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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/14603-0.txt b/14603-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b3c6079 --- /dev/null +++ b/14603-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2129 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14603 *** + + CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL + + + CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S + INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c. + + + No. 420. NEW SERIES. SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1852. PRICE 1-1/2_d_. + + + + +HOW IS THE WORLD USING YOU? + + +This is a very common question, usually put and answered with more +or less levity. We seldom hear of any one answering very favourably +as to the usage he experiences from the world. More generally, the +questioned seems to feel that his treatment is not, and never has +been, quite what it ought to be. It has sometimes occurred to me, +that a great oversight is committed in our so seldom putting to +ourselves the co-relative question: What have I done to make the +world use me well? What merit have I shewn--by what good intention +towards the world have I been animated--what has been the positive +amount of those services of mine on which I found my pretensions to +the world's rewards? All of these are interrogations which it would +be necessary to answer satisfactorily before we could be truly +entitled to take measure of the world's goodness to us in return; +for surely it is not to be expected that the world is to pay in mere +expectancy: time enough, in all conscience, when the service has +been rendered, or at soonest, when a reasonable ground of hope has +been established that it will not be withheld or performed +slightingly. Only too much room there is to fear that, if these +questions were put and faithfully answered, the ordinary result +would be a conviction that the world had used us quite as well as we +deserved. + +Men are of course prevented from going through this process by their +self-love. Unwillingness to see or own their shortcomings, keeps +them in a sort of delusion on the subject. Well, I do not hope to +make an extensive change upon them in this respect; but perhaps it +may not be impossible to rouse one here and there to the correct +view, and thus accomplish a little good. + +Let us address ourselves to commercial life first, for the labour by +which man lives is at the bottom of everything. Here we meet the now +well-recognised principle in political economy, that generally +wages, salaries, remunerations of all kinds, are in pretty exact +relation to the value of the services performed--this value being of +course determined, in a great degree, by the easiness or difficulty +of the work, the commonness or rarity of the faculties and skill +required for it, the risk of non-success in the profession, and so +forth. Many a good fellow who feels that his income is +inconveniently small, and wonders why it is not greater, might have +the mystery solved if he would take a clear, unprejudiced view of +the capacity in which he is acting towards the public. Is he a slave +of the desk, in some office of routine business? Then let him +consider how many hundreds of similar men would answer an +advertisement of his seat being vacant. The fatal thing in his case +evidently is, that the faculties and skill required in his situation +are possessed by so many of his fellow-creatures. Is he a shopkeeper +in some common line of business?--say a draper. Then let him +consider how easy it is to be a draper, and how simple are the +details of such a trade. While there are so many other drapers in +the same street, his going out of business would never be felt as an +inconvenience. He is perhaps not doing any real good to the public +at all, but only interloping with the already too small business of +those who were in 'the line' before him. Let him think of the many +hours he spends in idleness, or making mere appearances of business, +and ask if he is really doing any effective service to his +fellow-creatures by keeping a shop at all. It may be a hardship to +him to have failed in a good intention; but this cannot be helped. +He may succeed better in some other scheme. Let him quit this, and +try another, or set up in a place where there is what is called 'an +opening'--that is, where his services are required--the point +essential to his getting any reward for his work. We sometimes see +most wonderful efforts made by individuals in an overdone trade; for +example, those of a hatter, who feels that he must give mankind a +special direction to his shop, or die. Half-a-dozen tortoise-like +missionaries do nothing but walk about the streets from morning to +night, proclaiming from carapace and plastron,[1] that there are no +hats equal to those at No. 98 of such a street. A van like the +temple of Juggernauth parades about all day, propagating the same +faith. 'If you want a good hat,' exclaims a pathetic poster, 'try +No. 98.' As you walk along the street, a tiny bill is insinuated +into your hand, for no other purpose, as you learn on perusing it, +but to impress upon you the great truth, that there are no hats in +the world either so good or so cheap as those at No. 98. The same +dogma meets you in omnibuses, at railway platforms, and every other +place where it can be expected that mankind will pause for a moment, +and so have time to take in an idea. But it is all in vain if there +be a sufficient supply of good and cheap hats already in that +portion of the earth's surface. The superfluous hatter must submit +to the all-prevailing law, that for labours not required, and an +expenditure of capital useless as regards the public, there can be +no reward, no return. + +Sometimes great inconveniences are experienced in consequence of +local changes; such as those effected by railways, and the +displacement of hand-labour by machinery. A country inn that has +supplied post-horses since the days of the civil war, is all at +once, in consequence of the opening of some branch-line, deserted by +its business. It is a pitiable case; but the poor landlord must not +attempt to be an innkeeper without business, for then he would be a +misapplied human being, and would starve. Now the world uses him a +little hardly in the diversion of his customers; that may be +allowed: we must all lay our account with such hardships so long as +each person is left to see mainly after himself. But if he were to +persist in keeping his house open, and thus reduce himself to +uselessness, he would not be entitled to think himself ill-used by +reason of his making no profits, seeing that he did nothing for the +public to entitle him to a remuneration. The poor handloom +weavers--I grieve to think of the hardships they suffer. Well do I +remember when, in 1813 or 1814, a good workman in this craft could +realise 36s. a week. There were even traditions then of men who had +occasionally eaten pound-notes upon bread and butter, or allowed +their wives to spend L.8 upon a fine china tea-service. There being +a copious production of cotton-thread by machinery, but no machinery +to make it into cloth, was the cause of the high wages then given to +weavers. Afterwards came the powerloom; and weavers can now only +make perhaps 4s. 6d. per week, even while working for longer hours +than is good for their health. The result is most lamentable; but it +cannot be otherwise, for the public will only reward services in the +ratio of the value of these services to itself. It will not +encourage a human being, with his glorious apparatus of intelligence +and reflection, to mis-expend himself upon work which can be +executed equally well by unthinking machinery. Were the poor weavers +able so far to shake themselves free from what is perhaps a very +natural prejudice, as to ask what do we do to entitle us to any +better usage from the public, they would see that the fault lies in +their continuing to be weavers at all. They are precisely as the +innkeeper would be, if he kept his house open after the railway had +taken all his customers another way. + +There are many cases in the professional walks of life fully as +deplorable as that of the weavers. Few things in the world are more +painful to contemplate than a well-educated and able man vainly +struggling to get bread as a physician, an artist, or an author. It +is of course right that such a man should not be too ready to +abandon the struggle as hopeless; for a little perseverance and +well-directed energy may bring him into a good position. But if a +fair experiment has been made, and it clearly appears that his +services are not wanted, the professional aspirant ought undoubtedly +to pause, and take a full unprejudiced view of his relation to the +world. 'Am I,' he may say, 'to expect reward if I persist in +offering the world what it does not want? Are my fellow-creatures +wrong in withholding a subsistence from me, while I am rather +consulting my own tastes and inclinations than their necessities?' +It may then occur to him that the great law must somehow be +obeyed--a something must be done for mankind which they require, and +it must be done where and how they require it, in order that each +individual may have a true claim upon the rest. To get into the +right and fitting place in the social machine may be difficult; but +there is no alternative. Let him above everything dismiss from his +mind the notion, that others can seriously help him. Let him be +self-helpful, think and do for himself, and he will have the better +chance of success. + +We now come to a second branch of the subject--namely, as regards +our conduct and manners in the scenes of social life. One might +suppose it to be a very clear thing, that a person possessing no +pleasing accomplishment could never be so agreeable a member of +society as one who possessed one or more of such qualifications. It +might seem very evident, that a person who had never taken any +trouble to acquire such accomplishments, did not deserve so much of +society as one who had taken such trouble. Yet such is the blinding +influence of self-love, that we continually find the dull and +unaccomplished speaking and acting as if they considered themselves +entitled to equal regard with others who, on the contrary, can +contribute greatly to the enjoyments of their fellow-creatures. This +is surely most unreasonable--it is, as in the case of the +unnecessary shopkeeper or weaver, to desire the reward and yet not +perform the service. Were such persons to clear themselves of +prejudice, and take an unflattering view of their relation to +society, they would see that the reward can only be properly +expected where it has been worked for. They might in some instances +be prompted to make efforts to attain some of those accomplishments +which contribute to make the social hour pass agreeably, and thus +attain to a true desert, besides 'advancing themselves in the scale +of thinking beings.' If not, they might at least learn to submit +unrepiningly to that comparatively moderate degree of notice and +regard which is the due of those who are perfectly ordinary in their +minds, and fit only to take a place amongst the audience. + +Society, as is well known, has its favourites, and also its +unpopular characters. If we dissect the character of the favourite, +we shall invariably find a great substratum of the amiable. He will +probably have accomplishments also, and thus be able to add to the +happiness of his fellows. It is not improbable that in many cases a +good share of love of approbation will be detected; but this is of +no consequence in the matter. The general fact we assume to be, that +the genuinely amiable is there in some force. It will, I believe, be +likewise found that the unpopular character has something too much +of the centripetal system about him--that is to say, desires things +to centre in himself as much as possible--and neither has any great +natural impulse to the amiable, nor will take the trouble to assume +the complaisant. Now, it is not uncommon to observe traces of +dissatisfaction in the unpopular characters, as if they felt +themselves to be treated unjustly by the world. But can these +persons reasonably expect to be received with the same favour as men +who are at once gentle and inoffensive in their ordinary demeanour, +and actively good among their fellow-creatures? Certainly not. Let +us see here, too, the complaining party take an unprejudiced view of +his relation to society. Let him understand that he only will be +loved if he is lovable, and we may hope to see him taking some pains +to correct his selfishness, and both seem and be a kind and genial +man. Most assuredly, in no other way will his reputation and his +treatment by the world be reversed. + +In fine, we would have all who are inclined to doubt whether the +world uses them well or not, to ask of themselves, in the first +place, how they use the world. If they find that they do little for +it--are stupid, illiterate, possessed of not one graceful +accomplishment, neither useful nor ornamental, but selfish, sulky, +and unamiable, then let them try whether a remedy cannot be found in +themselves. It is not to be expected of all that they are to be +greatly serviceable in any way to the world, or very agreeable +either; but it is the duty of all who desire the world's good +treatment, to do the best they can for the general interest, and to +be as good and amiable as possible. At the worst, if they cannot +make any change on themselves, let them resign themselves to be +comparatively poor and neglected, as such is, by the rules of +Providence, their inevitable fate. + + * * * * * + +[Footnote 1: The upper and under plates of the tortoise are so called by +naturalists.] + + + + +THE SISTERS OF CHARITY IN BOHEMIA. + + +In continental countries, much of that charitable ministration which +with us is left to rates and institutions, is the work of +individuals acting directly under a religious impulse. The +difference is perhaps not entirely in favour of the countries of the +Romish faith; but there is no denying that it leads to our being +presented with pictures of heroic self-devotion and generous +self-sacrifice, such as it would be gratifying to see in our own +country. Many of the forms of charity met with in Catholic states +had their rise in one enthusiastically benevolent man, the +celebrated Vincent de St Paul. Born in 1576, on the skirts of the +Pyrenees, and brought up as a shepherd-boy--possessed of course of +none of the advantages of fortune, this remarkable man shewed a +singular spirit of charity before he had readied manhood. He became +a priest; he passed through a slavery in one of the African +piratical states, and with difficulty made his escape. At length we +see him in the position of a parish pastor in France, exerting +himself in plans for the improvement of the humbler classes, exactly +like those which have become fashionable among ourselves only during +the last twenty years. His exertions succeeded, and generous persons +of rank enabled him to extend them. In a short time, he saw no fewer +than twenty-five establishments founded in his own country, in +Piedmont, Poland, and other states, for charitable purposes. +Stimulated by this success to increase his exertions, he quickly +formed associations of charitable persons, chiefly females, for the +succour of distressed humanity. It was a most wonderful movement for +the age, and must be held as no little offset against the horrible +barbarities arising from religious troubles in the reign of Louis +XIII. Among Vincent's happiest efforts, was that which established +the _Sisters of Charity_, a sodality of self-devoted women, which +exists in vigour at the present day. + +During a lengthened residence in Prague, we have had much +satisfaction in visiting the establishment of the Sisters, and +inquiring into their doings. The house, which was founded in the +seventeenth century, and contains seventy inmates, is situated near +to the palace of Prince Lobkowitz, in the Kleine Seite, or that part +of the city which lies on the right bank of the Moldau. It has much +the character of a suburban villa, being surrounded by a kind of +_plaisance_, enclosed in high walls, and containing shrubberies, +alleys, and large clumps of chestnuts. In this pleasant retreat may +often be found such of the Sisters as are not engaged in the more +pressing kind of duties--never quite idle, however; for, even while +seeking recreation, they will be found busied in preparing clothing +for the poor, or perhaps in making medicines from herbs, if not +imparting instruction to children let loose from the school which +forms a part of their establishment. The place is remarkable for its +perfumes, there being assembled here not merely the usual amount of +roses, lilacs, jasmines, tuberoses, and lilies, but a profusion of +aromatic plants, cultivated either for medicinal purposes, or to +serve in the fabrication of essences and powders, which the Sisters +distribute over the world in tiny bottles and small pillow-cases and +bags, in order to raise funds for the poor. + +In the house, which, having been erected for a private family, is +not well suited for its present purpose, everything is an example of +cleanliness and order. The hospital is in the main part of the +building, and is fitted up with every possible convenience. A large +apothecaries' hall is attached to it, furnished with every appliance +that medical art has devised, and under the superintendence of a +highly-educated professional man. It is most affecting to enter the +great sick-room, and see the gentle Sisters in their modest attire +ministering to the patients, bending over them with their sweet and +cheerful countenances, as if they felt that relief from pain and +restoration to life and its enjoyments depended on their smiles. It +is scarcely necessary to say, that the hospital is almost always +full. Sometimes, indeed, the floor is occupied with extra beds; for +the Sisters will never close their doors to any who apply, even +though they should have to abandon their own simple places of repose +to the new-comer, and stretch themselves on the bare floor. + +We observed, in one of our visits, an old woman who was lying in one +of the beds of the hospital, in a kind of trance, neither sleeping +nor waking, apparently suffering no pain, but quite insensible to +everything which passed around her. Her complaint was that of +extreme old age, mere physical exhaustion. She had been for many +years a pensioner, fed and clothed by the Sisters: having outlived +all her relations, and having no friends in the world but them, she +had come in, as she said herself, 'to die in peace among them.' Not +far from her lay a girl, about sixteen or seventeen years of age, +whose extreme paleness, or rather marble whiteness, vied with the +snowy sheets which covered all but that lily face; and but for the +quivering of the little frill of her cap, and the slow movement of +her large blue eyes, it would have been difficult to believe that it +was not the alabaster figure of some saint that reposed there. The +superior looked kindly and sadly upon her, bent down, kissed her +pale forehead, and went on; and though the sufferer did not move or +speak, nor the feeble head turn, her large blue eyes followed the +reverend mother with an expression which was all its own--an +expression to be felt, deeply, intensely, but which cannot be +described. And who was she, that pale, silent girl? She was an +orphan, neglected by the world, betrayed and abandoned by one who +appeared the only _friend_ she had. Crushed in spirit, enfeebled by +want and misery, without a roof to shelter her young drooping head, +she had been found by the Sisters of Charity sitting alone, _her +eyes fixed on the river_. They took her in, clothed, fed, and warmed +her. They poured into her heart the blessed words of peace and +comfort, till that poor breaking heart gushed forth in a wild tide +of feeling too strong for the feeble frame; and we now saw her +slowly recovering from a frightful fever, the result of past +sufferings, and of that agitation which even a reaction towards hope +had occasioned. + +It would be too much for the present sketch to describe the many +invalids before whom we passed in our visits to the sick-chambers of +the Sisters of Charity, though every single case would be a lesson +to humanity. The homeless, the forsaken, the orphan, each had his or +her own bitter history, previous to reposing within the sanctuary of +that blessed retreat; each was attended by some of those benevolent +beings, whose gentle steps and sweet sunny smiles brought peace to +their hearts. None who are destitute are rejected at that gate of +mercy. Whatever their faults may have been, whatever their +frailties, if overtaken by want or sickness--if, deserted and +trampled upon, they sink without any visible hand being stretched +out to save them from despair and death--then do the Sisters of +Charity interpose to succour and to save. To them it is sufficient +that the sufferer requires their aid. There every medical assistance +is promptly given; every comfort, and even luxury. + +Most surprising it is to the common worldling to see these gentle +beings thus living entirely for others, seeking no reward but that +inspired by Christian promises and hopes. Nor is it mere drudgery +and self-denial which constitute their great merit. When humanity +calls from the midst of danger, whether in the shape of pestilence +or of war, they are equally unfailing. It has been our lot to see a +city taken by storm, the streets on fire and half-choked with ruins, +and these ruins thickly strewed with the dead and dying. There, +before the wild scene had been in the least calmed--amid smoke, and +rain, and the frequent rattling fire of musketry--we have seen the +black dresses and long white kerchiefs of the Sisters of Charity +flitting about, emblems of mercy in a world which might otherwise +seem only fit for demons. The place we speak of was Arcis-sur-Aube. +Napoleon, who looked on the system of this sisterhood 'as one of the +most sublime conceptions of the human mind,' was then in the act of +falling back with 30,000 men, after having been attacked the evening +before (March 19, 1814) by 130,000 Austrians. He was within three +weeks of the prostration of his power, and he must have felt +bitterly the crushing reverses he was experiencing. Yet he stopped +on the nearly demolished bridge of the town, and ordered 300 +Napoleons to be given out of his then scanty resources to the +Sisters of Charity, of whose devotion he had been an eye-witness +from the commencement of the attack. As he crossed the bridge +immediately afterwards, part of it gave way, and he was precipitated +into the Aube, but, by the help of his horse, soon gained the safe +bank. + +The good works of the Sisters do not stop with their exertions for +the sick and miserable. They have also their schools for orphans and +foundlings. Here the tender human plant, perhaps deserted by a +heartless mother, often gains more than it has lost. It is only to +infants in these extraordinary circumstances that they are called +upon to give shelter, for the children of the poor in general are +provided for in public establishments. When we last visited the +convent in Prague, we found about thirty girls entertained as +inmates. As soon as they are capable of learning, they are +instructed in every branch of domestic economy; and as they grow up, +and their several talents develop themselves, they are educated +accordingly: some for instructresses, either in music or any general +branch of education; others, as seamstresses, ladies-maids, cooks, +laundry-maids, house-maids. In short, every branch of useful +domestic science is taught. + +When the girls attain sufficient age and experience to occupy the +several situations for which they have been instructed--that is, +from seventeen to eighteen, the superior of the convent procures +them a place in the family of some of her friends or acquaintance, +and always, so far as lies in her power, with a mistress as much as +possible suited to the intelligence and instruction of her +_protégée_. The day of separation, however, is always painful. It +is, in fact, the parting of a mother and her child. We have seen the +orphan cling to her adopted mother, and as she knelt to receive her +blessing, bathe her hands in tears of gratitude and affection; while +the reverend superior would clasp her to her bosom, and recommend to +her adopted child the blessed principles which she had inculcated +from her infancy. Nor do they leave the home of their childhood +empty. Each girl on quitting the convent is provided with a little +_trousseau_ or outfit for her first appearance in the world: this +consists of two complete suits of clothes--an ordinary and a better +one, four petticoats, four chemises, six pair of stockings, the same +number of gloves, and two pair of shoes. We have seen many of these +orphans and foundlings in after-life; some of them occupying the +most respectable situations, as the wives of opulent citizens, and +others filling places of the most important trust in some of the +highest families of the empire; we have also had several in our own +service, and have always had reason to congratulate ourselves on our +good-fortune in engaging them. + +One of the first principles of education in the orphan schools of +the Sisters of Charity is economy: while they spare nothing in the +cause of humanity, so far as their means will go, the strictest +frugality reigns throughout, and is always inculcated as the +foundation of the means of doing good. Consequently, all of whom we +have had any experience, who were educated in these charitable +institutions, never failed, however humble their situation, to make +some little savings: one whom we have at this moment in our eye, and +who not many years since served us in the capacity of cook, and +fulfilled her charge with great fidelity and zeal, has, by her +extraordinary industry and economy, collected in the savings' bank +in Prague no less than 700 florins, or L.70 sterling. And yet with +all this economy she was so charitable and liberal in giving of her +own to the poor, that we have often had to caution her against +extravagance in that respect. By this spirit of economy, we have +also known several of the orphans and foundlings arrive at a degree +of independence which enables them in their turn to assist the +deserted generation of to-day, and to do for them as they themselves +had been done by. Many also have been the means of rescuing others +from crime and starvation by conducting them to that blessed +institution, to which, under Heaven, they owe all their prosperity +and happiness in life. + +Of these charitable communities there are many orders, which differ +from the above chiefly in name, and in the Sisters never quitting +their sanctuary or the precincts of their gardens. The Sisters of +Charity, properly so called, not being vowed to seclusion, are more +generally known to the world, who see them, and therefore believe +that they exist for charitable purposes, while of those of whom they +see nothing they know nothing; and should the casual observer meet +in the street on a festival, or day of examination, a column of from +300 to 800 children, from six to ten or twelve years of age, neatly +clothed, and whose happy countenances and beautiful behaviour +bespeak the care with which their early education has been +conducted--it never once occurs to him that these are the children +of the poor, the children of the free schools of the 'Sisters' of +the Ursaline Convent, or of the Congregation of Notre Dame, or of +some other religious establishment of the kind. But perhaps we shall +have an opportunity hereafter of introducing these invisible Sisters +of Charity to the notice of our readers. + +Suffice it now to say, that the 'Sisters of Mercy,' the 'Ursalines,' +the 'Congregations of Notre Dame,' the 'English Ladies,' and many +others, are all in practice Sisters of Charity. + +It is not uncommon to hear their condition deplored, as one from +which all earthly enjoyments are excluded, or as a kind of death in +life. But personal observation has given us different ideas on this +subject. Within those lofty, and sometimes sullen-looking walls +which enclose the convents of the sisterhoods we speak of, we have +spent some of the most agreeable hours of our life, conversing with +refined and enlightened women on the works of beneficence in which +they were engaged; everything bearing an aspect of that cheerfulness +and animation which only can be expected in places where worthy +duties are well performed. + + + + +ADVENTURES OF AN ARMY PHYSICIAN. + + +Robert Jackson, the son of a small landed proprietor of limited +income but respectable character in Lanarkshire, was born in 1750, +at Stonebyres, in that county. He received his education first at +the barony school of Wandon, and afterwards under the care of Mr +Wilson, a teacher of considerable local celebrity at Crawford, one +of the wildest spots in the Southern Highlands. He was subsequently +apprenticed to Mr William Baillie, of Biggar; and in 1766 proceeded, +for the completion of his professional training, to the university +of Edinburgh, at that time illustrated and adorned by the genius and +learning of such men as the Monros, the Cullens, and the Blacks. + +In pursuing his studies at this favoured abode of science and +literature, young Jackson is said to have evinced all that purity of +morals and singleness of heart which characterised him in +after-life, and to have resisted the allurements of dissipation by +which, in those days especially, the youthful student was tempted to +wander from the paths of virtuous industry. His circumstances were, +however, distressingly narrow; and not only was he forced to forego +the means of professional improvement open only to the more opulent +student; but in order to meet the expenses of the winter-sessions, +he was obliged to employ the summer, not in the study but in the +practice of his profession. He engaged himself as medical officer to +a Greenland whaler, and in two successive summers visited, in that +capacity, 'the thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice;' returning on +each occasion with a recruited purse and a frame strengthened and +invigorated by exposure and exercise. During these expeditions he +occupied his leisure with the study of the Greek and Roman +languages, and the careful and repeated perusal of the best authors +in both. + +His third winter-sessions at Edinburgh having passed away, he was +induced to go out and seek his fortune in Jamaica, and accordingly +proceeded thither in a vessel commanded by one Captain Cunningham, +who had previously been employed as master of a transport at the +siege of Havannah. It is far from improbable that it was from his +conversations with this individual that Jackson derived those hints, +of which at a future time he availed himself, respecting the +transmission of troops by sea without injury to their health; but it +is quite certain his conviction of the enormous value of cold-water +affusions as a curative agent in the last stage of febrile +affections, was imbibed from this source. + +Arriving in Jamaica, he in 1774 became assistant to an eminent +general practitioner at Savana-la-Mar, Dr King, who was also in +medical charge of a detachment of the first battalion of the 60th +regiment. This latter he consigned to Jackson's care; and well +worthy of the trust did our young adventurer, though but twenty-four +years of age, approve himself--visiting three or four times a day +the quarters of the troops to detect incipient disease, and studying +with ardour and intelligent attention the varied phenomena of +tropical maladies. Four years thus passed profitably away, and they +would have been as pleasant as profitable, but for one circumstance. +The existence of slavery and its concomitant horrors appears to have +made a deep impression on Jackson's mind, and, at last, to have +produced in him such sentiments of disgust and abhorrence, that he +resolved on quitting the island altogether, and, as the phrase is, +trying his luck in North America, where the revolutionary war was +then raging. This resolution--due perhaps, as much to his love of +travel as to the motive assigned--was not altogether unfortunate, +for shortly after his departure, October 3, 1780, Savana-la-Mar was +totally destroyed, and the surrounding country for a considerable +distance desolated, by a terrible hurricane and sweeping inroad of +the sea, in which Dr King, his family and partner, together with +numbers of others, unhappily perished. + +The law of Jamaica forbade any one to leave the island without +having given previous notice of his intention, or having obtained +the bond of some respectable person as security for such debts as he +might have outstanding. Jackson, when he embarked for America, had +no debts whatever, and was, moreover, ignorant of the law, with +whose requirements therefore he did not comply. Nor did he become +aware of his mistake until, when off the easternmost point of the +island, the master of the vessel approached him and said: 'We are +now, sir, off Point-Morant; you will therefore have the goodness to +favour me with your security-bond. It is a mere legal form, but we +are obliged to respect it.' Finding this 'legal form' had not been +complied with, the master then, in spite of Jackson's protestations +and entreaties, set him on shore, and the vessel continued on her +voyage. What was to be done? Almost penniless, landed on a part of +the coast where he knew not a soul, Jackson well-nigh gave himself +up to despair. There was a vessel for New York loading, it was true, +at Lucea; but Lucea was 150 miles distant, on the westernmost side +of the island, and not to be reached by sea, whilst our adventurer's +purse would not suffer him to hire a horse. No choice was left him +but to walk, and that in a country where the exigencies of the +climate make pedestrianism perilous in the extreme to the white man. +Having reached Kingston, which was in the neighbourhood, in a boat, +and obtained the necessary certificate, he started on his dangerous +expedition, and on the first day walked eighteen miles, being +sheltered at night in the house of a benevolent planter. The next +day he pushed on for Rio Bueno, which he had almost reached, when, +overcome by thirst, he stopped by the way to refresh himself, and +imprudently standing in an open piazza exposed to a smart easterly +breeze, whilst his lemonade was preparing, contracted a severe chill +that almost took from him the power of motion, and left him to crawl +along the road slowly and with pain, until he reached his +destination. + +Having finally arrived, friendless and moneyless, in New York, then +in the occupation of the British, he endeavoured first to obtain a +commission in the New York volunteers, and afterwards employment as +mate in the Naval Hospital. In his endeavours, he was kindly +assisted by a Jamaica gentleman, a fellow-passenger, whose regard +during the voyage he had succeeded in conciliating by his amiable +manners and evident abilities; but his efforts were all in vain, and +poor Jackson, familiar with poverty from childhood, began now to +experience the misery of destitution. In truth, starvation stared +him in the face, and a sense of delicacy withheld him from seeking +from his Jamaica friend the most trifling pecuniary assistance. In +this, his state of desperation, he determined upon passing the +British lines, and endeavouring to obtain amongst the insurgents the +food he had hitherto sought in vain; resolving, however, under no +circumstances to bear arms against his native country. Whilst +moodily and slowly walking towards the British outposts to carry +into execution this scheme, having in one pocket a shirt, and in +another a Greek Testament and a Homer, he was met half-way by a +British officer, who fixed his eyes steadily on him in passing. +Jackson in his agitation thought he read in the glance a knowledge +of his purpose and a disapprobation of it. Struck by the incident, +he turned back, and, after a moment's reflection, resolved on +offering himself as a volunteer in the first battalion of the 71st +regiment (Sutherland Highlanders), then in cantonment near New +York. Arriving at the place, he presented himself to the notice of +Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Sir Archibald) Campbell, who, having +first ascertained that he was a Scotsman, inquired to whom he was +known at New York. Jackson replied, to no one; but that a +fellow-passenger from Jamaica would readily testify to his being a +gentleman. 'I require no testimony to your being a gentleman,' +returned the kind-hearted colonel. 'Your countenance and address +satisfy me on that head. I will receive you into the regiment with +pleasure; but then I have to inform you, Mr Jackson, that there are +seventeen on the list before you, who are of course entitled to +prior promotion.' The next day, at the instance of Colonel Campbell, +the regimental-surgeon, Dr Stuart, appointed Jackson acting hospital +or surgeon's mate--a rank now happily abolished in the British army; +for those who filled it, whatever might be their competency or +skill, were accounted and treated no better than drudges. Although +discharging the duties that now devolve on the assistant-surgeon, +they were not, like him, commissioned, but only warrant-officers, +and therefore had no title to half-pay. + +Dr Stuart, who appears to have been a man superior to vulgar +prejudice, and to have appreciated at once the extent of Jackson's +acquirements and the vigour of his intellect, relinquished to him, +almost without control, the charge of the regimental hospital. Here +it was that this able young officer began to put in practice that +amended system of army medical treatment which since his time, but +in conformity with his teachings, has been so successfully carried +out as to reduce the mortality amongst our soldiery from what it +formerly was--something like 15 per cent.--to what it is now, about +2-1/2 per cent. + +In the army hospitals, at the period Jackson commenced a career that +was to eventuate so gloriously, there was no regulated system of +diet, no classification of the sick. What are now well known as +'medical comforts,' were things unheard of; the sick soldier, like +the healthy soldier, had his ration of salt-beef or pork, and his +allowance of rum. The hospital furnished him with no bedding; he +must bring his own blanket. Any place would do for an hospital. That +in which Jackson began his labours had originally been a +commissary's store; but happily its roof was water-tight--an unusual +occurrence--and its site being in close proximity to a wood, our +active surgeon's mate managed, by the aid of a common fatigue party, +to surround the walls with wicker-work platforms, which served the +patients as tolerably comfortable couches. A further and still more +important change he effected related to the article of diet. He +suggested, and the suggestion was adopted--honour to the courageous +humanity which did not shrink from so righteous an innovation!--that +instead of his salt ration and spirits, which he could not consume, +the sick soldier should be supplied with fresh meat, broth, &c.; and +that, as the quantity required for the invalid would be necessarily +small, the quarter-master should allow the saving on the commuted +ration to be expended in the common market on other comforts, such +as sago, &c. suitable for the patient. Thus proper hospital diet was +furnished, without entailing any additional expense on the state.[2] + +Indefatigable in the discharge of his interesting duties, Mr Jackson +speedily obtained the confidence of his military superiors, who +remarked with admiration not only his intelligent zeal in performing +his hospital functions, but his calmness, quickness of perception, +and generous self-devotion when in the field of battle. On one +occasion, although suffering at the time from severe indisposition, +he remained, under a heavy fire, succouring the wounded, in spite of +the remonstrances of the officers present. On another, having +observed the British commander, Colonel (afterwards General) +Tarleton, in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, who had +routed the royalist troops, he galloped up to the colonel--whom a +musket-ball had just dismounted--pressed him to mount his own horse +and escape, whilst he himself, with a white handkerchief displayed, +quietly proceeded in the direction of the advancing foe, and +surrendered himself at once. The American commander, who did not +know what to make of such conduct, asked him who he was? He replied: +'I am assistant-surgeon in the 71st regiment. Many of the men are +wounded, and in your hands. I come, therefore, to offer my services +in attending them.' He was accordingly sent to the rear as a +prisoner; but was well treated, and spent the first night of his +captivity in dressing his soldiers' wounds, taking off his shirt, +and tearing it up into bandages for the purpose. He afterwards did +the same good office for the American sufferers; and when the +wounded English could be exchanged, Washington sent him back, not +only without exchange, but even without requiring his parole. At a +subsequent period during the same unhappy war, when the British +under Lord Cornwallis were in full retreat, the sick and wounded +were placed in a building which the colonists, on their approach, +began to riddle with shot. Several surgeons, not caring to incur the +risk of entering so exposed an edifice, agreed to cast lots who +should go in and see to the invalids; but Jackson, with +characteristic nerve and simplicity, at once stepped forward: 'No, +no,' said he, 'I will go and attend to the men!' He did so, and +returned unhurt. + +After this we find him a prisoner in the hands of the Americans and +French at New York Town, Virginia. As on the former occasion, he was +treated with all imaginable kindness; and, being released on parole, +returned to Europe early in 1782, and proceeded by way of Cork, +Dublin, and Greenock to Edinburgh, where he abode for a short time. +Thence he started for London; and, desirous of testing the best way +of sustaining physical strength during long marches, and urged +perhaps also by economical considerations, he resolved to make the +journey on foot. His West Indian and American experience had taught +him that spare diet consisted best with pedestrian efficiency, and +it was accordingly his practice, during this long walk, to abstain +from animal food until the close of day, nor often then to partake +of it. He would walk some fourteen miles before breakfast--a meal of +tea and bread; rest then for an hour or an hour and a half; then +pace on until bedtime--a salad, a tart, or sometimes tea and bread, +forming his usual evening fare. He found that on this diet he arose +every morning at dawn with alacrity, and could prosecute without +inconvenience his laborious undertaking. By way of experiment he +twice or thrice varied his plan--dining on the road off beefsteaks, +and having a draught of porter in the course of the afternoon; but +the result justified his anticipations. The stimulus of the beer +soon passing off, lassitude succeeded the temporary strength it had +lent him; and, worse than all, his disposition to early rising +sensibly diminished. + +His stay in London, which he reached in this primitive fashion, was +not long. His kind friend Dr Stuart, who had exchanged into the +Royal Horse-Guards, gave him the shelter of his roof; but so poor +was Mr Jackson, that, although ardently desirous of improving +himself in his profession, he was unable to attend any one of the +medical schools with which London abounds. + +The peace of 1783 having opened the continent to the curiosity of +the British traveller, Jackson curtly announced to his friends, that +'he was going to take a walk.' His poverty allowed him no other +mode of locomotion; so off he set on the grand tour, carrying with +him a map of France, a bundle of clothes, and a scanty supply of +money. Crossing the channel, he reached Calais, a place which Horace +Walpole, writing from Rome, declared had astonished him more than +anything he had elsewhere seen, but in which our adventurer found +nothing more astonishing than a superb Swiss regiment. He proceeded +to Paris, and thence through Switzerland, by Geneva and Berne, into +Germany, at a town of which--Günz in Suabia--he met with a comical +enough adventure. + +On entering the town he was challenged by a soldier, who, having +learned he had no passport, carried him before a magistrate, by whom +he was forthwith condemned as a vagabond, and remitted to the +custody of a recruiting sergeant. This worthy, in turn, introduced +him to the commanding officer, who politely gave our traveller the +choice of serving his Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, the Emperor of +Germany, either in his cavalry or his infantry forces. But Jackson, +strangely insensible to the honour, flatly refused to serve his +Majesty in these or any other ways, and desired to be at once set +free, and suffered to continue his journey. The officer, doubtless +amazed at such presumption, desired the sergeant to convey him to +the barracks, where he was placed in a large room, in which were +congregated some two hundred or so involuntary recruits like +himself--harmless travellers, who, being destitute of passports, the +emperor forcibly enlisted into his service. Jackson found his +co-mates in misfortune very dirty, very ragged, but perfectly civil +and good-tempered. Having a little recovered his serenity--for it is +easy to see, though our hero is described as a man of placid +demeanour and somewhat Quakerly appearance, he could be not a little +fiery at times--he sat down and wrote to the commanding officer, +entreating leave to sleep at an inn, and proffering the deposit of +all his money as a pledge for his reappearance next morning. The +reply was an order that he should surrender his writing materials. +At seven o'clock, the appointed sleeping hour, the sergeant returned +and gave the signal for bed by rapping with his cane on the floor, +which was speedily covered by a number of dirty bags of mouldy +straw--the regulation mattresses, it would seem, for involuntary +recruits. Jackson--peppery again--refused to lie down, but was at +last compelled to do so, and between two of the dirtiest fellows of +the lot, each of whom had a leg chained to an arm. The next morning, +at his own request, he was brought before the commandant of the +town, who had only arrived late the preceding evening, and whom he +found seated in his bedroom, 'with all his officers standing round +him receiving orders,' says Jackson, 'with more humility than +orderly-sergeants.' The commandant repeated the offer of 'cavalry or +infantry;' adding that a war was about to commence with the Turks, +and that good-behaviour would insure promotion. However, finding +Jackson obstinately persistent in his refusal, he quietly observed, +in conclusion, that the emperor, as a matter of rule and of right, +'impressed' into his army all such as entered his dominions without +certificates of character. 'The order was so tyrannical,' declares +our _détenu_, 'that I could not contain myself. "Put me in chains, +if you please," I said, "but I tell you, all Germany shall not make +me carry a musket for the emperor."' This impetuous burst of +indignation seems to have alarmed the phlegmatic commandant, who +accordingly let our adventurer go, counselling him, however, to +write to the English ambassador at Vienna for a passport, lest he +should get into further trouble. + +Jackson passed through the Tyrol into Italy, everywhere indulging +his love of scenery and still greater love of adventure; studying +with all the acuteness of his countrymen the varied characters of +the people he met with, and in his correspondence with home friends, +sketching them in language striking for its force, its propriety, +and originality. Some of his remarks on men and manners are +conceived in a truly Goldsmithian vein, whilst all testify at once +to the goodness of his heart and the quickness of his perceptions. +At Venice he says that he felt it to be 'such a feast of enjoyment +as seldom falls to the lot of man, and never to the lot of any but a +poor man, who has nothing conspicuous about him to attract the +notice of the crowd,' to possess such facilities as he did for +learning what the people of foreign countries really were. + +At Albenga, in Piedmont, Jackson arrived one night, tired, hungry, +and drenched with rain. Intending to put up at the 'Albergo di San +Dominico,' which he had been informed was the best inn, he went by +accident to the convent of the same name, and entering, called +loudly to be shewn to a private room. 'Instead of telling me I was +wrong,' he says, 'the young brethren looked waggish, and began to +laugh: when a man is cold and hungry, he can ill brook being the +sport of others;' so accordingly--peppery again--he shook his stick +angrily at the young monks. And at last one of the most courteous +and demure of the number, coming forward, said that although theirs +was not exactly a public-house, still the stranger was heartily +welcome to walk in, rest, and refresh himself. Discovering his +mistake, Jackson of course lost no time in making his bow, his +apologies, and acknowledgments. + +He returned to England by way of France, having but six sous in his +pockets when he reached Bordeaux, where an English merchant, a total +stranger, advanced him a few pounds. On the road, he was frequently +taken for an Irishman, and not seldom for an Irish priest; under +which impression, many civilities were paid him by the simple +inhabitants of the country he traversed. Ultimately he landed at +Southampton, with just four shillings in his possession; his once +black coat having turned a rusty brown, his hat shovel-shaped by +ill-usage, and his whole aspect so comical, that the mob hooted him, +under the belief that he was a Methodist preacher. Proceeding inland +on foot, in the direction of Southampton, he overtook a poor man +walking along the road whose looks of unutterable misery induced our +traveller to stop and inquire what ailed him. He told Jackson he had +a son and daughter dying of a disorder apparently contagious, and +that no physician would attend them, as he was too poor to pay the +fees. Jackson at once offered his services, which were gratefully +accepted. He saw his patients, and prescribed for them, and his +heart was touched by their simple expressions of gratitude. 'Their +thankfulness,' he says, 'for a thing that would perhaps do them no +good, gave me more pleasure than a fee of, I believe, twenty +guineas, much in need of it as I was.' The night had gathered in +before he reached Winchester, where, at a respectable inn, he +partook of such refreshment as his means afforded, and then desired +to be shewn to his bedroom. The answer was, that the house contained +no bedroom for such as he, and he was finally driven out with the +coarsest abuse into the streets. The hour was ten o'clock, the month +December, and the severity of the weather may be guessed from the +fact, that the snow lay deep on the ground. After wandering about +for some time, he at last obtained shelter in a small house in the +outskirts of the city. The next day he fared little better. 'On +Sunday morning,' he relates, 'I was sixty-four miles from London, +and had only one shilling in my pocket. I was hungry, but durst not +eat; thirsty, and I durst not drink, for fear of being obliged to +lie all night at the side of a hedge in a cold night in December. +After dark, I travelled over to Bagshot; was denied admittance into +some of the public-houses, ill used in others.' He sought in vain +permission even to lie in a barn; but a labourer he fortunately fell +in with conducted him to a house, where, at the sacrifice of his +last shilling, he secured at length a bed. The next day--foot-sore, +penniless, and starving--he entered London. After remaining there a +brief space--January 1784--in spite of the inclement season, he set +off, again on foot, to Perth--a journey that occupied him three +weeks, as he was detained on the way by some friends whom he +visited. At Perth, where his old regiment then lay previous to its +disbandment, he amused himself by studying Gaelic, and the +controversy respecting Ossian and his poems. Quitting Perth, he +travelled, still on foot, through the Highlands, the inhabitants of +which he was, in the first instance, disposed to class with savages; +but when he had observed the originality of conception, the breadth +of humour, and the elevated sentiments which mark the Celt, his +opinions underwent a total revolution. He was especially delighted +with a ragged old reiver or cattle-lifter whom he encountered, and +who had given shelter to the Young Chevalier in the braes of +Glenmoriston after the battle of Culloden. + +On his return to Edinburgh, Jackson married a lady of fortune, the +daughter of Dr Stephenson, and niece of his old friend Colonel +Francis Shelley, of the 71st regiment; and was enabled by this +accession to his means once again to visit Paris, where he not only +resumed his medical studies, but acquired the mastery of several +languages, Arabic amongst the rest. Having graduated M.D. at Leyden, +he came back again to England, and commenced practice at +Stockton-upon-Tees, in Durham. Although his reputation speedily +became considerable, especially in cases of fever, he seems scarcely +to have liked his new avocation. He found solace, however, in his +favourite study of languages, which he pursued with unremitting +ardour--constantly reading through the Greek and Latin classics, and +not only rendering himself familiar with the best works of the +modern continental authors, but also with the literature of the +Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Gaelic tongues. The _Bostan_ of Saadi +is said to have been one of his most favourite poems. + +On the war breaking out in 1793, Dr Jackson--who, in 1791, had +published a valuable work on the fevers of Jamaica and continental +America--applied for employment as army-physician; but Mr Hunter, +the director-general of the medical department of the army, +considering none eligible for such employment who had not served as +staffer regimental surgeon, or apothecary to the forces, Jackson +agreed to accept, in the first instance, the surgeoncy of the 3d +Buffs, on the understanding, that at a future time, he should be +nominated physician as he desired. Mr Hunter, however, died soon +after this; and his promise was not fulfilled by the Board which +succeeded him in the medical direction of the army, and which +appears to have pursued Dr Jackson with uniform hostility. + +Returning to England with the troops, it was offered to him to +accompany, in the capacity of chief medical officer, Sir Ralph +Abercromby's expedition against some of the West India islands; and +although no employment could possibly have been more agreeable to +his taste, he, much to Sir Ralph's chagrin, declined the flattering +proposal, on the grounds, that lower terms had been offered to him +than to another professional man. Nothing but a sense of +professional delicacy, it is plain, governed him in this +transaction, for he immediately afterwards embarked (April 1796) as +_second_ medical officer in another expedition to San Domingo. +During his abode in this island, he was unwearied in enlarging his +acquaintance with tropical diseases--observing the rule he had +followed in Holland of noting down by the patient's bedside the +minutest particulars of every case he attended, the effects of the +treatment pursued, and whatever else might shed light on the +intricacies of pathological science. He also gave a larger practical +operation to the scheme he had years before devised of amending the +dietaries of military hospitals. + +After the evacuation of San Domingo in 1798, our physician paid a +visit to the United States, where he was received with signal +distinction, his reputation having preceded him. The latter part of +the year found him again at Stockton, publishing a work on +contagious and endemic fevers, 'more especially the contagious fever +of ships, jails, and hospitals, vulgarly called the yellow-fever of +the West Indies;' together with 'an explanation of military +discipline and economy, with a scheme for the medical arrangements +of armies.' He undertook, about this time, by desire of Count +Woronzow, the Russian ambassador, the medical charge of seventeen +hundred Russian soldiers, who were stationed in the Channel Islands +in a sad state of disease and disorganization; and so admirably did +he acquit himself, and so perfect were the hospital provisions he +made, that (1800) the commander-in-chief nominated him physician and +head of the army-hospital depôt at Chatham--as he says, 'without any +application or knowledge on his part.' This appointment was the +cause of his subsequent misfortunes. + +At Chatham, with the warm approbation of Major-General Hewett, +commanding the depôt, he introduced that system of hospital reform +which had elsewhere operated so successfully. The changes he +effected, as soon as they were made, became known to the Medical +Board, and were publicly approved of by one of its members. However, +shortly afterwards, an epidemic broke out in the depôt (then removed +to the Isle of Wight), arising from the fact, that the barracks were +overcrowded with young recruits, but which the Medical Board +ascribed to Jackson's innovations, and reported so to the +Horse-Guards. The commander-in-chief directed an inquiry to take +place before a medical board impannelled for the purpose, and the +result of that inquiry may be guessed from a communication made by +the War-Office to the commandant of the depôt. This states 'the +unanimous opinion of the Board to have exculpated Dr Jackson from +all improper treatment of diseases in the sick,' and the +commander-in-chief's gratification, 'that an opportunity has thus +been given to that most zealous officer of proving his fitness for +the important situation in which he is placed.' The result of this +wretched intrigue, however, was that Jackson, disgusted with the +whole affair, requested to be placed on half-pay, to which request +the Duke of York, with marked reluctance, at last (March 1803) +acceded. + +In his retirement at Stockton, Jackson put forth two valuable works, +one on the medical economy of armies, and another on that of the +British army in particular, and was much gratified by an offer to +accompany, as military secretary, General Simcoe, just appointed +commander-in-chief in India. The general's sudden death, however, +put an end to this plan; and Jackson continued at Stockton, +addressing frequent representations to government on the defective +medical arrangements in the military service--representations the +very receipt of which were not acknowledged by Mr Pitt, to whom they +were forwarded. The Peninsular war commencing, Dr Jackson was again +named Inspector of Hospitals, but was not, thanks to the persevering +enmity of the Medical Board, sent on foreign service, although he +volunteered to sink his rank, and go in any capacity. The Board even +succeeded, by calumnious statements that he had purchased his +diploma--statements he readily confuted--in preventing his +appointment to the Spanish liberating army; although the British +government had formally requested him to accept such an appointment, +and agreed to give credentials testifying to his capacity and +trustworthiness. This last disappointment led him, in an unguarded +moment--peppery to the last--to inflict a slight personal +chastisement on the surgeon-general, for which he was imprisoned six +months in the King's Bench. + +But the triumph of his enemies was not of long duration. In 1810 the +Board was dissolved, and the control of the medical department +vested in a director-general, with three principal inspectors +subordinate to him. Then did Jackson return to active service, and +from 1811 to 1815 was employed in the West Indies; his reports from +whence embracing every topic relating to medical topography, to +sanitary arrangements, and to the observed phenomena of tropical +disease, are it is not too much to say, invaluable. His hints as to +the choice of sites for barracks, the propriety of giving to +soldiers healthy employment and recreation, as a means of averting +sickness, his suggestions as to the treatment of fevers and other +endemic diseases, may be found in the various works he has +published, embodying the fruits of his West Indian experience. + +In 1819, he was sent by government to Spain, where the yellow-fever +had broken out, and his report upon its characteristics has been +universally admitted to supply the fullest information on the +subject that had hitherto been communicated to the public. He +availed himself of his presence in that part of Europe to pay a +visit to Constantinople and the Levant; and, retaining his energy to +the last, when a British force was sent to Portugal in 1827, he +desired permission to accompany it. The sands of his life, however, +were then fast running out, and on the 6th of April in the same year +he died, after a short illness, at Thursby, near Carlisle, in the +77th year of his age. Thus closed a long career of usefulness; for +it is not too much to say, that few men of his time laboured harder +to benefit his fellow-creatures than did Dr Robert Jackson. + + * * * * * + +[Footnote 2: The late Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, when in command, during +the war, of a frigate on the coast of Calabria, finding sickness +appear amongst his crew, purchased on his own responsibility some +bullocks, for the purpose of supplying them with fresh meat. Lord +Collingwood having heard of this, and considering it a breach of +discipline, sent for Codrington, and addressed him: 'Captain +Codrington, pray have you any idea of the price of a bullock in this +place?' 'No, my lord,' was the reply, 'I have not; but I know well +the value of a British sailor's life!'] + + + + +THE MYSTERIOUS LADY. + + +It is thirty years since we first met the Mysterious Lady at a +fashionable sea-side boarding-house, and on our introduction, we +found that her brother, General Jerningham, was well known to some +members of our family. For five-and-twenty years afterwards she +haunted us at intervals; and so singularly and secretly conducted +were all her movements, that had she lived in the days of the +Inquisition, Miss Jerningham might have proved one of its most +valuable agents and coadjutors. She was a thin, middle-aged +personage, or, more correctly speaking, of uncertain age, and +without anything remarkable in her exterior, which was decidedly +lady-like, if we except a pair of the very smallest and most +restless brown eyes that were ever set in mortal's head. These eyes +expressed suspicion, together with intelligence and close +observation. They were clear and sparkling, and shaded by no +drooping fringes; and some folks declared that Miss Jerningham slept +with her eyes open. On conversing with her, she appeared to have +been everywhere and to know everything; but the moment any allusion +was made to the future, any attempt to discuss _her_ prospective +plans, then did the little brown eyes assume a reddish tinge, their +expression passing from suspicion and alarm to the most stubborn +resolve. All this was somewhat ludicrous, because nobody really felt +particular interest in her movements, or desired to pry into her +actions; but on discovering what appeared to be the weak point in +her character--because it was out of all proportion strong--idle +people, in search of amusement, availed themselves of the knowledge +to lead her a very uncomfortable life. Her most intimate friends +never knew, for months together, where she was to be found; and it +was currently reported that General Jerningham had once advertised +in the _Times_ for his sister. Certain it is, she always conned the +newspapers with avidity, particularly the portion devoted to +anonymous communications and the mystical interchange of sentiments; +and we frequently suspected that her interest arose from a deeper +source than mere curiosity. The simple query: 'Where do you think of +passing this autumn, Miss Jerningham?' threw her into a state of +strange excitement; and she always commenced her answer somewhat in +the following strain: 'Letters of importance, daily looked for, will +determine me--circumstances over which I have no control: it _is_ +possible that I may visit Cowes;' but a possibility declared in this +way by Miss Jerningham was never known to come to pass. Wherever she +chanced to be seen, former acquaintances popped upon her with +uplifted hands, exclaiming: 'What! _you_ here? Why, we thought you +were at Ilfracombe'--or some other far-away place. 'How long have +you been here?--how long do you stay?' were questions easily +parried; but if a more searching investigation commenced, then the +Mysterious Lady turned, and twisted, and doubled painfully; but +somehow always managed to elude and baffle her persecutors. + +Miss Jerningham's moral rectitude and unimpeachable propriety of +conduct--unsullied by the breath of detraction--rendered her in a +great measure impervious to downright ill-nature; but still she was +open to teasing and bantering; and the more she was teased, and the +more she was bantered, the more impenetrable she became. We +endeavoured to find out from herself--but unsuccessfully--if she had +always led such a roving kind of existence, and also how it +originated; for General Jerningham had a nice villa near the +metropolis, and a small, amiable, domestic circle, ready to receive +and welcome the wanderer. But no: she came upon them unawares, and +at periods when they least expected her, and disappeared again as +suddenly, they knew not why nor whither. In this way she vanished +from the boarding-house where we first met her, with no intimation +of her intention even to our hostess, till her baggage was ready and +the coach at the door. + +'Where is Miss Jerningham?' was the unanimous cry when she did not +appear in her usual place. + +'She left us early this morning,' quietly replied the landlady. + +'Gone--really gone?' was repeated in various tones of +disappointment; and one old gentleman, who had paid the absent lady +marked attention, demanded in a chagrined voice: 'Pray, where has +she gone? Can you tell us _that_, ma'am?--heigh!' + +'No, sir, I cannot,' replied our hostess. 'All I can say is, that +Miss Jerningham is a very honourable and generous lady, and wherever +she is, I wish her well.' + +'Humph!' said the old gentleman gruffly; 'she must have a good +fortune to do as she does.' + +'Yes, sir, she must,' was the reply: 'and go where she will, I +believe that Miss Jerningham always gives plentiful alms. It seems +her settled habit, like.' + +'Settled habit!' muttered the old gentleman: 'she hasn't got a +settled habit, ma'am: she is a most unsettled and extraordinary +individual.' + +'Well, sir, perhaps so,' replied Mrs Smith; 'but Miss Jerningham is +quite the lady.' And in that opinion we all coincided, supposing our +hostess by the word lady to have meant gentlewoman. + +A few months afterwards she called upon us in London. She was not +staying with her brother, but declined giving her address, remarking +that it was not worth while, as she was about to change her abode +immediately. By accident, however, we discovered afterwards that +Miss Jerningham had lodged for the whole period within a dozen doors +of us. Our surprise was lessened in after-years at the pertinacity +with which she continued to appear to us, although always at +uncertain intervals; for a service rendered by our father, referring +to some banking transaction, apparently never escaped her memory, +and she invariably alluded to this act of kindness with expressions +of gratitude. This circumstance operated, we conjectured, as an +encouragement to bestow on us an unusual mark of confidence and +friendship, for such Miss Jerningham considered it when requesting +permission to add our address to an advertisement she was about +inserting in the _Times_ for 'eligible board and lodging.' She knew +that newspapers were prohibited articles in our circle, +consequently we had no opportunity of finding out that portion of +the transaction she wished to conceal. In what locality this +'eligible board and lodging' was advertised for, we never inquired, +judging it would be needless to do so, but we consented to receive +the letters Miss Jerningham expected in answer. + +Poor Miss Jerningham! great was her amazement as well as our own +when, in the course of three days, we had amassed for her +consideration and perusal no less than seventy-seven letters +directed to 'X.Y.Z.' What temptations were held forth in the +advertisement which elicited so many replies we never were made +acquainted with: Miss Jerningham counted the letters, tied them up, +and carried them off in triumph. Next day we received a handsome +present of some chimney-ornaments, with 'Miss Jerningham's regards +and best thanks;' but we saw no more of the Mysterious Lady for some +years. When we did meet again in a quiet country town, she had been +to America, and we had experienced vicissitude and bereavement. Our +altered mode of living made no difference to Miss Jerningham: she +accompanied us home, for we met in the market-place; but as it is +not so easy to keep one's place of abode secret in a small +gossipping community, for once in her life she made a virtue of +necessity, and openly divulged the fact of her locale, number and +all specified. She did not know a creature in the town or in the +suburbs--she came there for solitude. Conjecture was afloat in all +quarters as to who or what she could be. Some said she must be a +gentlewoman, because she wore velvet and satin, and gold +chains--moreover, paid well for everything. Others affirmed she +might be a gentlewoman--gentlewomen did queer things sometimes--but +there must be some very strange reason for a lone and unknown female +to drop from the skies, as it were, in the midst of strangers. For +our own part, our mind was easier on her account, now that she had +broken through her rule of secrecy; and we even hoped that when we +saw her again, she might go a step farther, and throw off the veil +entirely. + +On calling at her lodgings, however, the next day, we learned that +the lodger had decamped, after placing in the landlady's hand the +solatium of another week's rent, as specified in the agreement--a +week's notice or a week's money. Thus, for the space of +five-and-twenty years, every now and then, did the Mysterious Lady +turn up. Whenever we left home on a visit, we were sure, on our +return, to find a card on the table, inscribed with the mystical +characters--'Miss Jerningham.' No message left, no address given. +The last time we ever saw her was in Hyde Park, walking arm-in-arm +with her brother the general; and soon after we heard from the +worthy veteran, that 'Bessie had gone on her travels again.' + +If Miss Jerningham has really ceased to exist, her end was as +mysterious and uncertain as the movements of her life. We say if, +because we feel by no means sure on the subject, and should neither +faint nor scream if she were to enter the apartment at this moment. +It is about five years since General Jerningham set hurriedly off, +in considerable dismay, for the scene of a direful conflagration in +a northern county, wherein several unfortunate individuals had +perished. The fire originated at a hotel, and the General had +reasons for fearing that his sister might be among the number of the +sufferers, for she was known to have followed that route. A +notification likewise had appeared in the public prints, respecting +an unknown lady, whose remains awaited the coroner's inquest, but +afforded no clue whatever to recognition. + +General Jerningham, however, came to the conclusion that he indeed +beheld the mortal remains of his poor sister, although the only +evidence he could obtain was the description given of her appearance +by those who had seen her in life. He may have been influenced, +likewise, by the fact, that the unfortunate lady had arrived at the +hotel only on the previous day, and that no one knew who she was, +whence she had come, or whither she was going. After making every +possible inquiry, but without obtaining more satisfactory +information, the General and his family put on mourning. The shock +he had sustained produced bad effects on an already enfeebled +constitution, and accelerated the veteran's decease. During his last +days, he frequently alluded to 'poor Bessie' in affectionate terms; +and we then gathered at least one fact relating to her past history. +Her lover, it seems, had been suddenly carried off by malignant +fever on the eve of their wedding-day, bequeathing to Bessie all his +property; and Bessie, who had never known serious sorrow before, +gave no sign, by sigh or lamentation, that she bemoaned the untimely +fate of her betrothed, but withdrew herself from friends and +connections, and became the restless, homeless, harmless being at +whose peculiarities we had so often laughed, little thinking that +tears of secret anguish had probably bedewed the pathway of her +early wanderings. This very concealment of her grief, however, may +have arisen from the peculiar idiosyncrasy which procured for her +among all who knew her the name of the Mysterious Lady. But we will +not talk of her in the past tense. We are so sure of her being +alive, that we are even now anxious to conclude our visit to the +pleasant house where this is indited, feeling a presentiment we +cannot overcome, that the first interesting object we shall see on +returning home is that mystical card which has so often startled and +baffled our curiosity--'Miss. Jerningham.' + + + + +CASH, CORN, AND COAL MARKETS. + + +A circle of a few hundred yards only in diameter, of which the centre +should be the Duke of Wellington's statue in front of the Royal +Exchange, London, would enclose within its magic girdle a far greater +amount of real, absolute power, than was ever wielded by the most +magnificent conqueror of ancient or modern times. There can be no +doubt of this; for is it not the mighty heart of the all but +omnipotent money force of the world, whose aid withheld, invincible +armies become suddenly paralysed, and the most gallant fleets that +ever floated can neither brave the battle nor the breeze? And this +stupendous power, say moralists, has neither a god, a country, nor a +conscience! To-day, upon security, it will furnish arms and means to +men struggling to rescue their country from oppression, themselves +from servitude and chains--to-morrow, upon the assurance of a good +dividend, it will pay the wages of the soldiery who have successfully +desolated that country, and exterminated or enslaved its defenders. +Trite, if sad commonplaces these, to which the world listens, if at +all, with impatient indifference. I have not a very strong faith in +the soundness of the commercial evangel upon this subject; still, the +very last task I should set myself would be a sermon denunciative of +mammon-worship--mammon-love--mammon-influence--and so on; and this +for two quite sufficient reasons--one, that I have myself, I +blushingly confess, a very strong partiality for notes of the +governor and company of the Bank of England and sovereigns of full +weight and fineness; the other, that the very best and fiercest +discourse I ever heard fulminated against the debasing love of gold, +especially characteristic, it is said, of these degenerate days, was +delivered by a gentleman who, having lived some seventy useful and +eloquent years at the rate of about three hundred a year or +thereabout, was found to have died worth upwards of L.60,000, all +secured by mortgages bearing 7 per cent interest on the Brazilian +slave-estates of a relative by marriage. But as an illustration of +power--and power under any form of development has a singular +fascination for most minds--I have thought it may not be +uninteresting to glance briefly at a few of the more salient features +of the metropolitan mammoth markets. + +Standing, then, by the statue of the Iron Duke, we have the Royal +Exchange directly in front, Princes Street and the Poultry +immediately behind, Lombard Street and Cornhill on the right, +Threadneedle Street and Lothbury on the left hand. What an Aladin +glitter seems to dance upon the paper as the names of these +remarkable localities are jotted down, containing as they do so +large a number of world-famous banking and commercial establishments +whose operations and influence are limited only by the boundaries of +civilisation! Let us look closely at one or two of the chief +potentates, principalities, and powers which are there enthroned. + +The Royal Exchange, it is well known, owes its origin to the public +spirit of Sir Thomas Gresham, who, close upon three centuries ago, +built the first Exchange upon the spot now before us. It was +destroyed by fire in 1666; the next more costly erection met the +same fate in 1838, and has been replaced by the present very +handsome edifice. On the entablature is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, +who inaugurated Sir Richard Gresham's structure--the centre figure +of a number of others emblematic of the all-embracing commerce of +this country, and surmounted by the words: 'The earth is the Lord's, +and the fulness thereof.' If you ascend the steps of the Royal +Exchange, and pass into the body of the building, you will find a +considerable number of business-looking, sleek, earnest men there, +eagerly engaged in canvassing the general affairs of the world, and +more especially their own particular ventures, hopes, anticipations, +investments therein. If you are an artist, or indeed at all +impressionable in matters of taste, you will, I fear, be painfully +affected by a marble figure near the centre of the hall, which many +persons assert to be a statue of the Queen of these realms--a +calumny which I, as a loyal subject, feel bound most emphatically to +deny. But the chief interest attached to this building is that it is +here the celebrated association known as 'Lloyd's' has its +offices--that Lloyd's, whose name is familiar as a household word in +every country the sea touches, and who underwrite the maritime +ventures of every commercial nation of the globe. Very marvellous +has been the rapid development of this gigantic institution, from +the small beginnings of a few persons meeting in a coffee-house, +till now, when it may be said well-nigh to monopolise the +maritime-assurance business of the world. Not even America has been +able to set up a rival to it at all worthy of the name; and hundreds +of the long-voyage vessels of the States, as well as of all European +powers, are insured here. There is, to be sure, a continental +association that has borrowed its name without leave, and dubbed +itself the 'Austrian Lloyd's'--a designation which forcibly reminds +one of the remark of Coleridge when told that Kotzebue assumed to be +the German Shakspeare: 'Quite so,' replied the author of the +_Ancient Mariner_, 'a very German Shakspeare indeed.' The +correspondence of the true Lloyd's is of course immense--enormous: +their agents are everywhere; and so admirably regulated does the +vast machine appear to be that litigation between owners and +underwriters is almost unknown. This is doubtless one of the causes +of the prodigious success of the institution. + +There is little more to notice in the Royal Exchange, except that +the interior decorations are very tastefully executed; and therefore +turn we now to this leviathan Bank of England--to the long, +irregular, and by no means imposing line of building on our left. +This is William Cobbett's Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, whose +rickety constitution and failing powers--according to that bold and +blundering financier--betokened almost immediate dissolution more +than a quarter of a century ago. Other men, less dominated by +unreasoning prejudice than the author of the 'Political Register,' +deceived themselves into the same notion; and it is very possible +that there are even now persons who hold the faith as it was in +Cobbett--just as we are told in one of Mr Disraeli's novels, that +the Greek mythology is still the creed of a fragment of humanity +existing somewhere in the mountains of Syria. At all events, since +the late Sir Robert Peel placed it beyond the power of the governor +and company to indulge in dangerous or erratic courses, it is +abundantly manifest that to doubt of the perfect stability of the +Bank of England is tantamount to questioning the infallibility of +arithmetic. In the vaults and coffers of this huge establishment +there is at present--as we learn from the published weekly-returns, +a device of Sir Robert's--the bewildering amount of between +L.14,000,000 and L.15,000,000 sterling in gold and silver!