +personal character and social manners. Yet books of this kind; though +read with avidity on their first appearance, have naturally fallen into +neglect. Like most other biographies, they are overloaded with details +that have no abiding interest, and few readers of the present day are +tempted to explore the mass for themselves. It was, however, no very +arduous task to sift out the more valuable relics and dispose them in +proper order, and we can only wonder that Mr. Fitzgerald was not +anticipated in the performance of it by some earlier collector. Gait's +_Lives of the Players_ and Dr. Doran's _History of the English +Stage_ have left this particular field almost wholly unworked, and it +is one for which Mr. Fitzgerald was well fitted, both by his previous +labors and knowledge of the soil, and by his practiced dexterity in the +use of the necessary implements. He has accordingly produced a volume +which may either be read consecutively or dipped into at random with the +certainty of entertainment and without risk of tedium. Among the sources +from which his material is drawn he assigns the first place to the +_Memoirs of Tate Wilkinson_ and its sequel, _The Wandering +Patentee_, and the summary which he gives, as far as possible in the +narrator's own language, presents a graphic picture of the provincial +stage at a period when it formed a real nursery of talent for the +metropolitan theatres, enriched with anecdotes of Foote and Garrick as +lively and dramatic as any of the scenes in their own farces, and +affording the strongest confirmation of their protege's account of his +unrivaled mimicry. The story of George Anne Bellamy, and that of Mrs. +Robinson, the "Perdita" of a somewhat later day, deal with the more +familiar and less obsolete vicissitudes of betrayed beauty, while giving +us glimpses of a social crust that has since been replaced by a more +composite exterior. A deeper and far more pathetic interest attaches to +the brief career of Gerald Griffin, the author of _The Collegians_ +and _Gisippus_, who, had he lived in our day, would have been in +danger of having his head turned by premature success, instead of being +heart-sickened by long neglect and coarse rebuffs, and smothering his +aspirations in a convent. In striking contrast with this pale figure is +the portly and imposing one of Robert William Elliston, type of +theatrical charlatans, embodiment of bombast and puffery, monarch over +the realm of pasteboard, immortalized by Lamb, and surely not +undeserving of the honor. With him may be said to have ended the line of +the eccentrics, which fills a large space in Mr. Fitzgerald's volume. +The great actors are comparatively unnoticed, Garrick, Siddons and Kean +being only introduced incidentally, while a whole chapter is given to +"the ill-fated Mossop." This is consistent with the general design of +the book, but there was no good reason for a fresh repetition of the +oft-told tale of the Ireland forgeries. There are, as Mr. Fitzgerald +remarks, many subjects--such as the lives of Macklin and Quin, of Mrs. +Inchbald and Mrs. Jordan--omitted which might fairly have claimed a +place, and which would furnish ample matter for a second and equally +agreeable volume. + + +Democracy and Monarchy in France from the + Inception of the Great Revolution to the + Overthrow of the Second Empire. + By Charles Kendall Adams, Professor of History + in the University of Michigan. + New York: Henry Holt & Co. + + +There can be no more fruitful and interesting study than that of the +changes and struggles which have occurred in France since the fall of +the ancient monarchy. But the time has not yet come when a general +survey can be taken of this important epoch, its successive phases seen +in their true relations and proportions, and its character fully and +correctly appreciated. The overthrow of the Second Empire was clearly +not the closing scene of the drama, and even within the last few weeks a +sudden turn in the line of events has awakened curiosity afresh, and +prepared us for the introduction of new elements or new complications, +with results which can only be conjectured. For lack of that key which +the Future still holds in its hand the most acute and comprehensive mind +must be at fault in the endeavor to analyze the workings and appreciate +the significance of the conflicting principles. If Professor Adams has +had no such misgivings, this seems to be accounted for by his ready +acceptance of a theory which has long passed current in England and +America, and which springs from a habit peculiar to the people of these +two countries of regarding the movements of all other nations, when not +on a parallel