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diff --git a/1916-h/1916-h.htm b/1916-h/1916-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b0076ab --- /dev/null +++ b/1916-h/1916-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,2547 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Great Stone Face and Other Tales of the White Mountains, by Nathaniel + Hawthorne + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Great Stone Face, by Nathaniel Hawthorne + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Great Stone Face + And Other Tales Of The White Mountains + +Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne + +Release Date: February 25, 2006 [EBook #1916] +Last Updated: December 15, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT STONE FACE *** + + + + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE GREAT STONE FACE <br /> <br /> AND OTHER TALES OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Nathaniel Hawthorne <br /> <br /> <br /> 1882 + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> THE GREAT STONE FACE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> THE AMBITIOUS GUEST </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> THE GREAT CARBUNCLE </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> SKETCHES FROM MEMORY </a> + </p> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + INTRODUCTION + </h2> + <p> + THE first three numbers in this collection are tales of the White Hills in + New Hampshire. The passages from Sketches from Memory show that Hawthorne + had visited the mountains in one of his occasional rambles from home, but + there are no entries in his Note Books which give accounts of such a + visit. There is, however, among these notes the following interesting + paragraph, written in 1840 and clearly foreshadowing The Great Stone Face: + </p> + <p> + ‘The semblance of a human face to be formed on the side of a mountain, or + in the fracture of a small stone, by a lusus naturae [freak of nature]. + The face is an object of curiosity for years or centuries, and by and by a + boy is born whose features gradually assume the aspect of that portrait. + At some critical juncture the resemblance is found to be perfect. A + prophecy may be connected.’ + </p> + <p> + It is not impossible that this conceit occurred to Hawthorne before he had + himself seen the Old Man of the Mountain, or the Profile, in the Franconia + Notch which is generally associated in the minds of readers with The Great + Stone Face. + </p> + <p> + In The Ambitious Guest he has made use of the incident still told to + travellers through the Notch, of the destruction of the Willey family in + August, 1826. The house occupied by the family was on the slope of a + mountain, and after a long drought there was a terrible tempest which not + only raised the river to a great height but loosened the surface of the + mountain so that a great landslide took place. The house was in the track + of the slide, and the family rushed out of doors. Had they remained within + they would have been safe, for a ledge above the house parted the + avalanche so that it was diverted into two paths and swept past the house + on either side. Mr. and Mrs. Willey, their five children, and two hired + men were crushed under the weight of earth, rocks, and trees. + </p> + <p> + In the Sketches from Memory Hawthorne gives an intimation of the tale + which he might write and did afterward write of The Great Carbuncle. The + paper is interesting as showing what were the actual experiences out of + which he formed his imaginative stories. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE GREAT STONE FACE and Other Tales Of The White Mountains + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE GREAT STONE FACE + </h2> + <p> + One afternoon, when the sun was going down, a mother and her little boy + sat at the door of their cottage, talking about the Great Stone Face. They + had but to lift their eyes, and there it was plainly to be seen, though + miles away, with the sunshine brightening all its features. And what was + the Great Stone Face? Embosomed amongst a family of lofty mountains, there + was a valley so spacious that it contained many thousand inhabitants. Some + of these good people dwelt in log-huts, with the black forest all around + them, on the steep and difficult hillsides. Others had their homes in + comfortable farm-houses, and cultivated the rich soil on the gentle slopes + or level surfaces of the valley. Others, again, were congregated into + populous villages, where some wild, highland rivulet, tumbling down from + its birthplace in the upper mountain region, had been caught and tamed by + human cunning, and compelled to turn the machinery of cotton-factories. + The inhabitants of this valley, in short, were numerous, and of many modes + of life. But all of them, grown people and children, had a kind of + familiarity with the Great Stone Face, although some possessed the gift of + distinguishing this grand natural phenomenon more perfectly than many of + their neighbors. + </p> + <p> + The Great Stone Face, then, was a work of Nature in her mood of majestie + playfulness, formed on the perpendicular side of a mountain by some + immense rocks, which had been thrown together in such a position as, when + viewed at a proper distance, precisely to resemble the features of the + human countenance. It seemed as if an enormous giant, or a Titan, had + sculptured his own likeness on the precipice. There was the broad arch of + the forehead, a hundred feet in height; the nose, with its long bridge; + and the vast lips, which, if they could have spoken, would have rolled + their thunder accents from one end of the valley to