--a sum of +which the figures glide smoothly and glibly enough off the pen or +tongue, but a mass of treasure, nevertheless, that few persons can +realise to themselves a distinct and accurate conception of. And +yet--and what an idea does the fact present of the multitudinous +resources, the unrivalled industry, the latent power of this +country!--all that heap of precious metals, all that is besides in +circulation, with the addition of the bank-note currency, is +comparatively nothing when weighed against the true and real +exchangeable wealth of Great Britain; wealth of which this coined +and convertible paper-money is merely the standard sign of value, +the recognised medium by which all things are bartered. It is easy +to give one or two significant and startling illustrations of this +fact--significant and startling in other respects than in enabling +us to see pretty clearly through the currency-cobwebs industriously +woven from time to time amongst us. All the money in the three +kingdoms, the whole circulating medium of the realm--gold, silver, +copper, paper--does not certainly exceed, if it reaches, which is +very doubtful, the national revenue for one year, to say nothing of +local rates and burdens! And it would, moreover, require all the +money circulating in Great Britain and Ireland, including notes to +the last farthing, to pay for the spirits, beer, and tobacco +consumed annually by the people of the United Kingdom! The +note-issues of the Bank of England are about L.19,000,000; its +reserve in gold and silver, as we have seen, is upwards of +L.14,000,000 sterling: these amounts added together would no more +than about discharge the alcohol and weed score of the country for +little more than seven months! Lightning-flashes these, that throw +vivid gleams over the industrial activity, resources, powers, +plague-spots of this mighty, restless, enterprising, but far from +sufficiently instructed or disciplined British people. + +But let us enter the great money-temple. Very imposing to me has +always appeared the army of clerks seated in saturnine silence at +the desks, or gliding with grave celerity about the place, and +variously employed in balancing enormous accounts, shovelling up +heaps of sovereigns, receiving and distributing bank-paper of vast +value as coolly and unconcernedly as if engaged in counting out so +many chestnuts. A strange feeling must, I suspect, perturb the mind +of a newly-appointed clerk amidst all that astounding wealth, until +the genius of the place has so moulded his thoughts and perceptions, +that he has come to regard himself as but one of the dumb and dead +parts of a mighty machine, over whose action he has no more control +than he has over the courses of the stars. All these issue, cheque, +gold, bullion departments, with their numerous busy officials, are +in truth but the husk and body of the establishment. They by whose +will and breath it is animated and directed are nowhere at this hour +to be seen. They met on this as on every other morning in their hall +of inquisition--the Bank parlour--and decided there, without appeal, +without reasons assigned, in the absence of the parties whose +commercial reputation was trembling in the balance, upon the course +of financial action to be pursued, and upon whose paper should or +should not be discounted. A terrible stroke, sharper than a dagger +could inflict, politely, blandly as it is performed, is that which +falls upon a merchant for the first time informed that the Bank must +decline to discount his bills! The announcement is usually received +as smilingly as it is made. 'It is a matter of very slight +consequence, _etcetera_;' but if you had been near enough, you might +have noticed, as the clerk did, the quiver of the lip beneath that +sickly smile, and that the face was as white as the rejected paper +the merchant's trembling fingers were replacing in his pocket-book. +And no wonder that he should be thus agitated, for the refusal has, +he well knew, thrust him down the first steps of the steep and +slippery descent, at the bottom of which lies bankruptcy--ruin! But +these are ordinary downfalls, by the wrecks of which the busy haunts +of commercial enterprise are paved; and we have other places to look +in at. Before leaving the Bank, however, let us step a few paces to +the left of the chief entrance. Now who would believe that in the +very midst of this Mammon-temple, where space is of incalculable +value, a large plot of greensward should have been jealously +preserved, from which spring two fine elms, that from out the heat +and turmoil of the place lift up their fresh leaves to the +sky--bright, waving leaves, that as often as the sun kisses them, +laugh out in sparkling triumph over the heated, anxious, jaded +toilers and schemers below? Yet so it is. + +Again in Threadneedle Street, and turning to the left, we reach, at +the termination of the Bank-front, Bartholomew Lane, famous for +nothing that I am aware of, save Capel Court, situate at about the +centre, on the right-hand side. At the end of Capel Court is the +Stock-Exchange, within whose sacred precincts subscribers only, and +their clerks, may enter--a regulation strictly enforced by the +liveried guardian at the door. But you can hear enough of the +stentorian gabble going on within where we now are. Hark! 'A +thousand pounds' consols at 96-3/4-96-1/2.' 'Take 'em at 96-1/4,' is +the vociferous reply of a buyer. 'Mexican at 27-1/2-27; Portuguese +fours at 32-7/8-32-1/2; Spanish fives at 21; Dutch two-and-halfs at +50-1/2-50-1/4:' and so roars on the distracting Babel till the hour +for closing strikes. Much of this business is no doubt +legitimate--the _bonâ fide_ sale and purchase of stock by the +brokers, for which they charge their clients the very moderate +commission of 2s. 6d. per L.100. The ruinous gambling of the +Stock-Exchange is another matter, and is chiefly carried on by +'time' bargains--a sham-business, managed in this way:--A nominally +buys of B L.100,000 worth of stock in consols, to be delivered at a +fixed price, say 96, on the next settling-day. It is plain that if +the market-price of consols shall have fallen, by the day named, to +94, B wins L.2000--the difference between L.100,000 estimated at 96 +and 94 per cent. A must pay these L.2000, or, which amounts to the +same thing, receive from B consols to the amount of L.100,000 at 96, +that in reality are procurable at 94. It is simply and entirely a +gambling _bet_ upon what the price of funds will be on the next +settling-day. These transactions have been pronounced fraudulent by +the superior courts, and liabilities so contracted cannot be legally +recovered. It is, for all that, quite certain that these 'debts of +honour' entail misery, ruin, often death, on the madmen who +habitually peril everything upon the turn of the Stock-Exchange +dice--dice loaded, too, by every fraudulent device that the +ingenuity of the two parties engaged in the struggle can discover or +invent. To the 'Bears,' who speculate for a fall, national calamity +is a God-send. Especially a failure of the harvest, or a great +military disaster like that which befell the Cabool expedition, is +an almost priceless blessing--a cause of jubilant thanksgiving and +joy. The 'Bulls,' on the other hand, whose gains depend upon a rise +in the funds, are ever brimful of boasts, and paint all things +_couleur de rose_. If the facts bear out the assertions of these +bands of _speculators_--we prefer a mild term--why so much the +better for the facts; but if not, sham-facts will answer the +purpose, and to manufacture _them_ 'is as easy as lying.' It is a +remarkable fact, by the way, that out of the multitude of British +fundholders there are not more than about 25,000 persons who are +liable from that source to the income-tax--that is, who receive +dividends to the amount of L.150 and upwards annually. The most +numerous class of the national creditors eleven years ago--and there +has, we believe, been no later return--were those whose annual +dividends did not exceed L.50. These numbered 98,946: the next +largest class, 85,069, were creditors whose yearly dividends did not +exceed L.5; whilst only 192 persons were in the receipt of annual +dividends exceeding L.2000. + +But leaving these haunts of money-dealers, let us pass over to +Leadenhall Street, turn down Billiter Street, and walk on till we +reach Mark Lane and the plain, spacious, substantial, Doric-fronted +building on the left hand, in which the great London Corn Market is +held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday--the chief market, however, +being that of Monday. There are no clamorous shoutings here. These +crowds of staid, well-dressed, respectable people fly no kites, deal +in no flimsy paper-schemes and shares. Their commerce is in corn, +flour, seeds--the sustenance of man, in short. There are sober +traders in realities, and the busy hum of voices has a smack of +healthy traffic in it. It would so appear at all events, if we care +not to look beneath the surface; and, in sooth, since the abolition +of the sliding-scale has rendered the corn-supply continuous and +regular as other staples, gambling to any ruinous extent has become +almost impossible. + +There is another great change apparent here; albeit this has been a +very gradual one. A stranger will have remarked with surprise that +there are but few, very few, of the knee-breeched, top-booted, +double-chinned, jolly, old-class farmers amongst the numerous groups +who are either watching their sample-bags and waiting for customers, +or chewing and smelling handfuls of wheat and barley, and casting +what they do not swallow on the flags, already carpeted with grain. +Still in addition to a strong sprinkling of 'Friends,' there are, he +perceives, a goodly number of stalwart, handsomely-dressed +individuals, many of them wearing kid gloves, and carrying silk +umbrellas neatly ensconced in oil-skin cases. There is a group, one +of whom has just refused 45s. per quarter for a sample of prime +white wheat. If we approach nearer to them, we shall perhaps +discover their quality. As I guessed! These gentlemen are distressed +agriculturists, who prefer selling their own corn to sending it to +any of the numerous highly-respectable salesmen who occupy the +offices round the two markets. There are scores here of these +well-attired, healthy-faced, hearty-looking, stout-limbed, but +distressed individuals present, with not one of whom I should have +the slightest objection to dine to-day, or on any other day, for +that matter. But we must beware of rash judgments. Appearances are +often deceitful, and we know, besides, from high authority, that +grief is apt to puff up and swell a man sadly at times. + +There is no possibility, an eminent salesman informed us, of making +even a proximate guess at the quantity of business done; neither, it +appears, is there any reliance to be placed upon the amount of +'arrivals' as given, either in the newspapers, or in the private +circulars issued weekly to the trade. Corn, in this market, is +usually sold at a month's credit, with discount for cash. The buyer +secures a sample of his purchase in a small canvas bag, and the +seller is of course bound to deliver the quantity agreed for at the +same weight and quality. There is one patent fact highly creditable +to our British cultivators, which I gather from a trade-circular +dated September 29, 1851, and this is, that foreign grains, wheats +especially, do not command anything like such prices as the English +varieties. The highest price of English white wheat is set down at +45s. per quarter; all foreign wheat is marked considerably lower: +Russian is quoted at from 31s. to 33s.; whilst Egyptian and Turkish +are marked from 24s. to 26s. per quarter; and fine American flour is +quoted at a price considerably under 'English Households.' These are +not signs of decrepit or faint-hearted farming. + +Being so near, we may as well look in for a few moments at the New +Coal Exchange opposite Billingsgate Market; a sightly, circular +building, of rich interior decoration, that will well repay a visit. +It is one of our newest 'lions,' and is certainly a very significant +sign and monument of the enormous and swiftly-increasing commercial +activity of the country. On the tesselated wooden floor--with the +anchor in the centre, an emblem not long to be appropriate to such a +place, as we shall presently see--thousands of tons of coal are +disposed of with marvellous rapidity; the days of sale being the +same as those of the Mark-Lane Market. + +There was a coal-tax, popularly known as the Richmond duty, which +was levied for many years, for the benefit of one family, but was +abolished some time ago. Its origin, and the especial circumstance +which, gossip saith, more immediately led to its infliction, are not +a little curious, perhaps instructive. The first Duke of Richmond of +the present line was a son of Charles II. by Louise René de +Pennevant de Querouaille, a French lady, better known to us as the +Duchess of Portsmouth, to whom Otway dedicated his 'Venice +Preserved' in such adulatory terms. This son, when only nine years +of age, was created a Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter; +and his mother, with the proverbial taste of her country, arranged a +more graceful mode of wearing the blue ribbon, which, as we see in +old portraits, was till then worn round the neck of the knight, with +the George pendent from it. The duchess presented her son to the +king with the ribbon thrown gracefully over his left shoulder, and +the George pendent on the right side. His majesty was delighted, +embraced his son, commanded that the insignia of the order should +always be so worn, presented the youthful knight with 1s. per ton, +Newcastle measure, upon all coals shipped in the Tyne for +consumption in England, and secured the munificent parental gift by +patent to the young duke and his heirs for ever. _Hôni soit qui mal +y pense._ + +After the fortunate family had enjoyed this revenue for about a +century and a quarter, the then Duke of Richmond, a personage said +to be wise in his generation, negotiated the sale of his patent with +the government; and on the 19th of August 1799 the Lords of the +Treasury agreed that the sum of L.499,833, 11s. 6d., the price of a +perpetual annuity of L.19,000, should be paid for the surrender of +the duke's right. This enormous sum was accordingly actually +disbursed by the Exchequer in two payments, and the obnoxious impost +on the Tyne coal-trade was abolished some thirty years +afterwards--by which time the Treasury had been repaid much more +than it had advanced, a circumstance inducing a belief that his +Grace sold his inheritance much too cheaply. The estimate of the +quantity of coals consumed in the United Kingdom, and exported +during the last year, reaches the staggering amount of 50,000,000 of +tons--a tremendous advance, which proves, if nothing else, that if, +as some will have it, we are an 'old' country, the capacity for hard +work as well as power of consumption increases marvellously with +age. At anyrate the three great business localities I have partially +indicated are stupendous facts, the full significance of which will +be fully comprehended by all and every one who may choose to compare +these slight outline sketches with the great originals. + + + + +STORY OF REMBRANDT. + + +At a short distance from Leyden may still be seen a flour-mill with +a quaint old dwelling-house attached, which bears, on a brick in a +corner of the wide chimney, the date 1550. Here, in 1606, was born +Paul Rembrandt. At an early age he manifested a stubborn, +independent will, which his father tried in vain to subdue. He +caused his son to work in the mill, intending that he should succeed +him in its management; but the boy shewed so decided a distaste for +the employment, that his father resolved to make him a priest, and +sent him to study at Leyden. Every one knows, however, that few lads +of fifteen, endowed with great muscular vigour and abundance of +animal spirits, will take naturally and without compulsion to the +study of Latin grammar. Rembrandt certainly did not; and his +obstinacy proving an overmatch for his teachers' patience, he was +sent back to the mill, when his father beat him so severely, that +next morning he ran off to Leyden, without in the least knowing how +he should live there. Fortunately he sought refuge in the house of +an honest artist, Van Zwaanenberg, who was acquainted with his +father. + +'Tell me, Paul,' asked his friend, 'what do you mean to do with +yourself, if you will not be either a priest or a miller? They are +both honourable professions: one gives food to the soul, the other +prepares it for the body.' + +'Very likely,' replied the boy; 'but I don't fancy either; for in +order to be a priest, one must learn Latin; and to be a miller, one +must bear to be beaten. How do _you_ earn your bread?' + +'You know very well I am a painter.' + +'Then I will be one too, Herr Zwaanenberg; and if you will go +to-morrow and tell my father so, you will do me a great service.' + +The good-natured artist willingly undertook the mission, and +acquainted the old miller with his son's resolution. + +'I want to know one thing,' said Master Rembrandt; 'will he be able +to gain a livelihood by painting?' + +'Certainly, and perhaps make a fortune.' + +'Then if you will teach him, I consent.' + +Thus Paul became the pupil of Van Zwaanenberg, and made rapid +progress in the elementary parts of his profession. Impatient to +produce some finished work, he did not give himself time to acquire +purity of style, but astonished his master by his precocious skill +in grouping figures, and producing marvellous effects of light and +shade. The first lessons which he took in perspective having wearied +him, he thought of a shorter method, and _invented_ perspective for +himself. + +One of his first rude sketches happened to fall into the hands of a +citizen of Leyden who understood painting. Despite of its evident +defects, the germs of rare talent which it evinced struck the +burgomaster; and sending for the young artist, he offered to give +him a recommendation to a celebrated painter living at Amsterdam, +under whom he would have far more opportunity of improvement than +with his present instructor. + +Rembrandt accepted the offer, and during the following year toiled +incessantly. Meantime his finances were dreadfully straitened; for +his father, finding that the expected profits were very tardy, +refused to give money to support his son, as he said, in idleness. +Paul, however, was not discouraged. Although far from possessing an +amiable or estimable disposition, he held a firm and just opinion of +his own powers, and resolved to make these subservient first to +fortune and then to fame. Thus while some of his companions, having +finished their preliminary studies, repaired to Florence, to +Bologna, or to Rome, Paul, determined, as he said, not to lose his +own style by becoming an imitator of even the mightiest masters, +betook himself to his paternal mill. At first his return resembled +that of the Prodigal Son. His father believed that he had come to +resume his miller's work; and bitter was his disappointment at +finding his son resolved not to renounce painting. + +With a very bad grace he allowed Paul to displace the flour-sacks on +an upper loft, in order to make a sort of studio, lighted by only +one narrow window in the roof. There Paul painted his first finished +picture. It was a _portrait_ of the mill. There, on the canvas, was +seen the old miller, lighted by a lantern which he carried in his +hand, giving directions to his men, occupied in ranging sacks in the +dark recesses of the granary. One ray falls on the fresh, comely +countenance of his mother, who has her foot on the last step of a +wooden staircase.[3] Rembrandt took this painting to the Hague, and +sold it for 100 florins. In order to return with more speed, he took +his place in the public coach. When the passengers stopped to dine, +Rembrandt, fearing to lose his treasure, remained in the carriage. +The careless stable-boy who brought the horses their corn forgot to +unharness them, and as soon as they had finished eating, excited +probably by Rembrandt, who cared not for his fellow-passengers, the +animals started off for Leyden, and quietly halted at their +accustomed inn. Our painter then got out, and repaired with his +money to the mill. + +Great was his father's joy. At length these silly daubs, which had +so often excited his angry contempt, seemed likely to be transmuted +into gold, and the old man's imagination took a rapturous flight. +'Neither he nor his old horse,' he said, 'need now work any longer; +they might both enjoy quiet during the remainder of their lives. +Paul would paint pictures, and support the whole household in +affluence.' + +Such was the old man's castle in the air; his clever, selfish son +soon demolished it. 'This sum of money,' he said, 'is only a lucky +windfall. If you indeed wish it to become the foundation of my +fortune, give me one hundred florins besides, and let me return to +Amsterdam: there I must work and study hard.' + +It would be difficult to describe old Rembrandt's disappointment. +Slowly, reluctantly, and one by one, he drew forth the 100 florins +from his strong-box. Paul took them, and with small show of +gratitude, returned to Amsterdam. In a short time his fame became +established as the greatest and most original of living artists. He +had a host of imitators, but all failed miserably in their attempts +at reproducing his marvellous effects of light and shade. Yet +Rembrandt prized the gold which flowed into him far more than the +glory. While mingling the colours which were to flash out on his +canvas in real living light, he thought but of his dingy coffers. + +When in possession of a yearly income equal to L.2000 sterling, he +would not permit the agent who collected his rents to bring them in +from the country to Amsterdam, lest he should be obliged to invite +him to dinner. He preferred setting out on a fine day, and going +himself to the agent's house. In this way he saved two dinners--the +one which he got, and the one, he avoided giving. 'So that's well +managed!' he used to say. + +This sordid disposition often exposed him to practical jokes from +his pupils; but he possessed a quiet temper, and was not easily +annoyed. One day a rich citizen came in, and asked him the price of +a certain picture. + +'Two hundred florins,' said Rembrandt. + +'Agreed,' said his visitor. 'I will pay you to-morrow, when I send +for the picture.' + +About an hour afterwards a letter was handed to the painter. Its +contents were as follow: 'MASTER REMBRANDT--During your absence a +few days since, I saw in your studio a picture representing an old +woman churning butter. I was enchanted with it; and if you will let +me purchase it for 300 florins, I pray you to bring it to my house, +and be my guest for the day.' The letter was signed with some +fictitious name, and bore the address of a village several leagues +distant from Amsterdam. + +Tempted by the additional 100 florins, and caring little for +breaking his engagement, Rembrandt set out early next morning with +his picture. He walked for four hours without finding his obliging +correspondent, and at length, worn out with fatigue, he returned +home. He found the citizen in his studio, waiting for the picture. +As Rembrandt, however, did not despair of finding the man of the 300 +florins, and as a falsehood troubled but little his blunted +conscience, he said: 'Alas! an accident has happened to the picture; +the canvas was injured, and I felt so vexed that I threw it into the +fire. Two hundred florins gone! However, it will be my loss, not +yours, for I will paint another precisely similar, and it shall be +ready for you by this time to-morrow.' + +'I am sorry,' replied the amateur, 'but it was the picture you have +burned which I wished to have; and as that is gone, I shall not +trouble you to paint another.' + +So he departed, and Rembrandt shortly afterwards received a second +letter to the following effect: 'MASTER REMBRANDT--You have broken +your engagement, told a falsehood, wearied yourself to death, and +lost the sale of your picture--all by listening to the dictates of +avarice. Let this lesson be a warning to you in future.' + +'So,' said the painter, looking round at his pupils, 'one of you +must have played me this pretty trick. Well, well, I forgive it. You +young varlets do not know the value of a florin as I know it.' + +Sometimes the students nailed small copper coins on the floor, for +the mischievous pleasure of seeing their master, who suffered much +from rheumatism in the back, stoop with pain and difficulty, and try +in vain to pick them up. + +Rembrandt married an ignorant peasant who had served him as cook, +thinking this a more economical alliance than one with a person of +refined mind and habits. He and his wife usually dined on brown +bread, salt herrings, and small beer. He occasionally took portraits +at a high price, and in this way became acquainted with the +Burgomaster Six, a man of enlarged mind and unblemished character, +who yet continued faithfully attached to the avaricious painter. His +friendship was sometimes put to a severe test by such occurrences as +the following:-- + +Rembrandt remarked one day that the price of his engravings had +fallen. + +'You are insatiable,' said the burgomaster. + +'Perhaps so. I cannot help thirsting for gold.' + +'You are a miser.' + +'True: and I shall be one all my life.' + +''Tis really a pity,' remarked his friend, 'that you will not be +able after death to act as your own treasurer, for whenever that +event occurs, all your works will rise to treble their present +value.' + +A bright idea struck Rembrandt. He returned home, went to bed, +desired his wife and his son Titus to scatter straw before the door, +and give out, first, that he was dangerously ill, and then +dead--while the simulated fever was to be of so dreadfully +infectious a nature that none of the neighbours were to be admitted +near the sick-room. These instructions were followed to the letter; +and the disconsolate widow proclaimed that, in order to procure +money for her husband's interment, she must sell all his works, any +property that he left not being available on so short a notice. + +The unworthy trick succeeded. The sale, including every trivial +scrap of painting or engraving, realised an enormous sum, and +Rembrandt was in ecstasy. The honest burgomaster, however, was +nearly frightened into a fit of apoplexy at seeing the man whose +death he had sincerely mourned standing alive and well at the door +of his studio. Meinherr Six obliged him to promise that he would in +future abstain from such abominable deceptions. One day he was +employed in painting in a group the likenesses of the whole family +of a rich citizen. He had nearly finished it, when intelligence was +brought him of the death of a tame ape which he greatly loved. The +creature had fallen off the roof of the house into the street. +Without interrupting his work, Rembrandt burst into loud +lamentations, and after some time announced that the piece was +finished. The whole family advanced to look at it, and what was +their horror to see introduced between the heads of the eldest son +and daughter an exact likeness of the dear departed ape. With one +voice they all exclaimed against this singular relative which it had +pleased the painter to introduce amongst them, and insisted on his +effacing it. + +'What!' exclaimed Rembrandt, 'efface the finest figure in the +picture? No, indeed; I prefer keeping the piece for myself.' Which +he did, and carried off the painting. + +Of Rembrandt's style it may be said that he painted with light, for +frequently an object was indicated merely by the projection of a +shadow on a wall. Often a luminous spot suggested, rather than +defined, a hand or a head. Yet there is nothing vague in his +paintings: the mind seizes the design immediately. His studio was a +circular room, lighted by several narrow slits, so contrived that +rays of sunshine entered through only one at a time, and thus +produced strange effects of light and shade. The room was filled +with old-world furniture, which made it resemble an antiquary's +museum. There were heaped up in the most picturesque confusion +curious old furniture, antique armour, gorgeously-tinted stuffs; and +these Rembrandt arranged in different forms and positions, so as to +vary the effects of light and colour. This he called 'making his +models sit to him.' And in this close adherence to reality consisted +the great secret of his art. It is strange that his favourite +amongst all his pupils was the one whose style least resembled his +own--Gerard Douw--he who aimed at the most excessive minuteness of +delineation, who stopped key-holes lest a particle of dust should +fall on his palette, who gloried in representing the effects of +fresh scouring on the side of a kettle. + +Rembrandt died in 1674, at the age of sixty-eight. He passed all his +life at Amsterdam. Some of his biographers have told erroneously +that he once visited Italy: they were deceived by the word +_Venetiis_ placed at the bottom of several of his engravings. He +wrote it there with the intention of deluding his countrymen into +the belief that he was absent, and about to settle in Italy--an +impression which would materially raise the price of his +productions. Strange and sad it is to see so much genius united with +so much meanness--the head of fine gold with the feet of clay.[4] + + * * * * * + +[Footnote 3: This picture is believed to be no longer in existence. I have +found its description in the work of the historian Decamps.] + +[Footnote 4: Abridged from the French of J. de Chatillon.] + + + + +ELECTIONEERING CURIOSITY. + + + [In giving the following address of an American candidate, + we must beg our readers to understand that it is not + intended as a joke. Electioneering in the States, + generally speaking, is carried on with good-humour; and + when there is no real cause of squabbling, the object of + the aspirant is to get the laugh in his favour. The orator + we introduce to the English public is Mr Daniel R. + Russell, a candidate for the Auditorship in Mississippi.] + +LADIES AND GENTLEMEN--I rise--but there is no use telling you that; +you know I am up as well as I do. I am a modest man--very--but I +never lost a picayune by it in my life. Being a scarce commodity +among candidates, I thought I would mention it, for fear if I did +not, you never would hear it. Candidates are generally considered as +nuisances, but they are not; they are the politest men in the world, +shake you by the hand, ask how's your family, what's the prospect +for crops, &c.--and I am the politest man in the state. Davy +Crockett says the politest man he ever saw, when he asked a man to +drink, turned his back so that he might drink as much as he pleased. +I beat that all hollow: I give a man a chance to drink twice if he +wishes, for I not only turn my back, but shut my eyes! I am not only +the politest man, but the best electioneerer: you ought to see me +shaking hands with the vibrations, the pump-handle and pendulum, the +cross-cut and wiggle-waggle. I understand the science perfectly, and +if any of the country candidates wish instructions, they must call +upon me. Fellow-citizens, I was born--if I hadn't been I wouldn't +have been a candidate; but I am going to tell you where: 'twas in +Mississippi, but 'twas on the right side of the negro line; yet that +is no compliment, as the negroes are mostly born on the same side. I +started in the world as poor as a church-mouse, yet I came honestly +by my poverty, for I inherited it; and if I did start poor, no man +can say but that I have held my own remarkably well. Candidates +generally tell you--if you think they are qualified, &c. Now, I +don't ask your thoughts, I ask your votes. Why, there is nothing to +think of except to watch and see that Swan's name is not on the +ticket; if so, _think_ to scratch it off and put mine on. I am +certain that I am competent, for who ought to know better than I do? +Nobody. I will allow that Swan is the best auditor in the state; +that is, till I am elected: then perhaps it's not proper for me to +say anything more. Yet, as an honest man, I am bound to say that I +believe it's a grievous sin to hide anything from my +fellow-citizens; therefore say that it's my private opinion, +publicly expressed, that I'll make the best auditor ever in the +United States. 'Tis not for honour I wish to be auditor; for in my +own county I was offered an office that was all honour--coroner, +which I respectfully declined. The auditor's office is worth some +5000 dollars a year, and I am in for it like a thousand of brick. To +shew my goodness of heart, I'll make this offer to my competitor. +I'm sure of being elected, and he will lose something by the +canvass, therefore I am willing to divide equally with him, and make +these offers: I'll take the salary, and he may have the honour, or +he may have the honour, and I'll take the salary. + +In the way of honours, I have received enough to satisfy me for +life. I went out to Mexico, ate pork and beans, slept in the rain +and mud, and swallowed everything but live Mexicans. When I was +ordered to go, I went; 'charge,' I charged; and 'break for the +chaperel'--you had better believe I beat a quarter nag in doing my +duty. + +My competitor, Swan, is a bird of golden plumage, who has been +swimming for the last four years in the auditor's pond at 5000 +dollars a year. I am for rotation. I want to rotate him out, and to +rotate myself in. There's a plenty of room for him to swim outside +of that pond; therefore _pop_ in your votes for me--I'll _pop_ him +out, and _pop_ myself in. + +I am for a division of labour. Swan says he has to work all the +time, with his nose down upon the public grindstone. Four years must +have ground it to a _pint_. Poor fellow! the public ought not to +insist on having the handle of his mug ground clean off. I have a +large, full-grown, and well-blown nose, red as a beet, and tough as +sole-leather. I rush to the post of duty; I offer it up as a +sacrifice; I clap it on the grindstone. Fellow-citizens, grind till +I _holler enuff_--that'll be sometime first, for I'll hang like grim +death to a dead African. + +Time's most out. Well, I like to forgot to tell you my name. It's +Daniel; for short, Dan. Not a handsome name, for my parents were +poor people, who lived where the quality appropriated all the nice +names; therefore they had to take what was left and divide around +among us--but it's as handsome as I am--D. Russell. Remember, all +and every one of you, that it's not Swan. + +I am sure to be elected; so, one and all, great and small, short and +tall, when you come down to Jackson after the election, stop at the +auditor's office--the latch-string always hangs out; enter without +knocking, take off your things, and make yourself at home. + + + + +A NEGRO'S ACCOUNT OF LIBERIA. + + +All of you that feel like it, my friends, come on home--the bush is +cleared away--you can hear no one say there is nothing to eat here. +Why, one man, Gabriel Moore, brought better than 200 cattle from the +interior this year--another 100--some 60, some 50, &c. There are no +hogs there, they say--no turkeys--why, I saw 50 or 60 in the street +at Millsburg the other day. No horses: I have got four in my stable +now; I have a mare and two colts, and I have a horse that I have +been offered 100 dollars for here; if you had him he would bring +500. If you don't believe it, let some gentleman send me a buggy or +a single gig--you shall see how myself and wife will take pleasure, +going from town to town--throw the harness in too--any gentleman +that feels like it--white or coloured--and I will try to send him a +boa constrictor to take his comfort; I know how to take the +gentleman without any danger. My oxen I was working them yesterday; +and as for goats and sheep, we have a plenty. We have a plenty to +eat, every man that will half work. I give you this; you are all +writing to me to tell you about Liberia, what we eat, and all the +news--I mean my coloured friends. Yours truly, ZION HARRIS. + + + + +LARD-CANDLES. + + +One of the most important discoveries or improvements of the age, is +a new species of candle which has been recently made in Cincinnati, +and which will shortly be offered extensively for sale. It is +calculated to supersede all other kinds in use by its beauty, +freedom from guttering, hardness, and capacity of giving light, in +all which respects it is superior to every other species of candle. +This candle is nearly translucent, and can be made to exhibit the +wick, when the candle is held up between the eye and the light, +while the surface is as glossy as polished wax or varnish. The +principal ingredient is lard; and the value of this manufacture can +be hardly exaggerated. Taking durability into account, it can be +made as cheap as any other candle; and there exists no single +element of comfort, convenience, profit, and economy, in which this +article has not the advantage of sperm, star, wax, or tallow +candles. It will be readily conceded that the days of all other +portable or table light, including lard-oil, are numbered. In fact, +except where intense light, as in public buildings, is an object, +gas itself cannot compete with it for public favour.--_American +Paper_. + + + + +CALIFORNIA ITEMS. + + +Some idea of the traffic between San Francisco and the southern +mines may be formed from the fact, that there are at this moment ten +steamers plying between San Francisco and Sacramento. The latter are +for the most part of a larger size than those on the San Joaquin +river; and make the trip of about 120 miles in from seven to eight +hours. In the elegance of their accommodations and the luxuries of +their larder, they might compare favourably with any +passenger-vessels in the world. There are ten other steamers plying +from Sacramento to different places above that city. One year ago +there was but one steamboat in Oregon--the _Columbia_; now there are +eleven of different kinds running in the Columbia and Willamette +rivers, not including the Pacific steamers, _Sea-gull_ and +_Columbia_, running between Oregon and California. + + + + +THE NOBLE MARINER. + +BY THE REV. JAMES GILBORNE LYONS, LL.D. + + +Most readers of these lines will remember that when the ship _Ocean +Monarch_ was turned off Liverpool on the 24th of August 1848, +Frederick Jerome of New York saved fifteen lives by an act of +singular courage and benevolence. They will also lament that one so +ready to help others should himself perish by violence: he was +killed in Central America in the autumn of 1851. + + Shout the noble seaman's name, + Deeds like _his_ belong to fame: + Cottage roof and kingly dome, + Sound the praise of brave Jerome. + Let his acts be told and sung, + While his own high Saxon tongue-- + Herald meet for worth sublime-- + Peals from conquered clime to clime. + + Madly rolled the giant wreck, + Fiercely blazed the riven deck; + Thick and fast as falling stars, + Crashed the flaming blocks and spars; + Loud as surf, when winds are strong, + Wailed the scorched and stricken throng, + Gazing on a rugged shore, + Fires behind, and seas before. + + On the charred and reeling prow + Reft of hope, they gather now, + Finding, one by one, a grave + In the vexed and sullen wave. + Here the child, as if in sleep, + Floats on waters dark and deep; + There the mother sinks below, + Shrieking in her mighty wo. + + Britons, quick to strive or feel, + Joined with chiefs of rich Brazil; + Western freemen, prompt to dare, + Side by side with Bourbon's heir; + Proving who could _then_ excel, + Came with succour long and well; + But Jerome, in peril nursed; + Shone among the foremost--_first_. + + Through the reddened surge and spray, + Fast he cleaves his troubled way; + Boldly climbs and stoutly clings, + On the smoking timber springs; + Fronts the flames, nor fears to stand + In that lorn and weeping band; + Looks on death, nor tries to shun, + Till his work of love is done. + + Glorious man!--immortal work!-- + Claim thy hero, proud New York; + Harp of him when feasts are spread, + Tomb him with thy valiant dead. + Who that, bent on just renown, + Seeks a Christian's prize and crown, + Would not spurn whole years of life, + For one hour of _such_ a strife? + + * * * * * + +Printed and Published by W. and R. CHAMBERS, High Street, Edinburgh. +Also sold by W.S. ORR, Amen Corner, London; D.N. CHAMBERS, 55 West +Nile Street, Glasgow; and J. M'GLASHAN, 50 Upper Sackville Street, +Dublin.--Advertisements for Monthly Parts are requested to be sent +to MAXWELL & Co., 31 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London, to whom +all applications respecting their insertion must be made. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 420, +New Series, Jan. 17, 1852, by Various + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14603 *** diff --git a/14603-h/14603-h.htm b/14603-h/14603-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..64279ec --- /dev/null +++ b/14603-h/14603-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2304 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" + content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> + + <title>Chambers' Edinburgh Journal Vol. XVII. No. 420. January 17, + 1852</title> + <style type="text/css"> + /*<![CDATA[*/ + + <!-- + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; + max-width: 40em;} + p {text-align: justify;} + blockquote {text-align: justify; font-size: 0.9em;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center;} + pre {font-size: 0.7em;} + .returnTOC {text-align: right; font-size: 70%;} + hr {text-align: center; width: 50%;} + html>body hr {margin-right: 25%; margin-left: 25%; width: 50%;} + hr.full {width: 100%;} + html>body hr.full {margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 0%; width: 100%;} + hr.short {text-align: center; width: 20%;} + html>body hr.short {margin-right: 40%; margin-left: 40%; width: 20%;} + .sc {font-variant: small-caps;} + .note + {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + span.pagenum {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 91%; font-size: 8pt;} + .fnanchor { + font-size: smaller; /* discreet [X] */ + vertical-align: 2px; /* bumped up a trace from baseline */ + } + .poem + {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 1em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i6 {margin-left: 3em;} + .poem p.i8 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem p.i20 {margin-left: 10em;} + // --> + /*]]>*/ + </style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14603 ***</div> + +<h1>CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL</h1> + +<h2><a name="Contents" id="Contents">CONTENTS</a></h2> + + <a href="#article1">HOW IS THE WORLD USING YOU</a><br /> + <a href="#article2">THE SISTERS OF CHARITY IN BOHEMIA.</a><br /> + <a href="#article3">ADVENTURES OF AN ARMY PHYSICIAN.</a><br /> + <a href="#article4">THE MYSTERIOUS LADY.</a><br /> + <a href="#article5">CASH, CORN, AND COAL MARKETS.</a><br /> + <a href="#article6">STORY OF REMBRANDT.</a><br /> + <a href="#article7">ELECTIONEERING CURIOSITY.</a><br /> + <a href="#article8">A NEGRO'S ACCOUNT OF LIBERIA.</a><br /> + <a href="#article9">LARD-CANDLES.</a><br /> + <a href="#article10">CALIFORNIA ITEMS.</a><br /> + <a href="#article11">THE NOBLE MARINER.</a><br /> + <br /> + <br /> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page33" id="page33"></a>[pg 33]</span> + +<img src="images/banner.png" + width="100%" + alt="Banner: Chambers' Edinburgh Journal" /> + +<h3>CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL +CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S +INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c.</h3> + +<hr class="full" /> + +<table width="100%" + summary="Volume, Date and Price"> +<tr> +<td align="left"><b>No. 420. NEW SERIES.</b></td> +<td align="left"><b>SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1852.</b></td> +<td align="right"><b>PRICE 1½<i>d</i>.</b></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<hr class="full" /> + +<h2><a name="article1" id="article1"> +HOW IS THE WORLD USING YOU? +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>This is a very common question, usually put and answered with more +or less levity. We seldom hear of any one answering very favourably +as to the usage he experiences from the world. More generally, the +questioned seems to feel that his treatment is not, and never has +been, quite what it ought to be. It has sometimes occurred to me, +that a great oversight is committed in our so seldom putting to +ourselves the co-relative question: What have I done to make the +world use me well? What merit have I shewn—by what good intention +towards the world have I been animated—what has been the positive +amount of those services of mine on which I found my pretensions to +the world's rewards? All of these are interrogations which it would +be necessary to answer satisfactorily before we could be truly +entitled to take measure of the world's goodness to us in return; +for surely it is not to be expected that the world is to pay in mere +expectancy: time enough, in all conscience, when the service has +been rendered, or at soonest, when a reasonable ground of hope has +been established that it will not be withheld or performed +slightingly. Only too much room there is to fear that, if these +questions were put and faithfully answered, the ordinary result +would be a conviction that the world had used us quite as well as we +deserved.</p> + +<p>Men are of course prevented from going through this process by their +self-love. Unwillingness to see or own their shortcomings, keeps +them in a sort of delusion on the subject. Well, I do not hope to +make an extensive change upon them in this respect; but perhaps it +may not be impossible to rouse one here and there to the correct +view, and thus accomplish a little good.</p> + +<p>Let us address ourselves to commercial life first, for the labour by +which man lives is at the bottom of everything. Here we meet the now +well-recognised principle in political economy, that generally +wages, salaries, remunerations of all kinds, are in pretty exact +relation to the value of the services performed—this value being of +course determined, in a great degree, by the easiness or difficulty +of the work, the commonness or rarity of the faculties and skill +required for it, the risk of non-success in the profession, and so +forth. Many a good fellow who feels that his income is +inconveniently small, and wonders why it is not greater, might have +the mystery solved if he would take a clear, unprejudiced view of +the capacity in which he is acting towards the public. Is he a slave +of the desk, in some office of routine business? Then let him +consider how many hundreds of similar men would answer an +advertisement of his seat being vacant. The fatal thing in his case +evidently is, that the faculties and skill required in his situation +are possessed by so many of his fellow-creatures. Is he a shopkeeper +in some common line of business?—say a draper. Then let him +consider how easy it is to be a draper, and how simple are the +details of such a trade. While there are so many other drapers in +the same street, his going out of business would never be felt as an +inconvenience. He is perhaps not doing any real good to the public +at all, but only interloping with the already too small business of +those who were in 'the line' before him. Let him think of the many +hours he spends in idleness, or making mere appearances of business, +and ask if he is really doing any effective service to his +fellow-creatures by keeping a shop at all. It may be a hardship to +him to have failed in a good intention; but this cannot be helped. +He may succeed better in some other scheme. Let him quit this, and +try another, or set up in a place where there is what is called 'an +opening'—that is, where his services are required—the point +essential to his getting any reward for his work. We sometimes see +most wonderful efforts made by individuals in an overdone trade; for +example, those of a hatter, who feels that he must give mankind a +special direction to his shop, or die. Half-a-dozen tortoise-like +missionaries do nothing but walk about the streets from morning to +night, proclaiming from carapace and plastron,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" +id="FNanchor_1_1" /><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> that there are no +hats equal to those at No. 98 of such a street. A van like the +temple of Juggernauth parades about all day, propagating the same +faith. 'If you want a good hat,' exclaims a pathetic poster, 'try +No. 98.' As you walk along the street, a tiny bill is insinuated +into your hand, for no other purpose, as you learn on perusing it, +but to impress upon you the great truth, that there are no hats in +the world either so good or so cheap as those at No. 98. The same +dogma meets you in omnibuses, at railway platforms, and every other +place where it can be expected that mankind will pause for a moment, +and so have time to take in an idea. But it is all in vain if there +be a sufficient supply of good and cheap hats already in that +portion of the earth's surface. The superfluous hatter must submit +to the all-prevailing law, that for labours not required, and an +expenditure of capital useless as regards the public, there can be +no reward, no return.</p> + +<p>Sometimes great inconveniences are experienced in consequence of +local changes; such as those effected by railways, and the +displacement of hand-labour by machinery. A country inn that has +supplied post-horses +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page34" id="page34"></a>[pg 34]</span> +since the days of the civil war, is all at +once, in consequence of the opening of some branch-line, deserted by +its business. It is a pitiable case; but the poor landlord must not +attempt to be an innkeeper without business, for then he would be a +misapplied human being, and would starve. Now the world uses him a +little hardly in the diversion of his customers; that may be +allowed: we must all lay our account with such hardships so long as +each person is left to see mainly after himself. But if he were to +persist in keeping his house open, and thus reduce himself to +uselessness, he would not be entitled to think himself ill-used by +reason of his making no profits, seeing that he did nothing for the +public to entitle him to a remuneration. The poor handloom +weavers—I grieve to think of the hardships they suffer. Well do I +remember when, in 1813 or 1814, a good workman in this craft could +realise 36s. a week. There were even traditions then of men who had +occasionally eaten pound-notes upon bread and butter, or allowed +their wives to spend L.8 upon a fine china tea-service. There being +a copious production of cotton-thread by machinery, but no machinery +to make it into cloth, was the cause of the high wages then given to +weavers. Afterwards came the powerloom; and weavers can now only +make perhaps 4s. 6d. per week, even while working for longer hours +than is good for their health. The result is most lamentable; but it +cannot be otherwise, for the public will only reward services in the +ratio of the value of these services to itself. It will not +encourage a human being, with his glorious apparatus of intelligence +and reflection, to mis-expend himself upon work which can be +executed equally well by unthinking machinery. Were the poor weavers +able so far to shake themselves free from what is perhaps a very +natural prejudice, as to ask what do we do to entitle us to any +better usage from the public, they would see that the fault lies in +their continuing to be weavers at all. They are precisely as the +innkeeper would be, if he kept his house open after the railway had +taken all his customers another way.</p> + +<p>There are many cases in the professional walks of life fully as +deplorable as that of the weavers. Few things in the world are more +painful to contemplate than a well-educated and able man vainly +struggling to get bread as a physician, an artist, or an author. It +is of course right that such a man should not be too ready to +abandon the struggle as hopeless; for a little perseverance and +well-directed energy may bring him into a good position. But if a +fair experiment has been made, and it clearly appears that his +services are not wanted, the professional aspirant ought undoubtedly +to pause, and take a full unprejudiced view of his relation to the +world. 'Am I,' he may say, 'to expect reward if I persist in +offering the world what it does not want? Are my fellow-creatures +wrong in withholding a subsistence from me, while I am rather +consulting my own tastes and inclinations than their necessities?' +It may then occur to him that the great law must somehow be +obeyed—a something must be done for mankind which they require, and +it must be done where and how they require it, in order that each +individual may have a true claim upon the rest. To get into the +right and fitting place in the social machine may be difficult; but +there is no alternative. Let him above everything dismiss from his +mind the notion, that others can seriously help him. Let him be +self-helpful, think and do for himself, and he will have the better +chance of success.</p> + +<p>We now come to a second branch of the subject—namely, as regards +our conduct and manners in the scenes of social life. One might +suppose it to be a very clear thing, that a person possessing no +pleasing accomplishment could never be so agreeable a member of +society as one who possessed one or more of such qualifications. It +might seem very evident, that a person who had never taken any +trouble to acquire such accomplishments, did not deserve so much of +society as one who had taken such trouble. Yet such is the blinding +influence of self-love, that we continually find the dull and +unaccomplished speaking and acting as if they considered themselves +entitled to equal regard with others who, on the contrary, can +contribute greatly to the enjoyments of their fellow-creatures. This +is surely most unreasonable—it is, as in the case of the +unnecessary shopkeeper or weaver, to desire the reward and yet not +perform the service. Were such persons to clear themselves of +prejudice, and take an unflattering view of their relation to +society, they would see that the reward can only be properly +expected where it has been worked for. They might in some instances +be prompted to make efforts to attain some of those accomplishments +which contribute to make the social hour pass agreeably, and thus +attain to a true desert, besides 'advancing themselves in the scale +of thinking beings.' If not, they might at least learn to submit +unrepiningly to that comparatively moderate degree of notice and +regard which is the due of those who are perfectly ordinary in their +minds, and fit only to take a place amongst the audience.</p> + +<p>Society, as is well known, has its favourites, and also its +unpopular characters. If we dissect the character of the favourite, +we shall invariably find a great substratum of the amiable. He will +probably have accomplishments also, and thus be able to add to the +happiness of his fellows. It is not improbable that in many cases a +good share of love of approbation will be detected; but this is of +no consequence in the matter. The general fact we assume to be, that +the genuinely amiable is there in some force. It will, I believe, be +likewise found that the unpopular character has something too much +of the centripetal system about him—that is to say, desires things +to centre in himself as much as possible—and neither has any great +natural impulse to the amiable, nor will take the trouble to assume +the complaisant. Now, it is not uncommon to observe traces of +dissatisfaction in the unpopular characters, as if they felt +themselves to be treated unjustly by the world. But can these +persons reasonably expect to be received with the same favour as men +who are at once gentle and inoffensive in their ordinary demeanour, +and actively good among their fellow-creatures? Certainly not. Let +us see here, too, the complaining party take an unprejudiced view of +his relation to society. Let him understand that he only will be +loved if he is lovable, and we may hope to see him taking some pains +to correct his selfishness, and both seem and be a kind and genial +man. Most assuredly, in no other way will his reputation and his +treatment by the world be reversed.</p> + +<p>In fine, we would have all who are inclined to doubt whether the +world uses them well or not, to ask of themselves, in the first +place, how they use the world. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page35" id="page35"></a>[pg 35]</span> + If they find that they do little for +it—are stupid, illiterate, possessed of not one graceful +accomplishment, neither useful nor ornamental, but selfish, sulky, +and unamiable, then let them try whether a remedy cannot be found in +themselves. It is not to be expected of all that they are to be +greatly serviceable in any way to the world, or very agreeable +either; but it is the duty of all who desire the world's good +treatment, to do the best they can for the general interest, and to +be as good and amiable as possible. At the worst, if they cannot +make any change on themselves, let them resign themselves to be +comparatively poor and neglected, as such is, by the rules of +Providence, their inevitable fate.</p> + +<h4>Notes:</h4> + +<div class="note"><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a> +<a href="#FNanchor_1_1">[1]</a> +The upper and under plates of the tortoise are so called by +naturalists. +</div> +<br /> + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article2" id="article2"> +THE SISTERS OF CHARITY IN BOHEMIA. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>In continental countries, much of that charitable ministration which +with us is left to rates and institutions, is the work of +individuals acting directly under a religious impulse. The +difference is perhaps not entirely in favour of the countries of the +Romish faith; but there is no denying that it leads to our being +presented with pictures of heroic self-devotion and generous +self-sacrifice, such as it would be gratifying to see in our own +country. Many of the forms of charity met with in Catholic states +had their rise in one enthusiastically benevolent man, the +celebrated Vincent de St Paul. Born in 1576, on the skirts of the +Pyrenees, and brought up as a shepherd-boy—possessed of course of +none of the advantages of fortune, this remarkable man shewed a +singular spirit of charity before he had readied manhood. He became +a priest; he passed through a slavery in one of the African +piratical states, and with difficulty made his escape. At length we +see him in the position of a parish pastor in France, exerting +himself in plans for the improvement of the humbler classes, exactly +like those which have become fashionable among ourselves only during +the last twenty years. His exertions succeeded, and generous persons +of rank enabled him to extend them. In a short time, he saw no fewer +than twenty-five establishments founded in his own country, in +Piedmont, Poland, and other states, for charitable purposes. +Stimulated by this success to increase his exertions, he quickly +formed associations of charitable persons, chiefly females, for the +succour of distressed humanity. It was a most wonderful movement for +the age, and must be held as no little offset against the horrible +barbarities arising from religious troubles in the reign of Louis +XIII. Among Vincent's happiest efforts, was that which established +the <i>Sisters of Charity</i>, a sodality of self-devoted women, which +exists in vigour at the present day.</p> + +<p>During a lengthened residence in Prague, we have had much +satisfaction in visiting the establishment of the Sisters, and +inquiring into their doings. The house, which was founded in the +seventeenth century, and contains seventy inmates, is situated near +to the palace of Prince Lobkowitz, in the Kleine Seite, or that part +of the city which lies on the right bank of the Moldau. It has much +the character of a suburban villa, being surrounded by a kind of +<i>plaisance</i>, enclosed in high walls, and containing shrubberies, +alleys, and large clumps of chestnuts. In this pleasant retreat may +often be found such of the Sisters as are not engaged in the more +pressing kind of duties—never quite idle, however; for, even while +seeking recreation, they will be found busied in preparing clothing +for the poor, or perhaps in making medicines from herbs, if not +imparting instruction to children let loose from the school which +forms a part of their establishment. The place is remarkable for its +perfumes, there being assembled here not merely the usual amount of +roses, lilacs, jasmines, tuberoses, and lilies, but a profusion of +aromatic plants, cultivated either for medicinal purposes, or to +serve in the fabrication of essences and powders, which the Sisters +distribute over the world in tiny bottles and small pillow-cases and +bags, in order to raise funds for the poor.</p> + +<p>In the house, which, having been erected for a private family, is +not well suited for its present purpose, everything is an example of +cleanliness and order. The hospital is in the main part of the +building, and is fitted up with every possible convenience. A large +apothecaries' hall is attached to it, furnished with every appliance +that medical art has devised, and under the superintendence of a +highly-educated professional man. It is most affecting to enter the +great sick-room, and see the gentle Sisters in their modest attire +ministering to the patients, bending over them with their sweet and +cheerful countenances, as if they felt that relief from pain and +restoration to life and its enjoyments depended on their smiles. It +is scarcely necessary to say, that the hospital is almost always +full. Sometimes, indeed, the floor is occupied with extra beds; for +the Sisters will never close their doors to any who apply, even +though they should have to abandon their own simple places of repose +to the new-comer, and stretch themselves on the bare floor.</p> + +<p>We observed, in one of our visits, an old woman who was lying in one +of the beds of the hospital, in a kind of trance, neither sleeping +nor waking, apparently suffering no pain, but quite insensible to +everything which passed around her. Her complaint was that of +extreme old age, mere physical exhaustion. She had been for many +years a pensioner, fed and clothed by the Sisters: having outlived +all her relations, and having no friends in the world but them, she +had come in, as she said herself, 'to die in peace among them.' Not +far from her lay a girl, about sixteen or seventeen years of age, +whose extreme paleness, or rather marble whiteness, vied with the +snowy sheets which covered all but that lily face; and but for the +quivering of the little frill of her cap, and the slow movement of +her large blue eyes, it would have been difficult to believe that it +was not the alabaster figure of some saint that reposed there. The +superior looked kindly and sadly upon her, bent down, kissed her +pale forehead, and went on; and though the sufferer did not move or +speak, nor the feeble head turn, her large blue eyes followed the +reverend mother with an expression which was all its own—an +expression to be felt, deeply, intensely, but which cannot be +described. And who was she, that pale, silent girl? She was an +orphan, neglected by the world, betrayed and abandoned by one who +appeared the only <i>friend</i> she had. Crushed in spirit, enfeebled by +want and misery, without a roof to shelter her young drooping head, +she had been found by the Sisters of Charity sitting alone, <i>her +eyes fixed on the river</i>. They took her in, clothed, fed, and warmed +her. They poured into her heart the blessed words of peace and +comfort, till that poor breaking heart gushed forth in a wild tide +of feeling too strong for the feeble frame; and we now saw her +slowly recovering from a frightful fever, the result of past +sufferings, and of that agitation which even a reaction towards hope +had occasioned.</p> + +<p>It would be too much for the present sketch to describe the many +invalids before whom we passed in our visits to the sick-chambers of +the Sisters of Charity, though every single case would be a lesson +to humanity. The homeless, the forsaken, the orphan, each had his or +her own bitter history, previous to reposing within the sanctuary of +that blessed retreat; each was attended +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page36" id="page36"></a>[pg 36]</span> +by some of those benevolent +beings, whose gentle steps and sweet sunny smiles brought peace to +their hearts. None who are destitute are rejected at that gate of +mercy. Whatever their faults may have been, whatever their +frailties, if overtaken by want or sickness—if, deserted and +trampled upon, they sink without any visible hand being stretched +out to save them from despair and death—then do the Sisters of +Charity interpose to succour and to save. To them it is sufficient +that the sufferer requires their aid. There every medical assistance +is promptly given; every comfort, and even luxury.</p> + +<p>Most surprising it is to the common worldling to see these gentle +beings thus living entirely for others, seeking no reward but that +inspired by Christian promises and hopes. Nor is it mere drudgery +and self-denial which constitute their great merit. When humanity +calls from the midst of danger, whether in the shape of pestilence +or of war, they are equally unfailing. It has been our lot to see a +city taken by storm, the streets on fire and half-choked with ruins, +and these ruins thickly strewed with the dead and dying. There, +before the wild scene had been in the least calmed—amid smoke, and +rain, and the frequent rattling fire of musketry—we have seen the +black dresses and long white kerchiefs of the Sisters of Charity +flitting about, emblems of mercy in a world which might otherwise +seem only fit for demons. The place we speak of was Arcis-sur-Aube. +Napoleon, who looked on the system of this sisterhood 'as one of the +most sublime conceptions of the human mind,' was then in the act of +falling back with 30,000 men, after having been attacked the evening +before (March 19, 1814) by 130,000 Austrians. He was within three +weeks of the prostration of his power, and he must have felt +bitterly the crushing reverses he was experiencing. Yet he stopped +on the nearly demolished bridge of the town, and ordered 300 +Napoleons to be given out of his then scanty resources to the +Sisters of Charity, of whose devotion he had been an eye-witness +from the commencement of the attack. As he crossed the bridge +immediately afterwards, part of it gave way, and he was precipitated +into the Aube, but, by the help of his horse, soon gained the safe +bank.</p> + +<p>The good works of the Sisters do not stop with their exertions for +the sick and miserable. They have also their schools for orphans and +foundlings. Here the tender human plant, perhaps deserted by a +heartless mother, often gains more than it has lost. It is only to +infants in these extraordinary circumstances that they are called +upon to give shelter, for the children of the poor in general are +provided for in public establishments. When we last visited the +convent in Prague, we found about thirty girls entertained as +inmates. As soon as they are capable of learning, they are +instructed in every branch of domestic economy; and as they grow up, +and their several talents develop themselves, they are educated +accordingly: some for instructresses, either in music or any general +branch of education; others, as seamstresses, ladies-maids, cooks, +laundry-maids, house-maids. In short, every branch of useful +domestic science is taught.</p> + +<p>When the girls attain sufficient age and experience to occupy the +several situations for which they have been instructed—that is, +from seventeen to eighteen, the superior of the convent procures +them a place in the family of some of her friends or acquaintance, +and always, so far as lies in her power, with a mistress as much as +possible suited to the intelligence and instruction of her +<i>protégée</i>. The day of separation, however, is always painful. It +is, in fact, the parting of a mother and her child. We have seen the +orphan cling to her adopted mother, and as she knelt to receive her +blessing, bathe her hands in tears of gratitude and affection; while +the reverend superior would clasp her to her bosom, and recommend to +her adopted child the blessed principles which she had inculcated +from her infancy. Nor do they leave the home of their childhood +empty. Each girl on quitting the convent is provided with a little +<i>trousseau</i> or outfit for her first appearance in the world: this +consists of two complete suits of clothes—an ordinary and a better +one, four petticoats, four chemises, six pair of stockings, the same +number of gloves, and two pair of shoes. We have seen many of these +orphans and foundlings in after-life; some of them occupying the +most respectable situations, as the wives of opulent citizens, and +others filling places of the most important trust in some of the +highest families of the empire; we have also had several in our own +service, and have always had reason to congratulate ourselves on our +good-fortune in engaging them.</p> + +<p>One of the first principles of education in the orphan schools of +the Sisters of Charity is economy: while they spare nothing in the +cause of humanity, so far as their means will go, the strictest +frugality reigns throughout, and is always inculcated as the +foundation of the means of doing good. Consequently, all of whom we +have had any experience, who were educated in these charitable +institutions, never failed, however humble their situation, to make +some little savings: one whom we have at this moment in our eye, and +who not many years since served us in the capacity of cook, and +fulfilled her charge with great fidelity and zeal, has, by her +extraordinary industry and economy, collected in the savings' bank +in Prague no less than 700 florins, or L.70 sterling. And yet with +all this economy she was so charitable and liberal in giving of her +own to the poor, that we have often had to caution her against +extravagance in that respect. By this spirit of economy, we have +also known several of the orphans and foundlings arrive at a degree +of independence which enables them in their turn to assist the +deserted generation of to-day, and to do for them as they themselves +had been done by. Many also have been the means of rescuing others +from crime and starvation by conducting them to that blessed +institution, to which, under Heaven, they owe all their prosperity +and happiness in life.</p> + +<p>Of these charitable communities there are many orders, which differ +from the above chiefly in name, and in the Sisters never quitting +their sanctuary or the precincts of their gardens. The Sisters of +Charity, properly so called, not being vowed to seclusion, are more +generally known to the world, who see them, and therefore believe +that they exist for charitable purposes, while of those of whom they +see nothing they know nothing; and should the casual observer meet +in the street on a festival, or day of examination, a column of from +300 to 800 children, from six to ten or twelve years of age, neatly +clothed, and whose happy countenances and beautiful behaviour +bespeak the care with which their early education has been +conducted—it never once occurs to him that these are the children +of the poor, the children of the free schools of the 'Sisters' of +the Ursaline Convent, or of the Congregation of Notre Dame, or of +some other religious establishment of the kind. But perhaps we shall +have an opportunity hereafter of introducing these invisible Sisters +of Charity to the notice of our readers.</p> + +<p>Suffice it now to say, that the 'Sisters of Mercy,' the 'Ursalines,' +the 'Congregations of Notre Dame,' the 'English Ladies,' and many +others, are all in practice Sisters of Charity.</p> + +<p>It is not uncommon to hear their condition deplored, as one from +which all earthly enjoyments are excluded, or as a kind of death in +life. But personal observation has given us different ideas on this +subject. Within those lofty, and sometimes sullen-looking walls +which enclose the convents of the sisterhoods we speak of, we have +spent some of the most agreeable hours of our life, conversing with +refined and enlightened women on +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page37" id="page37"></a>[pg 37]</span> +the works of beneficence in which +they were engaged; everything bearing an aspect of that cheerfulness +and animation which only can be expected in places where worthy +duties are well performed.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article3" id="article3"> +ADVENTURES OF AN ARMY PHYSICIAN. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Robert Jackson, the son of a small landed proprietor of limited +income hut respectable character in Lanarkshire, was born in 1750, +at Stonebyres, in that county. He received his education first at +the barony school of Wandon, and afterwards under the care of Mr +Wilson, a teacher of considerable local celebrity at Crawford, one +of the wildest spots in the Southern Highlands. He was subsequently +apprenticed to Mr William Baillie, of Biggar; and in 1766 proceeded, +for the completion of his professional training, to the university +of Edinburgh, at that time illustrated and adorned by the genius and +learning of such men as the Monros, the Cullens, and the Blacks.</p> + +<p>In pursuing his studies at this favoured abode of science and +literature, young Jackson is said to have evinced all that purity of +morals and singleness of heart which characterised him in +after-life, and to have resisted the allurements of dissipation by +which, in those days especially, the youthful student was tempted to +wander from the paths of virtuous industry. His circumstances were, +however, distressingly narrow; and not only was he forced to forego +the means of professional improvement open only to the more opulent +student; but in order to meet the expenses of the winter-sessions, +he was obliged to employ the summer, not in the study but in the +practice of his profession. He engaged himself as medical officer to +a Greenland whaler, and in two successive summers visited, in that +capacity, 'the thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice;' returning on +each occasion with a recruited purse and a frame strengthened and +invigorated by exposure and exercise. During these expeditions he +occupied his leisure with the study of the Greek and Roman +languages, and the careful and repeated perusal of the best authors +in both.