course, as deviations from a prescribed orbit. According +to this theory, the excesses of the First Revolution, due in part to the +passions engendered by a long course of misgovernment, in part to wild +speculations and experiments, produced an anarchical spirit which has +frustrated every subsequent attempt to establish a solid government of +any form, including the constitutional monarchy of Louis Philippe, +patterned on the English model--the resemblance being in fact that of a +castle of cards to its Gothic prototype--which offered the proper +compound of liberty and authority in sufficiently balanced proportions. +The French people having thus proved itself incapable of uniting liberty +with order, the one great need is the destruction or suppression of the +revolutionary spirit, to which end a strong government of whatever kind +is the first requisite, and some form of Napoleonism the most available, +it being improbable that the nation would accept permanently anything +better. Such is the view of Professor Adams, one with which all readers +have long been familiar, but which most independent thinkers have come +to reject as shallow and false. However obscure the issue, however +doubtful the solution, it cannot but be apparent to all who, casting +aside prejudices, have studied the history of France in its entirety and +recognized its special character, that its course during the period in +question exhibits no mere series of lawless oscillations, but a process +of development, often checked and retarded, often prematurely hastened, +but passing from stage to stage without suffering itself to be stifled +by factitious aid or crushed by arbitrary repression. What underlies the +history of these events, what distinguishes it from the galvanic +agitations of the torpid Spanish populations in Europe and America, is +the constant presence and activity of ideas, shaping and shaped by +events, hardened or fused by conflict, and preserving through all +vicissitudes and convulsions the incomparable vitality of the nation. +France, more than any other country, is to be studied as a living +spirit, not as an inert mass, and in a study of this kind the +mechanico-philosophical method will not carry us far. It does not appear +to strike Professor Adams as singular that a nation "abandoned for the +last eighty years to the domination of Siva, the fierce god of +destruction," should have all this while been cutting a somewhat +respectable figure in literature, science and the arts, and during most +of that period paid its way in the solid and shining metal considered by +our rulers to have merely a mythical significance. Or rather he seems to +contend that civilization has in fact perished in France, that as "such +a tendency to turbulence is destructive of all healthy national growth," +the inevitable result has ensued. He admits that there are still some +good scholars in France, but he proves--need we add, by +statistics?--that the illiteracy of the masses is greater than it was +under the _ancien regime_, if not in the reign of Clovis. The +controlling influence of Paris is shown, of course, to have been a prime +source of mischief, and we are asked to "imagine the United States +withdrawing from all interest in political affairs, and saying to New +York City, 'Govern us as you please: we do not care to interfere.'" The +fact, as most people are aware, is not at all as here assumed; but that +aside, is it possible that Professor Adams knows so little of the +difference in the origin and structure of the two nations as not to +perceive that the comparison is ridiculous? + + + + +_Books Received_. + + +Social Life in Greece, from Homer to Menander. + By Rev. J.P. Mahaffy, M.A. + London: MacMillan & Co. + +A Free Lance in the Field of Life and Letters. + By William Cleaver Wilkinson. + New York: Albert Mason. + +The Bewildered Querists and other Nonsense. + By Francis Blake Crofton. + New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. + +A Practical Theory of Voussoir Arches. + By Professor William Cain, C.E. + New York: D. Van Nostrand. + +On Teaching: Its Ends and Means. + By Henry Calderwood. + New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. + +The Influence of Music on Health and Life. + By Dr. H. Chomet. + New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. + +The Man in the Moon, and Other People. + By R.W. Raymond. + New York: J.B. Ford & Co. + +Sowed by the Wind; or, The Poor Boy's Fortune. + By Elijah Kellogg. + Boston: Lee & Shepard. + +Religion and Modern Materialism. + By James Martineau. + New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. + +Singers and Songs of the Liberal Faith. + By