the other. True it is, + that if the spectator approached too near, he lost the outline of the + gigantic visage, and could discern only a heap of ponderous and gigantic + rocks, piled in chaotic ruin one upon another. Retracing his steps, + however, the wondrous features would again be seen; and the farther he + withdrew from them, the more like a human face, with all its original + divinity intact, did they appear; until, as it grew dim in the distance, + with the clouds and glorified vapor of the mountains clustering about it, + the Great Stone Face seemed positively to be alive. + </p> + <p> + It was a happy lot for children to grow up to manhood or womanhood with + the Great Stone Face before their eyes, for all the features were noble, + and the expression was at once grand and sweet, as if it were the glow of + a vast, warm heart, that embraced all mankind in its affections, and had + room for more. It was an education only to look at it. According to the + belief of many people, the valley owed much of its fertility to this + benign aspect that was continually beaming over it, illuminating the + clouds, and infusing its tenderness into the sunshine. + </p> + <p> + As we began with saying, a mother and her little boy sat at their + cottage-door, gazing at the Great Stone Face, and talking about it. The + child’s name was Ernest. + </p> + <p> + ‘Mother,’ said he, while the Titanic visage miled on him, ‘I wish that it + could speak, for it looks so very kindly that its voice must needs be + pleasant. If I were to See a man with such a face, I should love him + dearly.’ ‘If an old prophecy should come to pass,’ answered his mother, + ‘we may see a man, some time for other, with exactly such a face as that.’ + ‘What prophecy do you mean, dear mother?’ eagerly inquired Ernest. ‘Pray + tell me all about it!’ + </p> + <p> + So his mother told him a story that her own mother had told to her, when + she herself was younger than little Ernest; a story, not of things that + were past, but of what was yet to come; a story, nevertheless, so very + old, that even the Indians, who formerly inhabited this valley, had heard + it from their forefathers, to whom, as they affirmed, it had been murmured + by the mountain streams, and whispered by the wind among the tree-tops. + The purport was, that, at some future day, a child should be born + hereabouts, who was destined to become the greatest and noblest personage + of his time, and whose countenance, in manhood, should bear an exact + resemblance to the Great Stone Face. Not a few old-fashioned people, and + young ones likewise, in the ardor of their hopes, still cherished an + enduring faith in this old prophecy. But others, who had seen more of the + world, had watched and waited till they were weary, and had beheld no man + with such a face, nor any man that proved to be much greater or nobler + than his neighbors, concluded it to be nothing but an idle tale. At all + events, the great man of the prophecy had not yet appeared. + </p> + <p> + ‘O mother, dear mother!’ cried Ernest, clapping his hands above his head, + ‘I do hope that I shall live to see him!’ + </p> + <p> + His mother was an affectionate and thoughtful woman, and felt that it was + wisest not to discourage the generous hopes of her little boy. So she only + said to him, ‘Perhaps you may.’ + </p> + <p> + And Ernest never forgot the story that his mother told him. It was always + in his mind, whenever he looked upon the Great Stone Face. He spent his + childhood in the log-cottage where he was born, and was dutiful to his + mother, and helpful to her in many things, assisting her much with his + little hands, and more with his loving heart. In this manner, from a happy + yet often pensive child, he grew up to be a mild, quiet, unobtrusive boy, + and sun-browned with labor in the fields, but with more intelligence + brightening his aspect than is seen in many lads who have been taught at + famous schools. Yet Ernest had had no teacher, save only that the Great + Stone Face became one to him. When the toil of the day was over, he would + gaze at it for hours, until he began to imagine that those vast features + recognized him, and gave him a smile of kindness and encouragement, + responsive to his own look of veneration. We must not take upon us to + affirm that this was a mistake, although the Face may have looked no more + kindly at Ernest than at all the world besides. But the secret was that + the boy’s tender and confiding simplicity discerned what other people + could not see; and thus the love, which was meant for all, became his + peculiar portion. + </p> + <p> + About this time there went a rumor throughout the valley, that the great + man, foretold from ages long ago, who was to bear a resemblance to the + Great Stone Face, had appeared at last. It seems that, many years before, + a young man had migrated from the valley and settled at a distant seaport, + where, after getting together a little money, he had set up as a + shopkeeper. His name but I could never learn whether it was his real one, + or a nickname that had grown out of his habits and success in life—was + Gathergold. + </p> + <p> + Being shrewd and active, and endowed by Providence with that inscrutable + faculty which develops itself in what the world calls luck, he became an + exceedingly rich merchant, and owner of a whole fleet of bulky-bottomed + ships. All the countries of the globe appeared to join hands for the mere + purpose of adding heap after heap to the mountainous accumulation of this + one man’s wealth. The cold regions of the north, almost within the gloom + and shadow of the Arctic Circle, sent him their tribute in the shape of + furs; hot Africa sifted for him