</p> + +<p>His third winter-sessions at Edinburgh having passed away, he was +induced to go out and seek his fortune in Jamaica, and accordingly +proceeded thither in a vessel commanded by one Captain Cunningham, +who had previously been employed as master of a transport at the +siege of Havannah. It is far from improbable that it was from his +conversations with this individual that Jackson derived those hints, +of which at a future time he availed himself, respecting the +transmission of troops by sea without injury to their health; but it +is quite certain his conviction of the enormous value of cold-water +affusions as a curative agent in the last stage of febrile +affections, was imbibed from this source.</p> + +<p>Arriving in Jamaica, he in 1774 became assistant to an eminent +general practitioner at Savana-la-Mar, Dr King, who was also in +medical charge of a detachment of the first battalion of the 60th +regiment. This latter he consigned to Jackson's care; and well +worthy of the trust did our young adventurer, though but twenty-four +years of age, approve himself—visiting three or four times a day +the quarters of the troops to detect incipient disease, and studying +with ardour and intelligent attention the varied phenomena of +tropical maladies. Four years thus passed profitably away, and they +would have been as pleasant as profitable, but for one circumstance. +The existence of slavery and its concomitant horrors appears to have +made a deep impression on Jackson's mind, and, at last, to have +produced in him such sentiments of disgust and abhorrence, that he +resolved on quitting the island altogether, and, as the phrase is, +trying his luck in North America, where the revolutionary war was +then raging. This resolution—due perhaps, as much to his love of +travel as to the motive assigned—was not altogether unfortunate, +for shortly after his departure, October 3, 1780, Savana-la-Mar was +totally destroyed, and the surrounding country for a considerable +distance desolated, by a terrible hurricane and sweeping inroad of +the sea, in which Dr King, his family and partner, together with +numbers of others, unhappily perished.</p> + +<p>The law of Jamaica forbade any one to leave the island without +having given previous notice of his intention, or having obtained +the bond of some respectable person as security for such debts as he +might have outstanding. Jackson, when he embarked for America, had +no debts whatever, and was, moreover, ignorant of the law, with +whose requirements therefore he did not comply. Nor did he become +aware of his mistake until, when off the easternmost point of the +island, the master of the vessel approached him and said: 'We are +now, sir, off Point-Morant; you will therefore have the goodness to +favour me with your security-bond. It is a mere legal form, but we +are obliged to respect it.' Finding this 'legal form' had not been +complied with, the master then, in spite of Jackson's protestations +and entreaties, set him on shore, and the vessel continued on her +voyage. What was to be done? Almost penniless, landed on a part of +the coast where he knew not a soul, Jackson well-nigh gave himself +up to despair. There was a vessel for New York loading, it was true, +at Lucea; but Lucea was 150 miles distant, on the westernmost side +of the island, and not to be reached by sea, whilst our adventurer's +purse would not suffer him to hire a horse. No choice was left him +but to walk, and that in a country where the exigencies of the +climate make pedestrianism perilous in the extreme to the white man. +Having reached Kingston, which was in the neighbourhood, in a boat, +and obtained the necessary certificate, he started on his dangerous +expedition, and on the first day walked eighteen miles, being +sheltered at night in the house of a benevolent planter. The next +day he pushed on for Rio Bueno, which he had almost reached, when, +overcome by thirst, he stopped by the way to refresh himself, and +imprudently standing in an open piazza exposed to a smart easterly +breeze, whilst his lemonade was preparing, contracted a severe chill +that almost took from him the power of motion, and left him to crawl +along the road slowly and with pain, until he reached his +destination.</p> + +<p>Having finally arrived, friendless and moneyless, in New York, then +in the occupation of the British, he endeavoured first to obtain a +commission in the New York volunteers, and afterwards employment as +mate in the Naval Hospital. In his endeavours, he was kindly +assisted by a Jamaica gentleman, a fellow-passenger, whose regard +during the voyage he had succeeded in conciliating by his amiable +manners and evident abilities; but his efforts were all in vain, and +poor Jackson, familiar with poverty from childhood, began now to +experience the misery of destitution. In truth, starvation stared +him in the face, and a sense of delicacy withheld him from seeking +from his Jamaica friend the most trifling pecuniary assistance. In +this, his state of desperation, he determined upon passing the +British lines, and endeavouring to obtain amongst the insurgents the +food he had hitherto sought in vain; resolving, however, under no +circumstances to bear arms against his native country. Whilst +moodily and slowly walking towards the British outposts to carry +into execution this scheme, having in one pocket a shirt, and in +another a Greek Testament and a Homer, he was met half-way by a +British officer, who fixed his eyes steadily on him in passing. +Jackson in his agitation thought he read in the glance a knowledge +of his purpose and a disapprobation of it. Struck by the incident, +he turned back, and, after a moment's reflection, resolved on +offering himself as a volunteer in the first battalion of the 71st +regiment (Sutherland Highlanders), then in cantonment near New +York. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page38" id="page38"></a>[pg 38]</span> + Arriving at the place, he presented himself to the notice of +Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Sir Archibald) Campbell, who, having +first ascertained that he was a Scotsman, inquired to whom he was +known at New York. Jackson replied, to no one; but that a +fellow-passenger from Jamaica would readily testify to his being a +gentleman. 'I require no testimony to your being a gentleman,' +returned the kind-hearted colonel. 'Your countenance and address +satisfy me on that head. I will receive you into the regiment with +pleasure; but then I have to inform you, Mr Jackson, that there are +seventeen on the list before you, who are of course entitled to +prior promotion.' The next day, at the instance of Colonel Campbell, +the regimental-surgeon, Dr Stuart, appointed Jackson acting hospital +or surgeon's mate—a rank now happily abolished in the British army; +for those who filled it, whatever might be their competency or +skill, were accounted and treated no better than drudges. Although +discharging the duties that now devolve on the assistant-surgeon, +they were not, like him, commissioned, but only warrant-officers, +and therefore had no title to half-pay.</p> + +<p>Dr Stuart, who appears to have been a man superior to vulgar +prejudice, and to have appreciated at once the extent of Jackson's +acquirements and the vigour of his intellect, relinquished to him, +almost without control, the charge of the regimental hospital. Here +it was that this able young officer began to put in practice that +amended system of army medical treatment which since his time, but +in conformity with his teachings, has been so successfully carried +out as to reduce the mortality amongst our soldiery from what it +formerly was—something like 15 per cent.—to what it is now, about +2½ per cent.</p> + +<p>In the army hospitals, at the period Jackson commenced a career that +was to eventuate so gloriously, there was no regulated system of +diet, no classification of the sick. What are now well known as +'medical comforts,' were things unheard of; the sick soldier, like +the healthy soldier, had his ration of salt-beef or pork, and his +allowance of rum. The hospital furnished him with no bedding; he +must bring his own blanket. Any place would do for an hospital. That +in which Jackson began his labours had originally been a +commissary's store; but happily its roof was water-tight—an unusual +occurrence—and its site being in close proximity to a wood, our +active surgeon's mate managed, by the aid of a common fatigue party, +to surround the walls with wicker-work platforms, which served the +patients as tolerably comfortable couches. A further and still more +important change he effected related to the article of diet. He +suggested, and the suggestion was adopted—honour to the courageous +humanity which did not shrink from so righteous an innovation!—that +instead of his salt ration and spirits, which he could not consume, +the sick soldier should be supplied with fresh meat, broth, &c.; and +that, as the quantity required for the invalid would be necessarily +small, the quarter-master should allow the saving on the commuted +ration to be expended in the common market on other comforts, such +as sago, &c. suitable for the patient. Thus proper hospital diet was +furnished, without entailing any additional expense on the state.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" +id="FNanchor_2_2" /><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> + +<p>Indefatigable in the discharge of his interesting duties, Mr Jackson +speedily obtained the confidence of his military superiors, who +remarked with admiration not only his intelligent zeal in performing +his hospital functions, but his calmness, quickness of perception, +and generous self-devotion when in the field of battle. On one +occasion, although suffering at the time from severe indisposition, +he remained, under a heavy fire, succouring the wounded, in spite of +the remonstrances of the officers present. On another, having +observed the British commander, Colonel (afterwards General) +Tarleton, in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, who had +routed the royalist troops, he galloped up to the colonel—whom a +musket-ball had just dismounted—pressed him to mount his own horse +and escape, whilst he himself, with a white handkerchief displayed, +quietly proceeded in the direction of the advancing foe, and +surrendered himself at once. The American commander, who did not +know what to make of such conduct, asked him who he was? He replied: +'I am assistant-surgeon in the 71st regiment. Many of the men are +wounded, and in your hands. I come, therefore, to offer my services +in attending them.' He was accordingly sent to the rear as a +prisoner; but was well treated, and spent the first night of his +captivity in dressing his soldiers' wounds, taking off his shirt, +and tearing it up into bandages for the purpose. He afterwards did +the same good office for the American sufferers; and when the +wounded English could be exchanged, Washington sent him back, not +only without exchange, but even without requiring his parole. At a +subsequent period during the same unhappy war, when the British +under Lord Cornwallis were in full retreat, the sick and wounded +were placed in a building which the colonists, on their approach, +began to riddle with shot. Several surgeons, not caring to incur the +risk of entering so exposed an edifice, agreed to cast lots who +should go in and see to the invalids; but Jackson, with +characteristic nerve and simplicity, at once stepped forward: 'No, +no,' said he, 'I will go and attend to the men!' He did so, and +returned unhurt.</p> + +<p>After this we find him a prisoner in the hands of the Americans and +French at New York Town, Virginia. As on the former occasion, he was +treated with all imaginable kindness; and, being released on parole, +returned to Europe early in 1782, and proceeded by way of Cork, +Dublin, and Greenock to Edinburgh, where he abode for a short time. +Thence he started for London; and, desirous of testing the best way +of sustaining physical strength during long marches, and urged +perhaps also by economical considerations, he resolved to make the +journey on foot. His West Indian and American experience had taught +him that spare diet consisted best with pedestrian efficiency, and +it was accordingly his practice, during this long walk, to abstain +from animal food until the close of day, nor often then to partake +of it. He would walk some fourteen miles before breakfast—a meal of +tea and bread; rest then for an hour or an hour and a half; then +pace on until bedtime—a salad, a tart, or sometimes tea and bread, +forming his usual evening fare. He found that on this diet he arose +every morning at dawn with alacrity, and could prosecute without +inconvenience his laborious undertaking. By way of experiment he +twice or thrice varied his plan—dining on the road off beefsteaks, +and having a draught of porter in the course of the afternoon; but +the result justified his anticipations. The stimulus of the beer +soon passing off, lassitude succeeded the temporary strength it had +lent him; and, worse than all, his disposition to early rising +sensibly diminished.</p> + +<p>His stay in London, which he reached in this primitive fashion, was +not long. His kind friend Dr Stuart, who had exchanged into the +Royal Horse-Guards, gave him the shelter of his roof; but so poor +was Mr Jackson, that, although ardently desirous of improving +himself in his profession, he was unable to attend any one of the +medical schools with which London abounds.</p> + +<p>The peace of 1783 having opened the continent to the curiosity of +the British traveller, Jackson curtly announced to his friends, that +'he was going to take a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page39" id="page39"></a>[pg 39]</span> +walk.' His poverty allowed him no other +mode of locomotion; so off he set on the grand tour, carrying with +him a map of France, a bundle of clothes, and a scanty supply of +money. Crossing the channel, he reached Calais, a place which Horace +Walpole, writing from Rome, declared had astonished him more than +anything he had elsewhere seen, but in which our adventurer found +nothing more astonishing than a superb Swiss regiment. He proceeded +to Paris, and thence through Switzerland, by Geneva and Berne, into +Germany, at a town of which—Günz in Suabia—he met with a comical +enough adventure.</p> + +<p>On entering the town he was challenged by a soldier, who, having +learned he had no passport, carried him before a magistrate, by whom +he was forthwith condemned as a vagabond, and remitted to the +custody of a recruiting sergeant. This worthy, in turn, introduced +him to the commanding officer, who politely gave our traveller the +choice of serving his Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, the Emperor of +Germany, either in his cavalry or his infantry forces. But Jackson, +strangely insensible to the honour, flatly refused to serve his +Majesty in these or any other ways, and desired to be at once set +free, and suffered to continue his journey. The officer, doubtless +amazed at such presumption, desired the sergeant to convey him to +the barracks, where he was placed in a large room, in which were +congregated some two hundred or so involuntary recruits like +himself—harmless travellers, who, being destitute of passports, the +emperor forcibly enlisted into his service. Jackson found his +co-mates in misfortune very dirty, very ragged, but perfectly civil +and good-tempered. Having a little recovered his serenity—for it is +easy to see, though our hero is described as a man of placid +demeanour and somewhat Quakerly appearance, he could be not a little +fiery at times—he sat down and wrote to the commanding officer, +entreating leave to sleep at an inn, and proffering the deposit of +all his money as a pledge for his reappearance next morning. The +reply was an order that he should surrender his writing materials. +At seven o'clock, the appointed sleeping hour, the sergeant returned +and gave the signal for bed by rapping with his cane on the floor, +which was speedily covered by a number of dirty bags of mouldy +straw—the regulation mattresses, it would seem, for involuntary +recruits. Jackson—peppery again—refused to lie down, but was at +last compelled to do so, and between two of the dirtiest fellows of +the lot, each of whom had a leg chained to an arm. The next morning, +at his own request, he was brought before the commandant of the +town, who had only arrived late the preceding evening, and whom he +found seated in his bedroom, 'with all his officers standing round +him receiving orders,' says Jackson, 'with more humility than +orderly-sergeants.' The commandant repeated the offer of 'cavalry or +infantry;' adding that a war was about to commence with the Turks, +and that good-behaviour would insure promotion. However, finding +Jackson obstinately persistent in his refusal, he quietly observed, +in conclusion, that the emperor, as a matter of rule and of right, +'impressed' into his army all such as entered his dominions without +certificates of character. 'The order was so tyrannical,' declares +our <i>détenu</i>, 'that I could not contain myself. "Put me in chains, +if you please," I said, "but I tell you, all Germany shall not make +me carry a musket for the emperor."' This impetuous burst of +indignation seems to have alarmed the phlegmatic commandant, who +accordingly let our adventurer go, counselling him, however, to +write to the English ambassador at Vienna for a passport, lest he +should get into further trouble.</p> + +<p>Jackson passed through the Tyrol into Italy, everywhere indulging +his love of scenery and still greater love of adventure; studying +with all the acuteness of his countrymen the varied characters of +the people he met with, and in his correspondence with home friends, +sketching them in language striking for its force, its propriety, +and originality. Some of his remarks on men and manners are +conceived in a truly Goldsmithian vein, whilst all testify at once +to the goodness of his heart and the quickness of his perceptions. +At Venice he says that he felt it to be 'such a feast of enjoyment +as seldom falls to the lot of man, and never to the lot of any but a +poor man, who has nothing conspicuous about him to attract the +notice of the crowd,' to possess such facilities as he did for +learning what the people of foreign countries really were.</p> + +<p>At Albenga, in Piedmont, Jackson arrived one night, tired, hungry, +and drenched with rain. Intending to put up at the 'Albergo di San +Dominico,' which he had been informed was the best inn, he went by +accident to the convent of the same name, and entering, called +loudly to be shewn to a private room. 'Instead of telling me I was +wrong,' he says, 'the young brethren looked waggish, and began to +laugh: when a man is cold and hungry, he can ill brook being the +sport of others;' so accordingly—peppery again—he shook his stick +angrily at the young monks. And at last one of the most courteous +and demure of the number, coming forward, said that although theirs +was not exactly a public-house, still the stranger was heartily +welcome to walk in, rest, and refresh himself. Discovering his +mistake, Jackson of course lost no time in making his bow, his +apologies, and acknowledgments.</p> + +<p>He returned to England by way of France, having but six sous in his +pockets when he reached Bordeaux, where an English merchant, a total +stranger, advanced him a few pounds. On the road, he was frequently +taken for an Irishman, and not seldom for an Irish priest; under +which impression, many civilities were paid him by the simple +inhabitants of the country he traversed. Ultimately he landed at +Southampton, with just four shillings in his possession; his once +black coat having turned a rusty brown, his hat shovel-shaped by +ill-usage, and his whole aspect so comical, that the mob hooted him, +under the belief that he was a Methodist preacher. Proceeding inland +on foot, in the direction of Southampton, he overtook a poor man +walking along the road whose looks of unutterable misery induced our +traveller to stop and inquire what ailed him. He told Jackson he had +a son and daughter dying of a disorder apparently contagious, and +that no physician would attend them, as he was too poor to pay the +fees. Jackson at once offered his services, which were gratefully +accepted. He saw his patients, and prescribed for them, and his +heart was touched by their simple expressions of gratitude. 'Their +thankfulness,' he says, 'for a thing that would perhaps do them no +good, gave me more pleasure than a fee of, I believe, twenty +guineas, much in need of it as I was.' The night had gathered in +before he reached Winchester, where, at a respectable inn, he +partook of such refreshment as his means afforded, and then desired +to be shewn to his bedroom. The answer was, that the house contained +no bedroom for such as he, and he was finally driven out with the +coarsest abuse into the streets. The hour was ten o'clock, the month +December, and the severity of the weather may be guessed from the +fact, that the snow lay deep on the ground. After wandering about +for some time, he at last obtained shelter in a small house in the +outskirts of the city. The next day he fared little better. 'On +Sunday morning,' he relates, 'I was sixty-four miles from London, +and had only one shilling in my pocket. I was hungry, but durst not +eat; thirsty, and I durst not drink, for fear of being obliged to +lie all night at the side of a hedge in a cold night in December. +After dark, I travelled over to Bagshot; was denied admittance into +some of the public-houses, ill used in others.' He sought in vain +permission even to lie in a barn; but a labourer he fortunately fell +in with conducted him to a house, where, at the sacrifice of his +last shilling, he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page40" id="page40"></a>[pg 40]</span> +secured at length a bed. The next day—foot-sore, +penniless, and starving—he entered London. After remaining there a +brief space—January 1784—in spite of the inclement season, he set +off, again on foot, to Perth—a journey that occupied him three +weeks, as he was detained on the way by some friends whom he +visited. At Perth, where his old regiment then lay previous to its +disbandment, he amused himself by studying Gaelic, and the +controversy respecting Ossian and his poems. Quitting Perth, he +travelled, still on foot, through the Highlands, the inhabitants of +which he was, in the first instance, disposed to class with savages; +but when he had observed the originality of conception, the breadth +of humour, and the elevated sentiments which mark the Celt, his +opinions underwent a total revolution. He was especially delighted +with a ragged old reiver or cattle-lifter whom he encountered, and +who had given shelter to the Young Chevalier in the braes of +Glenmoriston after the battle of Culloden.</p> + +<p>On his return to Edinburgh, Jackson married a lady of fortune, the +daughter of Dr Stephenson, and niece of his old friend Colonel +Francis Shelley, of the 71st regiment; and was enabled by this +accession to his means once again to visit Paris, where he not only +resumed his medical studies, but acquired the mastery of several +languages, Arabic amongst the rest. Having graduated M.D. at Leyden, +he came back again to England, and commenced practice at +Stockton-upon-Tees, in Durham. Although his reputation speedily +became considerable, especially in cases of fever, he seems scarcely +to have liked his new avocation. He found solace, however, in his +favourite study of languages, which he pursued with unremitting +ardour—constantly reading through the Greek and Latin classics, and +not only rendering himself familiar with the best works of the +modern continental authors, but also with the literature of the +Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Gaelic tongues. The <i>Bostan</i> of Saadi +is said to have been one of his most favourite poems.</p> + +<p>On the war breaking out in 1793, Dr Jackson—who, in 1791, had +published a valuable work on the fevers of Jamaica and continental +America—applied for employment as army-physician; but Mr Hunter, +the director-general of the medical department of the army, +considering none eligible for such employment who had not served as +staffer regimental surgeon, or apothecary to the forces, Jackson +agreed to accept, in the first instance, the surgeoncy of the 3d +Buffs, on the understanding, that at a future time, he should be +nominated physician as he desired. Mr Hunter, however, died soon +after this; and his promise was not fulfilled by the Board which +succeeded him in the medical direction of the army, and which +appears to have pursued Dr Jackson with uniform hostility.</p> + +<p>Returning to England with the troops, it was offered to him to +accompany, in the capacity of chief medical officer, Sir Ralph +Abercromby's expedition against some of the West India islands; and +although no employment could possibly have been more agreeable to +his taste, he, much to Sir Ralph's chagrin, declined the flattering +proposal, on the grounds, that lower terms had been offered to him +than to another professional man. Nothing but a sense of +professional delicacy, it is plain, governed him in this +transaction, for he immediately afterwards embarked (April 1796) as +<i>second</i> medical officer in another expedition to San Domingo. +During his abode in this island, he was unwearied in enlarging his +acquaintance with tropical diseases—observing the rule he had +followed in Holland of noting down by the patient's bedside the +minutest particulars of every case he attended, the effects of the +treatment pursued, and whatever else might shed light on the +intricacies of pathological science. He also gave a larger practical +operation to the scheme he had years before devised of amending the +dietaries of military hospitals.</p> + +<p>After the evacuation of San Domingo in 1798, our physician paid a +visit to the United States, where he was received with signal +distinction, his reputation having preceded him. The latter part of +the year found him again at Stockton, publishing a work on +contagious and endemic fevers, 'more especially the contagious fever +of ships, jails, and hospitals, vulgarly called the yellow-fever of +the West Indies;' together with 'an explanation of military +discipline and economy, with a scheme for the medical arrangements +of armies.' He undertook, about this time, by desire of Count +Woronzow, the Russian ambassador, the medical charge of seventeen +hundred Russian soldiers, who were stationed in the Channel Islands +in a sad state of disease and disorganization; and so admirably did +he acquit himself, and so perfect were the hospital provisions he +made, that (1800) the commander-in-chief nominated him physician and +head of the army-hospital depôt at Chatham—as he says, 'without any +application or knowledge on his part.' This appointment was the +cause of his subsequent misfortunes.</p> + +<p>At Chatham, with the warm approbation of Major-General Hewett, +commanding the depôt, he introduced that system of hospital reform +which had elsewhere operated so successfully. The changes he +effected, as soon as they were made, became known to the Medical +Board, and were publicly approved of by one of its members. However, +shortly afterwards, an epidemic broke out in the depôt (then removed +to the Isle of Wight), arising from the fact, that the barracks were +overcrowded with young recruits, but which the Medical Board +ascribed to Jackson's innovations, and reported so to the +Horse-Guards. The commander-in-chief directed an inquiry to take +place before a medical board impannelled for the purpose, and the +result of that inquiry may be guessed from a communication made by +the War-Office to the commandant of the depôt. This states 'the +unanimous opinion of the Board to have exculpated Dr Jackson from +all improper treatment of diseases in the sick,' and the +commander-in-chief's gratification, 'that an opportunity has thus +been given to that most zealous officer of proving his fitness for +the important situation in which he is placed.' The result of this +wretched intrigue, however, was that Jackson, disgusted with the +whole affair, requested to be placed on half-pay, to which request +the Duke of York, with marked reluctance, at last (March 1803) +acceded.</p> + +<p>In his retirement at Stockton, Jackson put forth two valuable works, +one on the medical economy of armies, and another on that of the +British army in particular, and was much gratified by an offer to +accompany, as military secretary, General Simcoe, just appointed +commander-in-chief in India. The general's sudden death, however, +put an end to this plan; and Jackson continued at Stockton, +addressing frequent representations to government on the defective +medical arrangements in the military service—representations the +very receipt of which were not acknowledged by Mr Pitt, to whom they +were forwarded. The Peninsular war commencing, Dr Jackson was again +named Inspector of Hospitals, but was not, thanks to the persevering +enmity of the Medical Board, sent on foreign service, although he +volunteered to sink his rank, and go in any capacity. The Board even +succeeded, by calumnious statements that he had purchased his +diploma—statements he readily confuted—in preventing his +appointment to the Spanish liberating army; although the British +government had formally requested him to accept such an appointment, +and agreed to give credentials testifying to his capacity and +trustworthiness. This last disappointment led him, in an unguarded +moment—peppery to the last—to inflict a slight personal +chastisement on the surgeon-general, for which he was imprisoned six +months in the King's Bench. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page41" id="page41"></a>[pg 41]</span> +</p> + +<p>But the triumph of his enemies was not of long duration. In 1810 the +Board was dissolved, and the control of the medical department +vested in a director-general, with three principal inspectors +subordinate to him. Then did Jackson return to active service, and +from 1811 to 1815 was employed in the West Indies; his reports from +whence embracing every topic relating to medical topography, to +sanitary arrangements, and to the observed phenomena of tropical +disease, are it is not too much to say, invaluable. His hints as to +the choice of sites for barracks, the propriety of giving to +soldiers healthy employment and recreation, as a means of averting +sickness, his suggestions as to the treatment of fevers and other +endemic diseases, may be found in the various works he has +published, embodying the fruits of his West Indian experience.</p> + +<p>In 1819, he was sent by government to Spain, where the yellow-fever +had broken out, and his report upon its characteristics has been +universally admitted to supply the fullest information on the +subject that had hitherto been communicated to the public. He +availed himself of his presence in that part of Europe to pay a +visit to Constantinople and the Levant; and, retaining his energy to +the last, when a British force was sent to Portugal in 1827, he +desired permission to accompany it. The sands of his life, however, +were then fast running out, and on the 6th of April in the same year +he died, after a short illness, at Thursby, near Carlisle, in the +77th year of his age. Thus closed a long career of usefulness; for +it is not too much to say, that few men of his time laboured harder +to benefit his fellow-creatures than did Dr Robert Jackson.</p> + +<h4>Notes:</h4> + +<div class="note"><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a> +<a href="#FNanchor_2_2">[2]</a> +The late Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, when in command, during +the war, of a frigate on the coast of Calabria, finding sickness +appear amongst his crew, purchased on his own responsibility some +bullocks, for the purpose of supplying them with fresh meat. Lord +Collingwood having heard of this, and considering it a breach of +discipline, sent for Codrington, and addressed him: 'Captain +Codrington, pray have you any idea of the price of a bullock in this +place?' 'No, my lord,' was the reply, 'I have not; but I know well +the value of a British sailor's life!' +</div> +<br /> + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article4" id="article4"> +THE MYSTERIOUS LADY. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>It is thirty years since we first met the Mysterious Lady at a +fashionable sea-side boarding-house, and on our introduction, we +found that her brother, General Jerningham, was well known to some +members of our family. For five-and-twenty years afterwards she +haunted us at intervals; and so singularly and secretly conducted +were all her movements, that had she lived in the days of the +Inquisition, Miss Jerningham might have proved one of its most +valuable agents and coadjutors. She was a thin, middle-aged +personage, or, more correctly speaking, of uncertain age, and +without anything remarkable in her exterior, which was decidedly +lady-like, if we except a pair of the very smallest and most +restless brown eyes that were ever set in mortal's head. These eyes +expressed suspicion, together with intelligence and close +observation. They were clear and sparkling, and shaded by no +drooping fringes; and some folks declared that Miss Jerningham slept +with her eyes open. On conversing with her, she appeared to have +been everywhere and to know everything; but the moment any allusion +was made to the future, any attempt to discuss <i>her</i> prospective +plans, then did the little brown eyes assume a reddish tinge, their +expression passing from suspicion and alarm to the most stubborn +resolve. All this was somewhat ludicrous, because nobody really felt +particular interest in her movements, or desired to pry into her +actions; but on discovering what appeared to be the weak point in +her character—because it was out of all proportion strong—idle +people, in search of amusement, availed themselves of the knowledge +to lead her a very uncomfortable life. Her most intimate friends +never knew, for months together, where she was to be found; and it +was currently reported that General Jerningham had once advertised +in the <i>Times</i> for his sister. Certain it is, she always conned the +newspapers with avidity, particularly the portion devoted to +anonymous communications and the mystical interchange of sentiments; +and we frequently suspected that her interest arose from a deeper +source than mere curiosity. The simple query: 'Where do you think of +passing this autumn, Miss Jerningham?' threw her into a state of +strange excitement; and she always commenced her answer somewhat in +the following strain: 'Letters of importance, daily looked for, will +determine me—circumstances over which I have no control: it <i>is</i> +possible that I may visit Cowes;' but a possibility declared in this +way by Miss Jerningham was never known to come to pass. Wherever she +chanced to be seen, former acquaintances popped upon her with +uplifted hands, exclaiming: 'What! <i>you</i> here? Why, we thought you +were at Ilfracombe'—or some other far-away place. 'How long have +you been here?—how long do you stay?' were questions easily +parried; but if a more searching investigation commenced, then the +Mysterious Lady turned, and twisted, and doubled painfully; but +somehow always managed to elude and baffle her persecutors.</p> + +<p>Miss Jerningham's moral rectitude and unimpeachable propriety of +conduct—unsullied by the breath of detraction—rendered her in a +great measure impervious to downright ill-nature; but still she was +open to teasing and bantering; and the more she was teased, and the +more she was bantered, the more impenetrable she became. We +endeavoured to find out from herself—but unsuccessfully—if she had +always led such a roving kind of existence, and also how it +originated; for General Jerningham had a nice villa near the +metropolis, and a small, amiable, domestic circle, ready to receive +and welcome the wanderer. But no: she came upon them unawares, and +at periods when they least expected her, and disappeared again as +suddenly, they knew not why nor whither. In this way she vanished +from the boarding-house where we first met her, with no intimation +of her intention even to our hostess, till her baggage was ready and +the coach at the door.</p> + +<p>'Where is Miss Jerningham?' was the unanimous cry when she did not +appear in her usual place.</p> + +<p>'She left us early this morning,' quietly replied the landlady.</p> + +<p>'Gone—really gone?' was repeated in various tones of +disappointment; and one old gentleman, who had paid the absent lady +marked attention, demanded in a chagrined voice: 'Pray, where has +she gone? Can you tell us <i>that</i>, ma'am?—heigh!'</p> + +<p>'No, sir, I cannot,' replied our hostess. 'All I can say is, that +Miss Jerningham is a very honourable and generous lady, and wherever +she is, I wish her well.'</p> + +<p>'Humph!' said the old gentleman gruffly; 'she must have a good +fortune to do as she does.'</p> + +<p>'Yes, sir, she must,' was the reply: 'and go where she will, I +believe that Miss Jerningham always gives plentiful alms. It seems +her settled habit, like.'</p> + +<p>'Settled habit!' muttered the old gentleman: 'she hasn't got a +settled habit, ma'am: she is a most unsettled and extraordinary +individual.'</p> + +<p>'Well, sir, perhaps so,' replied Mrs Smith; 'but Miss Jerningham is +quite the lady.' And in that opinion we all coincided, supposing our +hostess by the word lady to have meant gentlewoman.</p> + +<p>A few months afterwards she called upon us in London. She was not +staying with her brother, but declined giving her address, remarking +that it was not worth while, as she was about to change her abode +immediately. By accident, however, we discovered afterwards that +Miss Jerningham had lodged for the whole period within a dozen doors +of us. Our surprise was lessened in after-years at the pertinacity +with which she continued to appear to us, although always at +uncertain intervals; for a service rendered by our father, referring +to some banking transaction, apparently never escaped her memory, +and she invariably alluded to this act of kindness with expressions +of gratitude. This circumstance operated, we conjectured, as an +encouragement to bestow on us an unusual mark of confidence and +friendship, for such Miss Jerningham +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page42" id="page42"></a>[pg 42]</span> +considered it when requesting +permission to add our address to an advertisement she was about +inserting in the <i>Times</i> for 'eligible board and lodging.' She knew +that newspapers were prohibited articles in our circle, +consequently we had no opportunity of finding out that portion of +the transaction she wished to conceal. In what locality this +'eligible board and lodging' was advertised for, we never inquired, +judging it would be needless to do so, but we consented to receive +the letters Miss Jerningham expected in answer.</p> + +<p>Poor Miss Jerningham! great was her amazement as well as our own +when, in the course of three days, we had amassed for her +consideration and perusal no less than seventy-seven letters +directed to 'X.Y.Z.' What temptations were held forth in the +advertisement which elicited so many replies we never were made +acquainted with: Miss Jerningham counted the letters, tied them up, +and carried them off in triumph. Next day we received a handsome +present of some chimney-ornaments, with 'Miss Jerningham's regards +and best thanks;' but we saw no more of the Mysterious Lady for some +years. When we did meet again in a quiet country town, she had been +to America, and we had experienced vicissitude and bereavement. Our +altered mode of living made no difference to Miss Jerningham: she +accompanied us home, for we met in the market-place; but as it is +not so easy to keep one's place of abode secret in a small +gossipping community, for once in her life she made a virtue of +necessity, and openly divulged the fact of her locale, number and +all specified. She did not know a creature in the town or in the +suburbs—she came there for solitude. Conjecture was afloat in all +quarters as to who or what she could be. Some said she must be a +gentlewoman, because she wore velvet and satin, and gold +chains—moreover, paid well for everything. Others affirmed she +might be a gentlewoman—gentlewomen did queer things sometimes—but +there must be some very strange reason for a lone and unknown female +to drop from the skies, as it were, in the midst of strangers. For +our own part, our mind was easier on her account, now that she had +broken through her rule of secrecy; and we even hoped that when we +saw her again, she might go a step farther, and throw off the veil +entirely.</p> + +<p>On calling at her lodgings, however, the next day, we learned that +the lodger had decamped, after placing in the landlady's hand the +solatium of another week's rent, as specified in the agreement—a +week's notice or a week's money. Thus, for the space of +five-and-twenty years, every now and then, did the Mysterious Lady +turn up. Whenever we left home on a visit, we were sure, on our +return, to find a card on the table, inscribed with the mystical +characters—'Miss Jerningham.' No message left, no address given. +The last time we ever saw her was in Hyde Park, walking arm-in-arm +with her brother the general; and soon after we heard from the +worthy veteran, that 'Bessie had gone on her travels again.'</p> + +<p>If Miss Jerningham has really ceased to exist, her end was as +mysterious and uncertain as the movements of her life. We say if, +because we feel by no means sure on the subject, and should neither +faint nor scream if she were to enter the apartment at this moment. +It is about five years since General Jerningham set hurriedly off, +in considerable dismay, for the scene of a direful conflagration in +a northern county, wherein several unfortunate individuals had +perished. The fire originated at a hotel, and the General had +reasons for fearing that his sister might be among the number of the +sufferers, for she was known to have followed that route. A +notification likewise had appeared in the public prints, respecting +an unknown lady, whose remains awaited the coroner's inquest, but +afforded no clue whatever to recognition.</p> + +<p>General Jerningham, however, came to the conclusion that he indeed +beheld the mortal remains of his poor sister, although the only +evidence he could obtain was the description given of her appearance +by those who had seen her in life. He may have been influenced, +likewise, by the fact, that the unfortunate lady had arrived at the +hotel only on the previous day, and that no one knew who she was, +whence she had come, or whither she was going. After making every +possible inquiry, but without obtaining more satisfactory +information, the General and his family put on mourning. The shock +he had sustained produced bad effects on an already enfeebled +constitution, and accelerated the veteran's decease. During his last +days, he frequently alluded to 'poor Bessie' in affectionate terms; +and we then gathered at least one fact relating to her past history. +Her lover, it seems, had been suddenly carried off by malignant +fever on the eve of their wedding-day, bequeathing to Bessie all his +property; and Bessie, who had never known serious sorrow before, +gave no sign, by sigh or lamentation, that she bemoaned the untimely +fate of her betrothed, but withdrew herself from friends and +connections, and became the restless, homeless, harmless being at +whose peculiarities we had so often laughed, little thinking that +tears of secret anguish had probably bedewed the pathway of her +early wanderings. This very concealment of her grief, however, may +have arisen from the peculiar idiosyncrasy which procured for her +among all who knew her the name of the Mysterious Lady. But we will +not talk of her in the past tense. We are so sure of her being +alive, that we are even now anxious to conclude our visit to the +pleasant house where this is indited, feeling a presentiment we +cannot overcome, that the first interesting object we shall see on +returning home is that mystical card which has so often startled and +baffled our curiosity—'Miss. Jerningham.'</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article5" id="article5"> +CASH, CORN, AND COAL MARKETS. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>A circle of a few hundred yards only in diameter, of which the centre +should be the Duke of Wellington's statue in front of the Royal +Exchange, London, would enclose within its magic girdle a far greater +amount of real, absolute power, than was ever wielded by the most +magnificent conqueror of ancient or modern times. There can be no +doubt of this; for is it not the mighty heart of the all but +omnipotent money force of the world, whose aid withheld, invincible +armies become suddenly paralysed, and the most gallant fleets that +ever floated can neither brave the battle nor the breeze? And this +stupendous power, say moralists, has neither a god, a country, nor a +conscience! To-day, upon security, it will furnish arms and means to +men struggling to rescue their country from oppression, themselves +from servitude and chains—to-morrow, upon the assurance of a good +dividend, it will pay the wages of the soldiery who have successfully +desolated that country, and exterminated or enslaved its defenders. +Trite, if sad commonplaces these, to which the world listens, if at +all, with impatient indifference. I have not a very strong faith in +the soundness of the commercial evangel upon this subject; still, the +very last task I should set myself would be a sermon denunciative of +mammon-worship—mammon-love—mammon-influence—and so on; and this +for two quite sufficient reasons—one, that I have myself, I +blushingly confess, a very strong partiality for notes of the +governor and company of the Bank of England and sovereigns of full +weight and fineness; the other, that the very best and fiercest +discourse I ever heard fulminated against the debasing love of gold, +especially characteristic, it is said, of these degenerate days, was +delivered by a gentleman who, having lived some seventy useful and +eloquent years at the rate of about three hundred a year or +thereabout, was found to have died worth upwards of L.60,000, all +secured by mortgages bearing 7 per cent interest on the Brazilian +slave-estates of a relative by marriage. But as an illustration of +power—and power under any form of development has a singular +fascination for most minds—I have thought it may not be +uninteresting to glance briefly at a few of the more salient features +of the metropolitan mammoth markets. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page43" id="page43"></a>[pg 43]</span> +</p> + +<p>Standing, then, by the statue of the Iron Duke, we have the Royal +Exchange directly in front, Princes Street and the Poultry +immediately behind, Lombard Street and Cornhill on the right, +Threadneedle Street and Lothbury on the left hand. What an Aladin +glitter seems to dance upon the paper as the names of these +remarkable localities are jotted down, containing as they do so +large a number of world-famous banking and commercial establishments +whose operations and influence are limited only by the boundaries of +civilisation! Let us look closely at one or two of the chief +potentates, principalities, and powers which are there enthroned.</p> + +<p>The Royal Exchange, it is well known, owes its origin to the public +spirit of Sir Thomas Gresham, who, close upon three centuries ago, +built the first Exchange upon the spot now before us. It was +destroyed by fire in 1666; the next more costly erection met the +same fate in 1838, and has been replaced by the present very +handsome edifice. On the entablature is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, +who inaugurated Sir Richard Gresham's structure—the centre figure +of a number of others emblematic of the all-embracing commerce of +this country, and surmounted by the words: 'The earth is the Lord's, +and the fulness thereof.' If you ascend the steps of the Royal +Exchange, and pass into the body of the building, you will find a +considerable number of business-looking, sleek, earnest men there, +eagerly engaged in canvassing the general affairs of the world, and +more especially their own particular ventures, hopes, anticipations, +investments therein. If you are an artist, or indeed at all +impressionable in matters of taste, you will, I fear, be painfully +affected by a marble figure near the centre of the hall, which many +persons assert to be a statue of the Queen of these realms—a +calumny which I, as a loyal subject, feel bound most emphatically to +deny. But the chief interest attached to this building is that it is +here the celebrated association known as 'Lloyd's' has its +offices—that Lloyd's, whose name is familiar as a household word in +every country the sea touches, and who underwrite the maritime +ventures of every commercial nation of the globe. Very marvellous +has been the rapid development of this gigantic institution, from +the small beginnings of a few persons meeting in a coffee-house, +till now, when it may be said well-nigh to monopolise the +maritime-assurance business of the world. Not even America has been +able to set up a rival to it at all worthy of the name; and hundreds +of the long-voyage vessels of the States, as well as of all European +powers, are insured here. There is, to be sure, a continental +association that has borrowed its name without leave, and dubbed +itself the 'Austrian Lloyd's'—a designation which forcibly reminds +one of the remark of Coleridge when told that Kotzebue assumed to be +the German Shakspeare: 'Quite so,' replied the author of the +<i>Ancient Mariner</i>, 'a very German Shakspeare indeed.' The +correspondence of the true Lloyd's is of course immense—enormous: +their agents are everywhere; and so admirably regulated does the +vast machine appear to be that litigation between owners and +underwriters is almost unknown. This is doubtless one of the causes +of the prodigious success of the institution.</p> + +<p>There is little more to notice in the Royal Exchange, except that +the interior decorations are very tastefully executed; and therefore +turn we now to this leviathan Bank of England—to the long, +irregular, and by no means imposing line of building on our left. +This is William Cobbett's Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, whose +rickety constitution and failing powers—according to that bold and +blundering financier—betokened almost immediate dissolution more +than a quarter of a century ago. Other men, less dominated by +unreasoning prejudice than the author of the 'Political Register,' +deceived themselves into the same notion; and it is very possible +that there are even now persons who hold the faith as it was in +Cobbett—just as we are told in one of Mr Disraeli's novels, that +the Greek mythology is still the creed of a fragment of humanity +existing somewhere in the mountains of Syria. At all events, since +the late Sir Robert Peel placed it beyond the power of the governor +and company to indulge in dangerous or erratic courses, it is +abundantly manifest that to doubt of the perfect stability of the +Bank of England is tantamount to questioning the infallibility of +arithmetic. In the vaults and coffers of this huge establishment +there is at present—as we learn from the published weekly-returns, +a device of Sir Robert's—the bewildering amount of between +L.14,000,000 and L.15,000,000 sterling in gold and silver!—a sum of +which the figures glide smoothly and glibly enough off the pen or +tongue, but a mass of treasure, nevertheless, that few persons can +realise to themselves a distinct and accurate conception of. And +yet—and what an idea does the fact present of the multitudinous +resources, the unrivalled industry, the latent power of this +country!—all that heap of precious metals, all that is besides in +circulation, with the addition of the bank-note currency, is +comparatively nothing when weighed against the true and real +exchangeable wealth of Great Britain; wealth of which this coined +and convertible paper-money is merely the standard sign of value, +the recognised medium by which all things are bartered. It is easy +to give one or two significant and startling illustrations of this +fact—significant and startling in other respects than in enabling +us to see pretty clearly through the currency-cobwebs industriously +woven from time to time amongst us. All the money in the three +kingdoms, the whole circulating medium of the realm—gold, silver, +copper, paper—does not certainly exceed, if it reaches, which is +very doubtful, the national revenue for one year, to say nothing of +local rates and burdens! And it would, moreover, require all the +money circulating in Great Britain and Ireland, including notes to +the last farthing, to pay for the spirits, beer, and tobacco +consumed annually by the people of the United Kingdom! The +note-issues of the Bank of England are about L.19,000,000; its +reserve in gold and silver, as we have seen, is upwards of +L.14,000,000 sterling: these amounts added together would no more +than about discharge the alcohol and weed score of the country for +little more than seven months! Lightning-flashes these, that throw +vivid gleams over the industrial activity, resources, powers, +plague-spots of this mighty, restless, enterprising, but far from +sufficiently instructed or disciplined British people.</p> + +<p>But let us enter the great money-temple. Very imposing to me has +always appeared the army of clerks seated in saturnine silence at +the desks, or gliding with grave celerity about the place, and +variously employed in balancing enormous accounts, shovelling up +heaps of sovereigns, receiving and distributing bank-paper of vast +value as coolly and unconcernedly as if engaged in counting out so +many chestnuts. A strange feeling must, I suspect, perturb the mind +of a newly-appointed clerk amidst all that astounding wealth, until +the genius of the place has so moulded his thoughts and perceptions, +that he has come to regard himself as but one of the dumb and dead +parts of a mighty machine, over whose action he has no more control +than he has over the courses of the stars. All these issue, cheque, +gold, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page44" id="page44"></a>[pg 44]</span> +bullion departments, with their numerous busy officials, are +in truth but the husk and body of the establishment. They by whose +will and breath it is animated and directed are nowhere at this hour +to be seen. They met on this as on every other morning in their hall +of inquisition—the Bank parlour—and decided there, without appeal, +without reasons assigned, in the absence of the parties whose +commercial reputation was trembling in the balance, upon the course +of financial action to be pursued, and upon whose paper should or +should not be discounted. A terrible stroke, sharper than a dagger +could inflict, politely, blandly as it is performed, is that which +falls upon a merchant for the first time informed that the Bank must +decline to discount his bills! The announcement is usually received +as smilingly as it is made. 'It is a matter of very slight +consequence, <i>etcetera</i>;' but if you had been near enough, you might +have noticed, as the clerk did, the quiver of the lip beneath that +sickly smile, and that the face was as white as the rejected paper +the merchant's trembling fingers were replacing in his pocket-book. +And no wonder that he should be thus agitated, for the refusal has, +he well knew, thrust him down the first steps of the steep and +slippery descent, at the bottom of which lies bankruptcy—ruin! But +these are ordinary downfalls, by the wrecks of which the busy haunts +of commercial enterprise are paved; and we have other places to look +in at. Before leaving the Bank, however, let us step a few paces to +the left of the chief entrance. Now who would believe that in the +very midst of this Mammon-temple, where space is of incalculable +value, a large plot of greensward should have been jealously +preserved, from which spring two fine elms, that from out the heat +and turmoil of the place lift up their fresh leaves to the +sky—bright, waving leaves, that as often as the sun kisses them, +laugh out in sparkling triumph over the heated, anxious, jaded +toilers and schemers below? Yet so it is.</p> + +<p>Again in Threadneedle Street, and turning to the left, we reach, at +the termination of the Bank-front, Bartholomew Lane, famous for +nothing that I am aware of, save Capel Court, situate at about the +centre, on the right-hand side. At the end of Capel Court is the +Stock-Exchange, within whose sacred precincts subscribers only, and +their clerks, may enter—a regulation strictly enforced by the +liveried guardian at the door. But you can hear enough of the +stentorian gabble going on within where we now are. Hark! 'A +thousand pounds' consols at 96¾-96½.' 'Take 'em at 96¼,' is +the vociferous reply of a buyer. 'Mexican at 27½-27; Portuguese +fours at 32-7/8-32½; Spanish fives at 21; Dutch two-and-halfs at +50½-50¼:' and so roars on the distracting Babel till the hour +for closing strikes. Much of this business is no doubt +legitimate—the <i>bonâ fide</i> sale and purchase of stock by the +brokers, for which they charge their clients the very moderate +commission of 2s. 6d. per L.100. The ruinous gambling of the +Stock-Exchange is another matter, and is chiefly carried on by +'time' bargains—a sham-business, managed in this way:—A nominally +buys of B L.100,000 worth of stock in consols, to be delivered at a +fixed price, say 96, on the next settling-day. It is plain that if +the market-price of consols shall have fallen, by the day named, to +94, B wins L.2000—the difference between L.100,000 estimated at 96 +and 94 per cent. A must pay these L.2000, or, which amounts to the +same thing, receive from B consols to the amount of L.100,000 at 96, +that in reality are procurable at 94. It is simply and entirely a +gambling <i>bet</i> upon what the price of funds will be on the next +settling-day. These transactions have been pronounced fraudulent by +the superior courts, and liabilities so contracted cannot be legally +recovered. It is, for all that, quite certain that these 'debts of +honour' entail misery, ruin, often death, on the madmen who +habitually peril everything upon the turn of the Stock-Exchange +dice—dice loaded, too, by every fraudulent device that the +ingenuity of the two parties engaged in the struggle can discover or +invent. To the 'Bears,' who speculate for a fall, national calamity +is a God-send. Especially a failure of the harvest, or a great +military disaster like that which befell the Cabool expedition, is +an almost priceless blessing—a cause of jubilant thanksgiving and +joy. The 'Bulls,' on the other hand, whose gains depend upon a rise +in the funds, are ever brimful of boasts, and paint all things +<i>couleur de rose</i>. If the facts bear out the assertions of these +bands of <i>speculators</i>—we prefer a mild term—why so much the +better for the facts; but if not, sham-facts will answer the +purpose, and to manufacture <i>them</i> 'is as easy as lying.' It is a +remarkable fact, by the way, that out of the multitude of British +fundholders there are not more than about 25,000 persons who are +liable from that source to the income-tax—that is, who receive +dividends to the amount of L.150 and upwards annually. The most +numerous class of the national creditors eleven years ago—and there +has, we believe, been no later return—were those whose annual +dividends did not exceed L.50. These numbered 98,946: the next +largest class, 85,069, were creditors whose yearly dividends did not +exceed L.5; whilst only 192 persons were in the receipt of annual +dividends exceeding L.2000.</p> + +<p>But leaving these haunts of money-dealers, let us pass over to +Leadenhall Street, turn down Billiter Street, and walk on till we +reach Mark Lane and the plain, spacious, substantial, Doric-fronted +building on the left hand, in which the great London Corn Market is +held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—the chief market, however, +being that of Monday. There are no clamorous shoutings here. These +crowds of staid, well-dressed, respectable people fly no kites, deal +in no flimsy paper-schemes and shares. Their commerce is in corn, +flour, seeds—the sustenance of man, in short. There are sober +traders in realities, and the busy hum of voices has a smack of +healthy traffic in it. It would so appear at all events, if we care +not to look beneath the surface; and, in sooth, since the abolition +of the sliding-scale has rendered the corn-supply continuous and +regular as other staples, gambling to any ruinous extent has become +almost impossible.</p> + +<p>There is another great change apparent here; albeit this has been a +very gradual one. A stranger will have remarked with surprise that +there are but few, very few, of the knee-breeched, top-booted, +double-chinned, jolly, old-class farmers amongst the numerous groups +who are either watching their sample-bags and waiting for customers, +or chewing and smelling handfuls of wheat and barley, and casting +what they do not swallow on the flags, already carpeted with grain. +Still in addition to a strong sprinkling of 'Friends,' there are, he +perceives, a goodly number of stalwart, handsomely-dressed +individuals, many of them wearing kid gloves, and carrying silk +umbrellas neatly ensconced in oil-skin cases. There is a group, one +of whom has just refused 45s. per quarter for a sample of prime +white wheat. If we approach nearer to them, we shall perhaps +discover their quality. As I guessed! These gentlemen are distressed +agriculturists, who prefer selling their own corn to sending it to +any of the numerous highly-respectable salesmen who occupy the +offices round the two markets. There are scores here of these +well-attired, healthy-faced, hearty-looking, stout-limbed, but +distressed individuals present, with not one of whom I should have +the slightest objection to dine to-day, or on any other day, for +that matter. But we must beware of rash judgments. Appearances are +often deceitful, and we know, besides, from high authority, that +grief is apt to puff up and swell a man sadly at times.</p> + +<p>There is no possibility, an eminent salesman informed us, of making +even a proximate guess at the quantity of business done; neither, it +appears, is there any reliance to be placed upon the amount of +'arrivals' as +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page45" id="page45"></a>[pg 45]</span> +given, either in the newspapers, or in the private +circulars issued weekly to the trade. Corn, in this market, is +usually sold at a month's credit, with discount for cash. The buyer +secures a sample of his purchase in a small canvas bag, and the +seller is of course bound to deliver the quantity agreed for at the +same weight and quality. There is one patent fact highly creditable +to our British cultivators, which I gather from a trade-circular +dated September 29, 1851, and this is, that foreign grains, wheats +especially, do not command anything like such prices as the English +varieties. The highest price of English white wheat is set down at +45s. per quarter; all foreign wheat is marked considerably lower: +Russian is quoted at from 31s. to 33s.; whilst Egyptian and Turkish +are marked from 24s. to 26s. per quarter; and fine American flour is +quoted at a price considerably under 'English Households.' These are +not signs of decrepit or faint-hearted farming.</p> + +<p>Being so near, we may as well look in for a few moments at the New +Coal Exchange opposite Billingsgate Market; a sightly, circular +building, of rich interior decoration, that will well repay a visit. +It is one of our newest 'lions,' and is certainly a very significant +sign and monument of the enormous and swiftly-increasing commercial +activity of the country. On the tesselated wooden floor—with the +anchor in the centre, an emblem not long to be appropriate to such a +place, as we shall presently see—thousands of tons of coal are +disposed of with marvellous rapidity; the days of sale being the +same as those of the Mark-Lane Market.</p> + +<p>There was a coal-tax, popularly known as the Richmond duty, which +was levied for many years, for the benefit of one family, but was +abolished some time ago. Its origin, and the especial circumstance +which, gossip saith, more immediately led to its infliction, are not +a little curious, perhaps instructive. The first Duke of Richmond of +the present line was a son of Charles II. by Louise René de +Pennevant de Querouaille, a French lady, better known to us as the +Duchess of Portsmouth, to whom Otway dedicated his 'Venice +Preserved' in such adulatory terms. This son, when only nine years +of age, was created a Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter; +and his mother, with the proverbial taste of her country, arranged a +more graceful mode of wearing the blue ribbon, which, as we see in +old portraits, was till then worn round the neck of the knight, with +the George pendent from it. The duchess presented her son to the +king with the ribbon thrown gracefully over his left shoulder, and +the George pendent on the right side. His majesty was delighted, +embraced his son, commanded that the insignia of the order should +always be so worn, presented the youthful knight with 1s. per ton, +Newcastle measure, upon all coals shipped in the Tyne for +consumption in England, and secured the munificent parental gift by +patent to the young duke and his heirs for ever. <i>Hôni soit qui mal +y pense.</i></p> + +<p>After the fortunate family had enjoyed this revenue for about a +century and a quarter, the then Duke of Richmond, a personage said +to be wise in his generation, negotiated the sale of his patent with +the government; and on the 19th of August 1799 the Lords of the +Treasury agreed that the sum of L.499,833, 11s. 6d., the price of a +perpetual annuity of L.19,000, should be paid for the surrender of +the duke's right. This enormous sum was accordingly actually +disbursed by the Exchequer in two payments, and the obnoxious impost +on the Tyne coal-trade was abolished some thirty years +afterwards—by which time the Treasury had been repaid much more +than it had advanced, a circumstance inducing a belief that his +Grace sold his inheritance much too cheaply. The estimate of the +quantity of coals consumed in the United Kingdom, and exported +during the last year, reaches the staggering amount of 50,000,000 of +tons—a tremendous advance, which proves, if nothing else, that if, +as some will have it, we are an 'old' country, the capacity for hard +work as well as power of consumption increases marvellously with +age. At anyrate the three great business localities I have partially +indicated are stupendous facts, the full significance of which will +be fully comprehended by all and every one who may choose to compare +these slight outline sketches with the great originals.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article6" id="article6"> +STORY OF REMBRANDT. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>At a short distance from Leyden may still be seen a flour-mill with +a quaint old dwelling-house attached, which bears, on a brick in a +corner of the wide chimney, the date 1550. Here, in 1606, was born +Paul Rembrandt. At an early age he manifested a stubborn, +independent will, which his father tried in vain to subdue. He +caused his son to work in the mill, intending that he should succeed +him in its management; but the boy shewed so decided a distaste for +the employment, that his father resolved to make him a priest, and +sent him to study at Leyden. Every one knows, however, that few lads +of fifteen, endowed with great muscular vigour and abundance of +animal spirits, will take naturally and without compulsion to the +study of Latin grammar. Rembrandt certainly did not; and his +obstinacy proving an overmatch for his teachers' patience, he was +sent back to the mill, when his father beat him so severely, that +next morning he ran off to Leyden, without in the least knowing how +he should live there. Fortunately he sought refuge in the house of +an honest artist, Van Zwaanenberg, who was acquainted with his +father.</p> + +<p>'Tell me, Paul,' asked his friend, 'what do you mean to do with +yourself, if you will not be either a priest or a miller? They are +both honourable professions: one gives food to the soul, the other +prepares it for the body.'</p> + +<p>'Very likely,' replied the boy; 'but I don't fancy either; for in +order to be a priest, one must learn Latin; and to be a miller, one +must bear to be beaten. How do <i>you</i> earn your bread?'</p> + +<p>'You know very well I am a painter.'</p> + +<p>'Then I will be one too, Herr Zwaanenberg; and if you will go +to-morrow and tell my father so, you will do me a great service.'</p> + +<p>The good-natured artist willingly undertook the mission, and +acquainted the old miller with his son's resolution.</p> + +<p>'I want to know one thing,' said Master Rembrandt; 'will he be able +to gain a livelihood by painting?'</p> + +<p>'Certainly, and perhaps make a fortune.'</p> + +<p>'Then if you will teach him, I consent.'</p> + +<p>Thus Paul became the pupil of Van Zwaanenberg, and made rapid +progress in the elementary parts of his profession. Impatient to +produce some finished work, he did not give himself time to acquire +purity of style, but astonished his master by his precocious skill +in grouping figures, and producing marvellous effects of light and +shade. The first lessons which he took in perspective having wearied +him, he thought of a shorter method, and <i>invented</i> perspective for +himself.</p> + +<p>One of his first rude sketches happened to fall into the hands of a +citizen of Leyden who understood painting. Despite of its evident +defects, the germs of rare talent which it evinced struck the +burgomaster; and sending for the young artist, he offered to give +him a recommendation to a celebrated painter living at Amsterdam, +under whom he would have far more opportunity of improvement than +with his present instructor. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page46" id="page46"></a>[pg 46]</span> +</p> + +<p>Rembrandt accepted the offer, and during the following year toiled +incessantly. Meantime his finances were dreadfully straitened; for +his father, finding that the expected profits were very tardy, +refused to give money to support his son, as he said, in idleness. +Paul, however, was not discouraged. Although far from possessing an +amiable or estimable disposition, he held a firm and just opinion of +his own powers, and resolved to make these subservient first to +fortune and then to fame. Thus while some of his companions, having +finished their preliminary studies, repaired to Florence, to +Bologna, or to Rome, Paul, determined, as he said, not to lose his +own style by becoming an imitator of even the mightiest masters, +betook himself to his paternal mill. At first his return resembled +that of the Prodigal Son. His father believed that he had come to +resume his miller's work; and bitter was his disappointment at +finding his son resolved not to renounce painting.</p> + +<p>With a very bad grace he allowed Paul to displace the flour-sacks on +an upper loft, in order to make a sort of studio, lighted by only +one narrow window in the roof. There Paul painted his first finished +picture. It was a <i>portrait</i> of the mill. There, on the canvas, was +seen the old miller, lighted by a lantern which he carried in his +hand, giving directions to his men, occupied in ranging sacks in the +dark recesses of the granary. One ray falls on the fresh, comely +countenance of his mother, who has her foot on the last step of a +wooden staircase.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" +id="FNanchor_3_3" /><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> Rembrandt took this painting to the Hague, and +sold it for 100 florins. In order to return with more speed, he took +his place in the public coach. When the passengers stopped to dine, +Rembrandt, fearing to lose his treasure, remained in the carriage. +The careless stable-boy who brought the horses their corn forgot to +unharness them, and as soon as they had finished eating, excited +probably by Rembrandt, who cared not for his fellow-passengers, the +animals started off for Leyden, and quietly halted at their +accustomed inn. Our painter then got out, and repaired with his +money to the mill.</p> + +<p>Great was his father's joy. At length these silly daubs, which had +so often excited his angry contempt, seemed likely to be transmuted +into gold, and the old man's imagination took a rapturous flight. +'Neither he nor his old horse,' he said, 'need now work any longer; +they might both enjoy quiet during the remainder of their lives. +Paul would paint pictures, and support the whole household in +affluence.'</p> + +<p>Such was the old man's castle in the air; his clever, selfish son +soon demolished it. 'This sum of money,' he said, 'is only a lucky +windfall. If you indeed wish it to become the foundation of my +fortune, give me one hundred florins besides, and let me return to +Amsterdam: there I must work and study hard.'</p> + +<p>It would be difficult to describe old Rembrandt's disappointment. +Slowly, reluctantly, and one by one, he drew forth the 100 florins +from his strong-box. Paul took them, and with small show of +gratitude, returned to Amsterdam. In a short time his fame became +established as the greatest and most original of living artists. He +had a host of imitators, but all failed miserably in their attempts +at reproducing his marvellous effects of light and shade. Yet +Rembrandt prized the gold which flowed into him far more than the +glory. While mingling the colours which were to flash out on his +canvas in real living light, he thought but of his dingy coffers.</p> + +<p>When in possession of a yearly income equal to L.2000 sterling, he +would not permit the agent who collected his rents to bring them in +from the country to Amsterdam, lest he should be obliged to invite +him to dinner. He preferred setting out on a fine day, and going +himself to the agent's house. In this way he saved two dinners—the +one which he got, and the one, he avoided giving. 'So that's well +managed!' he used to say.</p> + +<p>This sordid disposition often exposed him to practical jokes from +his pupils; but he possessed a quiet temper, and was not easily +annoyed. One day a rich citizen came in, and asked him the price of +a certain picture.</p> + +<p>'Two hundred florins,' said Rembrandt.</p> + +<p>'Agreed,' said his visitor. 'I will pay you to-morrow, when I send +for the picture.'</p> + +<p>About an hour afterwards a letter was handed to the painter. Its +contents were as follow: '<span class="sc">Master Rembrandt</span>—During your absence a +few days since, I saw in your studio a picture representing an old +woman churning butter. I was enchanted with it; and if you will let +me purchase it for 300 florins, I pray you to bring it to my house, +and be my guest for the day.' The letter was signed with some +fictitious name, and bore the address of a village several leagues +distant from Amsterdam.</p> + +<p>Tempted by the additional 100 florins, and caring little for +breaking his engagement, Rembrandt set out early next morning with +his picture. He walked for four hours without finding his obliging +correspondent, and at length, worn out with fatigue, he returned +home. He found the citizen in his studio, waiting for the picture. +As Rembrandt, however, did not despair of finding the man of the 300 +florins, and as a falsehood troubled but little his blunted +conscience, he said: 'Alas! an accident has happened to the picture; +the canvas was injured, and I felt so vexed that I threw it into the +fire. Two hundred florins gone! However, it will be my loss, not +yours, for I will paint another precisely similar, and it shall be +ready for you by this time to-morrow.'</p> + +<p>'I am sorry,' replied the amateur, 'but it was the picture you have +burned which I wished to have; and as that is gone, I shall not +trouble you to paint another.'</p> + +<p>So he departed, and Rembrandt shortly afterwards received a second +letter to the following effect: '<span class="sc">Master Rembrandt</span>— +You have broken +your engagement, told a falsehood, wearied yourself to death, and +lost the sale of your picture—all by listening to the dictates of +avarice. Let this lesson be a warning to you in future.'</p> + +<p>'So,' said the painter, looking round at his pupils, 'one of you +must have played me this pretty trick. Well, well, I forgive it. You +young varlets do not know the value of a florin as I know it.'</p> + +<p>Sometimes the students nailed small copper coins on the floor, for +the mischievous pleasure of seeing their master, who suffered much +from rheumatism in the back, stoop with pain and difficulty, and try +in vain to pick them up.</p> + +<p>Rembrandt married an ignorant peasant who had served him as cook, +thinking this a more economical alliance than one with a person of +refined mind and habits. He and his wife usually dined on brown +bread, salt herrings, and small beer. He occasionally took portraits +at a high price, and in this way became acquainted with the +Burgomaster Six, a man of enlarged mind and unblemished character, +who yet continued faithfully attached to the avaricious painter. His +friendship was sometimes put to a severe test by such occurrences as +the following:—</p> + +<p>Rembrandt remarked one day that the price of his engravings had +fallen.</p> + +<p>'You are insatiable,' said the burgomaster.</p> + +<p>'Perhaps so. I cannot help thirsting for gold.'</p> + +<p>'You are a miser.'</p> + +<p>'True: and I shall be one all my life.'