Alfred P. Putnam. + Boston: Roberts Brothers. + +Winter Homes for Invalids. By Joseph W. Howe, M.D. + New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. + +Helps to a Life of Prayer. By Rev. J.M. Manning, D.D. + Boston: Lee & Shepard. + +Far from the Madding Crowd. By Thomas Hardy. + New York: Henry Holt & Co. + +A Foregone Conclusion. By W.D. Howells. + Boston: James R. Osgood & Co. + +That Queer Girl. By Virginia F. Townsend. + Illustrated. + Boston: Lee & Shepard. + +Magnetism and Electricity. By John Angell. + New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. + +Estelle: A Novel. By Mrs. Annie Edwards. + New York: Sheldon & Co. + +A Rambling Story. By Mary Cowden Clarke. + Boston: Roberts Brothers. + +Life and Times of Sir Philip Sidney. + New York: J.B. Ford & Co. + +An Old Sailor's Story. By George Sergeant. + Boston: Henry Hoyt. + +Nature and Culture. By Harvey Rice. + Boston: Lee & Shepard. + +The Story of Boon. By H.H. + Boston: Roberts Brothers. + + + + +FOOTNOTES. + + +[Footnote 001: Another statue to this remarkable woman is now in +progress of execution, and will be soon ready to place on its +pedestal in one of the principal squares of the town.] + +[Footnote 002: So complete was the destruction that few persons who +now visit Nice would ever imagine that the hill in its centre, which +is laid out with terraced gardens and used as a public promenade, was +before the siege of 1706 completely covered with houses, churches, an +episcopal palace, a fine cathedral of great antiquity, and an immense +castle, which still gives its name to the fashionable walk, _Le +Chateau_. Every vestige, save the crumbling walls of the fortress, of +this by far the largest portion of the old town has entirely +disappeared, and picnics are now made under the shade of beautiful +avenues of trees which replace the labyrinthine streets of yore.] + +[Footnote 003: Madame Rattazzi is now living in Paris, in the little +palace once inhabited by the duke d'Aquila, in the Cour de la Reine, +where she entertains the literary and artistic world once a week. Her +soirees this year are becoming famous. Recently she acted in +Ponsard's _Horace et Lydie_ and in other little comedies, assisted by +the greatest actors and actresses of Paris including Mesdames Favart +and Roussel, but according to universal testimony her own performance +was by far the finest. Never has Madame Rattazzi been so popular as +at present, and her salon is frequented by all the celebrities of the +French capital, to whom she extends the most charming hospitality.] + +[Footnote 004: This refers to the _Gospodi pomiloui_ (the Roman +Catholic _Kyrie eleison_), which perpetually recurs in the Russian +liturgy. Similar discussions about the _Hallelujah_ and other +liturgic forms are met with long before the Raskol broke out.] + +[Footnote 005: If we may trust Dmitri of Rostof, a bishop of the last +century, even so early certain sectaries regarded the raising of +Lazarus as not a fact, but a parable: "Lazarus is the human soul, and +his death is sin. His sisters, Martha and Mary, are the body and the +soul. The tomb represents the cares of this life, and his raising +from the dead is conversion. Similarly, Christ's entry into Jerusalem +sitting on an ass is a mere parable."] + +[Footnote 006: The analogy must certainly be admitted to lie very far +from the surface.--(_Note of the Translator_.)] + +[Footnote 007: The opposition of some of the Raskolniks to this tax +(which has lately been modified) was rendered more determined by the +fact that in the interval between one census and another the tax +continued to be paid for "dead souls." Gogol's novel is founded on +this. From its being nominally levied on the dead, this tax was +regarded by these simple people as a sacrilege.] + +[Footnote 008: To combat this notion, an orthodox bishop, Dmitri of +Rostof, wrote a treatise on the image and likeness of God. A +Raskolnik told this prelate, "We would as lief lose our heads as our +beard."--"Will your heads grow again?" was the bishop's retort.] + +[Footnote 009: "But here's the joy, my friend and I are one..."] + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lippincott's Magazine Of Popular +Literature And Science, April 1875, Vol. XV., No. 88, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIPPINCOTT'S MAGAZINE *** + +***** This file should be named 14324.txt or 14324.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/3/2/14324/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, David Gundry and the PG Online +Distributed Proofreading Team + + +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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