</p> + +<p>''Tis really a pity,' remarked his friend, 'that you will not be +able after death to act as your own treasurer, for whenever that +event occurs, all your works will rise to treble their present +value.' +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page47" id="page47"></a>[pg 47]</span> +</p> + +<p>A bright idea struck Rembrandt. He returned home, went to bed, +desired his wife and his son Titus to scatter straw before the door, +and give out, first, that he was dangerously ill, and then +dead—while the simulated fever was to be of so dreadfully +infectious a nature that none of the neighbours were to be admitted +near the sick-room. These instructions were followed to the letter; +and the disconsolate widow proclaimed that, in order to procure +money for her husband's interment, she must sell all his works, any +property that he left not being available on so short a notice.</p> + +<p>The unworthy trick succeeded. The sale, including every trivial +scrap of painting or engraving, realised an enormous sum, and +Rembrandt was in ecstasy. The honest burgomaster, however, was +nearly frightened into a fit of apoplexy at seeing the man whose +death he had sincerely mourned standing alive and well at the door +of his studio. Meinherr Six obliged him to promise that he would in +future abstain from such abominable deceptions. One day he was +employed in painting in a group the likenesses of the whole family +of a rich citizen. He had nearly finished it, when intelligence was +brought him of the death of a tame ape which he greatly loved. The +creature had fallen off the roof of the house into the street. +Without interrupting his work, Rembrandt burst into loud +lamentations, and after some time announced that the piece was +finished. The whole family advanced to look at it, and what was +their horror to see introduced between the heads of the eldest son +and daughter an exact likeness of the dear departed ape. With one +voice they all exclaimed against this singular relative which it had +pleased the painter to introduce amongst them, and insisted on his +effacing it.</p> + +<p>'What!' exclaimed Rembrandt, 'efface the finest figure in the +picture? No, indeed; I prefer keeping the piece for myself.' Which +he did, and carried off the painting.</p> + +<p>Of Rembrandt's style it may be said that he painted with light, for +frequently an object was indicated merely by the projection of a +shadow on a wall. Often a luminous spot suggested, rather than +defined, a hand or a head. Yet there is nothing vague in his +paintings: the mind seizes the design immediately. His studio was a +circular room, lighted by several narrow slits, so contrived that +rays of sunshine entered through only one at a time, and thus +produced strange effects of light and shade. The room was filled +with old-world furniture, which made it resemble an antiquary's +museum. There were heaped up in the most picturesque confusion +curious old furniture, antique armour, gorgeously-tinted stuffs; and +these Rembrandt arranged in different forms and positions, so as to +vary the effects of light and colour. This he called 'making his +models sit to him.' And in this close adherence to reality consisted +the great secret of his art. It is strange that his favourite +amongst all his pupils was the one whose style least resembled his +own—Gerard Douw—he who aimed at the most excessive minuteness of +delineation, who stopped key-holes lest a particle of dust should +fall on his palette, who gloried in representing the effects of +fresh scouring on the side of a kettle.</p> + +<p>Rembrandt died in 1674, at the age of sixty-eight. He passed all his +life at Amsterdam. Some of his biographers have told erroneously +that he once visited Italy: they were deceived by the word +<i>Venetiis</i> placed at the bottom of several of his engravings. He +wrote it there with the intention of deluding his countrymen into +the belief that he was absent, and about to settle in Italy—an +impression which would materially raise the price of his +productions. Strange and sad it is to see so much genius united with +so much meanness—the head of fine gold with the feet of clay.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" +id="FNanchor_4_4" /><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> + +<h4>Notes:</h4> + +<div class="note"><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a> +<a href="#FNanchor_3_3">[3]</a> +This picture is believed to be no longer in existence. I have +found its description in the work of the historian Decamps. +</div> +<br /> + +<div class="note"><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a> +<a href="#FNanchor_4_4">[4]</a> +Abridged from the French of J. de Chatillon. +</div> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article7" id="article7"> +ELECTIONEERING CURIOSITY. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<blockquote class="note"> +[In giving the following address of an American candidate, +we must beg our readers to understand that it is not +intended as a joke. Electioneering in the States, +generally speaking, is carried on with good-humour; and +when there is no real cause of squabbling, the object of +the aspirant is to get the laugh in his favour. The orator +we introduce to the English public is Mr Daniel R. +Russell, a candidate for the Auditorship in Mississippi.] +</blockquote> + +<p>LADIES AND GENTLEMEN—I rise—but there is no use telling you that; +you know I am up as well as I do. I am a modest man—very—but I +never lost a picayune by it in my life. Being a scarce commodity +among candidates, I thought I would mention it, for fear if I did +not, you never would hear it. Candidates are generally considered as +nuisances, but they are not; they are the politest men in the world, +shake you by the hand, ask how's your family, what's the prospect +for crops, &c.—and I am the politest man in the state. Davy +Crockett says the politest man he ever saw, when he asked a man to +drink, turned his back so that he might drink as much as he pleased. +I beat that all hollow: I give a man a chance to drink twice if he +wishes, for I not only turn my back, but shut my eyes! I am not only +the politest man, but the best electioneerer: you ought to see me +shaking hands with the vibrations, the pump-handle and pendulum, the +cross-cut and wiggle-waggle. I understand the science perfectly, and +if any of the country candidates wish instructions, they must call +upon me. Fellow-citizens, I was born—if I hadn't been I wouldn't +have been a candidate; but I am going to tell you where: 'twas in +Mississippi, but 'twas on the right side of the negro line; yet that +is no compliment, as the negroes are mostly born on the same side. I +started in the world as poor as a church-mouse, yet I came honestly +by my poverty, for I inherited it; and if I did start poor, no man +can say but that I have held my own remarkably well. Candidates +generally tell you—if you think they are qualified, &c. Now, I +don't ask your thoughts, I ask your votes. Why, there is nothing to +think of except to watch and see that Swan's name is not on the +ticket; if so, <i>think</i> to scratch it off and put mine on. I am +certain that I am competent, for who ought to know better than I do? +Nobody. I will allow that Swan is the best auditor in the state; +that is, till I am elected: then perhaps it's not proper for me to +say anything more. Yet, as an honest man, I am bound to say that I +believe it's a grievous sin to hide anything from my +fellow-citizens; therefore say that it's my private opinion, +publicly expressed, that I'll make the best auditor ever in the +United States. 'Tis not for honour I wish to be auditor; for in my +own county I was offered an office that was all honour—coroner, +which I respectfully declined. The auditor's office is worth some +5000 dollars a year, and I am in for it like a thousand of brick. To +shew my goodness of heart, I'll make this offer to my competitor. +I'm sure of being elected, and he will lose something by the +canvass, therefore I am willing to divide equally with him, and make +these offers: I'll take the salary, and he may have the honour, or +he may have the honour, and I'll take the salary.</p> + +<p>In the way of honours, I have received enough to satisfy me for +life. I went out to Mexico, ate pork and beans, slept in the rain +and mud, and swallowed everything but live Mexicans. When I was +ordered to go, I went; 'charge,' I charged; and 'break for the +chaperel'—you had better believe I beat a quarter nag in doing my +duty.</p> + +<p>My competitor, Swan, is a bird of golden plumage, who has been +swimming for the last four years in the auditor's pond at 5000 +dollars a year. I am for rotation. I want to rotate him out, and to +rotate myself in. There's a plenty of room for him to swim outside +of that pond; therefore <i>pop</i> in your votes for me—I'll <i>pop</i> him +out, and <i>pop</i> myself in.</p> + +<p>I am for a division of labour. Swan says he has to work all the +time, with his nose down upon the public grindstone. Four years must +have ground it to a <i>pint</i>. Poor fellow! the public ought not to +insist on having the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page48" id="page48"></a>[pg 48]</span> +handle of his mug ground clean off. I have a +large, full-grown, and well-blown nose, red as a beet, and tough as +sole-leather. I rush to the post of duty; I offer it up as a +sacrifice; I clap it on the grindstone. Fellow-citizens, grind till +I <i>holler enuff</i>—that'll be sometime first, for I'll hang like grim +death to a dead African.</p> + +<p>Time's most out. Well, I like to forgot to tell you my name. It's +Daniel; for short, Dan. Not a handsome name, for my parents were +poor people, who lived where the quality appropriated all the nice +names; therefore they had to take what was left and divide around +among us—but it's as handsome as I am—D. Russell. Remember, all +and every one of you, that it's not Swan.</p> + +<p>I am sure to be elected; so, one and all, great and small, short and +tall, when you come down to Jackson after the election, stop at the +auditor's office—the latch-string always hangs out; enter without +knocking, take off your things, and make yourself at home.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article8" id="article8"> +A NEGRO'S ACCOUNT OF LIBERIA. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>All of you that feel like it, my friends, come on home—the bush is +cleared away—you can hear no one say there is nothing to eat here. +Why, one man, Gabriel Moore, brought better than 200 cattle from the +interior this year—another 100—some 60, some 50, &c. There are no +hogs there, they say—no turkeys—why, I saw 50 or 60 in the street +at Millsburg the other day. No horses: I have got four in my stable +now; I have a mare and two colts, and I have a horse that I have +been offered 100 dollars for here; if you had him he would bring +500. If you don't believe it, let some gentleman send me a buggy or +a single gig—you shall see how myself and wife will take pleasure, +going from town to town—throw the harness in too—any gentleman +that feels like it—white or coloured—and I will try to send him a +boa constrictor to take his comfort; I know how to take the +gentleman without any danger. My oxen I was working them yesterday; +and as for goats and sheep, we have a plenty. We have a plenty to +eat, every man that will half work. I give you this; you are all +writing to me to tell you about Liberia, what we eat, and all the +news—I mean my coloured friends. Yours truly, <span class="sc"> +Zion Harris.</span></p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article9" id="article9"> +LARD-CANDLES. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>One of the most important discoveries or improvements of the age, is +a new species of candle which has been recently made in Cincinnati, +and which will shortly be offered extensively for sale. It is +calculated to supersede all other kinds in use by its beauty, +freedom from guttering, hardness, and capacity of giving light, in +all which respects it is superior to every other species of candle. +This candle is nearly translucent, and can be made to exhibit the +wick, when the candle is held up between the eye and the light, +while the surface is as glossy as polished wax or varnish. The +principal ingredient is lard; and the value of this manufacture can +be hardly exaggerated. Taking durability into account, it can be +made as cheap as any other candle; and there exists no single +element of comfort, convenience, profit, and economy, in which this +article has not the advantage of sperm, star, wax, or tallow +candles. It will be readily conceded that the days of all other +portable or table light, including lard-oil, are numbered. In fact, +except where intense light, as in public buildings, is an object, +gas itself cannot compete with it for public favour.—<i>American +Paper</i>.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article10" id="article10"> +CALIFORNIA ITEMS. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Some idea of the traffic between San Francisco and the southern +mines may be formed from the fact, that there are at this moment ten +steamers plying between San Francisco and Sacramento. The latter are +for the most part of a larger size than those on the San Joaquin +river; and make the trip of about 120 miles in from seven to eight +hours. In the elegance of their accommodations and the luxuries of +their larder, they might compare favourably with any +passenger-vessels in the world. There are ten other steamers plying +from Sacramento to different places above that city. One year ago +there was but one steamboat in Oregon—the <i>Columbia</i>; now there are +eleven of different kinds running in the Columbia and Willamette +rivers, not including the Pacific steamers, <i>Sea-gull</i> and +<i>Columbia</i>, running between Oregon and California.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article11" id="article11"> +THE NOBLE MARINER. +</a></h2> + +<h4>BY THE REV. JAMES GILBORNE LYONS, LL.D.</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Most readers of these lines will remember that when the ship <i>Ocean +Monarch</i> was turned off Liverpool on the 24th of August 1848, +Frederick Jerome of New York saved fifteen lives by an act of +singular courage and benevolence. They will also lament that one so +ready to help others should himself perish by violence: he was +killed in Central America in the autumn of 1851.</p> + +<div style="margin-left:15%"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>Shout the noble seaman's name,</p> +<p>Deeds like <i>his</i> belong to fame:</p> +<p>Cottage roof and kingly dome,</p> +<p>Sound the praise of brave Jerome.</p> +<p>Let his acts be told and sung,</p> +<p>While his own high Saxon tongue—</p> +<p>Herald meet for worth sublime—</p> +<p>Peals from conquered clime to clime.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Madly rolled the giant wreck,</p> +<p>Fiercely blazed the riven deck;</p> +<p>Thick and fast as falling stars,</p> +<p>Crashed the flaming blocks and spars;</p> +<p>Loud as surf, when winds are strong,</p> +<p>Wailed the scorched and stricken throng,</p> +<p>Gazing on a rugged shore,</p> +<p>Fires behind, and seas before.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>On the charred and reeling prow</p> +<p>Reft of hope, they gather now,</p> +<p>Finding, one by one, a grave</p> +<p>In the vexed and sullen wave.</p> +<p>Here the child, as if in sleep,</p> +<p>Floats on waters dark and deep;</p> +<p>There the mother sinks below,</p> +<p>Shrieking in her mighty wo.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Britons, quick to strive or feel,</p> +<p>Joined with chiefs of rich Brazil;</p> +<p>Western freemen, prompt to dare,</p> +<p>Side by side with Bourbon's heir;</p> +<p>Proving who could <i>then</i> excel,</p> +<p>Came with succour long and well;</p> +<p>But Jerome, in peril nursed;</p> +<p>Shone among the foremost—<i>first</i>.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Through the reddened surge and spray,</p> +<p>Fast he cleaves his troubled way;</p> +<p>Boldly climbs and stoutly clings,</p> +<p>On the smoking timber springs;</p> +<p>Fronts the flames, nor fears to stand</p> +<p>In that lorn and weeping band;</p> +<p>Looks on death, nor tries to shun,</p> +<p>Till his work of love is done.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Glorious man!—immortal work!—</p> +<p>Claim thy hero, proud New York;</p> +<p>Harp of him when feasts are spread,</p> +<p>Tomb him with thy valiant dead.</p> +<p>Who that, bent on just renown,</p> +<p>Seeks a Christian's prize and crown,</p> +<p>Would not spurn whole years of life,</p> +<p>For one hour of <i>such</i> a strife?</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> + +<hr class="full" /> + +<p>Printed and Published by W. and R. <span class="sc">Chambers</span>, High Street, Edinburgh. +Also sold by W.S. <span class="sc">Orr</span>, Amen Corner, London; D.N. +<span class="sc">Chambers</span>, 55 West +Nile Street, Glasgow; and J. <span class="sc">M'Glashan</span>, 50 Upper Sackville Street, +Dublin.—Advertisements for Monthly Parts are requested to be sent +to <span class="sc">Maxwell & Co.</span>, 31 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London, to whom +all applications respecting their insertion must be made.</p> + +<hr class="full" /> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14603 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/14603-h/images/banner.png b/14603-h/images/banner.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..833643b --- /dev/null +++ b/14603-h/images/banner.png diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0b25ff5 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #14603 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14603) diff --git a/old/14603-8.txt b/old/14603-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a22b9a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14603-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2519 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 420, New +Series, Jan. 17, 1852, 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: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 420, New Series, Jan. 17, 1852 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: January 5, 2005 [EBook #14603] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH *** + + + + +Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. Shiffer and the PG Online +Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + + CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL + + + CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S + INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c. + + + No. 420. NEW SERIES. SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1852. PRICE 1-1/2_d_. + + + + +HOW IS THE WORLD USING YOU? + + +This is a very common question, usually put and answered with more +or less levity. We seldom hear of any one answering very favourably +as to the usage he experiences from the world. More generally, the +questioned seems to feel that his treatment is not, and never has +been, quite what it ought to be. It has sometimes occurred to me, +that a great oversight is committed in our so seldom putting to +ourselves the co-relative question: What have I done to make the +world use me well? What merit have I shewn--by what good intention +towards the world have I been animated--what has been the positive +amount of those services of mine on which I found my pretensions to +the world's rewards? All of these are interrogations which it would +be necessary to answer satisfactorily before we could be truly +entitled to take measure of the world's goodness to us in return; +for surely it is not to be expected that the world is to pay in mere +expectancy: time enough, in all conscience, when the service has +been rendered, or at soonest, when a reasonable ground of hope has +been established that it will not be withheld or performed +slightingly. Only too much room there is to fear that, if these +questions were put and faithfully answered, the ordinary result +would be a conviction that the world had used us quite as well as we +deserved. + +Men are of course prevented from going through this process by their +self-love. Unwillingness to see or own their shortcomings, keeps +them in a sort of delusion on the subject. Well, I do not hope to +make an extensive change upon them in this respect; but perhaps it +may not be impossible to rouse one here and there to the correct +view, and thus accomplish a little good. + +Let us address ourselves to commercial life first, for the labour by +which man lives is at the bottom of everything. Here we meet the now +well-recognised principle in political economy, that generally +wages, salaries, remunerations of all kinds, are in pretty exact +relation to the value of the services performed--this value being of +course determined, in a great degree, by the easiness or difficulty +of the work, the commonness or rarity of the faculties and skill +required for it, the risk of non-success in the profession, and so +forth. Many a good fellow who feels that his income is +inconveniently small, and wonders why it is not greater, might have +the mystery solved if he would take a clear, unprejudiced view of +the capacity in which he is acting towards the public. Is he a slave +of the desk, in some office of routine business? Then let him +consider how many hundreds of similar men would answer an +advertisement of his seat being vacant. The fatal thing in his case +evidently is, that the faculties and skill required in his situation +are possessed by so many of his fellow-creatures. Is he a shopkeeper +in some common line of business?--say a draper. Then let him +consider how easy it is to be a draper, and how simple are the +details of such a trade. While there are so many other drapers in +the same street, his going out of business would never be felt as an +inconvenience. He is perhaps not doing any real good to the public +at all, but only interloping with the already too small business of +those who were in 'the line' before him. Let him think of the many +hours he spends in idleness, or making mere appearances of business, +and ask if he is really doing any effective service to his +fellow-creatures by keeping a shop at all. It may be a hardship to +him to have failed in a good intention; but this cannot be helped. +He may succeed better in some other scheme. Let him quit this, and +try another, or set up in a place where there is what is called 'an +opening'--that is, where his services are required--the point +essential to his getting any reward for his work. We sometimes see +most wonderful efforts made by individuals in an overdone trade; for +example, those of a hatter, who feels that he must give mankind a +special direction to his shop, or die. Half-a-dozen tortoise-like +missionaries do nothing but walk about the streets from morning to +night, proclaiming from carapace and plastron,[1] that there are no +hats equal to those at No. 98 of such a street. A van like the +temple of Juggernauth parades about all day, propagating the same +faith. 'If you want a good hat,' exclaims a pathetic poster, 'try +No. 98.' As you walk along the street, a tiny bill is insinuated +into your hand, for no other purpose, as you learn on perusing it, +but to impress upon you the great truth, that there are no hats in +the world either so good or so cheap as those at No. 98. The same +dogma meets you in omnibuses, at railway platforms, and every other +place where it can be expected that mankind will pause for a moment, +and so have time to take in an idea. But it is all in vain if there +be a sufficient supply of good and cheap hats already in that +portion of the earth's surface. The superfluous hatter must submit +to the all-prevailing law, that for labours not required, and an +expenditure of capital useless as regards the public, there can be +no reward, no return. + +Sometimes great inconveniences are experienced in consequence of +local changes; such as those effected by railways, and the +displacement of hand-labour by machinery. A country inn that has +supplied post-horses since the days of the civil war, is all at +once, in consequence of the opening of some branch-line, deserted by +its business. It is a pitiable case; but the poor landlord must not +attempt to be an innkeeper without business, for then he would be a +misapplied human being, and would starve. Now the world uses him a +little hardly in the diversion of his customers; that may be +allowed: we must all lay our account with such hardships so long as +each person is left to see mainly after himself. But if he were to +persist in keeping his house open, and thus reduce himself to +uselessness, he would not be entitled to think himself ill-used by +reason of his making no profits, seeing that he did nothing for the +public to entitle him to a remuneration. The poor handloom +weavers--I grieve to think of the hardships they suffer. Well do I +remember when, in 1813 or 1814, a good workman in this craft could +realise 36s. a week. There were even traditions then of men who had +occasionally eaten pound-notes upon bread and butter, or allowed +their wives to spend L.8 upon a fine china tea-service. There being +a copious production of cotton-thread by machinery, but no machinery +to make it into cloth, was the cause of the high wages then given to +weavers. Afterwards came the powerloom; and weavers can now only +make perhaps 4s. 6d. per week, even while working for longer hours +than is good for their health. The result is most lamentable; but it +cannot be otherwise, for the public will only reward services in the +ratio of the value of these services to itself. It will not +encourage a human being, with his glorious apparatus of intelligence +and reflection, to mis-expend himself upon work which can be +executed equally well by unthinking machinery. Were the poor weavers +able so far to shake themselves free from what is perhaps a very +natural prejudice, as to ask what do we do to entitle us to any +better usage from the public, they would see that the fault lies in +their continuing to be weavers at all. They are precisely as the +innkeeper would be, if he kept his house open after the railway had +taken all his customers another way. + +There are many cases in the professional walks of life fully as +deplorable as that of the weavers. Few things in the world are more +painful to contemplate than a well-educated and able man vainly +struggling to get bread as a physician, an artist, or an author. It +is of course right that such a man should not be too ready to +abandon the struggle as hopeless; for a little perseverance and +well-directed energy may bring him into a good position. But if a +fair experiment has been made, and it clearly appears that his +services are not wanted, the professional aspirant ought undoubtedly +to pause, and take a full unprejudiced view of his relation to the +world. 'Am I,' he may say, 'to expect reward if I persist in +offering the world what it does not want? Are my fellow-creatures +wrong in withholding a subsistence from me, while I am rather +consulting my own tastes and inclinations than their necessities?' +It may then occur to him that the great law must somehow be +obeyed--a something must be done for mankind which they require, and +it must be done where and how they require it, in order that each +individual may have a true claim upon the rest. To get into the +right and fitting place in the social machine may be difficult; but +there is no alternative. Let him above everything dismiss from his +mind the notion, that others can seriously help him. Let him be +self-helpful, think and do for himself, and he will have the better +chance of success. + +We now come to a second branch of the subject--namely, as regards +our conduct and manners in the scenes of social life. One might +suppose it to be a very clear thing, that a person possessing no +pleasing accomplishment could never be so agreeable a member of +society as one who possessed one or more of such qualifications. It +might seem very evident, that a person who had never taken any +trouble to acquire such accomplishments, did not deserve so much of +society as one who had taken such trouble. Yet such is the blinding +influence of self-love, that we continually find the dull and +unaccomplished speaking and acting as if they considered themselves +entitled to equal regard with others who, on the contrary, can +contribute greatly to the enjoyments of their fellow-creatures. This +is surely most unreasonable--it is, as in the case of the +unnecessary shopkeeper or weaver, to desire the reward and yet not +perform the service. Were such persons to clear themselves of +prejudice, and take an unflattering view of their relation to +society, they would see that the reward can only be properly +expected where it has been worked for. They might in some instances +be prompted to make efforts to attain some of those accomplishments +which contribute to make the social hour pass agreeably, and thus +attain to a true desert, besides 'advancing themselves in the scale +of thinking beings.' If not, they might at least learn to submit +unrepiningly to that comparatively moderate degree of notice and +regard which is the due of those who are perfectly ordinary in their +minds, and fit only to take a place amongst the audience. + +Society, as is well known, has its favourites, and also its +unpopular characters. If we dissect the character of the favourite, +we shall invariably find a great substratum of the amiable. He will +probably have accomplishments also, and thus be able to add to the +happiness of his fellows. It is not improbable that in many cases a +good share of love of approbation will be detected; but this is of +no consequence in the matter. The general fact we assume to be, that +the genuinely amiable is there in some force. It will, I believe, be +likewise found that the unpopular character has something too much +of the centripetal system about him--that is to say, desires things +to centre in himself as much as possible--and neither has any great +natural impulse to the amiable, nor will take the trouble to assume +the complaisant. Now, it is not uncommon to observe traces of +dissatisfaction in the unpopular characters, as if they felt +themselves to be treated unjustly by the world. But can these +persons reasonably expect to be received with the same favour as men +who are at once gentle and inoffensive in their ordinary demeanour, +and actively good among their fellow-creatures? Certainly not. Let +us see here, too, the complaining party take an unprejudiced view of +his relation to society. Let him understand that he only will be +loved if he is lovable, and we may hope to see him taking some pains +to correct his selfishness, and both seem and be a kind and genial +man. Most assuredly, in no other way will his reputation and his +treatment by the world be reversed. + +In fine, we would have all who are inclined to doubt whether the +world uses them well or not, to ask of themselves, in the first +place, how they use the world. If they find that they do little for +it--are stupid, illiterate, possessed of not one graceful +accomplishment, neither useful nor ornamental, but selfish, sulky, +and unamiable, then let them try whether a remedy cannot be found in +themselves. It is not to be expected of all that they are to be +greatly serviceable in any way to the world, or very agreeable +either; but it is the duty of all who desire the world's good +treatment, to do the best they can for the general interest, and to +be as good and amiable as possible. At the worst, if they cannot +make any change on themselves, let them resign themselves to be +comparatively poor and neglected, as such is, by the rules of +Providence, their inevitable fate. + + * * * * * + +[Footnote 1: The upper and under plates of the tortoise are so called by +naturalists.] + + + + +THE SISTERS OF CHARITY IN BOHEMIA. + + +In continental countries, much of that charitable ministration which +with us is left to rates and institutions, is the work of +individuals acting directly under a religious impulse. The +difference is perhaps not entirely in favour of the countries of the +Romish faith; but there is no denying that it leads to our being +presented with pictures of heroic self-devotion and generous +self-sacrifice, such as it would be gratifying to see in our own +country. Many of the forms of charity met with in Catholic states +had their rise in one enthusiastically benevolent man, the +celebrated Vincent de St Paul. Born in 1576, on the skirts of the +Pyrenees, and brought up as a shepherd-boy--possessed of course of +none of the advantages of fortune, this remarkable man shewed a +singular spirit of charity before he had readied manhood. He became +a priest; he passed through a slavery in one of the African +piratical states, and with difficulty made his escape. At length we +see him in the position of a parish pastor in France, exerting +himself in plans for the improvement of the humbler classes, exactly +like those which have become fashionable among ourselves only during +the last twenty years. His exertions succeeded, and generous persons +of rank enabled him to extend them. In a short time, he saw no fewer +than twenty-five establishments founded in his own country, in +Piedmont, Poland, and other states, for charitable purposes. +Stimulated by this success to increase his exertions, he quickly +formed associations of charitable persons, chiefly females, for the +succour of distressed humanity. It was a most wonderful movement for +the age, and must be held as no little offset against the horrible +barbarities arising from religious troubles in the reign of Louis +XIII. Among Vincent's happiest efforts, was that which established +the _Sisters of Charity_, a sodality of self-devoted women, which +exists in vigour at the present day. + +During a lengthened residence in Prague, we have had much +satisfaction in visiting the establishment of the Sisters, and +inquiring into their doings. The house, which was founded in the +seventeenth century, and contains seventy inmates, is situated near +to the palace of Prince Lobkowitz, in the Kleine Seite, or that part +of the city which lies on the right bank of the Moldau. It has much +the character of a suburban villa, being surrounded by a kind of +_plaisance_, enclosed in high walls, and containing shrubberies, +alleys, and large clumps of chestnuts. In this pleasant retreat may +often be found such of the Sisters as are not engaged in the more +pressing kind of duties--never quite idle, however; for, even while +seeking recreation, they will be found busied in preparing clothing +for the poor, or perhaps in making medicines from herbs, if not +imparting instruction to children let loose from the school which +forms a part of their establishment. The place is remarkable for its +perfumes, there being assembled here not merely the usual amount of +roses, lilacs, jasmines, tuberoses, and lilies, but a profusion of +aromatic plants, cultivated either for medicinal purposes, or to +serve in the fabrication of essences and powders, which the Sisters +distribute over the world in tiny bottles and small pillow-cases and +bags, in order to raise funds for the poor. + +In the house, which, having been erected for a private family, is +not well suited for its present purpose, everything is an example of +cleanliness and order. The hospital is in the main part of the +building, and is fitted up with every possible convenience. A large +apothecaries' hall is attached to it, furnished with every appliance +that medical art has devised, and under the superintendence of a +highly-educated professional man. It is most affecting to enter the +great sick-room, and see the gentle Sisters in their modest attire +ministering to the patients, bending over them with their sweet and +cheerful countenances, as if they felt that relief from pain and +restoration to life and its enjoyments depended on their smiles. It +is scarcely necessary to say, that the hospital is almost always +full. Sometimes, indeed, the floor is occupied with extra beds; for +the Sisters will never close their doors to any who apply, even +though they should have to abandon their own simple places of repose +to the new-comer, and stretch themselves on the bare floor. + +We observed, in one of our visits, an old woman who was lying in one +of the beds of the hospital, in a kind of trance, neither sleeping +nor waking, apparently suffering no pain, but quite insensible to +everything which passed around her. Her complaint was that of +extreme old age, mere physical exhaustion. She had been for many +years a pensioner, fed and clothed by the Sisters: having outlived +all her relations, and having no friends in the world but them, she +had come in, as she said herself, 'to die in peace among them.' Not +far from her lay a girl, about sixteen or seventeen years of age, +whose extreme paleness, or rather marble whiteness, vied with the +snowy sheets which covered all but that lily face; and but for the +quivering of the little frill of her cap, and the slow movement of +her large blue eyes, it would have been difficult to believe that it +was not the alabaster figure of some saint that reposed there. The +superior looked kindly and sadly upon her, bent down, kissed her +pale forehead, and went on; and though the sufferer did not move or +speak, nor the feeble head turn, her large blue eyes followed the +reverend mother with an expression which was all its own--an +expression to be felt, deeply, intensely, but which cannot be +described. And who was she, that pale, silent girl? She was an +orphan, neglected by the world, betrayed and abandoned by one who +appeared the only _friend_ she had. Crushed in spirit, enfeebled by +want and misery, without a roof to shelter her young drooping head, +she had been found by the Sisters of Charity sitting alone, _her +eyes fixed on the river_. They took her in, clothed, fed, and warmed +her. They poured into her heart the blessed words of peace and +comfort, till that poor breaking heart gushed forth in a wild tide +of feeling too strong for the feeble frame; and we now saw her +slowly recovering from a frightful fever, the result of past +sufferings, and of that agitation which even a reaction towards hope +had occasioned. + +It would be too much for the present sketch to describe the many +invalids before whom we passed in our visits to the sick-chambers of +the Sisters of Charity, though every single case would be a lesson +to humanity. The homeless, the forsaken, the orphan, each had his or +her own bitter history, previous to reposing within the sanctuary of +that blessed retreat; each was attended by some of those benevolent +beings, whose gentle steps and sweet sunny smiles brought peace to +their hearts. None who are destitute are rejected at that gate of +mercy. Whatever their faults may have been, whatever their +frailties, if overtaken by want or sickness--if, deserted and +trampled upon, they sink without any visible hand being stretched +out to save them from despair and death--then do the Sisters of +Charity interpose to succour and to save. To them it is sufficient +that the sufferer requires their aid. There every medical assistance +is promptly given; every comfort, and even luxury. + +Most surprising it is to the common worldling to see these gentle +beings thus living entirely for others, seeking no reward but that +inspired by Christian promises and hopes. Nor is it mere drudgery +and self-denial which constitute their great merit. When humanity +calls from the midst of danger, whether in the shape of pestilence +or of war, they are equally unfailing. It has been our lot to see a +city taken by storm, the streets on fire and half-choked with ruins, +and these ruins thickly strewed with the dead and dying. There, +before the wild scene had been in the least calmed--amid smoke, and +rain, and the frequent rattling fire of musketry--we have seen the +black dresses and long white kerchiefs of the Sisters of Charity +flitting about, emblems of mercy in a world which might otherwise +seem only fit for demons. The place we speak of was Arcis-sur-Aube. +Napoleon, who looked on the system of this sisterhood 'as one of the +most sublime conceptions of the human mind,' was then in the act of +falling back with 30,000 men, after having been attacked the evening +before (March 19, 1814) by 130,000 Austrians. He was within three +weeks of the prostration of his power, and he must have felt +bitterly the crushing reverses he was experiencing. Yet he stopped +on the nearly demolished bridge of the town, and ordered 300 +Napoleons to be given out of his then scanty resources to the +Sisters of Charity, of whose devotion he had been an eye-witness +from the commencement of the attack. As he crossed the bridge +immediately afterwards, part of it gave way, and he was precipitated +into the Aube, but, by the help of his horse, soon gained the safe +bank. + +The good works of the Sisters do not stop with their exertions for +the sick and miserable. They have also their schools for orphans and +foundlings. Here the tender human plant, perhaps deserted by a +heartless mother, often gains more than it has lost. It is only to +infants in these extraordinary circumstances that they are called +upon to give shelter, for the children of the poor in general are +provided for in public establishments. When we last visited the +convent in Prague, we found about thirty girls entertained as +inmates. As soon as they are capable of learning, they are +instructed in every branch of domestic economy; and as they grow up, +and their several talents develop themselves, they are educated +accordingly: some for instructresses, either in music or any general +branch of education; others, as seamstresses, ladies-maids, cooks, +laundry-maids, house-maids. In short, every branch of useful +domestic science is taught. + +When the girls attain sufficient age and experience to occupy the +several situations for which they have been instructed--that is, +from seventeen to eighteen, the superior of the convent procures +them a place in the family of some of her friends or acquaintance, +and always, so far as lies in her power, with a mistress as much as +possible suited to the intelligence and instruction of her +_protégée_. The day of separation, however, is always painful. It +is, in fact, the parting of a mother and her child. We have seen the +orphan cling to her adopted mother, and as she knelt to receive her +blessing, bathe her hands in tears of gratitude and affection; while +the reverend superior would clasp her to her bosom, and recommend to +her adopted child the blessed principles which she had inculcated +from her infancy. Nor do they leave the home of their childhood +empty. Each girl on quitting the convent is provided with a little +_trousseau_ or outfit for her first appearance in the world: this +consists of two complete suits of clothes--an ordinary and a better +one, four petticoats, four chemises, six pair of stockings, the same +number of gloves, and two pair of shoes. We have seen many of these +orphans and foundlings in after-life; some of them occupying the +most respectable situations, as the wives of opulent citizens, and +others filling places of the most important trust in some of the +highest families of the empire; we have also had several in our own +service, and have always had reason to congratulate ourselves on our +good-fortune in engaging them. + +One of the first principles of education in the orphan schools of +the Sisters of Charity is economy: while they spare nothing in the +cause of humanity, so far as their means will go, the strictest +frugality reigns throughout, and is always inculcated as the +foundation of the means of doing good. Consequently, all of whom we +have had any experience, who were educated in these charitable +institutions, never failed, however humble their situation, to make +some little savings: one whom we have at this moment in our eye, and +who not many years since served us in the capacity of cook, and +fulfilled her charge with great fidelity and zeal, has, by her +extraordinary industry and economy, collected in the savings' bank +in Prague no less than 700 florins, or L.70 sterling. And yet with +all this economy she was so charitable and liberal in giving of her +own to the poor, that we have often had to caution her against +extravagance in that respect. By this spirit of economy, we have +also known several of the orphans and foundlings arrive at a degree +of independence which enables them in their turn to assist the +deserted generation of to-day, and to do for them as they themselves +had been done by. Many also have been the means of rescuing others +from crime and starvation by conducting them to that blessed +institution, to which, under Heaven, they owe all their prosperity +and happiness in life. + +Of these charitable communities there are many orders, which differ +from the above chiefly in name, and in the Sisters never quitting +their sanctuary or the precincts of their gardens. The Sisters of +Charity, properly so called, not being vowed to seclusion, are more +generally known to the world, who see them, and therefore believe +that they exist for charitable purposes, while of those of whom they +see nothing they know nothing; and should the casual observer meet +in the street on a festival, or day of examination, a column of from +300 to 800 children, from six to ten or twelve years of age, neatly +clothed, and whose happy countenances and beautiful behaviour +bespeak the care with which their early education has been +conducted--it never once occurs to him that these are the children +of the poor, the children of the free schools of the 'Sisters' of +the Ursaline Convent, or of the Congregation of Notre Dame, or of +some other religious establishment of the kind. But perhaps we shall +have an opportunity hereafter of introducing these invisible Sisters +of Charity to the notice of our readers. + +Suffice it now to say, that the 'Sisters of Mercy,' the 'Ursalines,' +the 'Congregations of Notre Dame,' the 'English Ladies,' and many +others, are all in practice Sisters of Charity. + +It is not uncommon to hear their condition deplored, as one from +which all earthly enjoyments are excluded, or as a kind of death in +life. But personal observation has given us different ideas on this +subject. Within those lofty, and sometimes sullen-looking walls +which enclose the convents of the sisterhoods we speak of, we have +spent some of the most agreeable hours of our life, conversing with +refined and enlightened women on the works of beneficence in which +they were engaged; everything bearing an aspect of that cheerfulness +and animation which only can be expected in places where worthy +duties are well performed. + + + + +ADVENTURES OF AN ARMY PHYSICIAN. + + +Robert Jackson, the son of a small landed proprietor of limited +income but respectable character in Lanarkshire, was born in 1750, +at Stonebyres, in that county. He received his education first at +the barony school of Wandon, and afterwards under the care of Mr +Wilson, a teacher of considerable local celebrity at Crawford, one +of the wildest spots in the Southern Highlands. He was subsequently +apprenticed to Mr William Baillie, of Biggar; and in 1766 proceeded, +for the completion of his professional training, to the university +of Edinburgh, at that time illustrated and adorned by the genius and +learning of such men as the Monros, the Cullens, and the Blacks. + +In pursuing his studies at this favoured abode of science and +literature, young Jackson is said to have evinced all that purity of +morals and singleness of heart which characterised him in +after-life, and to have resisted the allurements of dissipation by +which, in those days especially, the youthful student was tempted to +wander from the paths of virtuous industry. His circumstances were, +however, distressingly narrow; and not only was he forced to forego +the means of professional improvement open only to the more opulent +student; but in order to meet the expenses of the winter-sessions, +he was obliged to employ the summer, not in the study but in the +practice of his profession. He engaged himself as medical officer to +a Greenland whaler, and in two successive summers visited, in that +capacity, 'the thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice;' returning on +each occasion with a recruited purse and a frame strengthened and +invigorated by exposure and exercise. During these expeditions he +occupied his leisure with the study of the Greek and Roman +languages, and the careful and repeated perusal of the best authors +in both. + +His third winter-sessions at Edinburgh having passed away, he was +induced to go out and seek his fortune in Jamaica, and accordingly +proceeded thither in a vessel commanded by one Captain Cunningham, +who had previously been employed as master of a transport at the +siege of Havannah. It is far from improbable that it was from his +conversations with this individual that Jackson derived those hints, +of which at a future time he availed himself, respecting the +transmission of troops by sea without injury to their health; but it +is quite certain his conviction of the enormous value of cold-water +affusions as a curative agent in the last stage of febrile +affections, was imbibed from this source. + +Arriving in Jamaica, he in 1774 became assistant to an eminent +general practitioner at Savana-la-Mar, Dr King, who was also in +medical charge of a detachment of the first battalion of the 60th +regiment. This latter he consigned to Jackson's care; and well +worthy of the trust did our young adventurer, though but twenty-four +years of age, approve himself--visiting three or four times a day +the quarters of the troops to detect incipient disease, and studying +with ardour and intelligent attention the varied phenomena of +tropical maladies. Four years thus passed profitably away, and they +would have been as pleasant as profitable, but for one circumstance. +The existence of slavery and its concomitant horrors appears to have +made a deep impression on Jackson's mind, and, at last, to have +produced in him such sentiments of disgust and abhorrence, that he +resolved on quitting the island altogether, and, as the phrase is, +trying his luck in North America, where the revolutionary war was +then raging. This resolution--due perhaps, as much to his love of +travel as to the motive assigned--was not altogether unfortunate, +for shortly after his departure, October 3, 1780, Savana-la-Mar was +totally destroyed, and the surrounding country for a considerable +distance desolated, by a terrible hurricane and sweeping inroad of +the sea, in which Dr King, his family and partner, together with +numbers of others, unhappily perished. + +The law of Jamaica forbade any one to leave the island without +having given previous notice of his intention, or having obtained +the bond of some respectable person as security for such debts as he +might have outstanding. Jackson, when he embarked for America, had +no debts whatever, and was, moreover, ignorant of the law, with +whose requirements therefore he did not comply. Nor did he become +aware of his mistake until, when off the easternmost point of the +island, the master of the vessel approached him and said: 'We are +now, sir, off Point-Morant; you will therefore have the goodness to +favour me with your security-bond. It is a mere legal form, but we +are obliged to respect it.' Finding this 'legal form' had not been +complied with, the master then, in spite of Jackson's protestations +and entreaties, set him on shore, and the vessel continued on her +voyage. What was to be done? Almost penniless, landed on a part of +the coast where he knew not a soul, Jackson well-nigh gave himself +up to despair. There was a vessel for New York loading, it was true, +at Lucea; but Lucea was 150 miles distant, on the westernmost side +of the island, and not to be reached by sea, whilst our adventurer's +purse would not suffer him to hire a horse. No choice was left him +but to walk, and that in a country where the exigencies of the +climate make pedestrianism perilous in the extreme to the white man. +Having reached Kingston, which was in the neighbourhood, in a boat, +and obtained the necessary certificate, he started on his dangerous +expedition, and on the first day walked eighteen miles, being +sheltered at night in the house of a benevolent planter. The next +day he pushed on for Rio Bueno, which he had almost reached, when, +overcome by thirst, he stopped by the way to refresh himself, and +imprudently standing in an open piazza exposed to a smart easterly +breeze, whilst his lemonade was preparing, contracted a severe chill +that almost took from him the power of motion, and left him to crawl +along the road slowly and with pain, until he reached his +destination. + +Having finally arrived, friendless and moneyless, in New York, then +in the occupation of the British, he endeavoured first to obtain a +commission in the New York volunteers, and afterwards employment as +mate in the Naval Hospital. In his endeavours, he was kindly +assisted by a Jamaica gentleman, a fellow-passenger, whose regard +during the voyage he had succeeded in conciliating by his amiable +manners and evident abilities; but his efforts were all in vain, and +poor Jackson, familiar with poverty from childhood, began now to +experience the misery of destitution. In truth, starvation stared +him in the face, and a sense of delicacy withheld him from seeking +from his Jamaica friend the most trifling pecuniary assistance. In +this, his state of desperation, he determined upon passing the +British lines, and endeavouring to obtain amongst the insurgents the +food he had hitherto sought in vain; resolving, however, under no +circumstances to bear arms against his native country. Whilst +moodily and slowly walking towards the British outposts to carry +into execution this scheme, having in one pocket a shirt, and in +another a Greek Testament and a Homer, he was met half-way by a +British officer, who fixed his eyes steadily on him in passing. +Jackson in his agitation thought he read in the glance a knowledge +of his purpose and a disapprobation of it. Struck by the incident, +he turned back, and, after a moment's reflection, resolved on +offering himself as a volunteer in the first battalion of the 71st +regiment (Sutherland Highlanders), then in cantonment near New +York. Arriving at the place, he presented himself to the notice of +Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Sir Archibald) Campbell, who, having +first ascertained that he was a Scotsman, inquired to whom he was +known at New York. Jackson replied, to no one; but that a +fellow-passenger from Jamaica would readily testify to his being a +gentleman. 'I require no testimony to your being a gentleman,' +returned the kind-hearted colonel. 'Your countenance and address +satisfy me on that head. I will receive you into the regiment with +pleasure; but then I have to inform you, Mr Jackson, that there are +seventeen on the list before you, who are of course entitled to +prior promotion.' The next day, at the instance of Colonel Campbell, +the regimental-surgeon, Dr Stuart, appointed Jackson acting hospital +or surgeon's mate--a rank now happily abolished in the British army; +for those who filled it, whatever might be their competency or +skill, were accounted and treated no better than drudges. Although +discharging the duties that now devolve on the assistant-surgeon, +they were not, like him, commissioned, but only warrant-officers, +and therefore had no title to half-pay. + +Dr Stuart, who appears to have been a man superior to vulgar +prejudice, and to have appreciated at once the extent of Jackson's +acquirements and the vigour of his intellect, relinquished to him, +almost without control, the charge of the regimental hospital. Here +it was that this able young officer began to put in practice that +amended system of army medical treatment which since his time, but +in conformity with his teachings, has been so successfully carried +out as to reduce the mortality amongst our soldiery from what it +formerly was--something like 15 per cent.--to what it is now, about +2-1/2 per cent. + +In the army hospitals, at the period Jackson commenced a career that +was to eventuate so gloriously, there was no regulated system of +diet, no classification of the sick. What are now well known as +'medical comforts,' were things unheard of; the sick soldier, like +the healthy soldier, had his ration of salt-beef or pork, and his +allowance of rum. The hospital furnished him with no bedding; he +must bring his own blanket. Any place would do for an hospital. That +in which Jackson began his labours had originally been a +commissary's store; but happily its roof was water-tight--an unusual +occurrence--and its site being in close proximity to a wood, our +active surgeon's mate managed, by the aid of a common fatigue party, +to surround the walls with wicker-work platforms, which served the +patients as tolerably comfortable couches. A further and still more +important change he effected related to the article of diet. He +suggested, and the suggestion was adopted--honour to the courageous +humanity which did not shrink from so righteous an innovation!--that +instead of his salt ration and spirits, which he could not consume, +the sick soldier should be supplied with fresh meat, broth, &c.; and +that, as the quantity required for the invalid would be necessarily +small, the quarter-master should allow the saving on the commuted +ration to be expended in the common market on other comforts, such +as sago, &c. suitable for the patient. Thus proper hospital diet was +furnished, without entailing any additional expense on the state.[2] + +Indefatigable in the discharge of his interesting duties, Mr Jackson +speedily obtained the confidence of his military superiors, who +remarked with admiration not only his intelligent zeal in performing +his hospital functions, but his calmness, quickness of perception, +and generous self-devotion when in the field of battle. On one +occasion, although suffering at the time from severe indisposition, +he remained, under a heavy fire, succouring the wounded, in spite of +the remonstrances of the officers present. On another, having +observed the British commander, Colonel (afterwards General) +Tarleton, in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, who had +routed the royalist troops, he galloped up to the colonel--whom a +musket-ball had just dismounted--pressed him to mount his own horse +and escape, whilst he himself, with a white handkerchief displayed, +quietly proceeded in the direction of the advancing foe, and +surrendered himself at once. The American commander, who did not +know what to make of such conduct, asked him who he was? He replied: +'I am assistant-surgeon in the 71st regiment. Many of the men are +wounded, and in your hands. I come, therefore, to offer my services +in attending them.' He was accordingly sent to the rear as a +prisoner; but was well treated, and spent the first night of his +captivity in dressing his soldiers' wounds, taking off his shirt, +and tearing it up into bandages for the purpose. He afterwards did +the same good office for the American sufferers; and when the +wounded English could be exchanged, Washington sent him back, not +only without exchange, but even without requiring his parole. At a +subsequent period during the same unhappy war, when the British +under Lord Cornwallis were in full retreat, the sick and wounded +were placed in a building which the colonists, on their approach, +began to riddle with shot. Several surgeons, not caring to incur the +risk of entering so exposed an edifice, agreed to cast lots who +should go in and see to the invalids; but Jackson, with +characteristic nerve and simplicity, at once stepped forward: 'No, +no,' said he, 'I will go and attend to the men!' He did so, and +returned unhurt. + +After this we find him a prisoner in the hands of the Americans and +French at New York Town, Virginia. As on the former occasion, he was +treated with all imaginable kindness; and, being released on parole, +returned to Europe early in 1782, and proceeded by way of Cork, +Dublin, and Greenock to Edinburgh, where he abode for a short time. +Thence he started for London; and, desirous of testing the best way +of sustaining physical strength during long marches, and urged +perhaps also by economical considerations, he resolved to make the +journey on foot. His West Indian and American experience had taught +him that spare diet consisted best with pedestrian efficiency, and +it was accordingly his practice, during this long walk, to abstain +from animal food until the close of day, nor often then to partake +of it. He would walk some fourteen miles before breakfast--a meal of +tea and bread; rest then for an hour or an hour and a half; then +pace on until bedtime--a salad, a tart, or sometimes tea and bread, +forming his usual evening fare. He found that on this diet he arose +every morning at dawn with alacrity, and could prosecute without +inconvenience his laborious undertaking. By way of experiment he +twice or thrice varied his plan--dining on the road off beefsteaks, +and having a draught of porter in the course of the afternoon; but +the result justified his anticipations. The stimulus of the beer +soon passing off, lassitude succeeded the temporary strength it had +lent him; and, worse than all, his disposition to early rising +sensibly diminished. + +His stay in London, which he reached in this primitive fashion, was +not long. His kind friend Dr Stuart, who had exchanged into the +Royal Horse-Guards, gave him the shelter of his roof; but so poor +was Mr Jackson, that, although ardently desirous of improving +himself in his profession, he was unable to attend any one of the +medical schools with which London abounds. + +The peace of 1783 having opened the continent to the curiosity of +the British traveller, Jackson curtly announced to his friends, that +'he was going to take a walk.' His poverty allowed him no other +mode of locomotion; so off he set on the grand tour, carrying with +him a map of France, a bundle of clothes, and a scanty supply of +money. Crossing the channel, he reached Calais, a place which Horace +Walpole, writing from Rome, declared had astonished him more than +anything he had elsewhere seen, but in which our adventurer found +nothing more astonishing than a superb Swiss regiment. He proceeded +to Paris, and thence through Switzerland, by Geneva and Berne, into +Germany, at a town of which--Günz in Suabia--he met with a comical +enough adventure. + +On entering the town he was challenged by a soldier, who, having +learned he had no passport, carried him before a magistrate, by whom +he was forthwith condemned as a vagabond, and remitted to the +custody of a recruiting sergeant. This worthy, in turn, introduced +him to the commanding officer, who politely gave our traveller the +choice of serving his Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, the Emperor of +Germany, either in his cavalry or his infantry forces. But Jackson, +strangely insensible to the honour, flatly refused to serve his +Majesty in these or any other ways, and desired to be at once set +free, and suffered to continue his journey. The officer, doubtless +amazed at such presumption, desired the sergeant to convey him to +the barracks, where he was placed in a large room, in which were +congregated some two hundred or so involuntary recruits like +himself--harmless travellers, who, being destitute of passports, the +emperor forcibly enlisted into his service. Jackson found his +co-mates in misfortune very dirty, very ragged, but perfectly civil +and good-tempered. Having a little recovered his serenity--for it is +easy to see, though our hero is described as a man of placid +demeanour and somewhat Quakerly appearance, he could be not a little +fiery at times--he sat down and wrote to the commanding officer, +entreating leave to sleep at an inn, and proffering the deposit of +all his money as a pledge for his reappearance next morning. The +reply was an order that he should surrender his writing materials. +At seven o'clock, the appointed sleeping hour, the sergeant returned +and gave the signal for bed by rapping with his cane on the floor, +which was speedily covered by a number of dirty bags of mouldy +straw--the regulation mattresses, it would seem, for involuntary +recruits. Jackson--peppery again--refused to lie down, but was at +last compelled to do so, and between two of the dirtiest fellows of +the lot, each of whom had a leg chained to an arm. The next morning, +at his own request, he was brought before the commandant of the +town, who had only arrived late the preceding evening, and whom he +found seated in his bedroom, 'with all his officers standing round +him receiving orders,' says Jackson, 'with more humility than +orderly-sergeants.' The commandant repeated the offer of 'cavalry or +infantry;' adding that a war was about to commence with the Turks, +and that good-behaviour would insure promotion. However, finding +Jackson obstinately persistent in his refusal, he quietly observed, +in conclusion, that the emperor, as a matter of rule and of right, +'impressed' into his army all such as entered his dominions without +certificates of character. 'The order was so tyrannical,' declares +our _détenu_, 'that I could not contain myself. "Put me in chains, +if you please," I said, "but I tell you, all Germany shall not make +me carry a musket for the emperor."' This impetuous burst of +indignation seems to have alarmed the phlegmatic commandant, who +accordingly let our adventurer go, counselling him, however, to +write to the English ambassador at Vienna for a passport, lest he +should get into further trouble. + +Jackson passed through the Tyrol into Italy, everywhere indulging +his love of scenery and still greater love of adventure; studying +with all the acuteness of his countrymen the varied characters of +the people he met with, and in his correspondence with home friends, +sketching them in language striking for its force, its propriety, +and originality. Some of his remarks on men and manners are +conceived in a truly Goldsmithian vein, whilst all testify at once +to the goodness of his heart and the quickness of his perceptions. +At Venice he says that he felt it to be 'such a feast of enjoyment +as seldom falls to the lot of man, and never to the lot of any but a +poor man, who has nothing conspicuous about him to attract the +notice of the crowd,' to possess such facilities as he did for +learning what the people of foreign countries really were. + +At Albenga, in Piedmont, Jackson arrived one night, tired, hungry, +and drenched with rain. Intending to put up at the 'Albergo di San +Dominico,' which he had been informed was the best inn, he went by +accident to the convent of the same name, and entering, called +loudly to be shewn to a private room. 'Instead of telling me I was +wrong,' he says, 'the young brethren looked waggish, and began to +laugh: when a man is cold and hungry, he can ill brook being the +sport of others;' so accordingly--peppery again--he shook his stick +angrily at the young monks. And at last one of the most courteous +and demure of the number, coming forward, said that although theirs +was not exactly a public-house, still the stranger was heartily +welcome to walk in, rest, and refresh himself. Discovering his +mistake, Jackson of course lost no time in making his bow, his +apologies, and acknowledgments. + +He returned to England by way of France, having but six sous in his +pockets when he reached Bordeaux, where an English merchant, a total +stranger, advanced him a few pounds. On the road, he was frequently +taken for an Irishman, and not seldom for an Irish priest; under +which impression, many civilities were paid him by the simple +inhabitants of the country he traversed. Ultimately he landed at +Southampton, with just four shillings in his possession; his once +black coat having turned a rusty brown, his hat shovel-shaped by +ill-usage, and his whole aspect so comical, that the mob hooted him, +under the belief that he was a Methodist preacher. Proceeding inland +on foot, in the direction of Southampton, he overtook a poor man +walking along the road whose looks of unutterable misery induced our +traveller to stop and inquire what ailed him. He told Jackson he had +a son and daughter dying of a disorder apparently contagious, and +that no physician would attend them, as he was too poor to pay the +fees. Jackson at once offered his services, which were gratefully +accepted. He saw his patients, and prescribed for them, and his +heart was touched by their simple expressions of gratitude. 'Their +thankfulness,' he says, 'for a thing that would perhaps do them no +good, gave me more pleasure than a fee of, I believe, twenty +guineas, much in need of it as I was.' The night had gathered in +before he reached Winchester, where, at a respectable inn, he +partook of such refreshment as his means afforded, and then desired +to be shewn to his bedroom. The answer was, that the house contained +no bedroom for such as he, and he was finally driven out with the +coarsest abuse into the streets. The hour was ten o'clock, the month +December, and the severity of the weather may be guessed from the +fact, that the snow lay deep on the ground. After wandering about +for some time, he at last obtained shelter in a small house in the +outskirts of the city. The next day he fared little better. 'On +Sunday morning,' he relates, 'I was sixty-four miles from London, +and had only one shilling in my pocket. I was hungry, but durst not +eat; thirsty, and I durst not drink, for fear of being obliged to +lie all night at the side of a hedge in a cold night in December. +After dark, I travelled over to Bagshot; was denied admittance into +some of the public-houses, ill used in others.' He sought in vain +permission even to lie in a barn; but a labourer he fortunately fell +in with conducted him to a house, where, at the sacrifice of his +last shilling, he secured at length a bed. The next day--foot-sore, +penniless, and starving--he entered London. After remaining there a +brief space--January 1784--in spite of the inclement season, he set +off, again on foot, to Perth--a journey that occupied him three +weeks, as he was detained on the way by some friends whom he +visited. At Perth, where his old regiment then lay previous to its +disbandment, he amused himself by studying Gaelic, and the +controversy respecting Ossian and his poems. Quitting Perth, he +travelled, still on foot, through the Highlands, the inhabitants of +which he was, in the first instance, disposed to class with savages; +but when he had observed the originality of conception, the breadth +of humour, and the elevated sentiments which mark the Celt, his +opinions underwent a total revolution. He was especially delighted +with a ragged old reiver or cattle-lifter whom he encountered, and +who had given shelter to the Young Chevalier in the braes of +Glenmoriston after the battle of Culloden. + +On his return to Edinburgh, Jackson married a lady of fortune, the +daughter of Dr Stephenson, and niece of his old friend Colonel +Francis Shelley, of the 71st regiment; and was enabled by this +accession to his means once again to visit Paris, where he not only +resumed his medical studies, but acquired the mastery of several +languages, Arabic amongst the rest. Having graduated M.D. at Leyden, +he came back again to England, and commenced practice at +Stockton-upon-Tees, in Durham. Although his reputation speedily +became considerable, especially in cases of fever, he seems scarcely +to have liked his new avocation. He found solace, however, in his +favourite study of languages, which he pursued with unremitting +ardour--constantly reading through the Greek and Latin classics, and +not only rendering himself familiar with the best works of the +modern continental authors, but also with the literature of the +Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Gaelic tongues. The _Bostan_ of Saadi +is said to have been one of his most favourite poems. + +On the war breaking out in 1793, Dr Jackson--who, in 1791, had +published a valuable work on the fevers of Jamaica and continental +America--applied for employment as army-physician; but Mr Hunter, +the director-general of the medical department of the army, +considering none eligible for such employment who had not served as +staffer regimental surgeon, or apothecary to the forces, Jackson +agreed to accept, in the first instance, the surgeoncy of the 3d +Buffs, on the understanding, that at a future time, he should be +nominated physician as he desired. Mr Hunter, however, died soon +after this; and his promise was not fulfilled by the Board which +succeeded him in the medical direction of the army, and which +appears to have pursued Dr Jackson with uniform hostility. + +Returning to England with the troops, it was offered to him to +accompany, in the capacity of chief medical officer, Sir Ralph +Abercromby's expedition against some of the West India islands; and +although no employment could possibly have been more agreeable to +his taste, he, much to Sir Ralph's chagrin, declined the flattering +proposal, on the grounds, that lower terms had been offered to him +than to another professional man. Nothing but a sense of +professional delicacy, it is plain, governed him in this +transaction, for he immediately afterwards embarked (April 1796) as +_second_ medical officer in another expedition to San Domingo. +During his abode in this island, he was unwearied in enlarging his +acquaintance with tropical diseases--observing the rule he had +followed in Holland of noting down by the patient's bedside the +minutest particulars of every case he attended, the effects of the +treatment pursued, and whatever else might shed light on the +intricacies of pathological science. He also gave a larger practical +operation to the scheme he had years before devised of amending the +dietaries of military hospitals. + +After the evacuation of San Domingo in 1798, our physician paid a +visit to the United States, where he was received with signal +distinction, his reputation having preceded him. The latter part of +the year found him again at Stockton, publishing a work on +contagious and endemic fevers, 'more especially the contagious fever +of ships, jails, and hospitals, vulgarly called the yellow-fever of +the West Indies;' together with 'an explanation of military +discipline and economy, with a scheme for the medical arrangements +of armies.' He undertook, about this time, by desire of Count +Woronzow, the Russian ambassador, the medical charge of seventeen +hundred Russian soldiers, who were stationed in the Channel Islands +in a sad state of disease and disorganization; and so admirably did +he acquit himself, and so perfect were the hospital provisions he +made, that (1800) the commander-in-chief nominated him physician and +head of the army-hospital depôt at Chatham--as he says, 'without any +application or knowledge on his part.' This appointment was the +cause of his subsequent misfortunes. + +At Chatham, with the warm approbation of Major-General Hewett, +commanding the depôt, he introduced that system of hospital reform +which had elsewhere operated so successfully. The changes he +effected, as soon as they were made, became known to the Medical +Board, and were publicly approved of by one of its members. However, +shortly afterwards, an epidemic broke out in the depôt (then removed +to the Isle of Wight), arising from the fact, that the barracks were +overcrowded with young recruits, but which the Medical Board +ascribed to Jackson's innovations, and reported so to the +Horse-Guards. The commander-in-chief directed an inquiry to take +place before a medical board impannelled for the purpose, and the +result of that inquiry may be guessed from a communication made by +the War-Office to the commandant of the depôt. This states 'the +unanimous opinion of the Board to have exculpated Dr Jackson from +all improper treatment of diseases in the sick,' and the +commander-in-chief's gratification, 'that an opportunity has thus +been given to that most zealous officer of proving his fitness for +the important situation in which he is placed.' The result of this +wretched intrigue, however, was that Jackson, disgusted with the +whole affair, requested to be placed on half-pay, to which request +the Duke of York, with marked reluctance, at last (March 1803) +acceded. + +In his retirement at Stockton, Jackson put forth two valuable works, +one on the medical economy of armies, and another on that of the +British army in particular, and was much gratified by an offer to +accompany, as military secretary, General Simcoe, just appointed +commander-in-chief in India. The general's sudden death, however, +put an end to this plan; and Jackson continued at Stockton, +addressing frequent representations to government on the defective +medical arrangements in the military service--representations the +very receipt of which were not acknowledged by Mr Pitt, to whom they +were forwarded. The Peninsular war commencing, Dr Jackson was again +named Inspector of Hospitals, but was not, thanks to the persevering +enmity of the Medical Board, sent on foreign service, although he +volunteered to sink his rank, and go in any capacity. The Board even +succeeded, by calumnious statements that he had purchased his +diploma--statements he readily confuted--in preventing his +appointment to the Spanish liberating army; although the British +government had formally requested him to accept such an appointment, +and agreed to give credentials testifying to his capacity and +trustworthiness. This last disappointment led him, in an unguarded +moment--peppery to the last--to inflict a slight personal +chastisement on the surgeon-general, for which he was imprisoned six +months in the King's Bench. + +But the triumph of his enemies was not of long duration. In 1810 the +Board was dissolved, and the control of the medical department +vested in a director-general, with three principal inspectors +subordinate to him. Then did Jackson return to active service, and +from 1811 to 1815 was employed in the West Indies; his reports from +whence embracing every topic relating to medical topography, to +sanitary arrangements, and to the observed phenomena of tropical +disease, are it is not too much to say, invaluable. His hints as to +the choice of sites for barracks, the propriety of giving to +soldiers healthy employment and recreation, as a means of averting +sickness, his suggestions as to the treatment of fevers and other +endemic diseases, may be found in the various works he has +published, embodying the fruits of his West Indian experience. + +In 1819, he was sent by government to Spain, where the yellow-fever +had broken out, and his report upon its characteristics has been +universally admitted to supply the fullest information on the +subject that had hitherto been communicated to the public. He +availed himself of his presence in that part of Europe to pay a +visit to Constantinople and the Levant; and, retaining his energy to +the last, when a British force was sent to Portugal in 1827, he +desired permission to accompany it. The sands of his life, however, +were then fast running out, and on the 6th of April in the same year +he died, after a short illness, at Thursby, near Carlisle, in the +77th year of his age. Thus closed a long career of usefulness; for +it is not too much to say, that few men of his time laboured harder +to benefit his fellow-creatures than did Dr Robert Jackson. + + * * * * * + +[Footnote 2: The late Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, when in command, during +the war, of a frigate on the coast of Calabria, finding sickness +appear amongst his crew, purchased on his own responsibility some +bullocks, for the purpose of supplying them with fresh meat. Lord +Collingwood having heard of this, and considering it a breach of +discipline, sent for Codrington, and addressed him: 'Captain +Codrington, pray have you any idea of the price of a bullock in this +place?' 'No, my lord,' was the reply, 'I have not; but I know well +the value of a British sailor's life!'] + + + + +THE MYSTERIOUS LADY. + + +It is thirty years since we first met the Mysterious Lady at a +fashionable sea-side boarding-house, and on our introduction, we +found that her brother, General Jerningham, was well known to some +members of our family. For five-and-twenty years afterwards she +haunted us at intervals; and so singularly and secretly conducted +were all her movements, that had she lived in the days of the +Inquisition, Miss Jerningham might have proved one of its most +valuable agents and coadjutors. She was a thin, middle-aged +personage, or, more correctly speaking, of uncertain age, and +without anything remarkable in her exterior, which was decidedly +lady-like, if we except a pair of the very smallest and most +restless brown eyes that were ever set in mortal's head. These eyes +expressed suspicion, together with intelligence and close +observation. They were clear and sparkling, and shaded by no +drooping fringes; and some folks declared that Miss Jerningham slept +with her eyes open. On conversing with her, she appeared to have +been everywhere and to know everything; but the moment any allusion +was made to the future, any attempt to discuss _her_ prospective +plans, then did the little brown eyes assume a reddish tinge, their +expression passing from suspicion and alarm to the most stubborn +resolve. All this was somewhat ludicrous, because nobody really felt +particular interest in her movements, or desired to pry into her +actions; but on discovering what appeared to be the weak point in +her character--because it was out of all proportion strong--idle +people, in search of amusement, availed themselves of the knowledge +to lead her a very uncomfortable life. Her most intimate friends +never knew, for months together, where she was to be found; and it +was currently reported that General Jerningham had once advertised +in the _Times_ for his sister. Certain it is, she always conned the +newspapers with avidity, particularly the portion devoted to +anonymous communications and the mystical interchange of sentiments; +and we frequently suspected that her interest arose from a deeper +source than mere curiosity. The simple query: 'Where do you think of +passing this autumn, Miss Jerningham?' threw her into a state of +strange excitement; and she always commenced her answer somewhat in +the following strain: 'Letters of importance, daily looked for, will +determine me--circumstances over which I have no control: it _is_ +possible that I may visit Cowes;' but a possibility declared in this +way by Miss Jerningham was never known to come to pass. Wherever she +chanced to be seen, former acquaintances popped upon her with +uplifted hands, exclaiming: 'What! _you_ here? Why, we thought you +were at Ilfracombe'--or some other far-away place. 'How long have +you been here?--how long do you stay?' were questions easily +parried; but if a more searching investigation commenced, then the +Mysterious Lady turned, and twisted, and doubled painfully; but +somehow always managed to elude and baffle her persecutors. + +Miss Jerningham's moral rectitude and unimpeachable propriety of +conduct--unsullied by the breath of detraction--rendered her in a +great measure impervious to downright ill-nature; but still she was +open to teasing and bantering; and the more she was teased, and the +more she was bantered, the more impenetrable she became. We +endeavoured to find out from herself--but unsuccessfully--if she had +always led such a roving kind of existence, and also how it +originated; for General Jerningham had a nice villa near the +metropolis, and a small, amiable, domestic circle, ready to receive +and welcome the wanderer. But no: she came upon them unawares, and +at periods when they least expected her, and disappeared again as +suddenly, they knew not why nor whither. In this way she vanished +from the boarding-house where we first met her, with no intimation +of her intention even to our hostess, till her baggage was ready and +the coach at the door. + +'Where is Miss Jerningham?' was the unanimous cry when she did not +appear in her usual place. + +'She left us early this morning,' quietly replied the landlady. + +'Gone--really gone?' was repeated in various tones of +disappointment; and one old gentleman, who had paid the absent lady +marked attention, demanded in a chagrined voice: 'Pray, where has +she gone? Can you tell us _that_, ma'am?--heigh!' + +'No, sir, I cannot,' replied our hostess. 'All I can say is, that +Miss Jerningham is a very honourable and generous lady, and wherever +she is, I wish her well.' + +'Humph!' said the old gentleman gruffly; 'she must have a good +fortune to do as she does.' + +'Yes, sir, she must,' was the reply: 'and go where she will, I +believe that Miss Jerningham always gives plentiful alms. It seems +her settled habit, like.' + +'Settled habit!' muttered the old gentleman: 'she hasn't got a +settled habit, ma'am: she is a most unsettled and extraordinary +individual.' + +'Well, sir, perhaps so,' replied Mrs Smith; 'but Miss Jerningham is +quite the lady.' And in that opinion we all coincided, supposing our +hostess by the word lady to have meant gentlewoman. + +A few months afterwards she called upon us in London. She was not +staying with her brother, but declined giving her address, remarking +that it was not worth while, as she was about to change her abode +immediately. By accident, however, we discovered afterwards that +Miss Jerningham had lodged for the whole period within a dozen doors +of us. Our surprise was lessened in after-years at the pertinacity +with which she continued to appear to us, although always at +uncertain intervals; for a service rendered by our father, referring +to some banking transaction, apparently never escaped her memory, +and she invariably alluded to this act of kindness with expressions +of gratitude. This circumstance operated, we conjectured, as an +encouragement to bestow on us an unusual mark of confidence and +friendship, for such Miss Jerningham considered it when requesting +permission to add our address to an advertisement she was about +inserting in the _Times_ for 'eligible board and lodging.' She knew +that newspapers were prohibited articles in our circle, +consequently we had no opportunity of finding out that portion of +the transaction she wished to conceal. In what locality this +'eligible board and lodging' was advertised for, we never inquired, +judging it would be needless to do so, but we consented to receive +the letters Miss Jerningham expected in answer. + +Poor Miss Jerningham! great was her amazement as well as our own +when, in the course of three days, we had amassed for her +consideration and perusal no less than seventy-seven letters +directed to 'X.Y.Z.' What temptations were held forth in the +advertisement which elicited so many replies we never were made +acquainted with: Miss Jerningham counted the letters, tied them up, +and carried them off in triumph. Next day we received a handsome +present of some chimney-ornaments, with 'Miss Jerningham's regards +and best thanks;' but we saw no more of the Mysterious Lady for some +years. When we did meet again in a quiet country town, she had been +to America, and we had experienced vicissitude and bereavement. Our +altered mode of living made no difference to Miss Jerningham: she +accompanied us home, for we met in the market-place; but as it is +not so easy to keep one's place of abode secret in a small +gossipping community, for once in her life she made a virtue of +necessity, and openly divulged the fact of her locale, number and +all specified. She did not know a creature in the town or in the +suburbs--she came there for solitude. Conjecture was afloat in all +quarters as to who or what she could be. Some said she must be a +gentlewoman, because she wore velvet and satin, and gold +chains--moreover, paid well for everything. Others affirmed she +might be a gentlewoman--gentlewomen did queer things sometimes--but +there must be some very strange reason for a lone and unknown female +to drop from the skies, as it were, in the midst of strangers. For +our own part, our mind was easier on her account, now that she had +broken through her rule of secrecy; and we even hoped that when we +saw her again, she might go a step farther, and throw off the veil +entirely. + +On calling at her lodgings, however, the next day, we learned that +the lodger had decamped, after placing in the landlady's hand the +solatium of another week's rent, as specified in the agreement--a +week's notice or a week's money. Thus, for the space of +five-and-twenty years, every now and then, did the Mysterious Lady +turn up. Whenever we left home on a visit, we were sure, on our +return, to find a card on the table, inscribed with the mystical +characters--'Miss Jerningham.' No message left, no address given. +The last time we ever saw her was in Hyde Park, walking arm-in-arm +with her brother the general; and soon after we heard from the +worthy veteran, that 'Bessie had gone on her travels again.' + +If Miss Jerningham has really ceased to exist, her end was as +mysterious and uncertain as the movements of her life. We say if, +because we feel by no means sure on the subject, and should neither +faint nor scream if she were to enter the apartment at this moment. +It is about five years since General Jerningham set hurriedly off, +in considerable dismay, for the scene of a direful conflagration in +a northern county, wherein several unfortunate individuals had +perished. The fire originated at a hotel, and the General had +reasons for fearing that his sister might be among the number of the +sufferers, for she was known to have followed that route. A +notification likewise had appeared in the public prints, respecting +an unknown lady, whose remains awaited the coroner's inquest, but +afforded no clue whatever to recognition. + +General Jerningham, however, came to the conclusion that he indeed +beheld the mortal remains of his poor sister, although the only +evidence he could obtain was the description given of her appearance +by those who had seen her in life. He may have been influenced, +likewise, by the fact, that the unfortunate lady had arrived at the +hotel only on the previous day, and that no one knew who she was, +whence she had come, or whither she was going. After making every +possible inquiry, but without obtaining more satisfactory +information, the General and his family put on mourning. The shock +he had sustained produced bad effects on an already enfeebled +constitution, and accelerated the veteran's decease. During his last +days, he frequently alluded to 'poor Bessie' in affectionate terms; +and we then gathered at least one fact relating to her past history. +Her lover, it seems, had been suddenly carried off by malignant +fever on the eve of their wedding-day, bequeathing to Bessie all his +property; and Bessie, who had never known serious sorrow before, +gave no sign, by sigh or lamentation, that she bemoaned the untimely +fate of her betrothed, but withdrew herself from friends and +connections, and became the restless, homeless, harmless being at +whose peculiarities we had so often laughed, little thinking that +tears of secret anguish had probably bedewed the pathway of her +early wanderings. This very concealment of her grief, however, may +have arisen from the peculiar idiosyncrasy which procured for her +among all who knew her the name of the Mysterious Lady. But we will +not talk of her in the past tense. We are so sure of her being +alive, that we are even now anxious to conclude our visit to the +pleasant house where this is indited, feeling a presentiment we +cannot overcome, that the first interesting object we shall see on +returning home is that mystical card which has so often startled and +baffled our curiosity--'Miss. Jerningham.' + + + + +CASH, CORN, AND COAL MARKETS. + + +A circle of a few hundred yards only in diameter, of which the centre +should be the Duke of Wellington's statue in front of the Royal +Exchange, London, would enclose within its magic girdle a far greater +amount of real, absolute power, than was ever wielded by the most +magnificent conqueror of ancient or modern times. There can be no +doubt of this; for is it not the mighty heart of the all but +omnipotent money force of the world, whose aid withheld, invincible +armies become suddenly paralysed, and the most gallant fleets that +ever floated can neither brave the battle nor the breeze? And this +stupendous power, say moralists, has neither a god, a country, nor a +conscience! To-day, upon security, it will furnish arms and means to +men struggling to rescue their country from oppression, themselves +from servitude and chains--to-morrow, upon the assurance of a good +dividend, it will pay the wages of the soldiery who have successfully +desolated that country, and exterminated or enslaved its defenders. +Trite, if sad commonplaces these, to which the world listens, if at +all, with impatient indifference. I have not a very strong faith in +the soundness of the commercial evangel upon this subject; still, the +very last task I should set myself would be a sermon denunciative of +mammon-worship--mammon-love--mammon-influence--and so on; and this +for two quite sufficient reasons--one, that I have myself, I +blushingly confess, a very strong partiality for notes of the +governor and company of the Bank of England and sovereigns of full +weight and fineness; the other, that the very best and fiercest +discourse I ever heard fulminated against the debasing love of gold, +especially characteristic, it is said, of these degenerate days, was +delivered by a gentleman who, having lived some seventy useful and +eloquent years at the rate of about three hundred a year or +thereabout, was found to have died worth upwards of L.60,000, all +secured by mortgages bearing 7 per cent interest on the Brazilian +slave-estates of a relative by marriage. But as an illustration of +power--and power under any form of development has a singular +fascination for most minds--I have thought it may not be +uninteresting to glance briefly at a few of the more salient features +of the metropolitan mammoth markets. + +Standing, then, by the statue of the Iron Duke, we have the Royal +Exchange directly in front, Princes Street and the Poultry +immediately behind, Lombard Street and Cornhill on the right, +Threadneedle Street and Lothbury on the left hand. What an Aladin +glitter seems to dance upon the paper as the names of these +remarkable localities are jotted down, containing as they do so +large a number of world-famous banking and commercial establishments +whose operations and influence are limited only by the boundaries of +civilisation! Let us look closely at one or two of the chief +potentates, principalities, and powers which are there enthroned. + +The Royal Exchange, it is well known, owes its origin to the public +spirit of Sir Thomas Gresham, who, close upon three centuries ago, +built the first Exchange upon the spot now before us. It was +destroyed by fire in 1666; the next more costly erection met the +same fate in 1838, and has been replaced by the present very +handsome edifice. On the entablature is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, +who inaugurated Sir Richard Gresham's structure--the centre figure +of a number of others emblematic of the all-embracing commerce of +this country, and surmounted by the words: 'The earth is the Lord's, +and the fulness thereof.' If you ascend the steps of the Royal +Exchange, and pass into the body of the building, you will find a +considerable number of business-looking, sleek, earnest men there, +eagerly engaged in canvassing the general affairs of the world, and +more especially their own particular ventures, hopes, anticipations, +investments therein. If you are an artist, or indeed at all +impressionable in matters of taste, you will, I fear, be painfully +affected by a marble figure near the centre of the hall, which many +persons assert to be a statue of the Queen of these realms--a +calumny which I, as a loyal subject, feel bound most emphatically to +deny. But the chief interest attached to this building is that it is +here the celebrated association known as 'Lloyd's' has its +offices--that Lloyd's, whose name is familiar as a household word in +every country the sea touches, and who underwrite the maritime +ventures of every commercial nation of the globe. Very marvellous +has been the rapid development of this gigantic institution, from +the small beginnings of a few persons meeting in a coffee-house, +till now, when it may be said well-nigh to monopolise the +maritime-assurance business of the world. Not even America has been +able to set up a rival to it at all worthy of the name; and hundreds +of the long-voyage vessels of the States, as well as of all European +powers, are insured here. There is, to be sure, a continental +association that has borrowed its name without leave, and dubbed +itself the 'Austrian Lloyd's'--a designation which forcibly reminds +one of the remark of Coleridge when told that Kotzebue assumed to be +the German Shakspeare: 'Quite so,' replied the author of the +_Ancient Mariner_, 'a very German Shakspeare indeed.' The +correspondence of the true Lloyd's is of course immense--enormous: +their agents are everywhere; and so admirably regulated does the +vast machine appear to be that litigation between owners and +underwriters is almost unknown. This is doubtless one of the causes +of the prodigious success of the institution. + +There is little more to notice in the Royal Exchange, except that +the interior decorations are very tastefully executed; and therefore +turn we now to this leviathan Bank of England--to the long, +irregular, and by no means imposing line of building on our left. +This is William Cobbett's Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, whose +rickety constitution and failing powers--according to that bold and +blundering financier--betokened almost immediate dissolution more +than a quarter of a century ago. Other men, less dominated by +unreasoning prejudice than the author of the 'Political Register,' +deceived themselves into the same notion; and it is very possible +that there are even now persons who hold the faith as it was in +Cobbett--just as we are told in one of Mr Disraeli's novels, that +the Greek mythology is still the creed of a fragment of humanity +existing somewhere in the mountains of Syria. At all events, since +the late Sir Robert Peel placed it beyond the power of the governor +and company to indulge in dangerous or erratic courses, it is +abundantly manifest that to doubt of the perfect stability of the +Bank of England is tantamount to questioning the infallibility of +arithmetic. In the vaults and coffers of this huge establishment +there is at present--as we learn from the published weekly-returns, +a device of Sir Robert's--the bewildering amount of between +L.14,000,000 and L.15,000,000 sterling in gold and silver!--a sum of +which the figures glide smoothly and glibly enough off the pen or +tongue, but a mass of treasure, nevertheless, that few persons can +realise to themselves a distinct and accurate conception of. And +yet--and what an idea does the fact present of the multitudinous +resources, the unrivalled industry, the latent power of this +country!--all that heap of precious metals, all that is besides in +circulation, with the addition of the bank-note currency, is +comparatively nothing when weighed against the true and real +exchangeable wealth of Great Britain; wealth of which this coined +and convertible paper-money is merely the standard sign of value, +the recognised medium by which all things are bartered. It is easy +to give one or two significant and startling illustrations of this +fact--significant and startling in other respects than in enabling +us to see pretty clearly through the currency-cobwebs industriously +woven from time to time amongst us. All the money in the three +kingdoms, the whole circulating medium of the realm--gold, silver, +copper, paper--does not certainly exceed, if it reaches, which is +very doubtful, the national revenue for one year, to say nothing of +local rates and burdens! And it would, moreover, require all the +money circulating in Great Britain and Ireland, including notes to +the last farthing, to pay for the spirits, beer, and tobacco +consumed annually by the people of the United Kingdom! The +note-issues of the Bank of England are about L.19,000,000; its +reserve in gold and silver, as we have seen, is upwards of +L.14,000,000 sterling: these amounts added together would no more +than about discharge the alcohol and weed score of the country for +little more than seven months! Lightning-flashes these, that throw +vivid gleams over the industrial activity, resources, powers, +plague-spots of this mighty, restless, enterprising, but far from +sufficiently instructed or disciplined British people. + +But let us enter the great money-temple. Very imposing to me has +always appeared the army of clerks seated in saturnine silence at +the desks, or gliding with grave celerity about the place, and +variously employed in balancing enormous accounts, shovelling up +heaps of sovereigns, receiving and distributing bank-paper of vast +value as coolly and unconcernedly as if engaged in counting out so +many chestnuts. A strange feeling must, I suspect, perturb the mind +of a newly-appointed clerk amidst all that astounding wealth, until +the genius of the place has so moulded his thoughts and perceptions, +that he has come to regard himself as but one of the dumb and dead +parts of a mighty machine, over whose action he has no more control +than he has over the courses of the stars. All these issue, cheque, +gold, bullion departments, with their numerous busy officials, are +in truth but the husk and body of the establishment. They by whose +will and breath it is animated and directed are nowhere at this hour +to be seen. They met on this as on every other morning in their hall +of inquisition--the Bank parlour--and decided there, without appeal, +without reasons assigned, in the absence of the parties whose +commercial reputation was trembling in the balance, upon the course +of financial action to be pursued, and upon whose paper should or +should not be discounted. A terrible stroke, sharper than a dagger +could inflict, politely, blandly as it is performed, is that which +falls upon a merchant for the first time informed that the Bank must +decline to discount his bills! The announcement is usually received +as smilingly as it is made. 'It is a matter of very slight +consequence, _etcetera_;' but if you had been near enough, you might +have noticed, as the clerk did, the quiver of the lip beneath that +sickly smile, and that the face was as white as the rejected paper +the merchant's trembling fingers were replacing in his pocket-book. +And no wonder that he should be thus agitated, for the refusal has, +he well knew, thrust him down the first steps of the steep and +slippery descent, at the bottom of which lies bankruptcy--ruin! But +these are ordinary downfalls, by the wrecks of which the busy haunts +of commercial enterprise are paved; and we have other places to look +in at. Before leaving the Bank, however, let us step a few paces to +the left of the chief entrance. Now who would believe that in the +very midst of this Mammon-temple, where space is of incalculable +value, a large plot of greensward should have been jealously +preserved, from which spring two fine elms, that from out the heat +and turmoil of the place lift up their fresh leaves to the +sky--bright, waving leaves, that as often as the sun kisses them, +laugh out in sparkling triumph over the heated, anxious, jaded +toilers and schemers below? Yet so it is. + +Again in Threadneedle Street, and turning to the left, we reach, at +the termination of the Bank-front, Bartholomew Lane, famous for +nothing that I am aware of, save Capel Court, situate at about the +centre, on the right-hand side. At the end of Capel Court is the +Stock-Exchange, within whose sacred precincts subscribers only, and +their clerks, may enter--a regulation strictly enforced by the +liveried guardian at the door. But you can hear enough of the +stentorian gabble going on within where we now are. Hark! 'A +thousand pounds' consols at 96-3/4-96-1/2.' 'Take 'em at 96-1/4,' is +the vociferous reply of a buyer. 'Mexican at 27-1/2-27; Portuguese +fours at 32-7/8-32-1/2; Spanish fives at 21; Dutch two-and-halfs at +50-1/2-50-1/4:' and so roars on the distracting Babel till the hour +for closing strikes. Much of this business is no doubt +legitimate--the _bonâ fide_ sale and purchase of stock by the +brokers, for which they charge their clients the very moderate +commission of 2s. 6d. per L.100. The ruinous gambling of the +Stock-Exchange is another matter, and is chiefly carried on by +'time' bargains--a sham-business, managed in this way:--A nominally +buys of B L.100,000 worth of stock in consols, to be delivered at a +fixed price, say 96, on the next settling-day. It is plain that if +the market-price of consols shall have fallen, by the day named, to +94, B wins L.2000--the difference between L.100,000 estimated at 96 +and 94 per cent. A must pay these L.2000, or, which amounts to the +same thing, receive from B consols to the amount of L.100,000 at 96, +that in reality are procurable at 94. It is simply and entirely a +gambling _bet_ upon what the price of funds will be on the next +settling-day. These transactions have been pronounced fraudulent by +the superior courts, and liabilities so contracted cannot be legally +recovered. It is, for all that, quite certain that these 'debts of +honour' entail misery, ruin, often death, on the madmen who +habitually peril everything upon the turn of the Stock-Exchange +dice--dice loaded, too, by every fraudulent device that the +ingenuity of the two parties engaged in the struggle can discover or +invent. To the 'Bears,' who speculate for a fall, national calamity +is a God-send. Especially a failure of the harvest, or a great +military disaster like that which befell the Cabool expedition, is +an almost priceless blessing--a cause of jubilant thanksgiving and +joy. The 'Bulls,' on the other hand, whose gains depend upon a rise +in the funds, are ever brimful of boasts, and paint all things +_couleur de rose_. If the facts bear out the assertions of these +bands of _speculators_--we prefer a mild term--why so much the +better for the facts; but if not, sham-facts will answer the +purpose, and to manufacture _them_ 'is as easy as lying.' It is a +remarkable fact, by the way, that out of the multitude of British +fundholders there are not more than about 25,000 persons who are +liable from that source to the income-tax--that is, who receive +dividends to the amount of L.150 and upwards annually. The most +numerous class of the national creditors eleven years ago--and there +has, we believe, been no later return--were those whose annual +dividends did not exceed L.50. These numbered 98,946: the next +largest class, 85,069, were creditors whose yearly dividends did not +exceed L.5; whilst only 192 persons were in the receipt of annual +dividends exceeding L.2000. + +But leaving these haunts of money-dealers, let us pass over to +Leadenhall Street, turn down Billiter Street, and walk on till we +reach Mark Lane and the plain, spacious, substantial, Doric-fronted +building on the left hand, in which the great London Corn Market is +held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday--the chief market, however, +being that of Monday. There are no clamorous shoutings here. These +crowds of staid, well-dressed, respectable people fly no kites, deal +in no flimsy paper-schemes and shares. Their commerce is in corn, +flour, seeds--the sustenance of man, in short. There are sober +traders in realities, and the busy hum of voices has a smack of +healthy traffic in it. It would so appear at all events, if we care +not to look beneath the surface; and, in sooth, since the abolition +of the sliding-scale has rendered the corn-supply continuous and +regular as other staples, gambling to any ruinous extent has become +almost impossible. + +There is another great change apparent here; albeit this has been a +very gradual one. A stranger will have remarked with surprise that +there are but few, very few, of the knee-breeched, top-booted, +double-chinned, jolly, old-class farmers amongst the numerous groups +who are either watching their sample-bags and waiting for customers, +or chewing and smelling handfuls of wheat and barley, and casting +what they do not swallow on the flags, already carpeted with grain. +Still in addition to a strong sprinkling of 'Friends,' there are, he +perceives, a goodly number of stalwart, handsomely-dressed +individuals, many of them wearing kid gloves, and carrying silk +umbrellas neatly ensconced in oil-skin cases. There is a group, one +of whom has just refused 45s. per quarter for a sample of prime +white wheat. If we approach nearer to them, we shall perhaps +discover their quality. As I guessed! These gentlemen are distressed +agriculturists, who prefer selling their own corn to sending it to +any of the numerous highly-respectable salesmen who occupy the +offices round the two markets. There are scores here of these +well-attired, healthy-faced, hearty-looking, stout-limbed, but +distressed individuals present, with not one of whom I should have +the slightest objection to dine to-day, or on any other day, for +that matter. But we must beware of rash judgments. Appearances are +often deceitful, and we know, besides, from high authority, that +grief is apt to puff up and swell a man sadly at times. + +There is no possibility, an eminent salesman informed us, of making +even a proximate guess at the quantity of business done; neither, it +appears, is there any reliance to be placed upon the amount of +'arrivals' as given, either in the newspapers, or in the private +circulars issued weekly to the trade. Corn, in this market, is +usually sold at a month's credit, with discount for cash. The buyer +secures a sample of his purchase in a small canvas bag, and the +seller is of course bound to deliver the quantity agreed for at the +same weight and quality. There is one patent fact highly creditable +to our British cultivators, which I gather from a trade-circular +dated September 29, 1851, and this is, that foreign grains, wheats +especially, do not command anything like such prices as the English +varieties. The highest price of English white wheat is set down at +45s. per quarter; all foreign wheat is marked considerably lower: +Russian is quoted at from 31s. to 33s.; whilst Egyptian and Turkish +are marked from 24s. to 26s. per quarter; and fine American flour is +quoted at a price considerably under 'English Households.' These are +not signs of decrepit or faint-hearted farming. + +Being so near, we may as well look in for a few moments at the New +Coal Exchange opposite Billingsgate Market; a sightly, circular +building, of rich interior decoration, that will well repay a visit. +It is one of our newest 'lions,' and is certainly a very significant +sign and monument of the enormous and swiftly-increasing commercial +activity of the country. On the tesselated wooden floor--with the +anchor in the centre, an emblem not long to be appropriate to such a +place, as we shall presently see--thousands of tons of coal are +disposed of with marvellous rapidity; the days of sale being the +same as those of the Mark-Lane Market. + +There was a coal-tax, popularly known as the Richmond duty, which +was levied for many years, for the benefit of one family, but was +abolished some time ago. Its origin, and the especial circumstance +which, gossip saith, more immediately led to its infliction, are not +a little curious, perhaps instructive. The first Duke of Richmond of +the present line was a son of Charles II. by Louise René de +Pennevant de Querouaille, a French lady, better known to us as the +Duchess of Portsmouth, to whom Otway dedicated his 'Venice +Preserved' in such adulatory terms. This son, when only nine years +of age, was created a Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter; +and his mother, with the proverbial taste of her country, arranged a +more graceful mode of wearing the blue ribbon, which, as we see in +old portraits, was till then worn round the neck of the knight, with +the George pendent from it. The duchess presented her son to the +king with the ribbon thrown gracefully over his left shoulder, and +the George pendent on the right side. His majesty was delighted, +embraced his son, commanded that the insignia of the order should +always be so worn, presented the youthful knight with 1s. per ton, +Newcastle measure, upon all coals shipped in the Tyne for +consumption in England, and secured the munificent parental gift by +patent to the young duke and his heirs for ever. _Hôni soit qui mal +y pense._ + +After the fortunate family had enjoyed this revenue for about a +century and a quarter, the then Duke of Richmond, a personage said +to be wise in his generation, negotiated the sale of his patent with +the government; and on the 19th of August 1799 the Lords of the +Treasury agreed that the sum of L.499,833, 11s. 6d., the price of a +perpetual annuity of L.19,000, should be paid for the surrender of +the duke's right. This enormous sum was accordingly actually +disbursed by the Exchequer in two payments, and the obnoxious impost +on the Tyne coal-trade was abolished some thirty years +afterwards--by which time the Treasury had been repaid much more +than it had advanced, a circumstance inducing a belief that his +Grace sold his inheritance much too cheaply. The estimate of the +quantity of coals consumed in the United Kingdom, and exported +during the last year, reaches the staggering amount of 50,000,000 of +tons--a tremendous advance, which proves, if nothing else, that if, +as some will have it, we are an 'old' country, the capacity for hard +work as well as power of consumption increases marvellously with +age. At anyrate the three great business localities I have partially +indicated are stupendous facts, the full significance of which will +be fully comprehended by all and every one who may choose to compare +these slight outline sketches with the great originals. + + + + +STORY OF REMBRANDT. + + +At a short distance from Leyden may still be seen a flour-mill with +a quaint old dwelling-house attached, which bears, on a brick in a +corner of the wide chimney, the date 1550. Here, in 1606, was born +Paul Rembrandt. At an early age he manifested a stubborn, +independent will, which his father tried in vain to subdue. He +caused his son to work in the mill, intending that he should succeed +him in its management; but the boy shewed so decided a distaste for +the employment, that his father resolved to make him a priest, and +sent him to study at Leyden. Every one knows, however, that few lads +of fifteen, endowed with great muscular vigour and abundance of +animal spirits, will take naturally and without compulsion to the +study of Latin grammar. Rembrandt certainly did not; and his +obstinacy proving an overmatch for his teachers' patience, he was +sent back to the mill, when his father beat him so severely, that +next morning he ran off to Leyden, without in the least knowing how +he should live there. Fortunately he sought refuge in the house of +an honest artist, Van Zwaanenberg, who was acquainted with his +father. + +'Tell me, Paul,' asked his friend, 'what do you mean to do with +yourself, if you will not be either a priest or a miller? They are +both honourable professions: one gives food to the soul, the other +prepares it for the body.' + +'Very likely,' replied the boy; 'but I don't fancy either; for in +order to be a priest, one must learn Latin; and to be a miller, one +must bear to be beaten. How do _you_ earn your bread?' + +'You know very well I am a painter.' + +'Then I will be one too, Herr Zwaanenberg; and if you will go +to-morrow and tell my father so, you will do me a great service.' + +The good-natured artist willingly undertook the mission, and +acquainted the old miller with his son's resolution. + +'I want to know one thing,' said Master Rembrandt; 'will he be able +to gain a livelihood by painting?' + +'Certainly, and perhaps make a fortune.' + +'Then if you will teach him, I consent.' + +Thus Paul became the pupil of Van Zwaanenberg, and made rapid +progress in the elementary parts of his profession. Impatient to +produce some finished work, he did not give himself time to acquire +purity of style, but astonished his master by his precocious skill +in grouping figures, and producing marvellous effects of light and +shade. The first lessons which he took in perspective having wearied +him, he thought of a shorter method, and _invented_ perspective for +himself. + +One of his first rude sketches happened to fall into the hands of a +citizen of Leyden who understood painting. Despite of its evident +defects, the germs of rare talent which it evinced struck the +burgomaster; and sending for the young artist, he offered to give +him a recommendation to a celebrated painter living at Amsterdam, +under whom he would have far more opportunity of improvement than +with his present instructor. + +Rembrandt accepted the offer, and during the following year toiled +incessantly. Meantime his finances were dreadfully straitened; for +his father, finding that the expected profits were very tardy, +refused to give money to support his son, as he said, in idleness. +Paul, however, was not discouraged. Although far from possessing an +amiable or estimable disposition, he held a firm and just opinion of +his own powers, and resolved to make these subservient first to +fortune and then to fame. Thus while some of his companions, having +finished their preliminary studies, repaired to Florence, to +Bologna, or to Rome, Paul, determined, as he said, not to lose his +own style by becoming an imitator of even the mightiest masters, +betook himself to his paternal mill. At first his return resembled +that of the Prodigal Son. His father believed that he had come to +resume his miller's work; and bitter was his disappointment at +finding his son resolved not to renounce painting. + +With a very bad grace he allowed Paul to displace the flour-sacks on +an upper loft, in order to make a sort of studio, lighted by only +one narrow window in the roof. There Paul painted his first finished +picture. It was a _portrait_ of the mill. There, on the canvas, was +seen the old miller, lighted by a lantern which he carried in his +hand, giving directions to his men, occupied in ranging sacks in the +dark recesses of the granary. One ray falls on the fresh, comely +countenance of his mother, who has her foot on the last step of a +wooden staircase.[3] Rembrandt took this painting to the Hague, and +sold it for 100 florins. In order to return with more speed, he took +his place in the public coach. When the passengers stopped to dine, +Rembrandt, fearing to lose his treasure, remained in the carriage. +The careless stable-boy who brought the horses their corn forgot to +unharness them, and as soon as they had finished eating, excited +probably by Rembrandt, who cared not for his fellow-passengers, the +animals started off for Leyden, and quietly halted at their +accustomed inn. Our painter then got out, and repaired with his +money to the mill. + +Great was his father's joy. At length these silly daubs, which had +so often excited his angry contempt, seemed likely to be transmuted +into gold, and the old man's imagination took a rapturous flight. +'Neither he nor his old horse,' he said, 'need now work any longer; +they might both enjoy quiet during the remainder of their lives. +Paul would paint pictures, and support the whole household in +affluence.' + +Such was the old man's castle in the air; his clever, selfish son +soon demolished it. 'This sum of money,' he said, 'is only a lucky +windfall. If you indeed wish it to become the foundation of my +fortune, give me one hundred florins besides, and let me return to +Amsterdam: there I must work and study hard.' + +It would be difficult to describe old Rembrandt's disappointment. +Slowly, reluctantly, and one by one, he drew forth the 100 florins +from his strong-box. Paul took them, and with small show of +gratitude, returned to Amsterdam. In a short time his fame became +established as the greatest and most original of living artists. He +had a host of imitators, but all failed miserably in their attempts +at reproducing his marvellous effects of light and shade. Yet +Rembrandt prized the gold which flowed into him far more than the +glory. While mingling the colours which were to flash out on his +canvas in real living light, he thought but of his dingy coffers. + +When in possession of a yearly income equal to L.2000 sterling, he +would not permit the agent who collected his rents to bring them in +from the country to Amsterdam, lest he should be obliged to invite +him to dinner. He preferred setting out on a fine day, and going +himself to the agent's house. In this way he saved two dinners--the +one which he got, and the one, he avoided giving. 'So that's well +managed!' he used to say. + +This sordid disposition often exposed him to practical jokes from +his pupils; but he possessed a quiet temper, and was not easily +annoyed. One day a rich citizen came in, and asked him the price of +a certain picture. + +'Two hundred florins,' said Rembrandt. + +'Agreed,' said his visitor. 'I will pay you to-morrow, when I send +for the picture.' + +About an hour afterwards a letter was handed to the painter. Its +contents were as follow: 'MASTER REMBRANDT--During your absence a +few days since, I saw in your studio a picture representing an old +woman churning butter. I was enchanted with it; and if you will let +me purchase it for 300 florins, I pray you to bring it to my house, +and be my guest for the day.' The letter was signed with some +fictitious name, and bore the address of a village several leagues +distant from Amsterdam. + +Tempted by the additional 100 florins, and caring little for +breaking his engagement, Rembrandt set out early next morning with +his picture. He walked for four hours without finding his obliging +correspondent, and at length, worn out with fatigue, he returned +home. He found the citizen in his studio, waiting for the picture. +As Rembrandt, however, did not despair of finding the man of the 300 +florins, and as a falsehood troubled but little his blunted +conscience, he said: 'Alas! an accident has happened to the picture; +the canvas was injured, and I felt so vexed that I threw it into the +fire. Two hundred florins gone! However, it will be my loss, not +yours, for I will paint another precisely similar, and it shall be +ready for you by this time to-morrow.' + +'I am sorry,' replied the amateur, 'but it was the picture you have +burned which I wished to have; and as that is gone, I shall not +trouble you to paint another.' + +So he departed, and Rembrandt shortly afterwards received a second +letter to the following effect: 'MASTER REMBRANDT--You have broken +your engagement, told a falsehood, wearied yourself to death, and +lost the sale of your picture--all by listening to the dictates of +avarice. Let this lesson be a warning to you in future.' + +'So,' said the painter, looking round at his pupils, 'one of you +must have played me this pretty trick. Well, well, I forgive it. You +young varlets do not know the value of a florin as I know it.' + +Sometimes the students nailed small copper coins on the floor, for +the mischievous pleasure of seeing their master, who suffered much +from rheumatism in the back, stoop with pain and difficulty, and try +in vain to pick them up. + +Rembrandt married an ignorant peasant who had served him as cook, +thinking this a more economical alliance than one with a person of +refined mind and habits. He and his wife usually dined on brown +bread, salt herrings, and small beer. He occasionally took portraits +at a high price, and in this way became acquainted with the +Burgomaster Six, a man of enlarged mind and unblemished character, +who yet continued faithfully attached to the avaricious painter. His +friendship was sometimes put to a severe test by such occurrences as +the following:-- + +Rembrandt remarked one day that the price of his engravings had +fallen. + +'You are insatiable,' said the burgomaster. + +'Perhaps so. I cannot help thirsting for gold.' + +'You are a miser.' + +'True: and I shall be one all my life.' + +''Tis really a pity,' remarked his friend, 'that you will not be +able after death to act as your own treasurer, for whenever that +event occurs, all your works will rise to treble their present +value.' + +A bright idea struck Rembrandt. He returned home, went to bed, +desired his wife and his son Titus to scatter straw before the door, +and give out, first, that he was dangerously ill, and then +dead--while the simulated fever was to be of so dreadfully +infectious a nature that none of the neighbours were to be admitted +near the sick-room. These instructions were followed to the letter; +and the disconsolate widow proclaimed that, in order to procure +money for her husband's interment, she must sell all his works, any +property that he left not being available on so short a notice. + +The unworthy trick succeeded. The sale, including every trivial +scrap of painting or engraving, realised an enormous sum, and +Rembrandt was in ecstasy. The honest burgomaster, however, was +nearly frightened into a fit of apoplexy at seeing the man whose +death he had sincerely mourned standing alive and well at the door +of his studio. Meinherr Six obliged him to promise that he would in +future abstain from such abominable deceptions. One day he was +employed in painting in a group the likenesses of the whole family +of a rich citizen. He had nearly finished it, when intelligence was +brought him of the death of a tame ape which he greatly loved. The +creature had fallen off the roof of the house into the street. +Without interrupting his work, Rembrandt burst into loud +lamentations, and after some time announced that the piece was +finished. The whole family advanced to look at it, and what was +their horror to see introduced between the heads of the eldest son +and daughter an exact likeness of the dear departed ape. With one +voice they all exclaimed against this singular relative which it had +pleased the painter to introduce amongst them, and insisted on his +effacing it. + +'What!' exclaimed Rembrandt, 'efface the finest figure in the +picture? No, indeed; I prefer keeping the piece for myself.' Which +he did, and carried off the painting. + +Of Rembrandt's style it may be said that he painted with light, for +frequently an object was indicated merely by the projection of a +shadow on a wall. Often a luminous spot suggested, rather than +defined, a hand or a head. Yet there is nothing vague in his +paintings: the mind seizes the design immediately. His studio was a +circular room, lighted by several narrow slits, so contrived that +rays of sunshine entered through only one at a time, and thus +produced strange effects of light and shade. The room was filled +with old-world furniture, which made it resemble an antiquary's +museum. There were heaped up in the most picturesque confusion +curious old furniture, antique armour, gorgeously-tinted stuffs; and +these Rembrandt arranged in different forms and positions, so as to +vary the effects of light and colour. This he called 'making his +models sit to him.' And in this close adherence to reality consisted +the great secret of his art. It is strange that his favourite +amongst all his pupils was the one whose style least resembled his +own--Gerard Douw--he who aimed at the most excessive minuteness of +delineation, who stopped key-holes lest a particle of dust should +fall on his palette, who gloried in representing the effects of +fresh scouring on the side of a kettle. + +Rembrandt died in 1674, at the age of sixty-eight. He passed all his +life at Amsterdam. Some of his biographers have told erroneously +that he once visited Italy: they were deceived by the word +_Venetiis_ placed at the bottom of several of his engravings. He +wrote it there with the intention of deluding his countrymen into +the belief that he was absent, and about to settle in Italy--an +impression which would materially raise the price of his +productions. Strange and sad it is to see so much genius united with +so much meanness--the head of fine gold with the feet of clay.[4] + + * * * * * + +[Footnote 3: This picture is believed to be no longer in existence. I have +found its description in the work of the historian Decamps.] + +[Footnote 4: Abridged from the French of J. de Chatillon.] + + + + +ELECTIONEERING CURIOSITY. + + + [In giving the following address of an American candidate, + we must beg our readers to understand that it is not + intended as a joke. Electioneering in the States, + generally speaking, is carried on with good-humour; and + when there is no real cause of squabbling, the object of + the aspirant is to get the laugh in his favour. The orator + we introduce to the English public is Mr Daniel R. + Russell, a candidate for the Auditorship in Mississippi.] + +LADIES AND GENTLEMEN--I rise--but there is no use telling you that; +you know I am up as well as I do. I am a modest man--very--but I +never lost a picayune by it in my life. Being a scarce commodity +among candidates, I thought I would mention it, for fear if I did +not, you never would hear it. Candidates are generally considered as +nuisances, but they are not; they are the politest men in the world, +shake you by the hand, ask how's your family, what's the prospect +for crops, &c.--and I am the politest man in the state. Davy +Crockett says the politest man he ever saw, when he asked a man to +drink, turned his back so that he might drink as much as he pleased. +I beat that all hollow: I give a man a chance to drink twice if he +wishes, for I not only turn my back, but shut my eyes! I am not only +the politest man, but the best electioneerer: you ought to see me +shaking hands with the vibrations, the pump-handle and pendulum, the +cross-cut and wiggle-waggle. I understand the science perfectly, and +if any of the country candidates wish instructions, they must call +upon me. Fellow-citizens, I was born--if I hadn't been I wouldn't +have been a candidate; but I am going to tell you where: 'twas in +Mississippi, but 'twas on the right side of the negro line; yet that +is no compliment, as the negroes are mostly born on the same side. I +started in the world as poor as a church-mouse, yet I came honestly +by my poverty, for I inherited it; and if I did start poor, no man +can say but that I have held my own remarkably well. Candidates +generally tell you--if you think they are qualified, &c. Now, I +don't ask your thoughts, I ask your votes. Why, there is nothing to +think of except to watch and see that Swan's name is not on the +ticket; if so, _think_ to scratch it off and put mine on. I am +certain that I am competent, for who ought to know better than I do? +Nobody. I will allow that Swan is the best auditor in the state; +that is, till I am elected: then perhaps it's not proper for me to +say anything more. Yet, as an honest man, I am bound to say that I +believe it's a grievous sin to hide anything from my +fellow-citizens; therefore say that it's my private opinion, +publicly expressed, that I'll make the best auditor ever in the +United States. 'Tis not for honour I wish to be auditor; for in my +own county I was offered an office that was all honour--coroner, +which I respectfully declined. The auditor's office is worth some +5000 dollars a year, and I am in for it like a thousand of brick. To +shew my goodness of heart, I'll make this offer to my competitor. +I'm sure of being elected, and he will lose something by the +canvass, therefore I am willing to divide equally with him, and make +these offers: I'll take the salary, and he may have the honour, or +he may have the honour, and I'll take the salary. + +In the way of honours, I have received enough to satisfy me for +life. I went out to Mexico, ate pork and beans, slept in the rain +and mud, and swallowed everything but live Mexicans. When I was +ordered to go, I went; 'charge,' I charged; and 'break for the +chaperel'--you had better believe I beat a quarter nag in doing my +duty. + +My competitor, Swan, is a bird of golden plumage, who has been +swimming for the last four years in the auditor's pond at 5000 +dollars a year. I am for rotation. I want to rotate him out, and to +rotate myself in. There's a plenty of room for him to swim outside +of that pond; therefore _pop_ in your votes for me--I'll _pop_ him +out, and _pop_ myself in. + +I am for a division of labour. Swan says he has to work all the +time, with his nose down upon the public grindstone. Four years must +have ground it to a _pint_. Poor fellow! the public ought not to +insist on having the handle of his mug ground clean off. I have a +large, full-grown, and well-blown nose, red as a beet, and tough as +sole-leather. I rush to the post of duty; I offer it up as a +sacrifice; I clap it on the grindstone. Fellow-citizens, grind till +I _holler enuff_--that'll be sometime first, for I'll hang like grim +death to a dead African. + +Time's most out. Well, I like to forgot to tell you my name. It's +Daniel; for short, Dan. Not a handsome name, for my parents were +poor people, who lived where the quality appropriated all the nice +names; therefore they had to take what was left and divide around +among us--but it's as handsome as I am--D. Russell. Remember, all +and every one of you, that it's not Swan. + +I am sure to be elected; so, one and all, great and small, short and +tall, when you come down to Jackson after the election, stop at the +auditor's office--the latch-string always hangs out; enter without +knocking, take off your things, and make yourself at home. + + + + +A NEGRO'S ACCOUNT OF LIBERIA. + + +All of you that feel like it, my friends, come on home--the bush is +cleared away--you can hear no one say there is nothing to eat here. +Why, one man, Gabriel Moore, brought better than 200 cattle from the +interior this year--another 100--some 60, some 50, &c. There are no +hogs there, they say--no turkeys--why, I saw 50 or 60 in the street +at Millsburg the other day. No horses: I have got four in my stable +now; I have a mare and two colts, and I have a horse that I have +been offered 100 dollars for here; if you had him he would bring +500. If you don't believe it, let some gentleman send me a buggy or +a single gig--you shall see how myself and wife will take pleasure, +going from town to town--throw the harness in too--any gentleman +that feels like it--white or coloured--and I will try to send him a +boa constrictor to take his comfort; I know how to take the +gentleman without any danger. My oxen I was working them yesterday; +and as for goats and sheep, we have a plenty. We have a plenty to +eat, every man that will half work. I give you this; you are all +writing to me to tell you about Liberia, what we eat, and all the +news--I mean my coloured friends. Yours truly, ZION HARRIS. + + + + +LARD-CANDLES. + + +One of the most important discoveries or improvements of the age, is +a new species of candle which has been recently made in Cincinnati, +and which will shortly be offered extensively for sale. It is +calculated to supersede all other kinds in use by its beauty, +freedom from guttering, hardness, and capacity of giving light, in +all which respects it is superior to every other species of candle. +This candle is nearly translucent, and can be made to exhibit the +wick, when the candle is held up between the eye and the light, +while the surface is as glossy as polished wax or varnish. The +principal ingredient is lard; and the value of this manufacture can +be hardly exaggerated. Taking durability into account, it can be +made as cheap as any other candle; and there exists no single +element of comfort, convenience, profit, and economy, in which this +article has not the advantage of sperm, star, wax, or tallow +candles. It will be readily conceded that the days of all other +portable or table light, including lard-oil, are numbered. In fact, +except where intense light, as in public buildings, is an object, +gas itself cannot compete with it for public favour.--_American +Paper_. + + + + +CALIFORNIA ITEMS. + + +Some idea of the traffic between San Francisco and the southern +mines may be formed from the fact, that there are at this moment ten +steamers plying between San Francisco and Sacramento. The latter are +for the most part of a larger size than those on the San Joaquin +river; and make the trip of about 120 miles in from seven to eight +hours. In the elegance of their accommodations and the luxuries of +their larder, they might compare favourably with any +passenger-vessels in the world. There are ten other steamers plying +from Sacramento to different places above that city. One year ago +there was but one steamboat in Oregon--the _Columbia_; now there are +eleven of different kinds running in the Columbia and Willamette +rivers, not including the Pacific steamers, _Sea-gull_ and +_Columbia_, running between Oregon and California. + + + + +THE NOBLE MARINER. + +BY THE REV. JAMES GILBORNE LYONS, LL.D. + + +Most readers of these lines will remember that when the ship _Ocean +Monarch_ was turned off Liverpool on the 24th of August 1848, +Frederick Jerome of New York saved fifteen lives by an act of +singular courage and benevolence. They will also lament that one so +ready to help others should himself perish by violence: he was +killed in Central America in the autumn of 1851. + + Shout the noble seaman's name, + Deeds like _his_ belong to fame: + Cottage roof and kingly dome, + Sound the praise of brave Jerome. + Let his acts be told and sung, + While his own high Saxon tongue-- + Herald meet for worth sublime-- + Peals from conquered clime to clime. + + Madly rolled the giant wreck, + Fiercely blazed the riven deck; + Thick and fast as falling stars, + Crashed the flaming blocks and spars; + Loud as surf, when winds are strong, + Wailed the scorched and stricken throng, + Gazing on a rugged shore, + Fires behind, and seas before. + + On the charred and reeling prow + Reft of hope, they gather now, + Finding, one by one, a grave + In the vexed and sullen wave. + Here the child, as if in sleep, + Floats on waters dark and deep; + There the mother sinks below, + Shrieking in her mighty wo. + + Britons, quick to strive or feel, + Joined with chiefs of rich Brazil; + Western freemen, prompt to dare, + Side by side with Bourbon's heir; + Proving who could _then_ excel, + Came with succour long and well; + But Jerome, in peril nursed; + Shone among the foremost--_first_. + + Through the reddened surge and spray, + Fast he cleaves his troubled way; + Boldly climbs and stoutly clings, + On the smoking timber springs; + Fronts the flames, nor fears to stand + In that lorn and weeping band; + Looks on death, nor tries to shun, + Till his work of love is done. + + Glorious man!--immortal work!-- + Claim thy hero, proud New York; + Harp of him when feasts are spread, + Tomb him with thy valiant dead. + Who that, bent on just renown, + Seeks a Christian's prize and crown, + Would not spurn whole years of life, + For one hour of _such_ a strife? + + * * * * * + +Printed and Published by W. and R. CHAMBERS, High Street, Edinburgh. +Also sold by W.S. ORR, Amen Corner, London; D.N. CHAMBERS, 55 West +Nile Street, Glasgow; and J. M'GLASHAN, 50 Upper Sackville Street, +Dublin.--Advertisements for Monthly Parts are requested to be sent +to MAXWELL & Co., 31 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London, to whom +all applications respecting their insertion must be made. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 420, +New Series, Jan. 17, 1852, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH *** + +***** This file should be named 14603-8.txt or 14603-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/6/0/14603/ + +Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. 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No. 420. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 420, New Series, Jan. 17, 1852 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: January 5, 2005 [EBook #14603] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH *** + + + + +Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. Shiffer and the PG Online +Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1>CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL</h1> + +<h2><a name="Contents" id="Contents">CONTENTS</a></h2> + + <a href="#article1">HOW IS THE WORLD USING YOU</a><br /> + <a href="#article2">THE SISTERS OF CHARITY IN BOHEMIA.</a><br /> + <a href="#article3">ADVENTURES OF AN ARMY PHYSICIAN.</a><br /> + <a href="#article4">THE MYSTERIOUS LADY.</a><br /> + <a href="#article5">CASH, CORN, AND COAL MARKETS.</a><br /> + <a href="#article6">STORY OF REMBRANDT.</a><br /> + <a href="#article7">ELECTIONEERING CURIOSITY.</a><br /> + <a href="#article8">A NEGRO'S ACCOUNT OF LIBERIA.</a><br /> + <a href="#article9">LARD-CANDLES.</a><br /> + <a href="#article10">CALIFORNIA ITEMS.</a><br /> + <a href="#article11">THE NOBLE MARINER.</a><br /> + <br /> + <br /> + +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page33" id="page33"></a>[pg 33]</span> + +<img src="images/banner.png" + width="100%" + alt="Banner: Chambers' Edinburgh Journal" /> + +<h3>CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL +CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S +INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c.</h3> + +<hr class="full" /> + +<table width="100%" + summary="Volume, Date and Price"> +<tr> +<td align="left"><b>No. 420. NEW SERIES.</b></td> +<td align="left"><b>SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1852.</b></td> +<td align="right"><b>PRICE 1½<i>d</i>.</b></td> +</tr> +</table> + +<hr class="full" /> + +<h2><a name="article1" id="article1"> +HOW IS THE WORLD USING YOU? +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>This is a very common question, usually put and answered with more +or less levity. We seldom hear of any one answering very favourably +as to the usage he experiences from the world. More generally, the +questioned seems to feel that his treatment is not, and never has +been, quite what it ought to be. It has sometimes occurred to me, +that a great oversight is committed in our so seldom putting to +ourselves the co-relative question: What have I done to make the +world use me well? What merit have I shewn—by what good intention +towards the world have I been animated—what has been the positive +amount of those services of mine on which I found my pretensions to +the world's rewards? All of these are interrogations which it would +be necessary to answer satisfactorily before we could be truly +entitled to take measure of the world's goodness to us in return; +for surely it is not to be expected that the world is to pay in mere +expectancy: time enough, in all conscience, when the service has +been rendered, or at soonest, when a reasonable ground of hope has +been established that it will not be withheld or performed +slightingly. Only too much room there is to fear that, if these +questions were put and faithfully answered, the ordinary result +would be a conviction that the world had used us quite as well as we +deserved.</p> + +<p>Men are of course prevented from going through this process by their +self-love. Unwillingness to see or own their shortcomings, keeps +them in a sort of delusion on the subject. Well, I do not hope to +make an extensive change upon them in this respect; but perhaps it +may not be impossible to rouse one here and there to the correct +view, and thus accomplish a little good.</p> + +<p>Let us address ourselves to commercial life first, for the labour by +which man lives is at the bottom of everything. Here we meet the now +well-recognised principle in political economy, that generally +wages, salaries, remunerations of all kinds, are in pretty exact +relation to the value of the services performed—this value being of +course determined, in a great degree, by the easiness or difficulty +of the work, the commonness or rarity of the faculties and skill +required for it, the risk of non-success in the profession, and so +forth. Many a good fellow who feels that his income is +inconveniently small, and wonders why it is not greater, might have +the mystery solved if he would take a clear, unprejudiced view of +the capacity in which he is acting towards the public. Is he a slave +of the desk, in some office of routine business? Then let him +consider how many hundreds of similar men would answer an +advertisement of his seat being vacant. The fatal thing in his case +evidently is, that the faculties and skill required in his situation +are possessed by so many of his fellow-creatures. Is he a shopkeeper +in some common line of business?—say a draper. Then let him +consider how easy it is to be a draper, and how simple are the +details of such a trade. While there are so many other drapers in +the same street, his going out of business would never be felt as an +inconvenience. He is perhaps not doing any real good to the public +at all, but only interloping with the already too small business of +those who were in 'the line' before him. Let him think of the many +hours he spends in idleness, or making mere appearances of business, +and ask if he is really doing any effective service to his +fellow-creatures by keeping a shop at all. It may be a hardship to +him to have failed in a good intention; but this cannot be helped. +He may succeed better in some other scheme. Let him quit this, and +try another, or set up in a place where there is what is called 'an +opening'—that is, where his services are required—the point +essential to his getting any reward for his work. We sometimes see +most wonderful efforts made by individuals in an overdone trade; for +example, those of a hatter, who feels that he must give mankind a +special direction to his shop, or die. Half-a-dozen tortoise-like +missionaries do nothing but walk about the streets from morning to +night, proclaiming from carapace and plastron,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" +id="FNanchor_1_1" /><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> that there are no +hats equal to those at No. 98 of such a street. A van like the +temple of Juggernauth parades about all day, propagating the same +faith. 'If you want a good hat,' exclaims a pathetic poster, 'try +No. 98.' As you walk along the street, a tiny bill is insinuated +into your hand, for no other purpose, as you learn on perusing it, +but to impress upon you the great truth, that there are no hats in +the world either so good or so cheap as those at No. 98. The same +dogma meets you in omnibuses, at railway platforms, and every other +place where it can be expected that mankind will pause for a moment, +and so have time to take in an idea. But it is all in vain if there +be a sufficient supply of good and cheap hats already in that +portion of the earth's surface. The superfluous hatter must submit +to the all-prevailing law, that for labours not required, and an +expenditure of capital useless as regards the public, there can be +no reward, no return.</p> + +<p>Sometimes great inconveniences are experienced in consequence of +local changes; such as those effected by railways, and the +displacement of hand-labour by machinery. A country inn that has +supplied post-horses +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page34" id="page34"></a>[pg 34]</span> +since the days of the civil war, is all at +once, in consequence of the opening of some branch-line, deserted by +its business. It is a pitiable case; but the poor landlord must not +attempt to be an innkeeper without business, for then he would be a +misapplied human being, and would starve. Now the world uses him a +little hardly in the diversion of his customers; that may be +allowed: we must all lay our account with such hardships so long as +each person is left to see mainly after himself. But if he were to +persist in keeping his house open, and thus reduce himself to +uselessness, he would not be entitled to think himself ill-used by +reason of his making no profits, seeing that he did nothing for the +public to entitle him to a remuneration. The poor handloom +weavers—I grieve to think of the hardships they suffer. Well do I +remember when, in 1813 or 1814, a good workman in this craft could +realise 36s. a week. There were even traditions then of men who had +occasionally eaten pound-notes upon bread and butter, or allowed +their wives to spend L.8 upon a fine china tea-service. There being +a copious production of cotton-thread by machinery, but no machinery +to make it into cloth, was the cause of the high wages then given to +weavers. Afterwards came the powerloom; and weavers can now only +make perhaps 4s. 6d. per week, even while working for longer hours +than is good for their health. The result is most lamentable; but it +cannot be otherwise, for the public will only reward services in the +ratio of the value of these services to itself. It will not +encourage a human being, with his glorious apparatus of intelligence +and reflection, to mis-expend himself upon work which can be +executed equally well by unthinking machinery. Were the poor weavers +able so far to shake themselves free from what is perhaps a very +natural prejudice, as to ask what do we do to entitle us to any +better usage from the public, they would see that the fault lies in +their continuing to be weavers at all. They are precisely as the +innkeeper would be, if he kept his house open after the railway had +taken all his customers another way.</p> + +<p>There are many cases in the professional walks of life fully as +deplorable as that of the weavers. Few things in the world are more +painful to contemplate than a well-educated and able man vainly +struggling to get bread as a physician, an artist, or an author. It +is of course right that such a man should not be too ready to +abandon the struggle as hopeless; for a little perseverance and +well-directed energy may bring him into a good position. But if a +fair experiment has been made, and it clearly appears that his +services are not wanted, the professional aspirant ought undoubtedly +to pause, and take a full unprejudiced view of his relation to the +world. 'Am I,' he may say, 'to expect reward if I persist in +offering the world what it does not want? Are my fellow-creatures +wrong in withholding a subsistence from me, while I am rather +consulting my own tastes and inclinations than their necessities?' +It may then occur to him that the great law must somehow be +obeyed—a something must be done for mankind which they require, and +it must be done where and how they require it, in order that each +individual may have a true claim upon the rest. To get into the +right and fitting place in the social machine may be difficult; but +there is no alternative. Let him above everything dismiss from his +mind the notion, that others can seriously help him. Let him be +self-helpful, think and do for himself, and he will have the better +chance of success.</p> + +<p>We now come to a second branch of the subject—namely, as regards +our conduct and manners in the scenes of social life. One might +suppose it to be a very clear thing, that a person possessing no +pleasing accomplishment could never be so agreeable a member of +society as one who possessed one or more of such qualifications. It +might seem very evident, that a person who had never taken any +trouble to acquire such accomplishments, did not deserve so much of +society as one who had taken such trouble. Yet such is the blinding +influence of self-love, that we continually find the dull and +unaccomplished speaking and acting as if they considered themselves +entitled to equal regard with others who, on the contrary, can +contribute greatly to the enjoyments of their fellow-creatures. This +is surely most unreasonable—it is, as in the case of the +unnecessary shopkeeper or weaver, to desire the reward and yet not +perform the service. Were such persons to clear themselves of +prejudice, and take an unflattering view of their relation to +society, they would see that the reward can only be properly +expected where it has been worked for. They might in some instances +be prompted to make efforts to attain some of those accomplishments +which contribute to make the social hour pass agreeably, and thus +attain to a true desert, besides 'advancing themselves in the scale +of thinking beings.' If not, they might at least learn to submit +unrepiningly to that comparatively moderate degree of notice and +regard which is the due of those who are perfectly ordinary in their +minds, and fit only to take a place amongst the audience.</p> + +<p>Society, as is well known, has its favourites, and also its +unpopular characters. If we dissect the character of the favourite, +we shall invariably find a great substratum of the amiable. He will +probably have accomplishments also, and thus be able to add to the +happiness of his fellows. It is not improbable that in many cases a +good share of love of approbation will be detected; but this is of +no consequence in the matter. The general fact we assume to be, that +the genuinely amiable is there in some force. It will, I believe, be +likewise found that the unpopular character has something too much +of the centripetal system about him—that is to say, desires things +to centre in himself as much as possible—and neither has any great +natural impulse to the amiable, nor will take the trouble to assume +the complaisant. Now, it is not uncommon to observe traces of +dissatisfaction in the unpopular characters, as if they felt +themselves to be treated unjustly by the world. But can these +persons reasonably expect to be received with the same favour as men +who are at once gentle and inoffensive in their ordinary demeanour, +and actively good among their fellow-creatures? Certainly not. Let +us see here, too, the complaining party take an unprejudiced view of +his relation to society. Let him understand that he only will be +loved if he is lovable, and we may hope to see him taking some pains +to correct his selfishness, and both seem and be a kind and genial +man. Most assuredly, in no other way will his reputation and his +treatment by the world be reversed.</p> + +<p>In fine, we would have all who are inclined to doubt whether the +world uses them well or not, to ask of themselves, in the first +place, how they use the world. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page35" id="page35"></a>[pg 35]</span> + If they find that they do little for +it—are stupid, illiterate, possessed of not one graceful +accomplishment, neither useful nor ornamental, but selfish, sulky, +and unamiable, then let them try whether a remedy cannot be found in +themselves. It is not to be expected of all that they are to be +greatly serviceable in any way to the world, or very agreeable +either; but it is the duty of all who desire the world's good +treatment, to do the best they can for the general interest, and to +be as good and amiable as possible. At the worst, if they cannot +make any change on themselves, let them resign themselves to be +comparatively poor and neglected, as such is, by the rules of +Providence, their inevitable fate.</p> + +<h4>Notes:</h4> + +<div class="note"><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a> +<a href="#FNanchor_1_1">[1]</a> +The upper and under plates of the tortoise are so called by +naturalists. +</div> +<br /> + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article2" id="article2"> +THE SISTERS OF CHARITY IN BOHEMIA. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>In continental countries, much of that charitable ministration which +with us is left to rates and institutions, is the work of +individuals acting directly under a religious impulse. The +difference is perhaps not entirely in favour of the countries of the +Romish faith; but there is no denying that it leads to our being +presented with pictures of heroic self-devotion and generous +self-sacrifice, such as it would be gratifying to see in our own +country. Many of the forms of charity met with in Catholic states +had their rise in one enthusiastically benevolent man, the +celebrated Vincent de St Paul. Born in 1576, on the skirts of the +Pyrenees, and brought up as a shepherd-boy—possessed of course of +none of the advantages of fortune, this remarkable man shewed a +singular spirit of charity before he had readied manhood. He became +a priest; he passed through a slavery in one of the African +piratical states, and with difficulty made his escape. At length we +see him in the position of a parish pastor in France, exerting +himself in plans for the improvement of the humbler classes, exactly +like those which have become fashionable among ourselves only during +the last twenty years. His exertions succeeded, and generous persons +of rank enabled him to extend them. In a short time, he saw no fewer +than twenty-five establishments founded in his own country, in +Piedmont, Poland, and other states, for charitable purposes. +Stimulated by this success to increase his exertions, he quickly +formed associations of charitable persons, chiefly females, for the +succour of distressed humanity. It was a most wonderful movement for +the age, and must be held as no little offset against the horrible +barbarities arising from religious troubles in the reign of Louis +XIII. Among Vincent's happiest efforts, was that which established +the <i>Sisters of Charity</i>, a sodality of self-devoted women, which +exists in vigour at the present day.</p> + +<p>During a lengthened residence in Prague, we have had much +satisfaction in visiting the establishment of the Sisters, and +inquiring into their doings. The house, which was founded in the +seventeenth century, and contains seventy inmates, is situated near +to the palace of Prince Lobkowitz, in the Kleine Seite, or that part +of the city which lies on the right bank of the Moldau. It has much +the character of a suburban villa, being surrounded by a kind of +<i>plaisance</i>, enclosed in high walls, and containing shrubberies, +alleys, and large clumps of chestnuts. In this pleasant retreat may +often be found such of the Sisters as are not engaged in the more +pressing kind of duties—never quite idle, however; for, even while +seeking recreation, they will be found busied in preparing clothing +for the poor, or perhaps in making medicines from herbs, if not +imparting instruction to children let loose from the school which +forms a part of their establishment. The place is remarkable for its +perfumes, there being assembled here not merely the usual amount of +roses, lilacs, jasmines, tuberoses, and lilies, but a profusion of +aromatic plants, cultivated either for medicinal purposes, or to +serve in the fabrication of essences and powders, which the Sisters +distribute over the world in tiny bottles and small pillow-cases and +bags, in order to raise funds for the poor.</p> + +<p>In the house, which, having been erected for a private family, is +not well suited for its present purpose, everything is an example of +cleanliness and order. The hospital is in the main part of the +building, and is fitted up with every possible convenience. A large +apothecaries' hall is attached to it, furnished with every appliance +that medical art has devised, and under the superintendence of a +highly-educated professional man. It is most affecting to enter the +great sick-room, and see the gentle Sisters in their modest attire +ministering to the patients, bending over them with their sweet and +cheerful countenances, as if they felt that relief from pain and +restoration to life and its enjoyments depended on their smiles. It +is scarcely necessary to say, that the hospital is almost always +full. Sometimes, indeed, the floor is occupied with extra beds; for +the Sisters will never close their doors to any who apply, even +though they should have to abandon their own simple places of repose +to the new-comer, and stretch themselves on the bare floor.</p> + +<p>We observed, in one of our visits, an old woman who was lying in one +of the beds of the hospital, in a kind of trance, neither sleeping +nor waking, apparently suffering no pain, but quite insensible to +everything which passed around her. Her complaint was that of +extreme old age, mere physical exhaustion. She had been for many +years a pensioner, fed and clothed by the Sisters: having outlived +all her relations, and having no friends in the world but them, she +had come in, as she said herself, 'to die in peace among them.' Not +far from her lay a girl, about sixteen or seventeen years of age, +whose extreme paleness, or rather marble whiteness, vied with the +snowy sheets which covered all but that lily face; and but for the +quivering of the little frill of her cap, and the slow movement of +her large blue eyes, it would have been difficult to believe that it +was not the alabaster figure of some saint that reposed there. The +superior looked kindly and sadly upon her, bent down, kissed her +pale forehead, and went on; and though the sufferer did not move or +speak, nor the feeble head turn, her large blue eyes followed the +reverend mother with an expression which was all its own—an +expression to be felt, deeply, intensely, but which cannot be +described. And who was she, that pale, silent girl? She was an +orphan, neglected by the world, betrayed and abandoned by one who +appeared the only <i>friend</i> she had. Crushed in spirit, enfeebled by +want and misery, without a roof to shelter her young drooping head, +she had been found by the Sisters of Charity sitting alone, <i>her +eyes fixed on the river</i>. They took her in, clothed, fed, and warmed +her. They poured into her heart the blessed words of peace and +comfort, till that poor breaking heart gushed forth in a wild tide +of feeling too strong for the feeble frame; and we now saw her +slowly recovering from a frightful fever, the result of past +sufferings, and of that agitation which even a reaction towards hope +had occasioned.</p> + +<p>It would be too much for the present sketch to describe the many +invalids before whom we passed in our visits to the sick-chambers of +the Sisters of Charity, though every single case would be a lesson +to humanity. The homeless, the forsaken, the orphan, each had his or +her own bitter history, previous to reposing within the sanctuary of +that blessed retreat; each was attended +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page36" id="page36"></a>[pg 36]</span> +by some of those benevolent +beings, whose gentle steps and sweet sunny smiles brought peace to +their hearts. None who are destitute are rejected at that gate of +mercy. Whatever their faults may have been, whatever their +frailties, if overtaken by want or sickness—if, deserted and +trampled upon, they sink without any visible hand being stretched +out to save them from despair and death—then do the Sisters of +Charity interpose to succour and to save. To them it is sufficient +that the sufferer requires their aid. There every medical assistance +is promptly given; every comfort, and even luxury.</p> + +<p>Most surprising it is to the common worldling to see these gentle +beings thus living entirely for others, seeking no reward but that +inspired by Christian promises and hopes. Nor is it mere drudgery +and self-denial which constitute their great merit. When humanity +calls from the midst of danger, whether in the shape of pestilence +or of war, they are equally unfailing. It has been our lot to see a +city taken by storm, the streets on fire and half-choked with ruins, +and these ruins thickly strewed with the dead and dying. There, +before the wild scene had been in the least calmed—amid smoke, and +rain, and the frequent rattling fire of musketry—we have seen the +black dresses and long white kerchiefs of the Sisters of Charity +flitting about, emblems of mercy in a world which might otherwise +seem only fit for demons. The place we speak of was Arcis-sur-Aube. +Napoleon, who looked on the system of this sisterhood 'as one of the +most sublime conceptions of the human mind,' was then in the act of +falling back with 30,000 men, after having been attacked the evening +before (March 19, 1814) by 130,000 Austrians. He was within three +weeks of the prostration of his power, and he must have felt +bitterly the crushing reverses he was experiencing. Yet he stopped +on the nearly demolished bridge of the town, and ordered 300 +Napoleons to be given out of his then scanty resources to the +Sisters of Charity, of whose devotion he had been an eye-witness +from the commencement of the attack. As he crossed the bridge +immediately afterwards, part of it gave way, and he was precipitated +into the Aube, but, by the help of his horse, soon gained the safe +bank.</p> + +<p>The good works of the Sisters do not stop with their exertions for +the sick and miserable. They have also their schools for orphans and +foundlings. Here the tender human plant, perhaps deserted by a +heartless mother, often gains more than it has lost. It is only to +infants in these extraordinary circumstances that they are called +upon to give shelter, for the children of the poor in general are +provided for in public establishments. When we last visited the +convent in Prague, we found about thirty girls entertained as +inmates. As soon as they are capable of learning, they are +instructed in every branch of domestic economy; and as they grow up, +and their several talents develop themselves, they are educated +accordingly: some for instructresses, either in music or any general +branch of education; others, as seamstresses, ladies-maids, cooks, +laundry-maids, house-maids. In short, every branch of useful +domestic science is taught.</p> + +<p>When the girls attain sufficient age and experience to occupy the +several situations for which they have been instructed—that is, +from seventeen to eighteen, the superior of the convent procures +them a place in the family of some of her friends or acquaintance, +and always, so far as lies in her power, with a mistress as much as +possible suited to the intelligence and instruction of her +<i>protégée</i>. The day of separation, however, is always painful. It +is, in fact, the parting of a mother and her child. We have seen the +orphan cling to her adopted mother, and as she knelt to receive her +blessing, bathe her hands in tears of gratitude and affection; while +the reverend superior would clasp her to her bosom, and recommend to +her adopted child the blessed principles which she had inculcated +from her infancy. Nor do they leave the home of their childhood +empty. Each girl on quitting the convent is provided with a little +<i>trousseau</i> or outfit for her first appearance in the world: this +consists of two complete suits of clothes—an ordinary and a better +one, four petticoats, four chemises, six pair of stockings, the same +number of gloves, and two pair of shoes. We have seen many of these +orphans and foundlings in after-life; some of them occupying the +most respectable situations, as the wives of opulent citizens, and +others filling places of the most important trust in some of the +highest families of the empire; we have also had several in our own +service, and have always had reason to congratulate ourselves on our +good-fortune in engaging them.</p> + +<p>One of the first principles of education in the orphan schools of +the Sisters of Charity is economy: while they spare nothing in the +cause of humanity, so far as their means will go, the strictest +frugality reigns throughout, and is always inculcated as the +foundation of the means of doing good. Consequently, all of whom we +have had any experience, who were educated in these charitable +institutions, never failed, however humble their situation, to make +some little savings: one whom we have at this moment in our eye, and +who not many years since served us in the capacity of cook, and +fulfilled her charge with great fidelity and zeal, has, by her +extraordinary industry and economy, collected in the savings' bank +in Prague no less than 700 florins, or L.70 sterling. And yet with +all this economy she was so charitable and liberal in giving of her +own to the poor, that we have often had to caution her against +extravagance in that respect. By this spirit of economy, we have +also known several of the orphans and foundlings arrive at a degree +of independence which enables them in their turn to assist the +deserted generation of to-day, and to do for them as they themselves +had been done by. Many also have been the means of rescuing others +from crime and starvation by conducting them to that blessed +institution, to which, under Heaven, they owe all their prosperity +and happiness in life.</p> + +<p>Of these charitable communities there are many orders, which differ +from the above chiefly in name, and in the Sisters never quitting +their sanctuary or the precincts of their gardens. The Sisters of +Charity, properly so called, not being vowed to seclusion, are more +generally known to the world, who see them, and therefore believe +that they exist for charitable purposes, while of those of whom they +see nothing they know nothing; and should the casual observer meet +in the street on a festival, or day of examination, a column of from +300 to 800 children, from six to ten or twelve years of age, neatly +clothed, and whose happy countenances and beautiful behaviour +bespeak the care with which their early education has been +conducted—it never once occurs to him that these are the children +of the poor, the children of the free schools of the 'Sisters' of +the Ursaline Convent, or of the Congregation of Notre Dame, or of +some other religious establishment of the kind. But perhaps we shall +have an opportunity hereafter of introducing these invisible Sisters +of Charity to the notice of our readers.</p> + +<p>Suffice it now to say, that the 'Sisters of Mercy,' the 'Ursalines,' +the 'Congregations of Notre Dame,' the 'English Ladies,' and many +others, are all in practice Sisters of Charity.</p> + +<p>It is not uncommon to hear their condition deplored, as one from +which all earthly enjoyments are excluded, or as a kind of death in +life. But personal observation has given us different ideas on this +subject. Within those lofty, and sometimes sullen-looking walls +which enclose the convents of the sisterhoods we speak of, we have +spent some of the most agreeable hours of our life, conversing with +refined and enlightened women on +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page37" id="page37"></a>[pg 37]</span> +the works of beneficence in which +they were engaged; everything bearing an aspect of that cheerfulness +and animation which only can be expected in places where worthy +duties are well performed.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article3" id="article3"> +ADVENTURES OF AN ARMY PHYSICIAN. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Robert Jackson, the son of a small landed proprietor of limited +income hut respectable character in Lanarkshire, was born in 1750, +at Stonebyres, in that county. He received his education first at +the barony school of Wandon, and afterwards under the care of Mr +Wilson, a teacher of considerable local celebrity at Crawford, one +of the wildest spots in the Southern Highlands. He was subsequently +apprenticed to Mr William Baillie, of Biggar; and in 1766 proceeded, +for the completion of his professional training, to the university +of Edinburgh, at that time illustrated and adorned by the genius and +learning of such men as the Monros, the Cullens, and the Blacks.</p> + +<p>In pursuing his studies at this favoured abode of science and +literature, young Jackson is said to have evinced all that purity of +morals and singleness of heart which characterised him in +after-life, and to have resisted the allurements of dissipation by +which, in those days especially, the youthful student was tempted to +wander from the paths of virtuous industry. His circumstances were, +however, distressingly narrow; and not only was he forced to forego +the means of professional improvement open only to the more opulent +student; but in order to meet the expenses of the winter-sessions, +he was obliged to employ the summer, not in the study but in the +practice of his profession. He engaged himself as medical officer to +a Greenland whaler, and in two successive summers visited, in that +capacity, 'the thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice;' returning on +each occasion with a recruited purse and a frame strengthened and +invigorated by exposure and exercise. During these expeditions he +occupied his leisure with the study of the Greek and Roman +languages, and the careful and repeated perusal of the best authors +in both.</p> + +<p>His third winter-sessions at Edinburgh having passed away, he was +induced to go out and seek his fortune in Jamaica, and accordingly +proceeded thither in a vessel commanded by one Captain Cunningham, +who had previously been employed as master of a transport at the +siege of Havannah. It is far from improbable that it was from his +conversations with this individual that Jackson derived those hints, +of which at a future time he availed himself, respecting the +transmission of troops by sea without injury to their health; but it +is quite certain his conviction of the enormous value of cold-water +affusions as a curative agent in the last stage of febrile +affections, was imbibed from this source.</p> + +<p>Arriving in Jamaica, he in 1774 became assistant to an eminent +general practitioner at Savana-la-Mar, Dr King, who was also in +medical charge of a detachment of the first battalion of the 60th +regiment. This latter he consigned to Jackson's care; and well +worthy of the trust did our young adventurer, though but twenty-four +years of age, approve himself—visiting three or four times a day +the quarters of the troops to detect incipient disease, and studying +with ardour and intelligent attention the varied phenomena of +tropical maladies. Four years thus passed profitably away, and they +would have been as pleasant as profitable, but for one circumstance. +The existence of slavery and its concomitant horrors appears to have +made a deep impression on Jackson's mind, and, at last, to have +produced in him such sentiments of disgust and abhorrence, that he +resolved on quitting the island altogether, and, as the phrase is, +trying his luck in North America, where the revolutionary war was +then raging. This resolution—due perhaps, as much to his love of +travel as to the motive assigned—was not altogether unfortunate, +for shortly after his departure, October 3, 1780, Savana-la-Mar was +totally destroyed, and the surrounding country for a considerable +distance desolated, by a terrible hurricane and sweeping inroad of +the sea, in which Dr King, his family and partner, together with +numbers of others, unhappily perished.</p> + +<p>The law of Jamaica forbade any one to leave the island without +having given previous notice of his intention, or having obtained +the bond of some respectable person as security for such debts as he +might have outstanding. Jackson, when he embarked for America, had +no debts whatever, and was, moreover, ignorant of the law, with +whose requirements therefore he did not comply. Nor did he become +aware of his mistake until, when off the easternmost point of the +island, the master of the vessel approached him and said: 'We are +now, sir, off Point-Morant; you will therefore have the goodness to +favour me with your security-bond. It is a mere legal form, but we +are obliged to respect it.' Finding this 'legal form' had not been +complied with, the master then, in spite of Jackson's protestations +and entreaties, set him on shore, and the vessel continued on her +voyage. What was to be done? Almost penniless, landed on a part of +the coast where he knew not a soul, Jackson well-nigh gave himself +up to despair. There was a vessel for New York loading, it was true, +at Lucea; but Lucea was 150 miles distant, on the westernmost side +of the island, and not to be reached by sea, whilst our adventurer's +purse would not suffer him to hire a horse. No choice was left him +but to walk, and that in a country where the exigencies of the +climate make pedestrianism perilous in the extreme to the white man. +Having reached Kingston, which was in the neighbourhood, in a boat, +and obtained the necessary certificate, he started on his dangerous +expedition, and on the first day walked eighteen miles, being +sheltered at night in the house of a benevolent planter. The next +day he pushed on for Rio Bueno, which he had almost reached, when, +overcome by thirst, he stopped by the way to refresh himself, and +imprudently standing in an open piazza exposed to a smart easterly +breeze, whilst his lemonade was preparing, contracted a severe chill +that almost took from him the power of motion, and left him to crawl +along the road slowly and with pain, until he reached his +destination.</p> + +<p>Having finally arrived, friendless and moneyless, in New York, then +in the occupation of the British, he endeavoured first to obtain a +commission in the New York volunteers, and afterwards employment as +mate in the Naval Hospital. In his endeavours, he was kindly +assisted by a Jamaica gentleman, a fellow-passenger, whose regard +during the voyage he had succeeded in conciliating by his amiable +manners and evident abilities; but his efforts were all in vain, and +poor Jackson, familiar with poverty from childhood, began now to +experience the misery of destitution. In truth, starvation stared +him in the face, and a sense of delicacy withheld him from seeking +from his Jamaica friend the most trifling pecuniary assistance. In +this, his state of desperation, he determined upon passing the +British lines, and endeavouring to obtain amongst the insurgents the +food he had hitherto sought in vain; resolving, however, under no +circumstances to bear arms against his native country. Whilst +moodily and slowly walking towards the British outposts to carry +into execution this scheme, having in one pocket a shirt, and in +another a Greek Testament and a Homer, he was met half-way by a +British officer, who fixed his eyes steadily on him in passing. +Jackson in his agitation thought he read in the glance a knowledge +of his purpose and a disapprobation of it. Struck by the incident, +he turned back, and, after a moment's reflection, resolved on +offering himself as a volunteer in the first battalion of the 71st +regiment (Sutherland Highlanders), then in cantonment near New +York. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page38" id="page38"></a>[pg 38]</span> + Arriving at the place, he presented himself to the notice of +Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Sir Archibald) Campbell, who, having +first ascertained that he was a Scotsman, inquired to whom he was +known at New York. Jackson replied, to no one; but that a +fellow-passenger from Jamaica would readily testify to his being a +gentleman. 'I require no testimony to your being a gentleman,' +returned the kind-hearted colonel. 'Your countenance and address +satisfy me on that head. I will receive you into the regiment with +pleasure; but then I have to inform you, Mr Jackson, that there are +seventeen on the list before you, who are of course entitled to +prior promotion.' The next day, at the instance of Colonel Campbell, +the regimental-surgeon, Dr Stuart, appointed Jackson acting hospital +or surgeon's mate—a rank now happily abolished in the British army; +for those who filled it, whatever might be their competency or +skill, were accounted and treated no better than drudges. Although +discharging the duties that now devolve on the assistant-surgeon, +they were not, like him, commissioned, but only warrant-officers, +and therefore had no title to half-pay.</p> + +<p>Dr Stuart, who appears to have been a man superior to vulgar +prejudice, and to have appreciated at once the extent of Jackson's +acquirements and the vigour of his intellect, relinquished to him, +almost without control, the charge of the regimental hospital. Here +it was that this able young officer began to put in practice that +amended system of army medical treatment which since his time, but +in conformity with his teachings, has been so successfully carried +out as to reduce the mortality amongst our soldiery from what it +formerly was—something like 15 per cent.—to what it is now, about +2½ per cent.</p> + +<p>In the army hospitals, at the period Jackson commenced a career that +was to eventuate so gloriously, there was no regulated system of +diet, no classification of the sick. What are now well known as +'medical comforts,' were things unheard of; the sick soldier, like +the healthy soldier, had his ration of salt-beef or pork, and his +allowance of rum. The hospital furnished him with no bedding; he +must bring his own blanket. Any place would do for an hospital. That +in which Jackson began his labours had originally been a +commissary's store; but happily its roof was water-tight—an unusual +occurrence—and its site being in close proximity to a wood, our +active surgeon's mate managed, by the aid of a common fatigue party, +to surround the walls with wicker-work platforms, which served the +patients as tolerably comfortable couches. A further and still more +important change he effected related to the article of diet. He +suggested, and the suggestion was adopted—honour to the courageous +humanity which did not shrink from so righteous an innovation!—that +instead of his salt ration and spirits, which he could not consume, +the sick soldier should be supplied with fresh meat, broth, &c.; and +that, as the quantity required for the invalid would be necessarily +small, the quarter-master should allow the saving on the commuted +ration to be expended in the common market on other comforts, such +as sago, &c. suitable for the patient. Thus proper hospital diet was +furnished, without entailing any additional expense on the state.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" +id="FNanchor_2_2" /><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> + +<p>Indefatigable in the discharge of his interesting duties, Mr Jackson +speedily obtained the confidence of his military superiors, who +remarked with admiration not only his intelligent zeal in performing +his hospital functions, but his calmness, quickness of perception, +and generous self-devotion when in the field of battle. On one +occasion, although suffering at the time from severe indisposition, +he remained, under a heavy fire, succouring the wounded, in spite of +the remonstrances of the officers present. On another, having +observed the British commander, Colonel (afterwards General) +Tarleton, in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, who had +routed the royalist troops, he galloped up to the colonel—whom a +musket-ball had just dismounted—pressed him to mount his own horse +and escape, whilst he himself, with a white handkerchief displayed, +quietly proceeded in the direction of the advancing foe, and +surrendered himself at once. The American commander, who did not +know what to make of such conduct, asked him who he was? He replied: +'I am assistant-surgeon in the 71st regiment. Many of the men are +wounded, and in your hands. I come, therefore, to offer my services +in attending them.' He was accordingly sent to the rear as a +prisoner; but was well treated, and spent the first night of his +captivity in dressing his soldiers' wounds, taking off his shirt, +and tearing it up into bandages for the purpose. He afterwards did +the same good office for the American sufferers; and when the +wounded English could be exchanged, Washington sent him back, not +only without exchange, but even without requiring his parole. At a +subsequent period during the same unhappy war, when the British +under Lord Cornwallis were in full retreat, the sick and wounded +were placed in a building which the colonists, on their approach, +began to riddle with shot. Several surgeons, not caring to incur the +risk of entering so exposed an edifice, agreed to cast lots who +should go in and see to the invalids; but Jackson, with +characteristic nerve and simplicity, at once stepped forward: 'No, +no,' said he, 'I will go and attend to the men!' He did so, and +returned unhurt.</p> + +<p>After this we find him a prisoner in the hands of the Americans and +French at New York Town, Virginia. As on the former occasion, he was +treated with all imaginable kindness; and, being released on parole, +returned to Europe early in 1782, and proceeded by way of Cork, +Dublin, and Greenock to Edinburgh, where he abode for a short time. +Thence he started for London; and, desirous of testing the best way +of sustaining physical strength during long marches, and urged +perhaps also by economical considerations, he resolved to make the +journey on foot. His West Indian and American experience had taught +him that spare diet consisted best with pedestrian efficiency, and +it was accordingly his practice, during this long walk, to abstain +from animal food until the close of day, nor often then to partake +of it. He would walk some fourteen miles before breakfast—a meal of +tea and bread; rest then for an hour or an hour and a half; then +pace on until bedtime—a salad, a tart, or sometimes tea and bread, +forming his usual evening fare. He found that on this diet he arose +every morning at dawn with alacrity, and could prosecute without +inconvenience his laborious undertaking. By way of experiment he +twice or thrice varied his plan—dining on the road off beefsteaks, +and having a draught of porter in the course of the afternoon; but +the result justified his anticipations. The stimulus of the beer +soon passing off, lassitude succeeded the temporary strength it had +lent him; and, worse than all, his disposition to early rising +sensibly diminished.</p> + +<p>His stay in London, which he reached in this primitive fashion, was +not long. His kind friend Dr Stuart, who had exchanged into the +Royal Horse-Guards, gave him the shelter of his roof; but so poor +was Mr Jackson, that, although ardently desirous of improving +himself in his profession, he was unable to attend any one of the +medical schools with which London abounds.</p> + +<p>The peace of 1783 having opened the continent to the curiosity of +the British traveller, Jackson curtly announced to his friends, that +'he was going to take a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page39" id="page39"></a>[pg 39]</span> +walk.' His poverty allowed him no other +mode of locomotion; so off he set on the grand tour, carrying with +him a map of France, a bundle of clothes, and a scanty supply of +money. Crossing the channel, he reached Calais, a place which Horace +Walpole, writing from Rome, declared had astonished him more than +anything he had elsewhere seen, but in which our adventurer found +nothing more astonishing than a superb Swiss regiment. He proceeded +to Paris, and thence through Switzerland, by Geneva and Berne, into +Germany, at a town of which—Günz in Suabia—he met with a comical +enough adventure.</p> + +<p>On entering the town he was challenged by a soldier, who, having +learned he had no passport, carried him before a magistrate, by whom +he was forthwith condemned as a vagabond, and remitted to the +custody of a recruiting sergeant. This worthy, in turn, introduced +him to the commanding officer, who politely gave our traveller the +choice of serving his Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, the Emperor of +Germany, either in his cavalry or his infantry forces. But Jackson, +strangely insensible to the honour, flatly refused to serve his +Majesty in these or any other ways, and desired to be at once set +free, and suffered to continue his journey. The officer, doubtless +amazed at such presumption, desired the sergeant to convey him to +the barracks, where he was placed in a large room, in which were +congregated some two hundred or so involuntary recruits like +himself—harmless travellers, who, being destitute of passports, the +emperor forcibly enlisted into his service. Jackson found his +co-mates in misfortune very dirty, very ragged, but perfectly civil +and good-tempered. Having a little recovered his serenity—for it is +easy to see, though our hero is described as a man of placid +demeanour and somewhat Quakerly appearance, he could be not a little +fiery at times—he sat down and wrote to the commanding officer, +entreating leave to sleep at an inn, and proffering the deposit of +all his money as a pledge for his reappearance next morning. The +reply was an order that he should surrender his writing materials. +At seven o'clock, the appointed sleeping hour, the sergeant returned +and gave the signal for bed by rapping with his cane on the floor, +which was speedily covered by a number of dirty bags of mouldy +straw—the regulation mattresses, it would seem, for involuntary +recruits. Jackson—peppery again—refused to lie down, but was at +last compelled to do so, and between two of the dirtiest fellows of +the lot, each of whom had a leg chained to an arm. The next morning, +at his own request, he was brought before the commandant of the +town, who had only arrived late the preceding evening, and whom he +found seated in his bedroom, 'with all his officers standing round +him receiving orders,' says Jackson, 'with more humility than +orderly-sergeants.' The commandant repeated the offer of 'cavalry or +infantry;' adding that a war was about to commence with the Turks, +and that good-behaviour would insure promotion. However, finding +Jackson obstinately persistent in his refusal, he quietly observed, +in conclusion, that the emperor, as a matter of rule and of right, +'impressed' into his army all such as entered his dominions without +certificates of character. 'The order was so tyrannical,' declares +our <i>détenu</i>, 'that I could not contain myself. "Put me in chains, +if you please," I said, "but I tell you, all Germany shall not make +me carry a musket for the emperor."' This impetuous burst of +indignation seems to have alarmed the phlegmatic commandant, who +accordingly let our adventurer go, counselling him, however, to +write to the English ambassador at Vienna for a passport, lest he +should get into further trouble.</p> + +<p>Jackson passed through the Tyrol into Italy, everywhere indulging +his love of scenery and still greater love of adventure; studying +with all the acuteness of his countrymen the varied characters of +the people he met with, and in his correspondence with home friends, +sketching them in language striking for its force, its propriety, +and originality. Some of his remarks on men and manners are +conceived in a truly Goldsmithian vein, whilst all testify at once +to the goodness of his heart and the quickness of his perceptions. +At Venice he says that he felt it to be 'such a feast of enjoyment +as seldom falls to the lot of man, and never to the lot of any but a +poor man, who has nothing conspicuous about him to attract the +notice of the crowd,' to possess such facilities as he did for +learning what the people of foreign countries really were.</p> + +<p>At Albenga, in Piedmont, Jackson arrived one night, tired, hungry, +and drenched with rain. Intending to put up at the 'Albergo di San +Dominico,' which he had been informed was the best inn, he went by +accident to the convent of the same name, and entering, called +loudly to be shewn to a private room. 'Instead of telling me I was +wrong,' he says, 'the young brethren looked waggish, and began to +laugh: when a man is cold and hungry, he can ill brook being the +sport of others;' so accordingly—peppery again—he shook his stick +angrily at the young monks. And at last one of the most courteous +and demure of the number, coming forward, said that although theirs +was not exactly a public-house, still the stranger was heartily +welcome to walk in, rest, and refresh himself. Discovering his +mistake, Jackson of course lost no time in making his bow, his +apologies, and acknowledgments.</p> + +<p>He returned to England by way of France, having but six sous in his +pockets when he reached Bordeaux, where an English merchant, a total +stranger, advanced him a few pounds. On the road, he was frequently +taken for an Irishman, and not seldom for an Irish priest; under +which impression, many civilities were paid him by the simple +inhabitants of the country he traversed. Ultimately he landed at +Southampton, with just four shillings in his possession; his once +black coat having turned a rusty brown, his hat shovel-shaped by +ill-usage, and his whole aspect so comical, that the mob hooted him, +under the belief that he was a Methodist preacher. Proceeding inland +on foot, in the direction of Southampton, he overtook a poor man +walking along the road whose looks of unutterable misery induced our +traveller to stop and inquire what ailed him. He told Jackson he had +a son and daughter dying of a disorder apparently contagious, and +that no physician would attend them, as he was too poor to pay the +fees. Jackson at once offered his services, which were gratefully +accepted. He saw his patients, and prescribed for them, and his +heart was touched by their simple expressions of gratitude. 'Their +thankfulness,' he says, 'for a thing that would perhaps do them no +good, gave me more pleasure than a fee of, I believe, twenty +guineas, much in need of it as I was.' The night had gathered in +before he reached Winchester, where, at a respectable inn, he +partook of such refreshment as his means afforded, and then desired +to be shewn to his bedroom. The answer was, that the house contained +no bedroom for such as he, and he was finally driven out with the +coarsest abuse into the streets. The hour was ten o'clock, the month +December, and the severity of the weather may be guessed from the +fact, that the snow lay deep on the ground. After wandering about +for some time, he at last obtained shelter in a small house in the +outskirts of the city. The next day he fared little better. 'On +Sunday morning,' he relates, 'I was sixty-four miles from London, +and had only one shilling in my pocket. I was hungry, but durst not +eat; thirsty, and I durst not drink, for fear of being obliged to +lie all night at the side of a hedge in a cold night in December. +After dark, I travelled over to Bagshot; was denied admittance into +some of the public-houses, ill used in others.' He sought in vain +permission even to lie in a barn; but a labourer he fortunately fell +in with conducted him to a house, where, at the sacrifice of his +last shilling, he +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page40" id="page40"></a>[pg 40]</span> +secured at length a bed. The next day—foot-sore, +penniless, and starving—he entered London. After remaining there a +brief space—January 1784—in spite of the inclement season, he set +off, again on foot, to Perth—a journey that occupied him three +weeks, as he was detained on the way by some friends whom he +visited. At Perth, where his old regiment then lay previous to its +disbandment, he amused himself by studying Gaelic, and the +controversy respecting Ossian and his poems. Quitting Perth, he +travelled, still on foot, through the Highlands, the inhabitants of +which he was, in the first instance, disposed to class with savages; +but when he had observed the originality of conception, the breadth +of humour, and the elevated sentiments which mark the Celt, his +opinions underwent a total revolution. He was especially delighted +with a ragged old reiver or cattle-lifter whom he encountered, and +who had given shelter to the Young Chevalier in the braes of +Glenmoriston after the battle of Culloden.</p> + +<p>On his return to Edinburgh, Jackson married a lady of fortune, the +daughter of Dr Stephenson, and niece of his old friend Colonel +Francis Shelley, of the 71st regiment; and was enabled by this +accession to his means once again to visit Paris, where he not only +resumed his medical studies, but acquired the mastery of several +languages, Arabic amongst the rest. Having graduated M.D. at Leyden, +he came back again to England, and commenced practice at +Stockton-upon-Tees, in Durham. Although his reputation speedily +became considerable, especially in cases of fever, he seems scarcely +to have liked his new avocation. He found solace, however, in his +favourite study of languages, which he pursued with unremitting +ardour—constantly reading through the Greek and Latin classics, and +not only rendering himself familiar with the best works of the +modern continental authors, but also with the literature of the +Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Gaelic tongues. The <i>Bostan</i> of Saadi +is said to have been one of his most favourite poems.</p> + +<p>On the war breaking out in 1793, Dr Jackson—who, in 1791, had +published a valuable work on the fevers of Jamaica and continental +America—applied for employment as army-physician; but Mr Hunter, +the director-general of the medical department of the army, +considering none eligible for such employment who had not served as +staffer regimental surgeon, or apothecary to the forces, Jackson +agreed to accept, in the first instance, the surgeoncy of the 3d +Buffs, on the understanding, that at a future time, he should be +nominated physician as he desired. Mr Hunter, however, died soon +after this; and his promise was not fulfilled by the Board which +succeeded him in the medical direction of the army, and which +appears to have pursued Dr Jackson with uniform hostility.</p> + +<p>Returning to England with the troops, it was offered to him to +accompany, in the capacity of chief medical officer, Sir Ralph +Abercromby's expedition against some of the West India islands; and +although no employment could possibly have been more agreeable to +his taste, he, much to Sir Ralph's chagrin, declined the flattering +proposal, on the grounds, that lower terms had been offered to him +than to another professional man. Nothing but a sense of +professional delicacy, it is plain, governed him in this +transaction, for he immediately afterwards embarked (April 1796) as +<i>second</i> medical officer in another expedition to San Domingo. +During his abode in this island, he was unwearied in enlarging his +acquaintance with tropical diseases—observing the rule he had +followed in Holland of noting down by the patient's bedside the +minutest particulars of every case he attended, the effects of the +treatment pursued, and whatever else might shed light on the +intricacies of pathological science. He also gave a larger practical +operation to the scheme he had years before devised of amending the +dietaries of military hospitals.</p> + +<p>After the evacuation of San Domingo in 1798, our physician paid a +visit to the United States, where he was received with signal +distinction, his reputation having preceded him. The latter part of +the year found him again at Stockton, publishing a work on +contagious and endemic fevers, 'more especially the contagious fever +of ships, jails, and hospitals, vulgarly called the yellow-fever of +the West Indies;' together with 'an explanation of military +discipline and economy, with a scheme for the medical arrangements +of armies.' He undertook, about this time, by desire of Count +Woronzow, the Russian ambassador, the medical charge of seventeen +hundred Russian soldiers, who were stationed in the Channel Islands +in a sad state of disease and disorganization; and so admirably did +he acquit himself, and so perfect were the hospital provisions he +made, that (1800) the commander-in-chief nominated him physician and +head of the army-hospital depôt at Chatham—as he says, 'without any +application or knowledge on his part.' This appointment was the +cause of his subsequent misfortunes.</p> + +<p>At Chatham, with the warm approbation of Major-General Hewett, +commanding the depôt, he introduced that system of hospital reform +which had elsewhere operated so successfully. The changes he +effected, as soon as they were made, became known to the Medical +Board, and were publicly approved of by one of its members. However, +shortly afterwards, an epidemic broke out in the depôt (then removed +to the Isle of Wight), arising from the fact, that the barracks were +overcrowded with young recruits, but which the Medical Board +ascribed to Jackson's innovations, and reported so to the +Horse-Guards. The commander-in-chief directed an inquiry to take +place before a medical board impannelled for the purpose, and the +result of that inquiry may be guessed from a communication made by +the War-Office to the commandant of the depôt. This states 'the +unanimous opinion of the Board to have exculpated Dr Jackson from +all improper treatment of diseases in the sick,' and the +commander-in-chief's gratification, 'that an opportunity has thus +been given to that most zealous officer of proving his fitness for +the important situation in which he is placed.' The result of this +wretched intrigue, however, was that Jackson, disgusted with the +whole affair, requested to be placed on half-pay, to which request +the Duke of York, with marked reluctance, at last (March 1803) +acceded.</p> + +<p>In his retirement at Stockton, Jackson put forth two valuable works, +one on the medical economy of armies, and another on that of the +British army in particular, and was much gratified by an offer to +accompany, as military secretary, General Simcoe, just appointed +commander-in-chief in India. The general's sudden death, however, +put an end to this plan; and Jackson continued at Stockton, +addressing frequent representations to government on the defective +medical arrangements in the military service—representations the +very receipt of which were not acknowledged by Mr Pitt, to whom they +were forwarded. The Peninsular war commencing, Dr Jackson was again +named Inspector of Hospitals, but was not, thanks to the persevering +enmity of the Medical Board, sent on foreign service, although he +volunteered to sink his rank, and go in any capacity. The Board even +succeeded, by calumnious statements that he had purchased his +diploma—statements he readily confuted—in preventing his +appointment to the Spanish liberating army; although the British +government had formally requested him to accept such an appointment, +and agreed to give credentials testifying to his capacity and +trustworthiness. This last disappointment led him, in an unguarded +moment—peppery to the last—to inflict a slight personal +chastisement on the surgeon-general, for which he was imprisoned six +months in the King's Bench. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page41" id="page41"></a>[pg 41]</span> +</p> + +<p>But the triumph of his enemies was not of long duration. In 1810 the +Board was dissolved, and the control of the medical department +vested in a director-general, with three principal inspectors +subordinate to him. Then did Jackson return to active service, and +from 1811 to 1815 was employed in the West Indies; his reports from +whence embracing every topic relating to medical topography, to +sanitary arrangements, and to the observed phenomena of tropical +disease, are it is not too much to say, invaluable. His hints as to +the choice of sites for barracks, the propriety of giving to +soldiers healthy employment and recreation, as a means of averting +sickness, his suggestions as to the treatment of fevers and other +endemic diseases, may be found in the various works he has +published, embodying the fruits of his West Indian experience.</p> + +<p>In 1819, he was sent by government to Spain, where the yellow-fever +had broken out, and his report upon its characteristics has been +universally admitted to supply the fullest information on the +subject that had hitherto been communicated to the public. He +availed himself of his presence in that part of Europe to pay a +visit to Constantinople and the Levant; and, retaining his energy to +the last, when a British force was sent to Portugal in 1827, he +desired permission to accompany it. The sands of his life, however, +were then fast running out, and on the 6th of April in the same year +he died, after a short illness, at Thursby, near Carlisle, in the +77th year of his age. Thus closed a long career of usefulness; for +it is not too much to say, that few men of his time laboured harder +to benefit his fellow-creatures than did Dr Robert Jackson.</p> + +<h4>Notes:</h4> + +<div class="note"><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a> +<a href="#FNanchor_2_2">[2]</a> +The late Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, when in command, during +the war, of a frigate on the coast of Calabria, finding sickness +appear amongst his crew, purchased on his own responsibility some +bullocks, for the purpose of supplying them with fresh meat. Lord +Collingwood having heard of this, and considering it a breach of +discipline, sent for Codrington, and addressed him: 'Captain +Codrington, pray have you any idea of the price of a bullock in this +place?' 'No, my lord,' was the reply, 'I have not; but I know well +the value of a British sailor's life!' +</div> +<br /> + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article4" id="article4"> +THE MYSTERIOUS LADY. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>It is thirty years since we first met the Mysterious Lady at a +fashionable sea-side boarding-house, and on our introduction, we +found that her brother, General Jerningham, was well known to some +members of our family. For five-and-twenty years afterwards she +haunted us at intervals; and so singularly and secretly conducted +were all her movements, that had she lived in the days of the +Inquisition, Miss Jerningham might have proved one of its most +valuable agents and coadjutors. She was a thin, middle-aged +personage, or, more correctly speaking, of uncertain age, and +without anything remarkable in her exterior, which was decidedly +lady-like, if we except a pair of the very smallest and most +restless brown eyes that were ever set in mortal's head. These eyes +expressed suspicion, together with intelligence and close +observation. They were clear and sparkling, and shaded by no +drooping fringes; and some folks declared that Miss Jerningham slept +with her eyes open. On conversing with her, she appeared to have +been everywhere and to know everything; but the moment any allusion +was made to the future, any attempt to discuss <i>her</i> prospective +plans, then did the little brown eyes assume a reddish tinge, their +expression passing from suspicion and alarm to the most stubborn +resolve. All this was somewhat ludicrous, because nobody really felt +particular interest in her movements, or desired to pry into her +actions; but on discovering what appeared to be the weak point in +her character—because it was out of all proportion strong—idle +people, in search of amusement, availed themselves of the knowledge +to lead her a very uncomfortable life. Her most intimate friends +never knew, for months together, where she was to be found; and it +was currently reported that General Jerningham had once advertised +in the <i>Times</i> for his sister. Certain it is, she always conned the +newspapers with avidity, particularly the portion devoted to +anonymous communications and the mystical interchange of sentiments; +and we frequently suspected that her interest arose from a deeper +source than mere curiosity. The simple query: 'Where do you think of +passing this autumn, Miss Jerningham?' threw her into a state of +strange excitement; and she always commenced her answer somewhat in +the following strain: 'Letters of importance, daily looked for, will +determine me—circumstances over which I have no control: it <i>is</i> +possible that I may visit Cowes;' but a possibility declared in this +way by Miss Jerningham was never known to come to pass. Wherever she +chanced to be seen, former acquaintances popped upon her with +uplifted hands, exclaiming: 'What! <i>you</i> here? Why, we thought you +were at Ilfracombe'—or some other far-away place. 'How long have +you been here?—how long do you stay?' were questions easily +parried; but if a more searching investigation commenced, then the +Mysterious Lady turned, and twisted, and doubled painfully; but +somehow always managed to elude and baffle her persecutors.</p> + +<p>Miss Jerningham's moral rectitude and unimpeachable propriety of +conduct—unsullied by the breath of detraction—rendered her in a +great measure impervious to downright ill-nature; but still she was +open to teasing and bantering; and the more she was teased, and the +more she was bantered, the more impenetrable she became. We +endeavoured to find out from herself—but unsuccessfully—if she had +always led such a roving kind of existence, and also how it +originated; for General Jerningham had a nice villa near the +metropolis, and a small, amiable, domestic circle, ready to receive +and welcome the wanderer. But no: she came upon them unawares, and +at periods when they least expected her, and disappeared again as +suddenly, they knew not why nor whither. In this way she vanished +from the boarding-house where we first met her, with no intimation +of her intention even to our hostess, till her baggage was ready and +the coach at the door.</p> + +<p>'Where is Miss Jerningham?' was the unanimous cry when she did not +appear in her usual place.</p> + +<p>'She left us early this morning,' quietly replied the landlady.</p> + +<p>'Gone—really gone?' was repeated in various tones of +disappointment; and one old gentleman, who had paid the absent lady +marked attention, demanded in a chagrined voice: 'Pray, where has +she gone? Can you tell us <i>that</i>, ma'am?—heigh!'</p> + +<p>'No, sir, I cannot,' replied our hostess. 'All I can say is, that +Miss Jerningham is a very honourable and generous lady, and wherever +she is, I wish her well.'</p> + +<p>'Humph!' said the old gentleman gruffly; 'she must have a good +fortune to do as she does.'</p> + +<p>'Yes, sir, she must,' was the reply: 'and go where she will, I +believe that Miss Jerningham always gives plentiful alms. It seems +her settled habit, like.'</p> + +<p>'Settled habit!' muttered the old gentleman: 'she hasn't got a +settled habit, ma'am: she is a most unsettled and extraordinary +individual.'</p> + +<p>'Well, sir, perhaps so,' replied Mrs Smith; 'but Miss Jerningham is +quite the lady.' And in that opinion we all coincided, supposing our +hostess by the word lady to have meant gentlewoman.</p> + +<p>A few months afterwards she called upon us in London. She was not +staying with her brother, but declined giving her address, remarking +that it was not worth while, as she was about to change her abode +immediately. By accident, however, we discovered afterwards that +Miss Jerningham had lodged for the whole period within a dozen doors +of us. Our surprise was lessened in after-years at the pertinacity +with which she continued to appear to us, although always at +uncertain intervals; for a service rendered by our father, referring +to some banking transaction, apparently never escaped her memory, +and she invariably alluded to this act of kindness with expressions +of gratitude. This circumstance operated, we conjectured, as an +encouragement to bestow on us an unusual mark of confidence and +friendship, for such Miss Jerningham +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page42" id="page42"></a>[pg 42]</span> +considered it when requesting +permission to add our address to an advertisement she was about +inserting in the <i>Times</i> for 'eligible board and lodging.' She knew +that newspapers were prohibited articles in our circle, +consequently we had no opportunity of finding out that portion of +the transaction she wished to conceal. In what locality this +'eligible board and lodging' was advertised for, we never inquired, +judging it would be needless to do so, but we consented to receive +the letters Miss Jerningham expected in answer.</p> + +<p>Poor Miss Jerningham! great was her amazement as well as our own +when, in the course of three days, we had amassed for her +consideration and perusal no less than seventy-seven letters +directed to 'X.Y.Z.' What temptations were held forth in the +advertisement which elicited so many replies we never were made +acquainted with: Miss Jerningham counted the letters, tied them up, +and carried them off in triumph. Next day we received a handsome +present of some chimney-ornaments, with 'Miss Jerningham's regards +and best thanks;' but we saw no more of the Mysterious Lady for some +years. When we did meet again in a quiet country town, she had been +to America, and we had experienced vicissitude and bereavement. Our +altered mode of living made no difference to Miss Jerningham: she +accompanied us home, for we met in the market-place; but as it is +not so easy to keep one's place of abode secret in a small +gossipping community, for once in her life she made a virtue of +necessity, and openly divulged the fact of her locale, number and +all specified. She did not know a creature in the town or in the +suburbs—she came there for solitude. Conjecture was afloat in all +quarters as to who or what she could be. Some said she must be a +gentlewoman, because she wore velvet and satin, and gold +chains—moreover, paid well for everything. Others affirmed she +might be a gentlewoman—gentlewomen did queer things sometimes—but +there must be some very strange reason for a lone and unknown female +to drop from the skies, as it were, in the midst of strangers. For +our own part, our mind was easier on her account, now that she had +broken through her rule of secrecy; and we even hoped that when we +saw her again, she might go a step farther, and throw off the veil +entirely.</p> + +<p>On calling at her lodgings, however, the next day, we learned that +the lodger had decamped, after placing in the landlady's hand the +solatium of another week's rent, as specified in the agreement—a +week's notice or a week's money. Thus, for the space of +five-and-twenty years, every now and then, did the Mysterious Lady +turn up. Whenever we left home on a visit, we were sure, on our +return, to find a card on the table, inscribed with the mystical +characters—'Miss Jerningham.' No message left, no address given. +The last time we ever saw her was in Hyde Park, walking arm-in-arm +with her brother the general; and soon after we heard from the +worthy veteran, that 'Bessie had gone on her travels again.'</p> + +<p>If Miss Jerningham has really ceased to exist, her end was as +mysterious and uncertain as the movements of her life. We say if, +because we feel by no means sure on the subject, and should neither +faint nor scream if she were to enter the apartment at this moment. +It is about five years since General Jerningham set hurriedly off, +in considerable dismay, for the scene of a direful conflagration in +a northern county, wherein several unfortunate individuals had +perished. The fire originated at a hotel, and the General had +reasons for fearing that his sister might be among the number of the +sufferers, for she was known to have followed that route. A +notification likewise had appeared in the public prints, respecting +an unknown lady, whose remains awaited the coroner's inquest, but +afforded no clue whatever to recognition.</p> + +<p>General Jerningham, however, came to the conclusion that he indeed +beheld the mortal remains of his poor sister, although the only +evidence he could obtain was the description given of her appearance +by those who had seen her in life. He may have been influenced, +likewise, by the fact, that the unfortunate lady had arrived at the +hotel only on the previous day, and that no one knew who she was, +whence she had come, or whither she was going. After making every +possible inquiry, but without obtaining more satisfactory +information, the General and his family put on mourning. The shock +he had sustained produced bad effects on an already enfeebled +constitution, and accelerated the veteran's decease. During his last +days, he frequently alluded to 'poor Bessie' in affectionate terms; +and we then gathered at least one fact relating to her past history. +Her lover, it seems, had been suddenly carried off by malignant +fever on the eve of their wedding-day, bequeathing to Bessie all his +property; and Bessie, who had never known serious sorrow before, +gave no sign, by sigh or lamentation, that she bemoaned the untimely +fate of her betrothed, but withdrew herself from friends and +connections, and became the restless, homeless, harmless being at +whose peculiarities we had so often laughed, little thinking that +tears of secret anguish had probably bedewed the pathway of her +early wanderings. This very concealment of her grief, however, may +have arisen from the peculiar idiosyncrasy which procured for her +among all who knew her the name of the Mysterious Lady. But we will +not talk of her in the past tense. We are so sure of her being +alive, that we are even now anxious to conclude our visit to the +pleasant house where this is indited, feeling a presentiment we +cannot overcome, that the first interesting object we shall see on +returning home is that mystical card which has so often startled and +baffled our curiosity—'Miss. Jerningham.'</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article5" id="article5"> +CASH, CORN, AND COAL MARKETS. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>A circle of a few hundred yards only in diameter, of which the centre +should be the Duke of Wellington's statue in front of the Royal +Exchange, London, would enclose within its magic girdle a far greater +amount of real, absolute power, than was ever wielded by the most +magnificent conqueror of ancient or modern times. There can be no +doubt of this; for is it not the mighty heart of the all but +omnipotent money force of the world, whose aid withheld, invincible +armies become suddenly paralysed, and the most gallant fleets that +ever floated can neither brave the battle nor the breeze? And this +stupendous power, say moralists, has neither a god, a country, nor a +conscience! To-day, upon security, it will furnish arms and means to +men struggling to rescue their country from oppression, themselves +from servitude and chains—to-morrow, upon the assurance of a good +dividend, it will pay the wages of the soldiery who have successfully +desolated that country, and exterminated or enslaved its defenders. +Trite, if sad commonplaces these, to which the world listens, if at +all, with impatient indifference. I have not a very strong faith in +the soundness of the commercial evangel upon this subject; still, the +very last task I should set myself would be a sermon denunciative of +mammon-worship—mammon-love—mammon-influence—and so on; and this +for two quite sufficient reasons—one, that I have myself, I +blushingly confess, a very strong partiality for notes of the +governor and company of the Bank of England and sovereigns of full +weight and fineness; the other, that the very best and fiercest +discourse I ever heard fulminated against the debasing love of gold, +especially characteristic, it is said, of these degenerate days, was +delivered by a gentleman who, having lived some seventy useful and +eloquent years at the rate of about three hundred a year or +thereabout, was found to have died worth upwards of L.60,000, all +secured by mortgages bearing 7 per cent interest on the Brazilian +slave-estates of a relative by marriage. But as an illustration of +power—and power under any form of development has a singular +fascination for most minds—I have thought it may not be +uninteresting to glance briefly at a few of the more salient features +of the metropolitan mammoth markets. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page43" id="page43"></a>[pg 43]</span> +</p> + +<p>Standing, then, by the statue of the Iron Duke, we have the Royal +Exchange directly in front, Princes Street and the Poultry +immediately behind, Lombard Street and Cornhill on the right, +Threadneedle Street and Lothbury on the left hand. What an Aladin +glitter seems to dance upon the paper as the names of these +remarkable localities are jotted down, containing as they do so +large a number of world-famous banking and commercial establishments +whose operations and influence are limited only by the boundaries of +civilisation! Let us look closely at one or two of the chief +potentates, principalities, and powers which are there enthroned.</p> + +<p>The Royal Exchange, it is well known, owes its origin to the public +spirit of Sir Thomas Gresham, who, close upon three centuries ago, +built the first Exchange upon the spot now before us. It was +destroyed by fire in 1666; the next more costly erection met the +same fate in 1838, and has been replaced by the present very +handsome edifice. On the entablature is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, +who inaugurated Sir Richard Gresham's structure—the centre figure +of a number of others emblematic of the all-embracing commerce of +this country, and surmounted by the words: 'The earth is the Lord's, +and the fulness thereof.' If you ascend the steps of the Royal +Exchange, and pass into the body of the building, you will find a +considerable number of business-looking, sleek, earnest men there, +eagerly engaged in canvassing the general affairs of the world, and +more especially their own particular ventures, hopes, anticipations, +investments therein. If you are an artist, or indeed at all +impressionable in matters of taste, you will, I fear, be painfully +affected by a marble figure near the centre of the hall, which many +persons assert to be a statue of the Queen of these realms—a +calumny which I, as a loyal subject, feel bound most emphatically to +deny. But the chief interest attached to this building is that it is +here the celebrated association known as 'Lloyd's' has its +offices—that Lloyd's, whose name is familiar as a household word in +every country the sea touches, and who underwrite the maritime +ventures of every commercial nation of the globe. Very marvellous +has been the rapid development of this gigantic institution, from +the small beginnings of a few persons meeting in a coffee-house, +till now, when it may be said well-nigh to monopolise the +maritime-assurance business of the world. Not even America has been +able to set up a rival to it at all worthy of the name; and hundreds +of the long-voyage vessels of the States, as well as of all European +powers, are insured here. There is, to be sure, a continental +association that has borrowed its name without leave, and dubbed +itself the 'Austrian Lloyd's'—a designation which forcibly reminds +one of the remark of Coleridge when told that Kotzebue assumed to be +the German Shakspeare: 'Quite so,' replied the author of the +<i>Ancient Mariner</i>, 'a very German Shakspeare indeed.' The +correspondence of the true Lloyd's is of course immense—enormous: +their agents are everywhere; and so admirably regulated does the +vast machine appear to be that litigation between owners and +underwriters is almost unknown. This is doubtless one of the causes +of the prodigious success of the institution.</p> + +<p>There is little more to notice in the Royal Exchange, except that +the interior decorations are very tastefully executed; and therefore +turn we now to this leviathan Bank of England—to the long, +irregular, and by no means imposing line of building on our left. +This is William Cobbett's Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, whose +rickety constitution and failing powers—according to that bold and +blundering financier—betokened almost immediate dissolution more +than a quarter of a century ago. Other men, less dominated by +unreasoning prejudice than the author of the 'Political Register,' +deceived themselves into the same notion; and it is very possible +that there are even now persons who hold the faith as it was in +Cobbett—just as we are told in one of Mr Disraeli's novels, that +the Greek mythology is still the creed of a fragment of humanity +existing somewhere in the mountains of Syria. At all events, since +the late Sir Robert Peel placed it beyond the power of the governor +and company to indulge in dangerous or erratic courses, it is +abundantly manifest that to doubt of the perfect stability of the +Bank of England is tantamount to questioning the infallibility of +arithmetic. In the vaults and coffers of this huge establishment +there is at present—as we learn from the published weekly-returns, +a device of Sir Robert's—the bewildering amount of between +L.14,000,000 and L.15,000,000 sterling in gold and silver!—a sum of +which the figures glide smoothly and glibly enough off the pen or +tongue, but a mass of treasure, nevertheless, that few persons can +realise to themselves a distinct and accurate conception of. And +yet—and what an idea does the fact present of the multitudinous +resources, the unrivalled industry, the latent power of this +country!—all that heap of precious metals, all that is besides in +circulation, with the addition of the bank-note currency, is +comparatively nothing when weighed against the true and real +exchangeable wealth of Great Britain; wealth of which this coined +and convertible paper-money is merely the standard sign of value, +the recognised medium by which all things are bartered. It is easy +to give one or two significant and startling illustrations of this +fact—significant and startling in other respects than in enabling +us to see pretty clearly through the currency-cobwebs industriously +woven from time to time amongst us. All the money in the three +kingdoms, the whole circulating medium of the realm—gold, silver, +copper, paper—does not certainly exceed, if it reaches, which is +very doubtful, the national revenue for one year, to say nothing of +local rates and burdens! And it would, moreover, require all the +money circulating in Great Britain and Ireland, including notes to +the last farthing, to pay for the spirits, beer, and tobacco +consumed annually by the people of the United Kingdom! The +note-issues of the Bank of England are about L.19,000,000; its +reserve in gold and silver, as we have seen, is upwards of +L.14,000,000 sterling: these amounts added together would no more +than about discharge the alcohol and weed score of the country for +little more than seven months! Lightning-flashes these, that throw +vivid gleams over the industrial activity, resources, powers, +plague-spots of this mighty, restless, enterprising, but far from +sufficiently instructed or disciplined British people.</p> + +<p>But let us enter the great money-temple. Very imposing to me has +always appeared the army of clerks seated in saturnine silence at +the desks, or gliding with grave celerity about the place, and +variously employed in balancing enormous accounts, shovelling up +heaps of sovereigns, receiving and distributing bank-paper of vast +value as coolly and unconcernedly as if engaged in counting out so +many chestnuts. A strange feeling must, I suspect, perturb the mind +of a newly-appointed clerk amidst all that astounding wealth, until +the genius of the place has so moulded his thoughts and perceptions, +that he has come to regard himself as but one of the dumb and dead +parts of a mighty machine, over whose action he has no more control +than he has over the courses of the stars. All these issue, cheque, +gold, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page44" id="page44"></a>[pg 44]</span> +bullion departments, with their numerous busy officials, are +in truth but the husk and body of the establishment. They by whose +will and breath it is animated and directed are nowhere at this hour +to be seen. They met on this as on every other morning in their hall +of inquisition—the Bank parlour—and decided there, without appeal, +without reasons assigned, in the absence of the parties whose +commercial reputation was trembling in the balance, upon the course +of financial action to be pursued, and upon whose paper should or +should not be discounted. A terrible stroke, sharper than a dagger +could inflict, politely, blandly as it is performed, is that which +falls upon a merchant for the first time informed that the Bank must +decline to discount his bills! The announcement is usually received +as smilingly as it is made. 'It is a matter of very slight +consequence, <i>etcetera</i>;' but if you had been near enough, you might +have noticed, as the clerk did, the quiver of the lip beneath that +sickly smile, and that the face was as white as the rejected paper +the merchant's trembling fingers were replacing in his pocket-book. +And no wonder that he should be thus agitated, for the refusal has, +he well knew, thrust him down the first steps of the steep and +slippery descent, at the bottom of which lies bankruptcy—ruin! But +these are ordinary downfalls, by the wrecks of which the busy haunts +of commercial enterprise are paved; and we have other places to look +in at. Before leaving the Bank, however, let us step a few paces to +the left of the chief entrance. Now who would believe that in the +very midst of this Mammon-temple, where space is of incalculable +value, a large plot of greensward should have been jealously +preserved, from which spring two fine elms, that from out the heat +and turmoil of the place lift up their fresh leaves to the +sky—bright, waving leaves, that as often as the sun kisses them, +laugh out in sparkling triumph over the heated, anxious, jaded +toilers and schemers below? Yet so it is.</p> + +<p>Again in Threadneedle Street, and turning to the left, we reach, at +the termination of the Bank-front, Bartholomew Lane, famous for +nothing that I am aware of, save Capel Court, situate at about the +centre, on the right-hand side. At the end of Capel Court is the +Stock-Exchange, within whose sacred precincts subscribers only, and +their clerks, may enter—a regulation strictly enforced by the +liveried guardian at the door. But you can hear enough of the +stentorian gabble going on within where we now are. Hark! 'A +thousand pounds' consols at 96¾-96½.' 'Take 'em at 96¼,' is +the vociferous reply of a buyer. 'Mexican at 27½-27; Portuguese +fours at 32-7/8-32½; Spanish fives at 21; Dutch two-and-halfs at +50½-50¼:' and so roars on the distracting Babel till the hour +for closing strikes. Much of this business is no doubt +legitimate—the <i>bonâ fide</i> sale and purchase of stock by the +brokers, for which they charge their clients the very moderate +commission of 2s. 6d. per L.100. The ruinous gambling of the +Stock-Exchange is another matter, and is chiefly carried on by +'time' bargains—a sham-business, managed in this way:—A nominally +buys of B L.100,000 worth of stock in consols, to be delivered at a +fixed price, say 96, on the next settling-day. It is plain that if +the market-price of consols shall have fallen, by the day named, to +94, B wins L.2000—the difference between L.100,000 estimated at 96 +and 94 per cent. A must pay these L.2000, or, which amounts to the +same thing, receive from B consols to the amount of L.100,000 at 96, +that in reality are procurable at 94. It is simply and entirely a +gambling <i>bet</i> upon what the price of funds will be on the next +settling-day. These transactions have been pronounced fraudulent by +the superior courts, and liabilities so contracted cannot be legally +recovered. It is, for all that, quite certain that these 'debts of +honour' entail misery, ruin, often death, on the madmen who +habitually peril everything upon the turn of the Stock-Exchange +dice—dice loaded, too, by every fraudulent device that the +ingenuity of the two parties engaged in the struggle can discover or +invent. To the 'Bears,' who speculate for a fall, national calamity +is a God-send. Especially a failure of the harvest, or a great +military disaster like that which befell the Cabool expedition, is +an almost priceless blessing—a cause of jubilant thanksgiving and +joy. The 'Bulls,' on the other hand, whose gains depend upon a rise +in the funds, are ever brimful of boasts, and paint all things +<i>couleur de rose</i>. If the facts bear out the assertions of these +bands of <i>speculators</i>—we prefer a mild term—why so much the +better for the facts; but if not, sham-facts will answer the +purpose, and to manufacture <i>them</i> 'is as easy as lying.' It is a +remarkable fact, by the way, that out of the multitude of British +fundholders there are not more than about 25,000 persons who are +liable from that source to the income-tax—that is, who receive +dividends to the amount of L.150 and upwards annually. The most +numerous class of the national creditors eleven years ago—and there +has, we believe, been no later return—were those whose annual +dividends did not exceed L.50. These numbered 98,946: the next +largest class, 85,069, were creditors whose yearly dividends did not +exceed L.5; whilst only 192 persons were in the receipt of annual +dividends exceeding L.2000.</p> + +<p>But leaving these haunts of money-dealers, let us pass over to +Leadenhall Street, turn down Billiter Street, and walk on till we +reach Mark Lane and the plain, spacious, substantial, Doric-fronted +building on the left hand, in which the great London Corn Market is +held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday—the chief market, however, +being that of Monday. There are no clamorous shoutings here. These +crowds of staid, well-dressed, respectable people fly no kites, deal +in no flimsy paper-schemes and shares. Their commerce is in corn, +flour, seeds—the sustenance of man, in short. There are sober +traders in realities, and the busy hum of voices has a smack of +healthy traffic in it. It would so appear at all events, if we care +not to look beneath the surface; and, in sooth, since the abolition +of the sliding-scale has rendered the corn-supply continuous and +regular as other staples, gambling to any ruinous extent has become +almost impossible.</p> + +<p>There is another great change apparent here; albeit this has been a +very gradual one. A stranger will have remarked with surprise that +there are but few, very few, of the knee-breeched, top-booted, +double-chinned, jolly, old-class farmers amongst the numerous groups +who are either watching their sample-bags and waiting for customers, +or chewing and smelling handfuls of wheat and barley, and casting +what they do not swallow on the flags, already carpeted with grain. +Still in addition to a strong sprinkling of 'Friends,' there are, he +perceives, a goodly number of stalwart, handsomely-dressed +individuals, many of them wearing kid gloves, and carrying silk +umbrellas neatly ensconced in oil-skin cases. There is a group, one +of whom has just refused 45s. per quarter for a sample of prime +white wheat. If we approach nearer to them, we shall perhaps +discover their quality. As I guessed! These gentlemen are distressed +agriculturists, who prefer selling their own corn to sending it to +any of the numerous highly-respectable salesmen who occupy the +offices round the two markets. There are scores here of these +well-attired, healthy-faced, hearty-looking, stout-limbed, but +distressed individuals present, with not one of whom I should have +the slightest objection to dine to-day, or on any other day, for +that matter. But we must beware of rash judgments. Appearances are +often deceitful, and we know, besides, from high authority, that +grief is apt to puff up and swell a man sadly at times.</p> + +<p>There is no possibility, an eminent salesman informed us, of making +even a proximate guess at the quantity of business done; neither, it +appears, is there any reliance to be placed upon the amount of +'arrivals' as +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page45" id="page45"></a>[pg 45]</span> +given, either in the newspapers, or in the private +circulars issued weekly to the trade. Corn, in this market, is +usually sold at a month's credit, with discount for cash. The buyer +secures a sample of his purchase in a small canvas bag, and the +seller is of course bound to deliver the quantity agreed for at the +same weight and quality. There is one patent fact highly creditable +to our British cultivators, which I gather from a trade-circular +dated September 29, 1851, and this is, that foreign grains, wheats +especially, do not command anything like such prices as the English +varieties. The highest price of English white wheat is set down at +45s. per quarter; all foreign wheat is marked considerably lower: +Russian is quoted at from 31s. to 33s.; whilst Egyptian and Turkish +are marked from 24s. to 26s. per quarter; and fine American flour is +quoted at a price considerably under 'English Households.' These are +not signs of decrepit or faint-hearted farming.</p> + +<p>Being so near, we may as well look in for a few moments at the New +Coal Exchange opposite Billingsgate Market; a sightly, circular +building, of rich interior decoration, that will well repay a visit. +It is one of our newest 'lions,' and is certainly a very significant +sign and monument of the enormous and swiftly-increasing commercial +activity of the country. On the tesselated wooden floor—with the +anchor in the centre, an emblem not long to be appropriate to such a +place, as we shall presently see—thousands of tons of coal are +disposed of with marvellous rapidity; the days of sale being the +same as those of the Mark-Lane Market.</p> + +<p>There was a coal-tax, popularly known as the Richmond duty, which +was levied for many years, for the benefit of one family, but was +abolished some time ago. Its origin, and the especial circumstance +which, gossip saith, more immediately led to its infliction, are not +a little curious, perhaps instructive. The first Duke of Richmond of +the present line was a son of Charles II. by Louise René de +Pennevant de Querouaille, a French lady, better known to us as the +Duchess of Portsmouth, to whom Otway dedicated his 'Venice +Preserved' in such adulatory terms. This son, when only nine years +of age, was created a Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter; +and his mother, with the proverbial taste of her country, arranged a +more graceful mode of wearing the blue ribbon, which, as we see in +old portraits, was till then worn round the neck of the knight, with +the George pendent from it. The duchess presented her son to the +king with the ribbon thrown gracefully over his left shoulder, and +the George pendent on the right side. His majesty was delighted, +embraced his son, commanded that the insignia of the order should +always be so worn, presented the youthful knight with 1s. per ton, +Newcastle measure, upon all coals shipped in the Tyne for +consumption in England, and secured the munificent parental gift by +patent to the young duke and his heirs for ever. <i>Hôni soit qui mal +y pense.</i></p> + +<p>After the fortunate family had enjoyed this revenue for about a +century and a quarter, the then Duke of Richmond, a personage said +to be wise in his generation, negotiated the sale of his patent with +the government; and on the 19th of August 1799 the Lords of the +Treasury agreed that the sum of L.499,833, 11s. 6d., the price of a +perpetual annuity of L.19,000, should be paid for the surrender of +the duke's right. This enormous sum was accordingly actually +disbursed by the Exchequer in two payments, and the obnoxious impost +on the Tyne coal-trade was abolished some thirty years +afterwards—by which time the Treasury had been repaid much more +than it had advanced, a circumstance inducing a belief that his +Grace sold his inheritance much too cheaply. The estimate of the +quantity of coals consumed in the United Kingdom, and exported +during the last year, reaches the staggering amount of 50,000,000 of +tons—a tremendous advance, which proves, if nothing else, that if, +as some will have it, we are an 'old' country, the capacity for hard +work as well as power of consumption increases marvellously with +age. At anyrate the three great business localities I have partially +indicated are stupendous facts, the full significance of which will +be fully comprehended by all and every one who may choose to compare +these slight outline sketches with the great originals.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article6" id="article6"> +STORY OF REMBRANDT. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>At a short distance from Leyden may still be seen a flour-mill with +a quaint old dwelling-house attached, which bears, on a brick in a +corner of the wide chimney, the date 1550. Here, in 1606, was born +Paul Rembrandt. At an early age he manifested a stubborn, +independent will, which his father tried in vain to subdue. He +caused his son to work in the mill, intending that he should succeed +him in its management; but the boy shewed so decided a distaste for +the employment, that his father resolved to make him a priest, and +sent him to study at Leyden. Every one knows, however, that few lads +of fifteen, endowed with great muscular vigour and abundance of +animal spirits, will take naturally and without compulsion to the +study of Latin grammar. Rembrandt certainly did not; and his +obstinacy proving an overmatch for his teachers' patience, he was +sent back to the mill, when his father beat him so severely, that +next morning he ran off to Leyden, without in the least knowing how +he should live there. Fortunately he sought refuge in the house of +an honest artist, Van Zwaanenberg, who was acquainted with his +father.</p> + +<p>'Tell me, Paul,' asked his friend, 'what do you mean to do with +yourself, if you will not be either a priest or a miller? They are +both honourable professions: one gives food to the soul, the other +prepares it for the body.'</p> + +<p>'Very likely,' replied the boy; 'but I don't fancy either; for in +order to be a priest, one must learn Latin; and to be a miller, one +must bear to be beaten. How do <i>you</i> earn your bread?'</p> + +<p>'You know very well I am a painter.'</p> + +<p>'Then I will be one too, Herr Zwaanenberg; and if you will go +to-morrow and tell my father so, you will do me a great service.'</p> + +<p>The good-natured artist willingly undertook the mission, and +acquainted the old miller with his son's resolution.</p> + +<p>'I want to know one thing,' said Master Rembrandt; 'will he be able +to gain a livelihood by painting?'</p> + +<p>'Certainly, and perhaps make a fortune.'</p> + +<p>'Then if you will teach him, I consent.'</p> + +<p>Thus Paul became the pupil of Van Zwaanenberg, and made rapid +progress in the elementary parts of his profession. Impatient to +produce some finished work, he did not give himself time to acquire +purity of style, but astonished his master by his precocious skill +in grouping figures, and producing marvellous effects of light and +shade. The first lessons which he took in perspective having wearied +him, he thought of a shorter method, and <i>invented</i> perspective for +himself.</p> + +<p>One of his first rude sketches happened to fall into the hands of a +citizen of Leyden who understood painting. Despite of its evident +defects, the germs of rare talent which it evinced struck the +burgomaster; and sending for the young artist, he offered to give +him a recommendation to a celebrated painter living at Amsterdam, +under whom he would have far more opportunity of improvement than +with his present instructor. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page46" id="page46"></a>[pg 46]</span> +</p> + +<p>Rembrandt accepted the offer, and during the following year toiled +incessantly. Meantime his finances were dreadfully straitened; for +his father, finding that the expected profits were very tardy, +refused to give money to support his son, as he said, in idleness. +Paul, however, was not discouraged. Although far from possessing an +amiable or estimable disposition, he held a firm and just opinion of +his own powers, and resolved to make these subservient first to +fortune and then to fame. Thus while some of his companions, having +finished their preliminary studies, repaired to Florence, to +Bologna, or to Rome, Paul, determined, as he said, not to lose his +own style by becoming an imitator of even the mightiest masters, +betook himself to his paternal mill. At first his return resembled +that of the Prodigal Son. His father believed that he had come to +resume his miller's work; and bitter was his disappointment at +finding his son resolved not to renounce painting.</p> + +<p>With a very bad grace he allowed Paul to displace the flour-sacks on +an upper loft, in order to make a sort of studio, lighted by only +one narrow window in the roof. There Paul painted his first finished +picture. It was a <i>portrait</i> of the mill. There, on the canvas, was +seen the old miller, lighted by a lantern which he carried in his +hand, giving directions to his men, occupied in ranging sacks in the +dark recesses of the granary. One ray falls on the fresh, comely +countenance of his mother, who has her foot on the last step of a +wooden staircase.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" +id="FNanchor_3_3" /><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> Rembrandt took this painting to the Hague, and +sold it for 100 florins. In order to return with more speed, he took +his place in the public coach. When the passengers stopped to dine, +Rembrandt, fearing to lose his treasure, remained in the carriage. +The careless stable-boy who brought the horses their corn forgot to +unharness them, and as soon as they had finished eating, excited +probably by Rembrandt, who cared not for his fellow-passengers, the +animals started off for Leyden, and quietly halted at their +accustomed inn. Our painter then got out, and repaired with his +money to the mill.</p> + +<p>Great was his father's joy. At length these silly daubs, which had +so often excited his angry contempt, seemed likely to be transmuted +into gold, and the old man's imagination took a rapturous flight. +'Neither he nor his old horse,' he said, 'need now work any longer; +they might both enjoy quiet during the remainder of their lives. +Paul would paint pictures, and support the whole household in +affluence.'</p> + +<p>Such was the old man's castle in the air; his clever, selfish son +soon demolished it. 'This sum of money,' he said, 'is only a lucky +windfall. If you indeed wish it to become the foundation of my +fortune, give me one hundred florins besides, and let me return to +Amsterdam: there I must work and study hard.'</p> + +<p>It would be difficult to describe old Rembrandt's disappointment. +Slowly, reluctantly, and one by one, he drew forth the 100 florins +from his strong-box. Paul took them, and with small show of +gratitude, returned to Amsterdam. In a short time his fame became +established as the greatest and most original of living artists. He +had a host of imitators, but all failed miserably in their attempts +at reproducing his marvellous effects of light and shade. Yet +Rembrandt prized the gold which flowed into him far more than the +glory. While mingling the colours which were to flash out on his +canvas in real living light, he thought but of his dingy coffers.</p> + +<p>When in possession of a yearly income equal to L.2000 sterling, he +would not permit the agent who collected his rents to bring them in +from the country to Amsterdam, lest he should be obliged to invite +him to dinner. He preferred setting out on a fine day, and going +himself to the agent's house. In this way he saved two dinners—the +one which he got, and the one, he avoided giving. 'So that's well +managed!' he used to say.</p> + +<p>This sordid disposition often exposed him to practical jokes from +his pupils; but he possessed a quiet temper, and was not easily +annoyed. One day a rich citizen came in, and asked him the price of +a certain picture.</p> + +<p>'Two hundred florins,' said Rembrandt.</p> + +<p>'Agreed,' said his visitor. 'I will pay you to-morrow, when I send +for the picture.'</p> + +<p>About an hour afterwards a letter was handed to the painter. Its +contents were as follow: '<span class="sc">Master Rembrandt</span>—During your absence a +few days since, I saw in your studio a picture representing an old +woman churning butter. I was enchanted with it; and if you will let +me purchase it for 300 florins, I pray you to bring it to my house, +and be my guest for the day.' The letter was signed with some +fictitious name, and bore the address of a village several leagues +distant from Amsterdam.</p> + +<p>Tempted by the additional 100 florins, and caring little for +breaking his engagement, Rembrandt set out early next morning with +his picture. He walked for four hours without finding his obliging +correspondent, and at length, worn out with fatigue, he returned +home. He found the citizen in his studio, waiting for the picture. +As Rembrandt, however, did not despair of finding the man of the 300 +florins, and as a falsehood troubled but little his blunted +conscience, he said: 'Alas! an accident has happened to the picture; +the canvas was injured, and I felt so vexed that I threw it into the +fire. Two hundred florins gone! However, it will be my loss, not +yours, for I will paint another precisely similar, and it shall be +ready for you by this time to-morrow.'</p> + +<p>'I am sorry,' replied the amateur, 'but it was the picture you have +burned which I wished to have; and as that is gone, I shall not +trouble you to paint another.'</p> + +<p>So he departed, and Rembrandt shortly afterwards received a second +letter to the following effect: '<span class="sc">Master Rembrandt</span>— +You have broken +your engagement, told a falsehood, wearied yourself to death, and +lost the sale of your picture—all by listening to the dictates of +avarice. Let this lesson be a warning to you in future.'</p> + +<p>'So,' said the painter, looking round at his pupils, 'one of you +must have played me this pretty trick. Well, well, I forgive it. You +young varlets do not know the value of a florin as I know it.'</p> + +<p>Sometimes the students nailed small copper coins on the floor, for +the mischievous pleasure of seeing their master, who suffered much +from rheumatism in the back, stoop with pain and difficulty, and try +in vain to pick them up.</p> + +<p>Rembrandt married an ignorant peasant who had served him as cook, +thinking this a more economical alliance than one with a person of +refined mind and habits. He and his wife usually dined on brown +bread, salt herrings, and small beer. He occasionally took portraits +at a high price, and in this way became acquainted with the +Burgomaster Six, a man of enlarged mind and unblemished character, +who yet continued faithfully attached to the avaricious painter. His +friendship was sometimes put to a severe test by such occurrences as +the following:—</p> + +<p>Rembrandt remarked one day that the price of his engravings had +fallen.</p> + +<p>'You are insatiable,' said the burgomaster.</p> + +<p>'Perhaps so. I cannot help thirsting for gold.'</p> + +<p>'You are a miser.'</p> + +<p>'True: and I shall be one all my life.'</p> + +<p>''Tis really a pity,' remarked his friend, 'that you will not be +able after death to act as your own treasurer, for whenever that +event occurs, all your works will rise to treble their present +value.' +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page47" id="page47"></a>[pg 47]</span> +</p> + +<p>A bright idea struck Rembrandt. He returned home, went to bed, +desired his wife and his son Titus to scatter straw before the door, +and give out, first, that he was dangerously ill, and then +dead—while the simulated fever was to be of so dreadfully +infectious a nature that none of the neighbours were to be admitted +near the sick-room. These instructions were followed to the letter; +and the disconsolate widow proclaimed that, in order to procure +money for her husband's interment, she must sell all his works, any +property that he left not being available on so short a notice.</p> + +<p>The unworthy trick succeeded. The sale, including every trivial +scrap of painting or engraving, realised an enormous sum, and +Rembrandt was in ecstasy. The honest burgomaster, however, was +nearly frightened into a fit of apoplexy at seeing the man whose +death he had sincerely mourned standing alive and well at the door +of his studio. Meinherr Six obliged him to promise that he would in +future abstain from such abominable deceptions. One day he was +employed in painting in a group the likenesses of the whole family +of a rich citizen. He had nearly finished it, when intelligence was +brought him of the death of a tame ape which he greatly loved. The +creature had fallen off the roof of the house into the street. +Without interrupting his work, Rembrandt burst into loud +lamentations, and after some time announced that the piece was +finished. The whole family advanced to look at it, and what was +their horror to see introduced between the heads of the eldest son +and daughter an exact likeness of the dear departed ape. With one +voice they all exclaimed against this singular relative which it had +pleased the painter to introduce amongst them, and insisted on his +effacing it.</p> + +<p>'What!' exclaimed Rembrandt, 'efface the finest figure in the +picture? No, indeed; I prefer keeping the piece for myself.' Which +he did, and carried off the painting.</p> + +<p>Of Rembrandt's style it may be said that he painted with light, for +frequently an object was indicated merely by the projection of a +shadow on a wall. Often a luminous spot suggested, rather than +defined, a hand or a head. Yet there is nothing vague in his +paintings: the mind seizes the design immediately. His studio was a +circular room, lighted by several narrow slits, so contrived that +rays of sunshine entered through only one at a time, and thus +produced strange effects of light and shade. The room was filled +with old-world furniture, which made it resemble an antiquary's +museum. There were heaped up in the most picturesque confusion +curious old furniture, antique armour, gorgeously-tinted stuffs; and +these Rembrandt arranged in different forms and positions, so as to +vary the effects of light and colour. This he called 'making his +models sit to him.' And in this close adherence to reality consisted +the great secret of his art. It is strange that his favourite +amongst all his pupils was the one whose style least resembled his +own—Gerard Douw—he who aimed at the most excessive minuteness of +delineation, who stopped key-holes lest a particle of dust should +fall on his palette, who gloried in representing the effects of +fresh scouring on the side of a kettle.</p> + +<p>Rembrandt died in 1674, at the age of sixty-eight. He passed all his +life at Amsterdam. Some of his biographers have told erroneously +that he once visited Italy: they were deceived by the word +<i>Venetiis</i> placed at the bottom of several of his engravings. He +wrote it there with the intention of deluding his countrymen into +the belief that he was absent, and about to settle in Italy—an +impression which would materially raise the price of his +productions. Strange and sad it is to see so much genius united with +so much meanness—the head of fine gold with the feet of clay.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" +id="FNanchor_4_4" /><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> + +<h4>Notes:</h4> + +<div class="note"><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a> +<a href="#FNanchor_3_3">[3]</a> +This picture is believed to be no longer in existence. I have +found its description in the work of the historian Decamps. +</div> +<br /> + +<div class="note"><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a> +<a href="#FNanchor_4_4">[4]</a> +Abridged from the French of J. de Chatillon. +</div> +<br /> + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article7" id="article7"> +ELECTIONEERING CURIOSITY. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<blockquote class="note"> +[In giving the following address of an American candidate, +we must beg our readers to understand that it is not +intended as a joke. Electioneering in the States, +generally speaking, is carried on with good-humour; and +when there is no real cause of squabbling, the object of +the aspirant is to get the laugh in his favour. The orator +we introduce to the English public is Mr Daniel R. +Russell, a candidate for the Auditorship in Mississippi.] +</blockquote> + +<p>LADIES AND GENTLEMEN—I rise—but there is no use telling you that; +you know I am up as well as I do. I am a modest man—very—but I +never lost a picayune by it in my life. Being a scarce commodity +among candidates, I thought I would mention it, for fear if I did +not, you never would hear it. Candidates are generally considered as +nuisances, but they are not; they are the politest men in the world, +shake you by the hand, ask how's your family, what's the prospect +for crops, &c.—and I am the politest man in the state. Davy +Crockett says the politest man he ever saw, when he asked a man to +drink, turned his back so that he might drink as much as he pleased. +I beat that all hollow: I give a man a chance to drink twice if he +wishes, for I not only turn my back, but shut my eyes! I am not only +the politest man, but the best electioneerer: you ought to see me +shaking hands with the vibrations, the pump-handle and pendulum, the +cross-cut and wiggle-waggle. I understand the science perfectly, and +if any of the country candidates wish instructions, they must call +upon me. Fellow-citizens, I was born—if I hadn't been I wouldn't +have been a candidate; but I am going to tell you where: 'twas in +Mississippi, but 'twas on the right side of the negro line; yet that +is no compliment, as the negroes are mostly born on the same side. I +started in the world as poor as a church-mouse, yet I came honestly +by my poverty, for I inherited it; and if I did start poor, no man +can say but that I have held my own remarkably well. Candidates +generally tell you—if you think they are qualified, &c. Now, I +don't ask your thoughts, I ask your votes. Why, there is nothing to +think of except to watch and see that Swan's name is not on the +ticket; if so, <i>think</i> to scratch it off and put mine on. I am +certain that I am competent, for who ought to know better than I do? +Nobody. I will allow that Swan is the best auditor in the state; +that is, till I am elected: then perhaps it's not proper for me to +say anything more. Yet, as an honest man, I am bound to say that I +believe it's a grievous sin to hide anything from my +fellow-citizens; therefore say that it's my private opinion, +publicly expressed, that I'll make the best auditor ever in the +United States. 'Tis not for honour I wish to be auditor; for in my +own county I was offered an office that was all honour—coroner, +which I respectfully declined. The auditor's office is worth some +5000 dollars a year, and I am in for it like a thousand of brick. To +shew my goodness of heart, I'll make this offer to my competitor. +I'm sure of being elected, and he will lose something by the +canvass, therefore I am willing to divide equally with him, and make +these offers: I'll take the salary, and he may have the honour, or +he may have the honour, and I'll take the salary.</p> + +<p>In the way of honours, I have received enough to satisfy me for +life. I went out to Mexico, ate pork and beans, slept in the rain +and mud, and swallowed everything but live Mexicans. When I was +ordered to go, I went; 'charge,' I charged; and 'break for the +chaperel'—you had better believe I beat a quarter nag in doing my +duty.</p> + +<p>My competitor, Swan, is a bird of golden plumage, who has been +swimming for the last four years in the auditor's pond at 5000 +dollars a year. I am for rotation. I want to rotate him out, and to +rotate myself in. There's a plenty of room for him to swim outside +of that pond; therefore <i>pop</i> in your votes for me—I'll <i>pop</i> him +out, and <i>pop</i> myself in.</p> + +<p>I am for a division of labour. Swan says he has to work all the +time, with his nose down upon the public grindstone. Four years must +have ground it to a <i>pint</i>. Poor fellow! the public ought not to +insist on having the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page48" id="page48"></a>[pg 48]</span> +handle of his mug ground clean off. I have a +large, full-grown, and well-blown nose, red as a beet, and tough as +sole-leather. I rush to the post of duty; I offer it up as a +sacrifice; I clap it on the grindstone. Fellow-citizens, grind till +I <i>holler enuff</i>—that'll be sometime first, for I'll hang like grim +death to a dead African.</p> + +<p>Time's most out. Well, I like to forgot to tell you my name. It's +Daniel; for short, Dan. Not a handsome name, for my parents were +poor people, who lived where the quality appropriated all the nice +names; therefore they had to take what was left and divide around +among us—but it's as handsome as I am—D. Russell. Remember, all +and every one of you, that it's not Swan.</p> + +<p>I am sure to be elected; so, one and all, great and small, short and +tall, when you come down to Jackson after the election, stop at the +auditor's office—the latch-string always hangs out; enter without +knocking, take off your things, and make yourself at home.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article8" id="article8"> +A NEGRO'S ACCOUNT OF LIBERIA. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>All of you that feel like it, my friends, come on home—the bush is +cleared away—you can hear no one say there is nothing to eat here. +Why, one man, Gabriel Moore, brought better than 200 cattle from the +interior this year—another 100—some 60, some 50, &c. There are no +hogs there, they say—no turkeys—why, I saw 50 or 60 in the street +at Millsburg the other day. No horses: I have got four in my stable +now; I have a mare and two colts, and I have a horse that I have +been offered 100 dollars for here; if you had him he would bring +500. If you don't believe it, let some gentleman send me a buggy or +a single gig—you shall see how myself and wife will take pleasure, +going from town to town—throw the harness in too—any gentleman +that feels like it—white or coloured—and I will try to send him a +boa constrictor to take his comfort; I know how to take the +gentleman without any danger. My oxen I was working them yesterday; +and as for goats and sheep, we have a plenty. We have a plenty to +eat, every man that will half work. I give you this; you are all +writing to me to tell you about Liberia, what we eat, and all the +news—I mean my coloured friends. Yours truly, <span class="sc"> +Zion Harris.</span></p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article9" id="article9"> +LARD-CANDLES. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>One of the most important discoveries or improvements of the age, is +a new species of candle which has been recently made in Cincinnati, +and which will shortly be offered extensively for sale. It is +calculated to supersede all other kinds in use by its beauty, +freedom from guttering, hardness, and capacity of giving light, in +all which respects it is superior to every other species of candle. +This candle is nearly translucent, and can be made to exhibit the +wick, when the candle is held up between the eye and the light, +while the surface is as glossy as polished wax or varnish. The +principal ingredient is lard; and the value of this manufacture can +be hardly exaggerated. Taking durability into account, it can be +made as cheap as any other candle; and there exists no single +element of comfort, convenience, profit, and economy, in which this +article has not the advantage of sperm, star, wax, or tallow +candles. It will be readily conceded that the days of all other +portable or table light, including lard-oil, are numbered. In fact, +except where intense light, as in public buildings, is an object, +gas itself cannot compete with it for public favour.—<i>American +Paper</i>.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article10" id="article10"> +CALIFORNIA ITEMS. +</a></h2> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Some idea of the traffic between San Francisco and the southern +mines may be formed from the fact, that there are at this moment ten +steamers plying between San Francisco and Sacramento. The latter are +for the most part of a larger size than those on the San Joaquin +river; and make the trip of about 120 miles in from seven to eight +hours. In the elegance of their accommodations and the luxuries of +their larder, they might compare favourably with any +passenger-vessels in the world. There are ten other steamers plying +from Sacramento to different places above that city. One year ago +there was but one steamboat in Oregon—the <i>Columbia</i>; now there are +eleven of different kinds running in the Columbia and Willamette +rivers, not including the Pacific steamers, <i>Sea-gull</i> and +<i>Columbia</i>, running between Oregon and California.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="article11" id="article11"> +THE NOBLE MARINER. +</a></h2> + +<h4>BY THE REV. JAMES GILBORNE LYONS, LL.D.</h4> + +<p class="returnTOC"><a href="#Contents">Return to Table of + Contents</a></p> + +<p>Most readers of these lines will remember that when the ship <i>Ocean +Monarch</i> was turned off Liverpool on the 24th of August 1848, +Frederick Jerome of New York saved fifteen lives by an act of +singular courage and benevolence. They will also lament that one so +ready to help others should himself perish by violence: he was +killed in Central America in the autumn of 1851.</p> + +<div style="margin-left:15%"> +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>Shout the noble seaman's name,</p> +<p>Deeds like <i>his</i> belong to fame:</p> +<p>Cottage roof and kingly dome,</p> +<p>Sound the praise of brave Jerome.</p> +<p>Let his acts be told and sung,</p> +<p>While his own high Saxon tongue—</p> +<p>Herald meet for worth sublime—</p> +<p>Peals from conquered clime to clime.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Madly rolled the giant wreck,</p> +<p>Fiercely blazed the riven deck;</p> +<p>Thick and fast as falling stars,</p> +<p>Crashed the flaming blocks and spars;</p> +<p>Loud as surf, when winds are strong,</p> +<p>Wailed the scorched and stricken throng,</p> +<p>Gazing on a rugged shore,</p> +<p>Fires behind, and seas before.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>On the charred and reeling prow</p> +<p>Reft of hope, they gather now,</p> +<p>Finding, one by one, a grave</p> +<p>In the vexed and sullen wave.</p> +<p>Here the child, as if in sleep,</p> +<p>Floats on waters dark and deep;</p> +<p>There the mother sinks below,</p> +<p>Shrieking in her mighty wo.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Britons, quick to strive or feel,</p> +<p>Joined with chiefs of rich Brazil;</p> +<p>Western freemen, prompt to dare,</p> +<p>Side by side with Bourbon's heir;</p> +<p>Proving who could <i>then</i> excel,</p> +<p>Came with succour long and well;</p> +<p>But Jerome, in peril nursed;</p> +<p>Shone among the foremost—<i>first</i>.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Through the reddened surge and spray,</p> +<p>Fast he cleaves his troubled way;</p> +<p>Boldly climbs and stoutly clings,</p> +<p>On the smoking timber springs;</p> +<p>Fronts the flames, nor fears to stand</p> +<p>In that lorn and weeping band;</p> +<p>Looks on death, nor tries to shun,</p> +<p>Till his work of love is done.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Glorious man!—immortal work!—</p> +<p>Claim thy hero, proud New York;</p> +<p>Harp of him when feasts are spread,</p> +<p>Tomb him with thy valiant dead.</p> +<p>Who that, bent on just renown,</p> +<p>Seeks a Christian's prize and crown,</p> +<p>Would not spurn whole years of life,</p> +<p>For one hour of <i>such</i> a strife?</p> +</div> +</div> +</div> + +<hr class="full" /> + +<p>Printed and Published by W. and R. <span class="sc">Chambers</span>, High Street, Edinburgh. +Also sold by W.S. <span class="sc">Orr</span>, Amen Corner, London; D.N. +<span class="sc">Chambers</span>, 55 West +Nile Street, Glasgow; and J. <span class="sc">M'Glashan</span>, 50 Upper Sackville Street, +Dublin.—Advertisements for Monthly Parts are requested to be sent +to <span class="sc">Maxwell & Co.</span>, 31 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London, to whom +all applications respecting their insertion must be made.</p> + +<hr class="full" /> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 420, +New Series, Jan. 17, 1852, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH *** + +***** This file should be named 14603-h.htm or 14603-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/6/0/14603/ + +Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 420, New Series, Jan. 17, 1852 + +Author: Various + +Release Date: January 5, 2005 [EBook #14603] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH *** + + + + +Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. Shiffer and the PG Online +Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + + CHAMBERS' EDINBURGH JOURNAL + + + CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF 'CHAMBERS'S + INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE,' 'CHAMBERS'S EDUCATIONAL COURSE,' &c. + + + No. 420. NEW SERIES. SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 1852. PRICE 1-1/2_d_. + + + + +HOW IS THE WORLD USING YOU? + + +This is a very common question, usually put and answered with more +or less levity. We seldom hear of any one answering very favourably +as to the usage he experiences from the world. More generally, the +questioned seems to feel that his treatment is not, and never has +been, quite what it ought to be. It has sometimes occurred to me, +that a great oversight is committed in our so seldom putting to +ourselves the co-relative question: What have I done to make the +world use me well? What merit have I shewn--by what good intention +towards the world have I been animated--what has been the positive +amount of those services of mine on which I found my pretensions to +the world's rewards? All of these are interrogations which it would +be necessary to answer satisfactorily before we could be truly +entitled to take measure of the world's goodness to us in return; +for surely it is not to be expected that the world is to pay in mere +expectancy: time enough, in all conscience, when the service has +been rendered, or at soonest, when a reasonable ground of hope has +been established that it will not be withheld or performed +slightingly. Only too much room there is to fear that, if these +questions were put and faithfully answered, the ordinary result +would be a conviction that the world had used us quite as well as we +deserved. + +Men are of course prevented from going through this process by their +self-love. Unwillingness to see or own their shortcomings, keeps +them in a sort of delusion on the subject. Well, I do not hope to +make an extensive change upon them in this respect; but perhaps it +may not be impossible to rouse one here and there to the correct +view, and thus accomplish a little good. + +Let us address ourselves to commercial life first, for the labour by +which man lives is at the bottom of everything. Here we meet the now +well-recognised principle in political economy, that generally +wages, salaries, remunerations of all kinds, are in pretty exact +relation to the value of the services performed--this value being of +course determined, in a great degree, by the easiness or difficulty +of the work, the commonness or rarity of the faculties and skill +required for it, the risk of non-success in the profession, and so +forth. Many a good fellow who feels that his income is +inconveniently small, and wonders why it is not greater, might have +the mystery solved if he would take a clear, unprejudiced view of +the capacity in which he is acting towards the public. Is he a slave +of the desk, in some office of routine business? Then let him +consider how many hundreds of similar men would answer an +advertisement of his seat being vacant. The fatal thing in his case +evidently is, that the faculties and skill required in his situation +are possessed by so many of his fellow-creatures. Is he a shopkeeper +in some common line of business?--say a draper. Then let him +consider how easy it is to be a draper, and how simple are the +details of such a trade. While there are so many other drapers in +the same street, his going out of business would never be felt as an +inconvenience. He is perhaps not doing any real good to the public +at all, but only interloping with the already too small business of +those who were in 'the line' before him. Let him think of the many +hours he spends in idleness, or making mere appearances of business, +and ask if he is really doing any effective service to his +fellow-creatures by keeping a shop at all. It may be a hardship to +him to have failed in a good intention; but this cannot be helped. +He may succeed better in some other scheme. Let him quit this, and +try another, or set up in a place where there is what is called 'an +opening'--that is, where his services are required--the point +essential to his getting any reward for his work. We sometimes see +most wonderful efforts made by individuals in an overdone trade; for +example, those of a hatter, who feels that he must give mankind a +special direction to his shop, or die. Half-a-dozen tortoise-like +missionaries do nothing but walk about the streets from morning to +night, proclaiming from carapace and plastron,[1] that there are no +hats equal to those at No. 98 of such a street. A van like the +temple of Juggernauth parades about all day, propagating the same +faith. 'If you want a good hat,' exclaims a pathetic poster, 'try +No. 98.' As you walk along the street, a tiny bill is insinuated +into your hand, for no other purpose, as you learn on perusing it, +but to impress upon you the great truth, that there are no hats in +the world either so good or so cheap as those at No. 98. The same +dogma meets you in omnibuses, at railway platforms, and every other +place where it can be expected that mankind will pause for a moment, +and so have time to take in an idea. But it is all in vain if there +be a sufficient supply of good and cheap hats already in that +portion of the earth's surface. The superfluous hatter must submit +to the all-prevailing law, that for labours not required, and an +expenditure of capital useless as regards the public, there can be +no reward, no return. + +Sometimes great inconveniences are experienced in consequence of +local changes; such as those effected by railways, and the +displacement of hand-labour by machinery. A country inn that has +supplied post-horses since the days of the civil war, is all at +once, in consequence of the opening of some branch-line, deserted by +its business. It is a pitiable case; but the poor landlord must not +attempt to be an innkeeper without business, for then he would be a +misapplied human being, and would starve. Now the world uses him a +little hardly in the diversion of his customers; that may be +allowed: we must all lay our account with such hardships so long as +each person is left to see mainly after himself. But if he were to +persist in keeping his house open, and thus reduce himself to +uselessness, he would not be entitled to think himself ill-used by +reason of his making no profits, seeing that he did nothing for the +public to entitle him to a remuneration. The poor handloom +weavers--I grieve to think of the hardships they suffer. Well do I +remember when, in 1813 or 1814, a good workman in this craft could +realise 36s. a week. There were even traditions then of men who had +occasionally eaten pound-notes upon bread and butter, or allowed +their wives to spend L.8 upon a fine china tea-service. There being +a copious production of cotton-thread by machinery, but no machinery +to make it into cloth, was the cause of the high wages then given to +weavers. Afterwards came the powerloom; and weavers can now only +make perhaps 4s. 6d. per week, even while working for longer hours +than is good for their health. The result is most lamentable; but it +cannot be otherwise, for the public will only reward services in the +ratio of the value of these services to itself. It will not +encourage a human being, with his glorious apparatus of intelligence +and reflection, to mis-expend himself upon work which can be +executed equally well by unthinking machinery. Were the poor weavers +able so far to shake themselves free from what is perhaps a very +natural prejudice, as to ask what do we do to entitle us to any +better usage from the public, they would see that the fault lies in +their continuing to be weavers at all. They are precisely as the +innkeeper would be, if he kept his house open after the railway had +taken all his customers another way. + +There are many cases in the professional walks of life fully as +deplorable as that of the weavers. Few things in the world are more +painful to contemplate than a well-educated and able man vainly +struggling to get bread as a physician, an artist, or an author. It +is of course right that such a man should not be too ready to +abandon the struggle as hopeless; for a little perseverance and +well-directed energy may bring him into a good position. But if a +fair experiment has been made, and it clearly appears that his +services are not wanted, the professional aspirant ought undoubtedly +to pause, and take a full unprejudiced view of his relation to the +world. 'Am I,' he may say, 'to expect reward if I persist in +offering the world what it does not want? Are my fellow-creatures +wrong in withholding a subsistence from me, while I am rather +consulting my own tastes and inclinations than their necessities?' +It may then occur to him that the great law must somehow be +obeyed--a something must be done for mankind which they require, and +it must be done where and how they require it, in order that each +individual may have a true claim upon the rest. To get into the +right and fitting place in the social machine may be difficult; but +there is no alternative. Let him above everything dismiss from his +mind the notion, that others can seriously help him. Let him be +self-helpful, think and do for himself, and he will have the better +chance of success. + +We now come to a second branch of the subject--namely, as regards +our conduct and manners in the scenes of social life. One might +suppose it to be a very clear thing, that a person possessing no +pleasing accomplishment could never be so agreeable a member of +society as one who possessed one or more of such qualifications. It +might seem very evident, that a person who had never taken any +trouble to acquire such accomplishments, did not deserve so much of +society as one who had taken such trouble. Yet such is the blinding +influence of self-love, that we continually find the dull and +unaccomplished speaking and acting as if they considered themselves +entitled to equal regard with others who, on the contrary, can +contribute greatly to the enjoyments of their fellow-creatures. This +is surely most unreasonable--it is, as in the case of the +unnecessary shopkeeper or weaver, to desire the reward and yet not +perform the service. Were such persons to clear themselves of +prejudice, and take an unflattering view of their relation to +society, they would see that the reward can only be properly +expected where it has been worked for. They might in some instances +be prompted to make efforts to attain some of those accomplishments +which contribute to make the social hour pass agreeably, and thus +attain to a true desert, besides 'advancing themselves in the scale +of thinking beings.' If not, they might at least learn to submit +unrepiningly to that comparatively moderate degree of notice and +regard which is the due of those who are perfectly ordinary in their +minds, and fit only to take a place amongst the audience. + +Society, as is well known, has its favourites, and also its +unpopular characters. If we dissect the character of the favourite, +we shall invariably find a great substratum of the amiable. He will +probably have accomplishments also, and thus be able to add to the +happiness of his fellows. It is not improbable that in many cases a +good share of love of approbation will be detected; but this is of +no consequence in the matter. The general fact we assume to be, that +the genuinely amiable is there in some force. It will, I believe, be +likewise found that the unpopular character has something too much +of the centripetal system about him--that is to say, desires things +to centre in himself as much as possible--and neither has any great +natural impulse to the amiable, nor will take the trouble to assume +the complaisant. Now, it is not uncommon to observe traces of +dissatisfaction in the unpopular characters, as if they felt +themselves to be treated unjustly by the world. But can these +persons reasonably expect to be received with the same favour as men +who are at once gentle and inoffensive in their ordinary demeanour, +and actively good among their fellow-creatures? Certainly not. Let +us see here, too, the complaining party take an unprejudiced view of +his relation to society. Let him understand that he only will be +loved if he is lovable, and we may hope to see him taking some pains +to correct his selfishness, and both seem and be a kind and genial +man. Most assuredly, in no other way will his reputation and his +treatment by the world be reversed. + +In fine, we would have all who are inclined to doubt whether the +world uses them well or not, to ask of themselves, in the first +place, how they use the world. If they find that they do little for +it--are stupid, illiterate, possessed of not one graceful +accomplishment, neither useful nor ornamental, but selfish, sulky, +and unamiable, then let them try whether a remedy cannot be found in +themselves. It is not to be expected of all that they are to be +greatly serviceable in any way to the world, or very agreeable +either; but it is the duty of all who desire the world's good +treatment, to do the best they can for the general interest, and to +be as good and amiable as possible. At the worst, if they cannot +make any change on themselves, let them resign themselves to be +comparatively poor and neglected, as such is, by the rules of +Providence, their inevitable fate. + + * * * * * + +[Footnote 1: The upper and under plates of the tortoise are so called by +naturalists.] + + + + +THE SISTERS OF CHARITY IN BOHEMIA. + + +In continental countries, much of that charitable ministration which +with us is left to rates and institutions, is the work of +individuals acting directly under a religious impulse. The +difference is perhaps not entirely in favour of the countries of the +Romish faith; but there is no denying that it leads to our being +presented with pictures of heroic self-devotion and generous +self-sacrifice, such as it would be gratifying to see in our own +country. Many of the forms of charity met with in Catholic states +had their rise in one enthusiastically benevolent man, the +celebrated Vincent de St Paul. Born in 1576, on the skirts of the +Pyrenees, and brought up as a shepherd-boy--possessed of course of +none of the advantages of fortune, this remarkable man shewed a +singular spirit of charity before he had readied manhood. He became +a priest; he passed through a slavery in one of the African +piratical states, and with difficulty made his escape. At length we +see him in the position of a parish pastor in France, exerting +himself in plans for the improvement of the humbler classes, exactly +like those which have become fashionable among ourselves only during +the last twenty years. His exertions succeeded, and generous persons +of rank enabled him to extend them. In a short time, he saw no fewer +than twenty-five establishments founded in his own country, in +Piedmont, Poland, and other states, for charitable purposes. +Stimulated by this success to increase his exertions, he quickly +formed associations of charitable persons, chiefly females, for the +succour of distressed humanity. It was a most wonderful movement for +the age, and must be held as no little offset against the horrible +barbarities arising from religious troubles in the reign of Louis +XIII. Among Vincent's happiest efforts, was that which established +the _Sisters of Charity_, a sodality of self-devoted women, which +exists in vigour at the present day. + +During a lengthened residence in Prague, we have had much +satisfaction in visiting the establishment of the Sisters, and +inquiring into their doings. The house, which was founded in the +seventeenth century, and contains seventy inmates, is situated near +to the palace of Prince Lobkowitz, in the Kleine Seite, or that part +of the city which lies on the right bank of the Moldau. It has much +the character of a suburban villa, being surrounded by a kind of +_plaisance_, enclosed in high walls, and containing shrubberies, +alleys, and large clumps of chestnuts. In this pleasant retreat may +often be found such of the Sisters as are not engaged in the more +pressing kind of duties--never quite idle, however; for, even while +seeking recreation, they will be found busied in preparing clothing +for the poor, or perhaps in making medicines from herbs, if not +imparting instruction to children let loose from the school which +forms a part of their establishment. The place is remarkable for its +perfumes, there being assembled here not merely the usual amount of +roses, lilacs, jasmines, tuberoses, and lilies, but a profusion of +aromatic plants, cultivated either for medicinal purposes, or to +serve in the fabrication of essences and powders, which the Sisters +distribute over the world in tiny bottles and small pillow-cases and +bags, in order to raise funds for the poor. + +In the house, which, having been erected for a private family, is +not well suited for its present purpose, everything is an example of +cleanliness and order. The hospital is in the main part of the +building, and is fitted up with every possible convenience. A large +apothecaries' hall is attached to it, furnished with every appliance +that medical art has devised, and under the superintendence of a +highly-educated professional man. It is most affecting to enter the +great sick-room, and see the gentle Sisters in their modest attire +ministering to the patients, bending over them with their sweet and +cheerful countenances, as if they felt that relief from pain and +restoration to life and its enjoyments depended on their smiles. It +is scarcely necessary to say, that the hospital is almost always +full. Sometimes, indeed, the floor is occupied with extra beds; for +the Sisters will never close their doors to any who apply, even +though they should have to abandon their own simple places of repose +to the new-comer, and stretch themselves on the bare floor. + +We observed, in one of our visits, an old woman who was lying in one +of the beds of the hospital, in a kind of trance, neither sleeping +nor waking, apparently suffering no pain, but quite insensible to +everything which passed around her. Her complaint was that of +extreme old age, mere physical exhaustion. She had been for many +years a pensioner, fed and clothed by the Sisters: having outlived +all her relations, and having no friends in the world but them, she +had come in, as she said herself, 'to die in peace among them.' Not +far from her lay a girl, about sixteen or seventeen years of age, +whose extreme paleness, or rather marble whiteness, vied with the +snowy sheets which covered all but that lily face; and but for the +quivering of the little frill of her cap, and the slow movement of +her large blue eyes, it would have been difficult to believe that it +was not the alabaster figure of some saint that reposed there. The +superior looked kindly and sadly upon her, bent down, kissed her +pale forehead, and went on; and though the sufferer did not move or +speak, nor the feeble head turn, her large blue eyes followed the +reverend mother with an expression which was all its own--an +expression to be felt, deeply, intensely, but which cannot be +described. And who was she, that pale, silent girl? She was an +orphan, neglected by the world, betrayed and abandoned by one who +appeared the only _friend_ she had. Crushed in spirit, enfeebled by +want and misery, without a roof to shelter her young drooping head, +she had been found by the Sisters of Charity sitting alone, _her +eyes fixed on the river_. They took her in, clothed, fed, and warmed +her. They poured into her heart the blessed words of peace and +comfort, till that poor breaking heart gushed forth in a wild tide +of feeling too strong for the feeble frame; and we now saw her +slowly recovering from a frightful fever, the result of past +sufferings, and of that agitation which even a reaction towards hope +had occasioned. + +It would be too much for the present sketch to describe the many +invalids before whom we passed in our visits to the sick-chambers of +the Sisters of Charity, though every single case would be a lesson +to humanity. The homeless, the forsaken, the orphan, each had his or +her own bitter history, previous to reposing within the sanctuary of +that blessed retreat; each was attended by some of those benevolent +beings, whose gentle steps and sweet sunny smiles brought peace to +their hearts. None who are destitute are rejected at that gate of +mercy. Whatever their faults may have been, whatever their +frailties, if overtaken by want or sickness--if, deserted and +trampled upon, they sink without any visible hand being stretched +out to save them from despair and death--then do the Sisters of +Charity interpose to succour and to save. To them it is sufficient +that the sufferer requires their aid. There every medical assistance +is promptly given; every comfort, and even luxury. + +Most surprising it is to the common worldling to see these gentle +beings thus living entirely for others, seeking no reward but that +inspired by Christian promises and hopes. Nor is it mere drudgery +and self-denial which constitute their great merit. When humanity +calls from the midst of danger, whether in the shape of pestilence +or of war, they are equally unfailing. It has been our lot to see a +city taken by storm, the streets on fire and half-choked with ruins, +and these ruins thickly strewed with the dead and dying. There, +before the wild scene had been in the least calmed--amid smoke, and +rain, and the frequent rattling fire of musketry--we have seen the +black dresses and long white kerchiefs of the Sisters of Charity +flitting about, emblems of mercy in a world which might otherwise +seem only fit for demons. The place we speak of was Arcis-sur-Aube. +Napoleon, who looked on the system of this sisterhood 'as one of the +most sublime conceptions of the human mind,' was then in the act of +falling back with 30,000 men, after having been attacked the evening +before (March 19, 1814) by 130,000 Austrians. He was within three +weeks of the prostration of his power, and he must have felt +bitterly the crushing reverses he was experiencing. Yet he stopped +on the nearly demolished bridge of the town, and ordered 300 +Napoleons to be given out of his then scanty resources to the +Sisters of Charity, of whose devotion he had been an eye-witness +from the commencement of the attack. As he crossed the bridge +immediately afterwards, part of it gave way, and he was precipitated +into the Aube, but, by the help of his horse, soon gained the safe +bank. + +The good works of the Sisters do not stop with their exertions for +the sick and miserable. They have also their schools for orphans and +foundlings. Here the tender human plant, perhaps deserted by a +heartless mother, often gains more than it has lost. It is only to +infants in these extraordinary circumstances that they are called +upon to give shelter, for the children of the poor in general are +provided for in public establishments. When we last visited the +convent in Prague, we found about thirty girls entertained as +inmates. As soon as they are capable of learning, they are +instructed in every branch of domestic economy; and as they grow up, +and their several talents develop themselves, they are educated +accordingly: some for instructresses, either in music or any general +branch of education; others, as seamstresses, ladies-maids, cooks, +laundry-maids, house-maids. In short, every branch of useful +domestic science is taught. + +When the girls attain sufficient age and experience to occupy the +several situations for which they have been instructed--that is, +from seventeen to eighteen, the superior of the convent procures +them a place in the family of some of her friends or acquaintance, +and always, so far as lies in her power, with a mistress as much as +possible suited to the intelligence and instruction of her +_protegee_. The day of separation, however, is always painful. It +is, in fact, the parting of a mother and her child. We have seen the +orphan cling to her adopted mother, and as she knelt to receive her +blessing, bathe her hands in tears of gratitude and affection; while +the reverend superior would clasp her to her bosom, and recommend to +her adopted child the blessed principles which she had inculcated +from her infancy. Nor do they leave the home of their childhood +empty. Each girl on quitting the convent is provided with a little +_trousseau_ or outfit for her first appearance in the world: this +consists of two complete suits of clothes--an ordinary and a better +one, four petticoats, four chemises, six pair of stockings, the same +number of gloves, and two pair of shoes. We have seen many of these +orphans and foundlings in after-life; some of them occupying the +most respectable situations, as the wives of opulent citizens, and +others filling places of the most important trust in some of the +highest families of the empire; we have also had several in our own +service, and have always had reason to congratulate ourselves on our +good-fortune in engaging them. + +One of the first principles of education in the orphan schools of +the Sisters of Charity is economy: while they spare nothing in the +cause of humanity, so far as their means will go, the strictest +frugality reigns throughout, and is always inculcated as the +foundation of the means of doing good. Consequently, all of whom we +have had any experience, who were educated in these charitable +institutions, never failed, however humble their situation, to make +some little savings: one whom we have at this moment in our eye, and +who not many years since served us in the capacity of cook, and +fulfilled her charge with great fidelity and zeal, has, by her +extraordinary industry and economy, collected in the savings' bank +in Prague no less than 700 florins, or L.70 sterling. And yet with +all this economy she was so charitable and liberal in giving of her +own to the poor, that we have often had to caution her against +extravagance in that respect. By this spirit of economy, we have +also known several of the orphans and foundlings arrive at a degree +of independence which enables them in their turn to assist the +deserted generation of to-day, and to do for them as they themselves +had been done by. Many also have been the means of rescuing others +from crime and starvation by conducting them to that blessed +institution, to which, under Heaven, they owe all their prosperity +and happiness in life. + +Of these charitable communities there are many orders, which differ +from the above chiefly in name, and in the Sisters never quitting +their sanctuary or the precincts of their gardens. The Sisters of +Charity, properly so called, not being vowed to seclusion, are more +generally known to the world, who see them, and therefore believe +that they exist for charitable purposes, while of those of whom they +see nothing they know nothing; and should the casual observer meet +in the street on a festival, or day of examination, a column of from +300 to 800 children, from six to ten or twelve years of age, neatly +clothed, and whose happy countenances and beautiful behaviour +bespeak the care with which their early education has been +conducted--it never once occurs to him that these are the children +of the poor, the children of the free schools of the 'Sisters' of +the Ursaline Convent, or of the Congregation of Notre Dame, or of +some other religious establishment of the kind. But perhaps we shall +have an opportunity hereafter of introducing these invisible Sisters +of Charity to the notice of our readers. + +Suffice it now to say, that the 'Sisters of Mercy,' the 'Ursalines,' +the 'Congregations of Notre Dame,' the 'English Ladies,' and many +others, are all in practice Sisters of Charity. + +It is not uncommon to hear their condition deplored, as one from +which all earthly enjoyments are excluded, or as a kind of death in +life. But personal observation has given us different ideas on this +subject. Within those lofty, and sometimes sullen-looking walls +which enclose the convents of the sisterhoods we speak of, we have +spent some of the most agreeable hours of our life, conversing with +refined and enlightened women on the works of beneficence in which +they were engaged; everything bearing an aspect of that cheerfulness +and animation which only can be expected in places where worthy +duties are well performed. + + + + +ADVENTURES OF AN ARMY PHYSICIAN. + + +Robert Jackson, the son of a small landed proprietor of limited +income but respectable character in Lanarkshire, was born in 1750, +at Stonebyres, in that county. He received his education first at +the barony school of Wandon, and afterwards under the care of Mr +Wilson, a teacher of considerable local celebrity at Crawford, one +of the wildest spots in the Southern Highlands. He was subsequently +apprenticed to Mr William Baillie, of Biggar; and in 1766 proceeded, +for the completion of his professional training, to the university +of Edinburgh, at that time illustrated and adorned by the genius and +learning of such men as the Monros, the Cullens, and the Blacks. + +In pursuing his studies at this favoured abode of science and +literature, young Jackson is said to have evinced all that purity of +morals and singleness of heart which characterised him in +after-life, and to have resisted the allurements of dissipation by +which, in those days especially, the youthful student was tempted to +wander from the paths of virtuous industry. His circumstances were, +however, distressingly narrow; and not only was he forced to forego +the means of professional improvement open only to the more opulent +student; but in order to meet the expenses of the winter-sessions, +he was obliged to employ the summer, not in the study but in the +practice of his profession. He engaged himself as medical officer to +a Greenland whaler, and in two successive summers visited, in that +capacity, 'the thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice;' returning on +each occasion with a recruited purse and a frame strengthened and +invigorated by exposure and exercise. During these expeditions he +occupied his leisure with the study of the Greek and Roman +languages, and the careful and repeated perusal of the best authors +in both. + +His third winter-sessions at Edinburgh having passed away, he was +induced to go out and seek his fortune in Jamaica, and accordingly +proceeded thither in a vessel commanded by one Captain Cunningham, +who had previously been employed as master of a transport at the +siege of Havannah. It is far from improbable that it was from his +conversations with this individual that Jackson derived those hints, +of which at a future time he availed himself, respecting the +transmission of troops by sea without injury to their health; but it +is quite certain his conviction of the enormous value of cold-water +affusions as a curative agent in the last stage of febrile +affections, was imbibed from this source. + +Arriving in Jamaica, he in 1774 became assistant to an eminent +general practitioner at Savana-la-Mar, Dr King, who was also in +medical charge of a detachment of the first battalion of the 60th +regiment. This latter he consigned to Jackson's care; and well +worthy of the trust did our young adventurer, though but twenty-four +years of age, approve himself--visiting three or four times a day +the quarters of the troops to detect incipient disease, and studying +with ardour and intelligent attention the varied phenomena of +tropical maladies. Four years thus passed profitably away, and they +would have been as pleasant as profitable, but for one circumstance. +The existence of slavery and its concomitant horrors appears to have +made a deep impression on Jackson's mind, and, at last, to have +produced in him such sentiments of disgust and abhorrence, that he +resolved on quitting the island altogether, and, as the phrase is, +trying his luck in North America, where the revolutionary war was +then raging. This resolution--due perhaps, as much to his love of +travel as to the motive assigned--was not altogether unfortunate, +for shortly after his departure, October 3, 1780, Savana-la-Mar was +totally destroyed, and the surrounding country for a considerable +distance desolated, by a terrible hurricane and sweeping inroad of +the sea, in which Dr King, his family and partner, together with +numbers of others, unhappily perished. + +The law of Jamaica forbade any one to leave the island without +having given previous notice of his intention, or having obtained +the bond of some respectable person as security for such debts as he +might have outstanding. Jackson, when he embarked for America, had +no debts whatever, and was, moreover, ignorant of the law, with +whose requirements therefore he did not comply. Nor did he become +aware of his mistake until, when off the easternmost point of the +island, the master of the vessel approached him and said: 'We are +now, sir, off Point-Morant; you will therefore have the goodness to +favour me with your security-bond. It is a mere legal form, but we +are obliged to respect it.' Finding this 'legal form' had not been +complied with, the master then, in spite of Jackson's protestations +and entreaties, set him on shore, and the vessel continued on her +voyage. What was to be done? Almost penniless, landed on a part of +the coast where he knew not a soul, Jackson well-nigh gave himself +up to despair. There was a vessel for New York loading, it was true, +at Lucea; but Lucea was 150 miles distant, on the westernmost side +of the island, and not to be reached by sea, whilst our adventurer's +purse would not suffer him to hire a horse. No choice was left him +but to walk, and that in a country where the exigencies of the +climate make pedestrianism perilous in the extreme to the white man. +Having reached Kingston, which was in the neighbourhood, in a boat, +and obtained the necessary certificate, he started on his dangerous +expedition, and on the first day walked eighteen miles, being +sheltered at night in the house of a benevolent planter. The next +day he pushed on for Rio Bueno, which he had almost reached, when, +overcome by thirst, he stopped by the way to refresh himself, and +imprudently standing in an open piazza exposed to a smart easterly +breeze, whilst his lemonade was preparing, contracted a severe chill +that almost took from him the power of motion, and left him to crawl +along the road slowly and with pain, until he reached his +destination. + +Having finally arrived, friendless and moneyless, in New York, then +in the occupation of the British, he endeavoured first to obtain a +commission in the New York volunteers, and afterwards employment as +mate in the Naval Hospital. In his endeavours, he was kindly +assisted by a Jamaica gentleman, a fellow-passenger, whose regard +during the voyage he had succeeded in conciliating by his amiable +manners and evident abilities; but his efforts were all in vain, and +poor Jackson, familiar with poverty from childhood, began now to +experience the misery of destitution. In truth, starvation stared +him in the face, and a sense of delicacy withheld him from seeking +from his Jamaica friend the most trifling pecuniary assistance. In +this, his state of desperation, he determined upon passing the +British lines, and endeavouring to obtain amongst the insurgents the +food he had hitherto sought in vain; resolving, however, under no +circumstances to bear arms against his native country. Whilst +moodily and slowly walking towards the British outposts to carry +into execution this scheme, having in one pocket a shirt, and in +another a Greek Testament and a Homer, he was met half-way by a +British officer, who fixed his eyes steadily on him in passing. +Jackson in his agitation thought he read in the glance a knowledge +of his purpose and a disapprobation of it. Struck by the incident, +he turned back, and, after a moment's reflection, resolved on +offering himself as a volunteer in the first battalion of the 71st +regiment (Sutherland Highlanders), then in cantonment near New +York. Arriving at the place, he presented himself to the notice of +Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Sir Archibald) Campbell, who, having +first ascertained that he was a Scotsman, inquired to whom he was +known at New York. Jackson replied, to no one; but that a +fellow-passenger from Jamaica would readily testify to his being a +gentleman. 'I require no testimony to your being a gentleman,' +returned the kind-hearted colonel. 'Your countenance and address +satisfy me on that head. I will receive you into the regiment with +pleasure; but then I have to inform you, Mr Jackson, that there are +seventeen on the list before you, who are of course entitled to +prior promotion.' The next day, at the instance of Colonel Campbell, +the regimental-surgeon, Dr Stuart, appointed Jackson acting hospital +or surgeon's mate--a rank now happily abolished in the British army; +for those who filled it, whatever might be their competency or +skill, were accounted and treated no better than drudges. Although +discharging the duties that now devolve on the assistant-surgeon, +they were not, like him, commissioned, but only warrant-officers, +and therefore had no title to half-pay. + +Dr Stuart, who appears to have been a man superior to vulgar +prejudice, and to have appreciated at once the extent of Jackson's +acquirements and the vigour of his intellect, relinquished to him, +almost without control, the charge of the regimental hospital. Here +it was that this able young officer began to put in practice that +amended system of army medical treatment which since his time, but +in conformity with his teachings, has been so successfully carried +out as to reduce the mortality amongst our soldiery from what it +formerly was--something like 15 per cent.--to what it is now, about +2-1/2 per cent. + +In the army hospitals, at the period Jackson commenced a career that +was to eventuate so gloriously, there was no regulated system of +diet, no classification of the sick. What are now well known as +'medical comforts,' were things unheard of; the sick soldier, like +the healthy soldier, had his ration of salt-beef or pork, and his +allowance of rum. The hospital furnished him with no bedding; he +must bring his own blanket. Any place would do for an hospital. That +in which Jackson began his labours had originally been a +commissary's store; but happily its roof was water-tight--an unusual +occurrence--and its site being in close proximity to a wood, our +active surgeon's mate managed, by the aid of a common fatigue party, +to surround the walls with wicker-work platforms, which served the +patients as tolerably comfortable couches. A further and still more +important change he effected related to the article of diet. He +suggested, and the suggestion was adopted--honour to the courageous +humanity which did not shrink from so righteous an innovation!--that +instead of his salt ration and spirits, which he could not consume, +the sick soldier should be supplied with fresh meat, broth, &c.; and +that, as the quantity required for the invalid would be necessarily +small, the quarter-master should allow the saving on the commuted +ration to be expended in the common market on other comforts, such +as sago, &c. suitable for the patient. Thus proper hospital diet was +furnished, without entailing any additional expense on the state.[2] + +Indefatigable in the discharge of his interesting duties, Mr Jackson +speedily obtained the confidence of his military superiors, who +remarked with admiration not only his intelligent zeal in performing +his hospital functions, but his calmness, quickness of perception, +and generous self-devotion when in the field of battle. On one +occasion, although suffering at the time from severe indisposition, +he remained, under a heavy fire, succouring the wounded, in spite of +the remonstrances of the officers present. On another, having +observed the British commander, Colonel (afterwards General) +Tarleton, in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, who had +routed the royalist troops, he galloped up to the colonel--whom a +musket-ball had just dismounted--pressed him to mount his own horse +and escape, whilst he himself, with a white handkerchief displayed, +quietly proceeded in the direction of the advancing foe, and +surrendered himself at once. The American commander, who did not +know what to make of such conduct, asked him who he was? He replied: +'I am assistant-surgeon in the 71st regiment. Many of the men are +wounded, and in your hands. I come, therefore, to offer my services +in attending them.' He was accordingly sent to the rear as a +prisoner; but was well treated, and spent the first night of his +captivity in dressing his soldiers' wounds, taking off his shirt, +and tearing it up into bandages for the purpose. He afterwards did +the same good office for the American sufferers; and when the +wounded English could be exchanged, Washington sent him back, not +only without exchange, but even without requiring his parole. At a +subsequent period during the same unhappy war, when the British +under Lord Cornwallis were in full retreat, the sick and wounded +were placed in a building which the colonists, on their approach, +began to riddle with shot. Several surgeons, not caring to incur the +risk of entering so exposed an edifice, agreed to cast lots who +should go in and see to the invalids; but Jackson, with +characteristic nerve and simplicity, at once stepped forward: 'No, +no,' said he, 'I will go and attend to the men!' He did so, and +returned unhurt. + +After this we find him a prisoner in the hands of the Americans and +French at New York Town, Virginia. As on the former occasion, he was +treated with all imaginable kindness; and, being released on parole, +returned to Europe early in 1782, and proceeded by way of Cork, +Dublin, and Greenock to Edinburgh, where he abode for a short time. +Thence he started for London; and, desirous of testing the best way +of sustaining physical strength during long marches, and urged +perhaps also by economical considerations, he resolved to make the +journey on foot. His West Indian and American experience had taught +him that spare diet consisted best with pedestrian efficiency, and +it was accordingly his practice, during this long walk, to abstain +from animal food until the close of day, nor often then to partake +of it. He would walk some fourteen miles before breakfast--a meal of +tea and bread; rest then for an hour or an hour and a half; then +pace on until bedtime--a salad, a tart, or sometimes tea and bread, +forming his usual evening fare. He found that on this diet he arose +every morning at dawn with alacrity, and could prosecute without +inconvenience his laborious undertaking. By way of experiment he +twice or thrice varied his plan--dining on the road off beefsteaks, +and having a draught of porter in the course of the afternoon; but +the result justified his anticipations. The stimulus of the beer +soon passing off, lassitude succeeded the temporary strength it had +lent him; and, worse than all, his disposition to early rising +sensibly diminished. + +His stay in London, which he reached in this primitive fashion, was +not long. His kind friend Dr Stuart, who had exchanged into the +Royal Horse-Guards, gave him the shelter of his roof; but so poor +was Mr Jackson, that, although ardently desirous of improving +himself in his profession, he was unable to attend any one of the +medical schools with which London abounds. + +The peace of 1783 having opened the continent to the curiosity of +the British traveller, Jackson curtly announced to his friends, that +'he was going to take a walk.' His poverty allowed him no other +mode of locomotion; so off he set on the grand tour, carrying with +him a map of France, a bundle of clothes, and a scanty supply of +money. Crossing the channel, he reached Calais, a place which Horace +Walpole, writing from Rome, declared had astonished him more than +anything he had elsewhere seen, but in which our adventurer found +nothing more astonishing than a superb Swiss regiment. He proceeded +to Paris, and thence through Switzerland, by Geneva and Berne, into +Germany, at a town of which--Guenz in Suabia--he met with a comical +enough adventure. + +On entering the town he was challenged by a soldier, who, having +learned he had no passport, carried him before a magistrate, by whom +he was forthwith condemned as a vagabond, and remitted to the +custody of a recruiting sergeant. This worthy, in turn, introduced +him to the commanding officer, who politely gave our traveller the +choice of serving his Imperial and Apostolic Majesty, the Emperor of +Germany, either in his cavalry or his infantry forces. But Jackson, +strangely insensible to the honour, flatly refused to serve his +Majesty in these or any other ways, and desired to be at once set +free, and suffered to continue his journey. The officer, doubtless +amazed at such presumption, desired the sergeant to convey him to +the barracks, where he was placed in a large room, in which were +congregated some two hundred or so involuntary recruits like +himself--harmless travellers, who, being destitute of passports, the +emperor forcibly enlisted into his service. Jackson found his +co-mates in misfortune very dirty, very ragged, but perfectly civil +and good-tempered. Having a little recovered his serenity--for it is +easy to see, though our hero is described as a man of placid +demeanour and somewhat Quakerly appearance, he could be not a little +fiery at times--he sat down and wrote to the commanding officer, +entreating leave to sleep at an inn, and proffering the deposit of +all his money as a pledge for his reappearance next morning. The +reply was an order that he should surrender his writing materials. +At seven o'clock, the appointed sleeping hour, the sergeant returned +and gave the signal for bed by rapping with his cane on the floor, +which was speedily covered by a number of dirty bags of mouldy +straw--the regulation mattresses, it would seem, for involuntary +recruits. Jackson--peppery again--refused to lie down, but was at +last compelled to do so, and between two of the dirtiest fellows of +the lot, each of whom had a leg chained to an arm. The next morning, +at his own request, he was brought before the commandant of the +town, who had only arrived late the preceding evening, and whom he +found seated in his bedroom, 'with all his officers standing round +him receiving orders,' says Jackson, 'with more humility than +orderly-sergeants.' The commandant repeated the offer of 'cavalry or +infantry;' adding that a war was about to commence with the Turks, +and that good-behaviour would insure promotion. However, finding +Jackson obstinately persistent in his refusal, he quietly observed, +in conclusion, that the emperor, as a matter of rule and of right, +'impressed' into his army all such as entered his dominions without +certificates of character. 'The order was so tyrannical,' declares +our _detenu_, 'that I could not contain myself. "Put me in chains, +if you please," I said, "but I tell you, all Germany shall not make +me carry a musket for the emperor."' This impetuous burst of +indignation seems to have alarmed the phlegmatic commandant, who +accordingly let our adventurer go, counselling him, however, to +write to the English ambassador at Vienna for a passport, lest he +should get into further trouble. + +Jackson passed through the Tyrol into Italy, everywhere indulging +his love of scenery and still greater love of adventure; studying +with all the acuteness of his countrymen the varied characters of +the people he met with, and in his correspondence with home friends, +sketching them in language striking for its force, its propriety, +and originality. Some of his remarks on men and manners are +conceived in a truly Goldsmithian vein, whilst all testify at once +to the goodness of his heart and the quickness of his perceptions. +At Venice he says that he felt it to be 'such a feast of enjoyment +as seldom falls to the lot of man, and never to the lot of any but a +poor man, who has nothing conspicuous about him to attract the +notice of the crowd,' to possess such facilities as he did for +learning what the people of foreign countries really were. + +At Albenga, in Piedmont, Jackson arrived one night, tired, hungry, +and drenched with rain. Intending to put up at the 'Albergo di San +Dominico,' which he had been informed was the best inn, he went by +accident to the convent of the same name, and entering, called +loudly to be shewn to a private room. 'Instead of telling me I was +wrong,' he says, 'the young brethren looked waggish, and began to +laugh: when a man is cold and hungry, he can ill brook being the +sport of others;' so accordingly--peppery again--he shook his stick +angrily at the young monks. And at last one of the most courteous +and demure of the number, coming forward, said that although theirs +was not exactly a public-house, still the stranger was heartily +welcome to walk in, rest, and refresh himself. Discovering his +mistake, Jackson of course lost no time in making his bow, his +apologies, and acknowledgments. + +He returned to England by way of France, having but six sous in his +pockets when he reached Bordeaux, where an English merchant, a total +stranger, advanced him a few pounds. On the road, he was frequently +taken for an Irishman, and not seldom for an Irish priest; under +which impression, many civilities were paid him by the simple +inhabitants of the country he traversed. Ultimately he landed at +Southampton, with just four shillings in his possession; his once +black coat having turned a rusty brown, his hat shovel-shaped by +ill-usage, and his whole aspect so comical, that the mob hooted him, +under the belief that he was a Methodist preacher. Proceeding inland +on foot, in the direction of Southampton, he overtook a poor man +walking along the road whose looks of unutterable misery induced our +traveller to stop and inquire what ailed him. He told Jackson he had +a son and daughter dying of a disorder apparently contagious, and +that no physician would attend them, as he was too poor to pay the +fees. Jackson at once offered his services, which were gratefully +accepted. He saw his patients, and prescribed for them, and his +heart was touched by their simple expressions of gratitude. 'Their +thankfulness,' he says, 'for a thing that would perhaps do them no +good, gave me more pleasure than a fee of, I believe, twenty +guineas, much in need of it as I was.' The night had gathered in +before he reached Winchester, where, at a respectable inn, he +partook of such refreshment as his means afforded, and then desired +to be shewn to his bedroom. The answer was, that the house contained +no bedroom for such as he, and he was finally driven out with the +coarsest abuse into the streets. The hour was ten o'clock, the month +December, and the severity of the weather may be guessed from the +fact, that the snow lay deep on the ground. After wandering about +for some time, he at last obtained shelter in a small house in the +outskirts of the city. The next day he fared little better. 'On +Sunday morning,' he relates, 'I was sixty-four miles from London, +and had only one shilling in my pocket. I was hungry, but durst not +eat; thirsty, and I durst not drink, for fear of being obliged to +lie all night at the side of a hedge in a cold night in December. +After dark, I travelled over to Bagshot; was denied admittance into +some of the public-houses, ill used in others.' He sought in vain +permission even to lie in a barn; but a labourer he fortunately fell +in with conducted him to a house, where, at the sacrifice of his +last shilling, he secured at length a bed. The next day--foot-sore, +penniless, and starving--he entered London. After remaining there a +brief space--January 1784--in spite of the inclement season, he set +off, again on foot, to Perth--a journey that occupied him three +weeks, as he was detained on the way by some friends whom he +visited. At Perth, where his old regiment then lay previous to its +disbandment, he amused himself by studying Gaelic, and the +controversy respecting Ossian and his poems. Quitting Perth, he +travelled, still on foot, through the Highlands, the inhabitants of +which he was, in the first instance, disposed to class with savages; +but when he had observed the originality of conception, the breadth +of humour, and the elevated sentiments which mark the Celt, his +opinions underwent a total revolution. He was especially delighted +with a ragged old reiver or cattle-lifter whom he encountered, and +who had given shelter to the Young Chevalier in the braes of +Glenmoriston after the battle of Culloden. + +On his return to Edinburgh, Jackson married a lady of fortune, the +daughter of Dr Stephenson, and niece of his old friend Colonel +Francis Shelley, of the 71st regiment; and was enabled by this +accession to his means once again to visit Paris, where he not only +resumed his medical studies, but acquired the mastery of several +languages, Arabic amongst the rest. Having graduated M.D. at Leyden, +he came back again to England, and commenced practice at +Stockton-upon-Tees, in Durham. Although his reputation speedily +became considerable, especially in cases of fever, he seems scarcely +to have liked his new avocation. He found solace, however, in his +favourite study of languages, which he pursued with unremitting +ardour--constantly reading through the Greek and Latin classics, and +not only rendering himself familiar with the best works of the +modern continental authors, but also with the literature of the +Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Gaelic tongues. The _Bostan_ of Saadi +is said to have been one of his most favourite poems. + +On the war breaking out in 1793, Dr Jackson--who, in 1791, had +published a valuable work on the fevers of Jamaica and continental +America--applied for employment as army-physician; but Mr Hunter, +the director-general of the medical department of the army, +considering none eligible for such employment who had not served as +staffer regimental surgeon, or apothecary to the forces, Jackson +agreed to accept, in the first instance, the surgeoncy of the 3d +Buffs, on the understanding, that at a future time, he should be +nominated physician as he desired. Mr Hunter, however, died soon +after this; and his promise was not fulfilled by the Board which +succeeded him in the medical direction of the army, and which +appears to have pursued Dr Jackson with uniform hostility. + +Returning to England with the troops, it was offered to him to +accompany, in the capacity of chief medical officer, Sir Ralph +Abercromby's expedition against some of the West India islands; and +although no employment could possibly have been more agreeable to +his taste, he, much to Sir Ralph's chagrin, declined the flattering +proposal, on the grounds, that lower terms had been offered to him +than to another professional man. Nothing but a sense of +professional delicacy, it is plain, governed him in this +transaction, for he immediately afterwards embarked (April 1796) as +_second_ medical officer in another expedition to San Domingo. +During his abode in this island, he was unwearied in enlarging his +acquaintance with tropical diseases--observing the rule he had +followed in Holland of noting down by the patient's bedside the +minutest particulars of every case he attended, the effects of the +treatment pursued, and whatever else might shed light on the +intricacies of pathological science. He also gave a larger practical +operation to the scheme he had years before devised of amending the +dietaries of military hospitals. + +After the evacuation of San Domingo in 1798, our physician paid a +visit to the United States, where he was received with signal +distinction, his reputation having preceded him. The latter part of +the year found him again at Stockton, publishing a work on +contagious and endemic fevers, 'more especially the contagious fever +of ships, jails, and hospitals, vulgarly called the yellow-fever of +the West Indies;' together with 'an explanation of military +discipline and economy, with a scheme for the medical arrangements +of armies.' He undertook, about this time, by desire of Count +Woronzow, the Russian ambassador, the medical charge of seventeen +hundred Russian soldiers, who were stationed in the Channel Islands +in a sad state of disease and disorganization; and so admirably did +he acquit himself, and so perfect were the hospital provisions he +made, that (1800) the commander-in-chief nominated him physician and +head of the army-hospital depot at Chatham--as he says, 'without any +application or knowledge on his part.' This appointment was the +cause of his subsequent misfortunes. + +At Chatham, with the warm approbation of Major-General Hewett, +commanding the depot, he introduced that system of hospital reform +which had elsewhere operated so successfully. The changes he +effected, as soon as they were made, became known to the Medical +Board, and were publicly approved of by one of its members. However, +shortly afterwards, an epidemic broke out in the depot (then removed +to the Isle of Wight), arising from the fact, that the barracks were +overcrowded with young recruits, but which the Medical Board +ascribed to Jackson's innovations, and reported so to the +Horse-Guards. The commander-in-chief directed an inquiry to take +place before a medical board impannelled for the purpose, and the +result of that inquiry may be guessed from a communication made by +the War-Office to the commandant of the depot. This states 'the +unanimous opinion of the Board to have exculpated Dr Jackson from +all improper treatment of diseases in the sick,' and the +commander-in-chief's gratification, 'that an opportunity has thus +been given to that most zealous officer of proving his fitness for +the important situation in which he is placed.' The result of this +wretched intrigue, however, was that Jackson, disgusted with the +whole affair, requested to be placed on half-pay, to which request +the Duke of York, with marked reluctance, at last (March 1803) +acceded. + +In his retirement at Stockton, Jackson put forth two valuable works, +one on the medical economy of armies, and another on that of the +British army in particular, and was much gratified by an offer to +accompany, as military secretary, General Simcoe, just appointed +commander-in-chief in India. The general's sudden death, however, +put an end to this plan; and Jackson continued at Stockton, +addressing frequent representations to government on the defective +medical arrangements in the military service--representations the +very receipt of which were not acknowledged by Mr Pitt, to whom they +were forwarded. The Peninsular war commencing, Dr Jackson was again +named Inspector of Hospitals, but was not, thanks to the persevering +enmity of the Medical Board, sent on foreign service, although he +volunteered to sink his rank, and go in any capacity. The Board even +succeeded, by calumnious statements that he had purchased his +diploma--statements he readily confuted--in preventing his +appointment to the Spanish liberating army; although the British +government had formally requested him to accept such an appointment, +and agreed to give credentials testifying to his capacity and +trustworthiness. This last disappointment led him, in an unguarded +moment--peppery to the last--to inflict a slight personal +chastisement on the surgeon-general, for which he was imprisoned six +months in the King's Bench. + +But the triumph of his enemies was not of long duration. In 1810 the +Board was dissolved, and the control of the medical department +vested in a director-general, with three principal inspectors +subordinate to him. Then did Jackson return to active service, and +from 1811 to 1815 was employed in the West Indies; his reports from +whence embracing every topic relating to medical topography, to +sanitary arrangements, and to the observed phenomena of tropical +disease, are it is not too much to say, invaluable. His hints as to +the choice of sites for barracks, the propriety of giving to +soldiers healthy employment and recreation, as a means of averting +sickness, his suggestions as to the treatment of fevers and other +endemic diseases, may be found in the various works he has +published, embodying the fruits of his West Indian experience. + +In 1819, he was sent by government to Spain, where the yellow-fever +had broken out, and his report upon its characteristics has been +universally admitted to supply the fullest information on the +subject that had hitherto been communicated to the public. He +availed himself of his presence in that part of Europe to pay a +visit to Constantinople and the Levant; and, retaining his energy to +the last, when a British force was sent to Portugal in 1827, he +desired permission to accompany it. The sands of his life, however, +were then fast running out, and on the 6th of April in the same year +he died, after a short illness, at Thursby, near Carlisle, in the +77th year of his age. Thus closed a long career of usefulness; for +it is not too much to say, that few men of his time laboured harder +to benefit his fellow-creatures than did Dr Robert Jackson. + + * * * * * + +[Footnote 2: The late Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, when in command, during +the war, of a frigate on the coast of Calabria, finding sickness +appear amongst his crew, purchased on his own responsibility some +bullocks, for the purpose of supplying them with fresh meat. Lord +Collingwood having heard of this, and considering it a breach of +discipline, sent for Codrington, and addressed him: 'Captain +Codrington, pray have you any idea of the price of a bullock in this +place?' 'No, my lord,' was the reply, 'I have not; but I know well +the value of a British sailor's life!'] + + + + +THE MYSTERIOUS LADY. + + +It is thirty years since we first met the Mysterious Lady at a +fashionable sea-side boarding-house, and on our introduction, we +found that her brother, General Jerningham, was well known to some +members of our family. For five-and-twenty years afterwards she +haunted us at intervals; and so singularly and secretly conducted +were all her movements, that had she lived in the days of the +Inquisition, Miss Jerningham might have proved one of its most +valuable agents and coadjutors. She was a thin, middle-aged +personage, or, more correctly speaking, of uncertain age, and +without anything remarkable in her exterior, which was decidedly +lady-like, if we except a pair of the very smallest and most +restless brown eyes that were ever set in mortal's head. These eyes +expressed suspicion, together with intelligence and close +observation. They were clear and sparkling, and shaded by no +drooping fringes; and some folks declared that Miss Jerningham slept +with her eyes open. On conversing with her, she appeared to have +been everywhere and to know everything; but the moment any allusion +was made to the future, any attempt to discuss _her_ prospective +plans, then did the little brown eyes assume a reddish tinge, their +expression passing from suspicion and alarm to the most stubborn +resolve. All this was somewhat ludicrous, because nobody really felt +particular interest in her movements, or desired to pry into her +actions; but on discovering what appeared to be the weak point in +her character--because it was out of all proportion strong--idle +people, in search of amusement, availed themselves of the knowledge +to lead her a very uncomfortable life. Her most intimate friends +never knew, for months together, where she was to be found; and it +was currently reported that General Jerningham had once advertised +in the _Times_ for his sister. Certain it is, she always conned the +newspapers with avidity, particularly the portion devoted to +anonymous communications and the mystical interchange of sentiments; +and we frequently suspected that her interest arose from a deeper +source than mere curiosity. The simple query: 'Where do you think of +passing this autumn, Miss Jerningham?' threw her into a state of +strange excitement; and she always commenced her answer somewhat in +the following strain: 'Letters of importance, daily looked for, will +determine me--circumstances over which I have no control: it _is_ +possible that I may visit Cowes;' but a possibility declared in this +way by Miss Jerningham was never known to come to pass. Wherever she +chanced to be seen, former acquaintances popped upon her with +uplifted hands, exclaiming: 'What! _you_ here? Why, we thought you +were at Ilfracombe'--or some other far-away place. 'How long have +you been here?--how long do you stay?' were questions easily +parried; but if a more searching investigation commenced, then the +Mysterious Lady turned, and twisted, and doubled painfully; but +somehow always managed to elude and baffle her persecutors. + +Miss Jerningham's moral rectitude and unimpeachable propriety of +conduct--unsullied by the breath of detraction--rendered her in a +great measure impervious to downright ill-nature; but still she was +open to teasing and bantering; and the more she was teased, and the +more she was bantered, the more impenetrable she became. We +endeavoured to find out from herself--but unsuccessfully--if she had +always led such a roving kind of existence, and also how it +originated; for General Jerningham had a nice villa near the +metropolis, and a small, amiable, domestic circle, ready to receive +and welcome the wanderer. But no: she came upon them unawares, and +at periods when they least expected her, and disappeared again as +suddenly, they knew not why nor whither. In this way she vanished +from the boarding-house where we first met her, with no intimation +of her intention even to our hostess, till her baggage was ready and +the coach at the door. + +'Where is Miss Jerningham?' was the unanimous cry when she did not +appear in her usual place. + +'She left us early this morning,' quietly replied the landlady. + +'Gone--really gone?' was repeated in various tones of +disappointment; and one old gentleman, who had paid the absent lady +marked attention, demanded in a chagrined voice: 'Pray, where has +she gone? Can you tell us _that_, ma'am?--heigh!' + +'No, sir, I cannot,' replied our hostess. 'All I can say is, that +Miss Jerningham is a very honourable and generous lady, and wherever +she is, I wish her well.' + +'Humph!' said the old gentleman gruffly; 'she must have a good +fortune to do as she does.' + +'Yes, sir, she must,' was the reply: 'and go where she will, I +believe that Miss Jerningham always gives plentiful alms. It seems +her settled habit, like.' + +'Settled habit!' muttered the old gentleman: 'she hasn't got a +settled habit, ma'am: she is a most unsettled and extraordinary +individual.' + +'Well, sir, perhaps so,' replied Mrs Smith; 'but Miss Jerningham is +quite the lady.' And in that opinion we all coincided, supposing our +hostess by the word lady to have meant gentlewoman. + +A few months afterwards she called upon us in London. She was not +staying with her brother, but declined giving her address, remarking +that it was not worth while, as she was about to change her abode +immediately. By accident, however, we discovered afterwards that +Miss Jerningham had lodged for the whole period within a dozen doors +of us. Our surprise was lessened in after-years at the pertinacity +with which she continued to appear to us, although always at +uncertain intervals; for a service rendered by our father, referring +to some banking transaction, apparently never escaped her memory, +and she invariably alluded to this act of kindness with expressions +of gratitude. This circumstance operated, we conjectured, as an +encouragement to bestow on us an unusual mark of confidence and +friendship, for such Miss Jerningham considered it when requesting +permission to add our address to an advertisement she was about +inserting in the _Times_ for 'eligible board and lodging.' She knew +that newspapers were prohibited articles in our circle, +consequently we had no opportunity of finding out that portion of +the transaction she wished to conceal. In what locality this +'eligible board and lodging' was advertised for, we never inquired, +judging it would be needless to do so, but we consented to receive +the letters Miss Jerningham expected in answer. + +Poor Miss Jerningham! great was her amazement as well as our own +when, in the course of three days, we had amassed for her +consideration and perusal no less than seventy-seven letters +directed to 'X.Y.Z.' What temptations were held forth in the +advertisement which elicited so many replies we never were made +acquainted with: Miss Jerningham counted the letters, tied them up, +and carried them off in triumph. Next day we received a handsome +present of some chimney-ornaments, with 'Miss Jerningham's regards +and best thanks;' but we saw no more of the Mysterious Lady for some +years. When we did meet again in a quiet country town, she had been +to America, and we had experienced vicissitude and bereavement. Our +altered mode of living made no difference to Miss Jerningham: she +accompanied us home, for we met in the market-place; but as it is +not so easy to keep one's place of abode secret in a small +gossipping community, for once in her life she made a virtue of +necessity, and openly divulged the fact of her locale, number and +all specified. She did not know a creature in the town or in the +suburbs--she came there for solitude. Conjecture was afloat in all +quarters as to who or what she could be. Some said she must be a +gentlewoman, because she wore velvet and satin, and gold +chains--moreover, paid well for everything. Others affirmed she +might be a gentlewoman--gentlewomen did queer things sometimes--but +there must be some very strange reason for a lone and unknown female +to drop from the skies, as it were, in the midst of strangers. For +our own part, our mind was easier on her account, now that she had +broken through her rule of secrecy; and we even hoped that when we +saw her again, she might go a step farther, and throw off the veil +entirely. + +On calling at her lodgings, however, the next day, we learned that +the lodger had decamped, after placing in the landlady's hand the +solatium of another week's rent, as specified in the agreement--a +week's notice or a week's money. Thus, for the space of +five-and-twenty years, every now and then, did the Mysterious Lady +turn up. Whenever we left home on a visit, we were sure, on our +return, to find a card on the table, inscribed with the mystical +characters--'Miss Jerningham.' No message left, no address given. +The last time we ever saw her was in Hyde Park, walking arm-in-arm +with her brother the general; and soon after we heard from the +worthy veteran, that 'Bessie had gone on her travels again.' + +If Miss Jerningham has really ceased to exist, her end was as +mysterious and uncertain as the movements of her life. We say if, +because we feel by no means sure on the subject, and should neither +faint nor scream if she were to enter the apartment at this moment. +It is about five years since General Jerningham set hurriedly off, +in considerable dismay, for the scene of a direful conflagration in +a northern county, wherein several unfortunate individuals had +perished. The fire originated at a hotel, and the General had +reasons for fearing that his sister might be among the number of the +sufferers, for she was known to have followed that route. A +notification likewise had appeared in the public prints, respecting +an unknown lady, whose remains awaited the coroner's inquest, but +afforded no clue whatever to recognition. + +General Jerningham, however, came to the conclusion that he indeed +beheld the mortal remains of his poor sister, although the only +evidence he could obtain was the description given of her appearance +by those who had seen her in life. He may have been influenced, +likewise, by the fact, that the unfortunate lady had arrived at the +hotel only on the previous day, and that no one knew who she was, +whence she had come, or whither she was going. After making every +possible inquiry, but without obtaining more satisfactory +information, the General and his family put on mourning. The shock +he had sustained produced bad effects on an already enfeebled +constitution, and accelerated the veteran's decease. During his last +days, he frequently alluded to 'poor Bessie' in affectionate terms; +and we then gathered at least one fact relating to her past history. +Her lover, it seems, had been suddenly carried off by malignant +fever on the eve of their wedding-day, bequeathing to Bessie all his +property; and Bessie, who had never known serious sorrow before, +gave no sign, by sigh or lamentation, that she bemoaned the untimely +fate of her betrothed, but withdrew herself from friends and +connections, and became the restless, homeless, harmless being at +whose peculiarities we had so often laughed, little thinking that +tears of secret anguish had probably bedewed the pathway of her +early wanderings. This very concealment of her grief, however, may +have arisen from the peculiar idiosyncrasy which procured for her +among all who knew her the name of the Mysterious Lady. But we will +not talk of her in the past tense. We are so sure of her being +alive, that we are even now anxious to conclude our visit to the +pleasant house where this is indited, feeling a presentiment we +cannot overcome, that the first interesting object we shall see on +returning home is that mystical card which has so often startled and +baffled our curiosity--'Miss. Jerningham.' + + + + +CASH, CORN, AND COAL MARKETS. + + +A circle of a few hundred yards only in diameter, of which the centre +should be the Duke of Wellington's statue in front of the Royal +Exchange, London, would enclose within its magic girdle a far greater +amount of real, absolute power, than was ever wielded by the most +magnificent conqueror of ancient or modern times. There can be no +doubt of this; for is it not the mighty heart of the all but +omnipotent money force of the world, whose aid withheld, invincible +armies become suddenly paralysed, and the most gallant fleets that +ever floated can neither brave the battle nor the breeze? And this +stupendous power, say moralists, has neither a god, a country, nor a +conscience! To-day, upon security, it will furnish arms and means to +men struggling to rescue their country from oppression, themselves +from servitude and chains--to-morrow, upon the assurance of a good +dividend, it will pay the wages of the soldiery who have successfully +desolated that country, and exterminated or enslaved its defenders. +Trite, if sad commonplaces these, to which the world listens, if at +all, with impatient indifference. I have not a very strong faith in +the soundness of the commercial evangel upon this subject; still, the +very last task I should set myself would be a sermon denunciative of +mammon-worship--mammon-love--mammon-influence--and so on; and this +for two quite sufficient reasons--one, that I have myself, I +blushingly confess, a very strong partiality for notes of the +governor and company of the Bank of England and sovereigns of full +weight and fineness; the other, that the very best and fiercest +discourse I ever heard fulminated against the debasing love of gold, +especially characteristic, it is said, of these degenerate days, was +delivered by a gentleman who, having lived some seventy useful and +eloquent years at the rate of about three hundred a year or +thereabout, was found to have died worth upwards of L.60,000, all +secured by mortgages bearing 7 per cent interest on the Brazilian +slave-estates of a relative by marriage. But as an illustration of +power--and power under any form of development has a singular +fascination for most minds--I have thought it may not be +uninteresting to glance briefly at a few of the more salient features +of the metropolitan mammoth markets. + +Standing, then, by the statue of the Iron Duke, we have the Royal +Exchange directly in front, Princes Street and the Poultry +immediately behind, Lombard Street and Cornhill on the right, +Threadneedle Street and Lothbury on the left hand. What an Aladin +glitter seems to dance upon the paper as the names of these +remarkable localities are jotted down, containing as they do so +large a number of world-famous banking and commercial establishments +whose operations and influence are limited only by the boundaries of +civilisation! Let us look closely at one or two of the chief +potentates, principalities, and powers which are there enthroned. + +The Royal Exchange, it is well known, owes its origin to the public +spirit of Sir Thomas Gresham, who, close upon three centuries ago, +built the first Exchange upon the spot now before us. It was +destroyed by fire in 1666; the next more costly erection met the +same fate in 1838, and has been replaced by the present very +handsome edifice. On the entablature is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, +who inaugurated Sir Richard Gresham's structure--the centre figure +of a number of others emblematic of the all-embracing commerce of +this country, and surmounted by the words: 'The earth is the Lord's, +and the fulness thereof.' If you ascend the steps of the Royal +Exchange, and pass into the body of the building, you will find a +considerable number of business-looking, sleek, earnest men there, +eagerly engaged in canvassing the general affairs of the world, and +more especially their own particular ventures, hopes, anticipations, +investments therein. If you are an artist, or indeed at all +impressionable in matters of taste, you will, I fear, be painfully +affected by a marble figure near the centre of the hall, which many +persons assert to be a statue of the Queen of these realms--a +calumny which I, as a loyal subject, feel bound most emphatically to +deny. But the chief interest attached to this building is that it is +here the celebrated association known as 'Lloyd's' has its +offices--that Lloyd's, whose name is familiar as a household word in +every country the sea touches, and who underwrite the maritime +ventures of every commercial nation of the globe. Very marvellous +has been the rapid development of this gigantic institution, from +the small beginnings of a few persons meeting in a coffee-house, +till now, when it may be said well-nigh to monopolise the +maritime-assurance business of the world. Not even America has been +able to set up a rival to it at all worthy of the name; and hundreds +of the long-voyage vessels of the States, as well as of all European +powers, are insured here. There is, to be sure, a continental +association that has borrowed its name without leave, and dubbed +itself the 'Austrian Lloyd's'--a designation which forcibly reminds +one of the remark of Coleridge when told that Kotzebue assumed to be +the German Shakspeare: 'Quite so,' replied the author of the +_Ancient Mariner_, 'a very German Shakspeare indeed.' The +correspondence of the true Lloyd's is of course immense--enormous: +their agents are everywhere; and so admirably regulated does the +vast machine appear to be that litigation between owners and +underwriters is almost unknown. This is doubtless one of the causes +of the prodigious success of the institution. + +There is little more to notice in the Royal Exchange, except that +the interior decorations are very tastefully executed; and therefore +turn we now to this leviathan Bank of England--to the long, +irregular, and by no means imposing line of building on our left. +This is William Cobbett's Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, whose +rickety constitution and failing powers--according to that bold and +blundering financier--betokened almost immediate dissolution more +than a quarter of a century ago. Other men, less dominated by +unreasoning prejudice than the author of the 'Political Register,' +deceived themselves into the same notion; and it is very possible +that there are even now persons who hold the faith as it was in +Cobbett--just as we are told in one of Mr Disraeli's novels, that +the Greek mythology is still the creed of a fragment of humanity +existing somewhere in the mountains of Syria. At all events, since +the late Sir Robert Peel placed it beyond the power of the governor +and company to indulge in dangerous or erratic courses, it is +abundantly manifest that to doubt of the perfect stability of the +Bank of England is tantamount to questioning the infallibility of +arithmetic. In the vaults and coffers of this huge establishment +there is at present--as we learn from the published weekly-returns, +a device of Sir Robert's--the bewildering amount of between +L.14,000,000 and L.15,000,000 sterling in gold and silver!--a sum of +which the figures glide smoothly and glibly enough off the pen or +tongue, but a mass of treasure, nevertheless, that few persons can +realise to themselves a distinct and accurate conception of. And +yet--and what an idea does the fact present of the multitudinous +resources, the unrivalled industry, the latent power of this +country!--all that heap of precious metals, all that is besides in +circulation, with the addition of the bank-note currency, is +comparatively nothing when weighed against the true and real +exchangeable wealth of Great Britain; wealth of which this coined +and convertible paper-money is merely the standard sign of value, +the recognised medium by which all things are bartered. It is easy +to give one or two significant and startling illustrations of this +fact--significant and startling in other respects than in enabling +us to see pretty clearly through the currency-cobwebs industriously +woven from time to time amongst us. All the money in the three +kingdoms, the whole circulating medium of the realm--gold, silver, +copper, paper--does not certainly exceed, if it reaches, which is +very doubtful, the national revenue for one year, to say nothing of +local rates and burdens! And it would, moreover, require all the +money circulating in Great Britain and Ireland, including notes to +the last farthing, to pay for the spirits, beer, and tobacco +consumed annually by the people of the United Kingdom! The +note-issues of the Bank of England are about L.19,000,000; its +reserve in gold and silver, as we have seen, is upwards of +L.14,000,000 sterling: these amounts added together would no more +than about discharge the alcohol and weed score of the country for +little more than seven months! Lightning-flashes these, that throw +vivid gleams over the industrial activity, resources, powers, +plague-spots of this mighty, restless, enterprising, but far from +sufficiently instructed or disciplined British people. + +But let us enter the great money-temple. Very imposing to me has +always appeared the army of clerks seated in saturnine silence at +the desks, or gliding with grave celerity about the place, and +variously employed in balancing enormous accounts, shovelling up +heaps of sovereigns, receiving and distributing bank-paper of vast +value as coolly and unconcernedly as if engaged in counting out so +many chestnuts. A strange feeling must, I suspect, perturb the mind +of a newly-appointed clerk amidst all that astounding wealth, until +the genius of the place has so moulded his thoughts and perceptions, +that he has come to regard himself as but one of the dumb and dead +parts of a mighty machine, over whose action he has no more control +than he has over the courses of the stars. All these issue, cheque, +gold, bullion departments, with their numerous busy officials, are +in truth but the husk and body of the establishment. They by whose +will and breath it is animated and directed are nowhere at this hour +to be seen. They met on this as on every other morning in their hall +of inquisition--the Bank parlour--and decided there, without appeal, +without reasons assigned, in the absence of the parties whose +commercial reputation was trembling in the balance, upon the course +of financial action to be pursued, and upon whose paper should or +should not be discounted. A terrible stroke, sharper than a dagger +could inflict, politely, blandly as it is performed, is that which +falls upon a merchant for the first time informed that the Bank must +decline to discount his bills! The announcement is usually received +as smilingly as it is made. 'It is a matter of very slight +consequence, _etcetera_;' but if you had been near enough, you might +have noticed, as the clerk did, the quiver of the lip beneath that +sickly smile, and that the face was as white as the rejected paper +the merchant's trembling fingers were replacing in his pocket-book. +And no wonder that he should be thus agitated, for the refusal has, +he well knew, thrust him down the first steps of the steep and +slippery descent, at the bottom of which lies bankruptcy--ruin! But +these are ordinary downfalls, by the wrecks of which the busy haunts +of commercial enterprise are paved; and we have other places to look +in at. Before leaving the Bank, however, let us step a few paces to +the left of the chief entrance. Now who would believe that in the +very midst of this Mammon-temple, where space is of incalculable +value, a large plot of greensward should have been jealously +preserved, from which spring two fine elms, that from out the heat +and turmoil of the place lift up their fresh leaves to the +sky--bright, waving leaves, that as often as the sun kisses them, +laugh out in sparkling triumph over the heated, anxious, jaded +toilers and schemers below? Yet so it is. + +Again in Threadneedle Street, and turning to the left, we reach, at +the termination of the Bank-front, Bartholomew Lane, famous for +nothing that I am aware of, save Capel Court, situate at about the +centre, on the right-hand side. At the end of Capel Court is the +Stock-Exchange, within whose sacred precincts subscribers only, and +their clerks, may enter--a regulation strictly enforced by the +liveried guardian at the door. But you can hear enough of the +stentorian gabble going on within where we now are. Hark! 'A +thousand pounds' consols at 96-3/4-96-1/2.' 'Take 'em at 96-1/4,' is +the vociferous reply of a buyer. 'Mexican at 27-1/2-27; Portuguese +fours at 32-7/8-32-1/2; Spanish fives at 21; Dutch two-and-halfs at +50-1/2-50-1/4:' and so roars on the distracting Babel till the hour +for closing strikes. Much of this business is no doubt +legitimate--the _bona fide_ sale and purchase of stock by the +brokers, for which they charge their clients the very moderate +commission of 2s. 6d. per L.100. The ruinous gambling of the +Stock-Exchange is another matter, and is chiefly carried on by +'time' bargains--a sham-business, managed in this way:--A nominally +buys of B L.100,000 worth of stock in consols, to be delivered at a +fixed price, say 96, on the next settling-day. It is plain that if +the market-price of consols shall have fallen, by the day named, to +94, B wins L.2000--the difference between L.100,000 estimated at 96 +and 94 per cent. A must pay these L.2000, or, which amounts to the +same thing, receive from B consols to the amount of L.100,000 at 96, +that in reality are procurable at 94. It is simply and entirely a +gambling _bet_ upon what the price of funds will be on the next +settling-day. These transactions have been pronounced fraudulent by +the superior courts, and liabilities so contracted cannot be legally +recovered. It is, for all that, quite certain that these 'debts of +honour' entail misery, ruin, often death, on the madmen who +habitually peril everything upon the turn of the Stock-Exchange +dice--dice loaded, too, by every fraudulent device that the +ingenuity of the two parties engaged in the struggle can discover or +invent. To the 'Bears,' who speculate for a fall, national calamity +is a God-send. Especially a failure of the harvest, or a great +military disaster like that which befell the Cabool expedition, is +an almost priceless blessing--a cause of jubilant thanksgiving and +joy. The 'Bulls,' on the other hand, whose gains depend upon a rise +in the funds, are ever brimful of boasts, and paint all things +_couleur de rose_. If the facts bear out the assertions of these +bands of _speculators_--we prefer a mild term--why so much the +better for the facts; but if not, sham-facts will answer the +purpose, and to manufacture _them_ 'is as easy as lying.' It is a +remarkable fact, by the way, that out of the multitude of British +fundholders there are not more than about 25,000 persons who are +liable from that source to the income-tax--that is, who receive +dividends to the amount of L.150 and upwards annually. The most +numerous class of the national creditors eleven years ago--and there +has, we believe, been no later return--were those whose annual +dividends did not exceed L.50. These numbered 98,946: the next +largest class, 85,069, were creditors whose yearly dividends did not +exceed L.5; whilst only 192 persons were in the receipt of annual +dividends exceeding L.2000. + +But leaving these haunts of money-dealers, let us pass over to +Leadenhall Street, turn down Billiter Street, and walk on till we +reach Mark Lane and the plain, spacious, substantial, Doric-fronted +building on the left hand, in which the great London Corn Market is +held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday--the chief market, however, +being that of Monday. There are no clamorous shoutings here. These +crowds of staid, well-dressed, respectable people fly no kites, deal +in no flimsy paper-schemes and shares. Their commerce is in corn, +flour, seeds--the sustenance of man, in short. There are sober +traders in realities, and the busy hum of voices has a smack of +healthy traffic in it. It would so appear at all events, if we care +not to look beneath the surface; and, in sooth, since the abolition +of the sliding-scale has rendered the corn-supply continuous and +regular as other staples, gambling to any ruinous extent has become +almost impossible. + +There is another great change apparent here; albeit this has been a +very gradual one. A stranger will have remarked with surprise that +there are but few, very few, of the knee-breeched, top-booted, +double-chinned, jolly, old-class farmers amongst the numerous groups +who are either watching their sample-bags and waiting for customers, +or chewing and smelling handfuls of wheat and barley, and casting +what they do not swallow on the flags, already carpeted with grain. +Still in addition to a strong sprinkling of 'Friends,' there are, he +perceives, a goodly number of stalwart, handsomely-dressed +individuals, many of them wearing kid gloves, and carrying silk +umbrellas neatly ensconced in oil-skin cases. There is a group, one +of whom has just refused 45s. per quarter for a sample of prime +white wheat. If we approach nearer to them, we shall perhaps +discover their quality. As I guessed! These gentlemen are distressed +agriculturists, who prefer selling their own corn to sending it to +any of the numerous highly-respectable salesmen who occupy the +offices round the two markets. There are scores here of these +well-attired, healthy-faced, hearty-looking, stout-limbed, but +distressed individuals present, with not one of whom I should have +the slightest objection to dine to-day, or on any other day, for +that matter. But we must beware of rash judgments. Appearances are +often deceitful, and we know, besides, from high authority, that +grief is apt to puff up and swell a man sadly at times. + +There is no possibility, an eminent salesman informed us, of making +even a proximate guess at the quantity of business done; neither, it +appears, is there any reliance to be placed upon the amount of +'arrivals' as given, either in the newspapers, or in the private +circulars issued weekly to the trade. Corn, in this market, is +usually sold at a month's credit, with discount for cash. The buyer +secures a sample of his purchase in a small canvas bag, and the +seller is of course bound to deliver the quantity agreed for at the +same weight and quality. There is one patent fact highly creditable +to our British cultivators, which I gather from a trade-circular +dated September 29, 1851, and this is, that foreign grains, wheats +especially, do not command anything like such prices as the English +varieties. The highest price of English white wheat is set down at +45s. per quarter; all foreign wheat is marked considerably lower: +Russian is quoted at from 31s. to 33s.; whilst Egyptian and Turkish +are marked from 24s. to 26s. per quarter; and fine American flour is +quoted at a price considerably under 'English Households.' These are +not signs of decrepit or faint-hearted farming. + +Being so near, we may as well look in for a few moments at the New +Coal Exchange opposite Billingsgate Market; a sightly, circular +building, of rich interior decoration, that will well repay a visit. +It is one of our newest 'lions,' and is certainly a very significant +sign and monument of the enormous and swiftly-increasing commercial +activity of the country. On the tesselated wooden floor--with the +anchor in the centre, an emblem not long to be appropriate to such a +place, as we shall presently see--thousands of tons of coal are +disposed of with marvellous rapidity; the days of sale being the +same as those of the Mark-Lane Market. + +There was a coal-tax, popularly known as the Richmond duty, which +was levied for many years, for the benefit of one family, but was +abolished some time ago. Its origin, and the especial circumstance +which, gossip saith, more immediately led to its infliction, are not +a little curious, perhaps instructive. The first Duke of Richmond of +the present line was a son of Charles II. by Louise Rene de +Pennevant de Querouaille, a French lady, better known to us as the +Duchess of Portsmouth, to whom Otway dedicated his 'Venice +Preserved' in such adulatory terms. This son, when only nine years +of age, was created a Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter; +and his mother, with the proverbial taste of her country, arranged a +more graceful mode of wearing the blue ribbon, which, as we see in +old portraits, was till then worn round the neck of the knight, with +the George pendent from it. The duchess presented her son to the +king with the ribbon thrown gracefully over his left shoulder, and +the George pendent on the right side. His majesty was delighted, +embraced his son, commanded that the insignia of the order should +always be so worn, presented the youthful knight with 1s. per ton, +Newcastle measure, upon all coals shipped in the Tyne for +consumption in England, and secured the munificent parental gift by +patent to the young duke and his heirs for ever. _Honi soit qui mal +y pense._ + +After the fortunate family had enjoyed this revenue for about a +century and a quarter, the then Duke of Richmond, a personage said +to be wise in his generation, negotiated the sale of his patent with +the government; and on the 19th of August 1799 the Lords of the +Treasury agreed that the sum of L.499,833, 11s. 6d., the price of a +perpetual annuity of L.19,000, should be paid for the surrender of +the duke's right. This enormous sum was accordingly actually +disbursed by the Exchequer in two payments, and the obnoxious impost +on the Tyne coal-trade was abolished some thirty years +afterwards--by which time the Treasury had been repaid much more +than it had advanced, a circumstance inducing a belief that his +Grace sold his inheritance much too cheaply. The estimate of the +quantity of coals consumed in the United Kingdom, and exported +during the last year, reaches the staggering amount of 50,000,000 of +tons--a tremendous advance, which proves, if nothing else, that if, +as some will have it, we are an 'old' country, the capacity for hard +work as well as power of consumption increases marvellously with +age. At anyrate the three great business localities I have partially +indicated are stupendous facts, the full significance of which will +be fully comprehended by all and every one who may choose to compare +these slight outline sketches with the great originals. + + + + +STORY OF REMBRANDT. + + +At a short distance from Leyden may still be seen a flour-mill with +a quaint old dwelling-house attached, which bears, on a brick in a +corner of the wide chimney, the date 1550. Here, in 1606, was born +Paul Rembrandt. At an early age he manifested a stubborn, +independent will, which his father tried in vain to subdue. He +caused his son to work in the mill, intending that he should succeed +him in its management; but the boy shewed so decided a distaste for +the employment, that his father resolved to make him a priest, and +sent him to study at Leyden. Every one knows, however, that few lads +of fifteen, endowed with great muscular vigour and abundance of +animal spirits, will take naturally and without compulsion to the +study of Latin grammar. Rembrandt certainly did not; and his +obstinacy proving an overmatch for his teachers' patience, he was +sent back to the mill, when his father beat him so severely, that +next morning he ran off to Leyden, without in the least knowing how +he should live there. Fortunately he sought refuge in the house of +an honest artist, Van Zwaanenberg, who was acquainted with his +father. + +'Tell me, Paul,' asked his friend, 'what do you mean to do with +yourself, if you will not be either a priest or a miller? They are +both honourable professions: one gives food to the soul, the other +prepares it for the body.' + +'Very likely,' replied the boy; 'but I don't fancy either; for in +order to be a priest, one must learn Latin; and to be a miller, one +must bear to be beaten. How do _you_ earn your bread?' + +'You know very well I am a painter.' + +'Then I will be one too, Herr Zwaanenberg; and if you will go +to-morrow and tell my father so, you will do me a great service.' + +The good-natured artist willingly undertook the mission, and +acquainted the old miller with his son's resolution. + +'I want to know one thing,' said Master Rembrandt; 'will he be able +to gain a livelihood by painting?' + +'Certainly, and perhaps make a fortune.' + +'Then if you will teach him, I consent.' + +Thus Paul became the pupil of Van Zwaanenberg, and made rapid +progress in the elementary parts of his profession. Impatient to +produce some finished work, he did not give himself time to acquire +purity of style, but astonished his master by his precocious skill +in grouping figures, and producing marvellous effects of light and +shade. The first lessons which he took in perspective having wearied +him, he thought of a shorter method, and _invented_ perspective for +himself. + +One of his first rude sketches happened to fall into the hands of a +citizen of Leyden who understood painting. Despite of its evident +defects, the germs of rare talent which it evinced struck the +burgomaster; and sending for the young artist, he offered to give +him a recommendation to a celebrated painter living at Amsterdam, +under whom he would have far more opportunity of improvement than +with his present instructor. + +Rembrandt accepted the offer, and during the following year toiled +incessantly. Meantime his finances were dreadfully straitened; for +his father, finding that the expected profits were very tardy, +refused to give money to support his son, as he said, in idleness. +Paul, however, was not discouraged. Although far from possessing an +amiable or estimable disposition, he held a firm and just opinion of +his own powers, and resolved to make these subservient first to +fortune and then to fame. Thus while some of his companions, having +finished their preliminary studies, repaired to Florence, to +Bologna, or to Rome, Paul, determined, as he said, not to lose his +own style by becoming an imitator of even the mightiest masters, +betook himself to his paternal mill. At first his return resembled +that of the Prodigal Son. His father believed that he had come to +resume his miller's work; and bitter was his disappointment at +finding his son resolved not to renounce painting. + +With a very bad grace he allowed Paul to displace the flour-sacks on +an upper loft, in order to make a sort of studio, lighted by only +one narrow window in the roof. There Paul painted his first finished +picture. It was a _portrait_ of the mill. There, on the canvas, was +seen the old miller, lighted by a lantern which he carried in his +hand, giving directions to his men, occupied in ranging sacks in the +dark recesses of the granary. One ray falls on the fresh, comely +countenance of his mother, who has her foot on the last step of a +wooden staircase.[3] Rembrandt took this painting to the Hague, and +sold it for 100 florins. In order to return with more speed, he took +his place in the public coach. When the passengers stopped to dine, +Rembrandt, fearing to lose his treasure, remained in the carriage. +The careless stable-boy who brought the horses their corn forgot to +unharness them, and as soon as they had finished eating, excited +probably by Rembrandt, who cared not for his fellow-passengers, the +animals started off for Leyden, and quietly halted at their +accustomed inn. Our painter then got out, and repaired with his +money to the mill. + +Great was his father's joy. At length these silly daubs, which had +so often excited his angry contempt, seemed likely to be transmuted +into gold, and the old man's imagination took a rapturous flight. +'Neither he nor his old horse,' he said, 'need now work any longer; +they might both enjoy quiet during the remainder of their lives. +Paul would paint pictures, and support the whole household in +affluence.' + +Such was the old man's castle in the air; his clever, selfish son +soon demolished it. 'This sum of money,' he said, 'is only a lucky +windfall. If you indeed wish it to become the foundation of my +fortune, give me one hundred florins besides, and let me return to +Amsterdam: there I must work and study hard.' + +It would be difficult to describe old Rembrandt's disappointment. +Slowly, reluctantly, and one by one, he drew forth the 100 florins +from his strong-box. Paul took them, and with small show of +gratitude, returned to Amsterdam. In a short time his fame became +established as the greatest and most original of living artists. He +had a host of imitators, but all failed miserably in their attempts +at reproducing his marvellous effects of light and shade. Yet +Rembrandt prized the gold which flowed into him far more than the +glory. While mingling the colours which were to flash out on his +canvas in real living light, he thought but of his dingy coffers. + +When in possession of a yearly income equal to L.2000 sterling, he +would not permit the agent who collected his rents to bring them in +from the country to Amsterdam, lest he should be obliged to invite +him to dinner. He preferred setting out on a fine day, and going +himself to the agent's house. In this way he saved two dinners--the +one which he got, and the one, he avoided giving. 'So that's well +managed!' he used to say. + +This sordid disposition often exposed him to practical jokes from +his pupils; but he possessed a quiet temper, and was not easily +annoyed. One day a rich citizen came in, and asked him the price of +a certain picture. + +'Two hundred florins,' said Rembrandt. + +'Agreed,' said his visitor. 'I will pay you to-morrow, when I send +for the picture.' + +About an hour afterwards a letter was handed to the painter. Its +contents were as follow: 'MASTER REMBRANDT--During your absence a +few days since, I saw in your studio a picture representing an old +woman churning butter. I was enchanted with it; and if you will let +me purchase it for 300 florins, I pray you to bring it to my house, +and be my guest for the day.' The letter was signed with some +fictitious name, and bore the address of a village several leagues +distant from Amsterdam. + +Tempted by the additional 100 florins, and caring little for +breaking his engagement, Rembrandt set out early next morning with +his picture. He walked for four hours without finding his obliging +correspondent, and at length, worn out with fatigue, he returned +home. He found the citizen in his studio, waiting for the picture. +As Rembrandt, however, did not despair of finding the man of the 300 +florins, and as a falsehood troubled but little his blunted +conscience, he said: 'Alas! an accident has happened to the picture; +the canvas was injured, and I felt so vexed that I threw it into the +fire. Two hundred florins gone! However, it will be my loss, not +yours, for I will paint another precisely similar, and it shall be +ready for you by this time to-morrow.' + +'I am sorry,' replied the amateur, 'but it was the picture you have +burned which I wished to have; and as that is gone, I shall not +trouble you to paint another.' + +So he departed, and Rembrandt shortly afterwards received a second +letter to the following effect: 'MASTER REMBRANDT--You have broken +your engagement, told a falsehood, wearied yourself to death, and +lost the sale of your picture--all by listening to the dictates of +avarice. Let this lesson be a warning to you in future.' + +'So,' said the painter, looking round at his pupils, 'one of you +must have played me this pretty trick. Well, well, I forgive it. You +young varlets do not know the value of a florin as I know it.' + +Sometimes the students nailed small copper coins on the floor, for +the mischievous pleasure of seeing their master, who suffered much +from rheumatism in the back, stoop with pain and difficulty, and try +in vain to pick them up. + +Rembrandt married an ignorant peasant who had served him as cook, +thinking this a more economical alliance than one with a person of +refined mind and habits. He and his wife usually dined on brown +bread, salt herrings, and small beer. He occasionally took portraits +at a high price, and in this way became acquainted with the +Burgomaster Six, a man of enlarged mind and unblemished character, +who yet continued faithfully attached to the avaricious painter. His +friendship was sometimes put to a severe test by such occurrences as +the following:-- + +Rembrandt remarked one day that the price of his engravings had +fallen. + +'You are insatiable,' said the burgomaster. + +'Perhaps so. I cannot help thirsting for gold.' + +'You are a miser.' + +'True: and I shall be one all my life.' + +''Tis really a pity,' remarked his friend, 'that you will not be +able after death to act as your own treasurer, for whenever that +event occurs, all your works will rise to treble their present +value.' + +A bright idea struck Rembrandt. He returned home, went to bed, +desired his wife and his son Titus to scatter straw before the door, +and give out, first, that he was dangerously ill, and then +dead--while the simulated fever was to be of so dreadfully +infectious a nature that none of the neighbours were to be admitted +near the sick-room. These instructions were followed to the letter; +and the disconsolate widow proclaimed that, in order to procure +money for her husband's interment, she must sell all his works, any +property that he left not being available on so short a notice. + +The unworthy trick succeeded. The sale, including every trivial +scrap of painting or engraving, realised an enormous sum, and +Rembrandt was in ecstasy. The honest burgomaster, however, was +nearly frightened into a fit of apoplexy at seeing the man whose +death he had sincerely mourned standing alive and well at the door +of his studio. Meinherr Six obliged him to promise that he would in +future abstain from such abominable deceptions. One day he was +employed in painting in a group the likenesses of the whole family +of a rich citizen. He had nearly finished it, when intelligence was +brought him of the death of a tame ape which he greatly loved. The +creature had fallen off the roof of the house into the street. +Without interrupting his work, Rembrandt burst into loud +lamentations, and after some time announced that the piece was +finished. The whole family advanced to look at it, and what was +their horror to see introduced between the heads of the eldest son +and daughter an exact likeness of the dear departed ape. With one +voice they all exclaimed against this singular relative which it had +pleased the painter to introduce amongst them, and insisted on his +effacing it. + +'What!' exclaimed Rembrandt, 'efface the finest figure in the +picture? No, indeed; I prefer keeping the piece for myself.' Which +he did, and carried off the painting. + +Of Rembrandt's style it may be said that he painted with light, for +frequently an object was indicated merely by the projection of a +shadow on a wall. Often a luminous spot suggested, rather than +defined, a hand or a head. Yet there is nothing vague in his +paintings: the mind seizes the design immediately. His studio was a +circular room, lighted by several narrow slits, so contrived that +rays of sunshine entered through only one at a time, and thus +produced strange effects of light and shade. The room was filled +with old-world furniture, which made it resemble an antiquary's +museum. There were heaped up in the most picturesque confusion +curious old furniture, antique armour, gorgeously-tinted stuffs; and +these Rembrandt arranged in different forms and positions, so as to +vary the effects of light and colour. This he called 'making his +models sit to him.' And in this close adherence to reality consisted +the great secret of his art. It is strange that his favourite +amongst all his pupils was the one whose style least resembled his +own--Gerard Douw--he who aimed at the most excessive minuteness of +delineation, who stopped key-holes lest a particle of dust should +fall on his palette, who gloried in representing the effects of +fresh scouring on the side of a kettle. + +Rembrandt died in 1674, at the age of sixty-eight. He passed all his +life at Amsterdam. Some of his biographers have told erroneously +that he once visited Italy: they were deceived by the word +_Venetiis_ placed at the bottom of several of his engravings. He +wrote it there with the intention of deluding his countrymen into +the belief that he was absent, and about to settle in Italy--an +impression which would materially raise the price of his +productions. Strange and sad it is to see so much genius united with +so much meanness--the head of fine gold with the feet of clay.[4] + + * * * * * + +[Footnote 3: This picture is believed to be no longer in existence. I have +found its description in the work of the historian Decamps.] + +[Footnote 4: Abridged from the French of J. de Chatillon.] + + + + +ELECTIONEERING CURIOSITY. + + + [In giving the following address of an American candidate, + we must beg our readers to understand that it is not + intended as a joke. Electioneering in the States, + generally speaking, is carried on with good-humour; and + when there is no real cause of squabbling, the object of + the aspirant is to get the laugh in his favour. The orator + we introduce to the English public is Mr Daniel R. + Russell, a candidate for the Auditorship in Mississippi.] + +LADIES AND GENTLEMEN--I rise--but there is no use telling you that; +you know I am up as well as I do. I am a modest man--very--but I +never lost a picayune by it in my life. Being a scarce commodity +among candidates, I thought I would mention it, for fear if I did +not, you never would hear it. Candidates are generally considered as +nuisances, but they are not; they are the politest men in the world, +shake you by the hand, ask how's your family, what's the prospect +for crops, &c.--and I am the politest man in the state. Davy +Crockett says the politest man he ever saw, when he asked a man to +drink, turned his back so that he might drink as much as he pleased. +I beat that all hollow: I give a man a chance to drink twice if he +wishes, for I not only turn my back, but shut my eyes! I am not only +the politest man, but the best electioneerer: you ought to see me +shaking hands with the vibrations, the pump-handle and pendulum, the +cross-cut and wiggle-waggle. I understand the science perfectly, and +if any of the country candidates wish instructions, they must call +upon me. Fellow-citizens, I was born--if I hadn't been I wouldn't +have been a candidate; but I am going to tell you where: 'twas in +Mississippi, but 'twas on the right side of the negro line; yet that +is no compliment, as the negroes are mostly born on the same side. I +started in the world as poor as a church-mouse, yet I came honestly +by my poverty, for I inherited it; and if I did start poor, no man +can say but that I have held my own remarkably well. Candidates +generally tell you--if you think they are qualified, &c. Now, I +don't ask your thoughts, I ask your votes. Why, there is nothing to +think of except to watch and see that Swan's name is not on the +ticket; if so, _think_ to scratch it off and put mine on. I am +certain that I am competent, for who ought to know better than I do? +Nobody. I will allow that Swan is the best auditor in the state; +that is, till I am elected: then perhaps it's not proper for me to +say anything more. Yet, as an honest man, I am bound to say that I +believe it's a grievous sin to hide anything from my +fellow-citizens; therefore say that it's my private opinion, +publicly expressed, that I'll make the best auditor ever in the +United States. 'Tis not for honour I wish to be auditor; for in my +own county I was offered an office that was all honour--coroner, +which I respectfully declined. The auditor's office is worth some +5000 dollars a year, and I am in for it like a thousand of brick. To +shew my goodness of heart, I'll make this offer to my competitor. +I'm sure of being elected, and he will lose something by the +canvass, therefore I am willing to divide equally with him, and make +these offers: I'll take the salary, and he may have the honour, or +he may have the honour, and I'll take the salary. + +In the way of honours, I have received enough to satisfy me for +life. I went out to Mexico, ate pork and beans, slept in the rain +and mud, and swallowed everything but live Mexicans. When I was +ordered to go, I went; 'charge,' I charged; and 'break for the +chaperel'--you had better believe I beat a quarter nag in doing my +duty. + +My competitor, Swan, is a bird of golden plumage, who has been +swimming for the last four years in the auditor's pond at 5000 +dollars a year. I am for rotation. I want to rotate him out, and to +rotate myself in. There's a plenty of room for him to swim outside +of that pond; therefore _pop_ in your votes for me--I'll _pop_ him +out, and _pop_ myself in. + +I am for a division of labour. Swan says he has to work all the +time, with his nose down upon the public grindstone. Four years must +have ground it to a _pint_. Poor fellow! the public ought not to +insist on having the handle of his mug ground clean off. I have a +large, full-grown, and well-blown nose, red as a beet, and tough as +sole-leather. I rush to the post of duty; I offer it up as a +sacrifice; I clap it on the grindstone. Fellow-citizens, grind till +I _holler enuff_--that'll be sometime first, for I'll hang like grim +death to a dead African. + +Time's most out. Well, I like to forgot to tell you my name. It's +Daniel; for short, Dan. Not a handsome name, for my parents were +poor people, who lived where the quality appropriated all the nice +names; therefore they had to take what was left and divide around +among us--but it's as handsome as I am--D. Russell. Remember, all +and every one of you, that it's not Swan. + +I am sure to be elected; so, one and all, great and small, short and +tall, when you come down to Jackson after the election, stop at the +auditor's office--the latch-string always hangs out; enter without +knocking, take off your things, and make yourself at home. + + + + +A NEGRO'S ACCOUNT OF LIBERIA. + + +All of you that feel like it, my friends, come on home--the bush is +cleared away--you can hear no one say there is nothing to eat here. +Why, one man, Gabriel Moore, brought better than 200 cattle from the +interior this year--another 100--some 60, some 50, &c. There are no +hogs there, they say--no turkeys--why, I saw 50 or 60 in the street +at Millsburg the other day. No horses: I have got four in my stable +now; I have a mare and two colts, and I have a horse that I have +been offered 100 dollars for here; if you had him he would bring +500. If you don't believe it, let some gentleman send me a buggy or +a single gig--you shall see how myself and wife will take pleasure, +going from town to town--throw the harness in too--any gentleman +that feels like it--white or coloured--and I will try to send him a +boa constrictor to take his comfort; I know how to take the +gentleman without any danger. My oxen I was working them yesterday; +and as for goats and sheep, we have a plenty. We have a plenty to +eat, every man that will half work. I give you this; you are all +writing to me to tell you about Liberia, what we eat, and all the +news--I mean my coloured friends. Yours truly, ZION HARRIS. + + + + +LARD-CANDLES. + + +One of the most important discoveries or improvements of the age, is +a new species of candle which has been recently made in Cincinnati, +and which will shortly be offered extensively for sale. It is +calculated to supersede all other kinds in use by its beauty, +freedom from guttering, hardness, and capacity of giving light, in +all which respects it is superior to every other species of candle. +This candle is nearly translucent, and can be made to exhibit the +wick, when the candle is held up between the eye and the light, +while the surface is as glossy as polished wax or varnish. The +principal ingredient is lard; and the value of this manufacture can +be hardly exaggerated. Taking durability into account, it can be +made as cheap as any other candle; and there exists no single +element of comfort, convenience, profit, and economy, in which this +article has not the advantage of sperm, star, wax, or tallow +candles. It will be readily conceded that the days of all other +portable or table light, including lard-oil, are numbered. In fact, +except where intense light, as in public buildings, is an object, +gas itself cannot compete with it for public favour.--_American +Paper_. + + + + +CALIFORNIA ITEMS. + + +Some idea of the traffic between San Francisco and the southern +mines may be formed from the fact, that there are at this moment ten +steamers plying between San Francisco and Sacramento. The latter are +for the most part of a larger size than those on the San Joaquin +river; and make the trip of about 120 miles in from seven to eight +hours. In the elegance of their accommodations and the luxuries of +their larder, they might compare favourably with any +passenger-vessels in the world. There are ten other steamers plying +from Sacramento to different places above that city. One year ago +there was but one steamboat in Oregon--the _Columbia_; now there are +eleven of different kinds running in the Columbia and Willamette +rivers, not including the Pacific steamers, _Sea-gull_ and +_Columbia_, running between Oregon and California. + + + + +THE NOBLE MARINER. + +BY THE REV. JAMES GILBORNE LYONS, LL.D. + + +Most readers of these lines will remember that when the ship _Ocean +Monarch_ was turned off Liverpool on the 24th of August 1848, +Frederick Jerome of New York saved fifteen lives by an act of +singular courage and benevolence. They will also lament that one so +ready to help others should himself perish by violence: he was +killed in Central America in the autumn of 1851. + + Shout the noble seaman's name, + Deeds like _his_ belong to fame: + Cottage roof and kingly dome, + Sound the praise of brave Jerome. + Let his acts be told and sung, + While his own high Saxon tongue-- + Herald meet for worth sublime-- + Peals from conquered clime to clime. + + Madly rolled the giant wreck, + Fiercely blazed the riven deck; + Thick and fast as falling stars, + Crashed the flaming blocks and spars; + Loud as surf, when winds are strong, + Wailed the scorched and stricken throng, + Gazing on a rugged shore, + Fires behind, and seas before. + + On the charred and reeling prow + Reft of hope, they gather now, + Finding, one by one, a grave + In the vexed and sullen wave. + Here the child, as if in sleep, + Floats on waters dark and deep; + There the mother sinks below, + Shrieking in her mighty wo. + + Britons, quick to strive or feel, + Joined with chiefs of rich Brazil; + Western freemen, prompt to dare, + Side by side with Bourbon's heir; + Proving who could _then_ excel, + Came with succour long and well; + But Jerome, in peril nursed; + Shone among the foremost--_first_. + + Through the reddened surge and spray, + Fast he cleaves his troubled way; + Boldly climbs and stoutly clings, + On the smoking timber springs; + Fronts the flames, nor fears to stand + In that lorn and weeping band; + Looks on death, nor tries to shun, + Till his work of love is done. + + Glorious man!--immortal work!-- + Claim thy hero, proud New York; + Harp of him when feasts are spread, + Tomb him with thy valiant dead. + Who that, bent on just renown, + Seeks a Christian's prize and crown, + Would not spurn whole years of life, + For one hour of _such_ a strife? + + * * * * * + +Printed and Published by W. and R. CHAMBERS, High Street, Edinburgh. +Also sold by W.S. ORR, Amen Corner, London; D.N. CHAMBERS, 55 West +Nile Street, Glasgow; and J. M'GLASHAN, 50 Upper Sackville Street, +Dublin.--Advertisements for Monthly Parts are requested to be sent +to MAXWELL & Co., 31 Nicholas Lane, Lombard Street, London, to whom +all applications respecting their insertion must be made. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 420, +New Series, Jan. 17, 1852, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAMBERS'S EDINBURGH *** + +***** This file should be named 14603.txt or 14603.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/6/0/14603/ + +Produced by Malcolm Farmer, Richard J. 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