the golden sands of her rivers, and + gathered up the ivory tusks of her great elephants out of the forests; the + east came bringing him the rich shawls, and spices, and teas, and the + effulgence of diamonds, and the gleaming purity of large pearls. The + ocean, not to be behindhand with the earth, yielded up her mighty whales, + that Mr. Gathergold might sell their oil, and make a profit on it. Be the + original commodity what it might, it was gold within his grasp. It might + be said of him, as of Midas, in the fable, that whatever he touched with + his finger immediately glistened, and grew yellow, and was changed at once + into sterling metal, or, which suited him still better, into piles of + coin. And, when Mr. Gathergold had become so very rich that it would have + taken him a hundred years only to count his wealth, he bethought himself + of his native valley, and resolved to go back thither, and end his days + where he was born. With this purpose in view, he sent a skilful architect + to build him such a palace as should be fit for a man of his vast wealth + to live in. + </p> + <p> + As I have said above, it had already been rumored in the valley that Mr. + Gathergold had turned out to be the prophetic personage so long and vainly + looked for, and that his visage was the perfect and undeniable similitude + of the Great Stone Face. People were the more ready to believe that this + must needs be the fact, when they beheld the splendid edifice that rose, + as if by enchantment, on the site of his father’s old weather-beaten + farmhouse. The exterior was of marble, so dazzlingly white that it seemed + as though the whole structure might melt away in the sunshine, like those + humbler ones which Mr. Gathergold, in his young play-days, before his + fingers were gifted with the touch of transmutation, had been accustomed + to build of snow. It had a richly ornamented portico supported by tall + pillars, beneath which was a lofty door, studded with silver knobs, and + made of a kind of variegated wood that had been brought from beyond the + sea. The windows, from the floor to the ceiling of each stately apartment, + were composed, respectively of but one enormous pane of glass, so + transparently pure that it was said to be a finer medium than even the + vacant atmosphere. Hardly anybody had been permitted to see the interior + of this palace; but it was reported, and with good semblance of truth, to + be far more gorgeous than the outside, insomuch that whatever was iron or + brass in other houses was silver or gold in this; and Mr. Gathergold’s + bedchamber, especially, made such a glittering appearance that no ordinary + man would have been able to close his eyes there. But, on the other hand, + Mr. Gathergold was now so inured to wealth, that perhaps he could not have + closed his eyes unless where the gleam of it was certain to find its way + beneath his eyelids. + </p> + <p> + In due time, the mansion was finished; next came the upholsterers, with + magnificent furniture; then, a whole troop of black and white servants, + the haringers of Mr. Gathergold, who, in his own majestic person, was + expected to arrive at sunset. Our friend Ernest, meanwhile, had been + deeply stirred by the idea that the great man, the noble man, the man of + prophecy, after so many ages of delay, was at length to be made manifest + to his native valley. He knew, boy as he was, that there were a thousand + ways in which Mr. Gathergold, with his vast wealth, might transform + himself into an angel of beneficence, and assume a control over human + affairs as wide and benignant as the smile of the Great Stone Face. Full + of faith and hope, Ernest doubted not that what the people said was true, + and that now he was to behold the living likeness of those wondrous + features on the mountainside. While the boy was still gazing up the + valley, and fancying, as he always did, that the Great Stone Face returned + his gaze and looked kindly at him, the rumbling of wheels was heard, + approaching swiftly along the winding road. + </p> + <p> + ‘Here he comes!’ cried a group of people who were assembled to witness the + arrival. ‘Here comes the great Mr. Gathergold!’ + </p> + <p> + A carriage, drawn by four horses, dashed round the turn of the road. + Within it, thrust partly out of the window, appeared the physiognomy of + the old man, with a skin as yellow as if his own Midas-hand had transmuted + it. He had a low forehead, small, sharp eyes, puckered about with + innumerable wrinkles, and very thin lips, which he made still thinner by + pressing them forcibly together. + </p> + <p> + ‘The very image or the Great Stone Face!’ shouted the people. ‘Sure + enough, the old prophecy is true; and here we have the great man come, at + last!’ + </p> + <p> + And, what greatly perplexed Ernest, they seemed actually to believe that + here was the likeness which they spoke of. By the roadside there chanced + to be an old beggar woman and two little beggar-children, stragglers from + some far-off region, who, as the carriage rolled onward, held out their + hands and lifted up their doleful voices, most piteously beseeching + charity. A yellow claw the very same that had dawed together so much + wealth—poked itself out of the coach-window, and dropt some copper + coins upon the ground; so that, though the great man’s name seems to have + been Gathergold, he might just as suitably have been nicknamed + Scattercopper. Still, nevertheless, with an earnest shout, and evidently + with as much good faith as ever, the people bellowed ‘He is the very image + of the Great Stone Face!’ But Ernest turned sadly from the wrinkled + shrewdness of that sordid visage, and gazed up the valley, where, amid a + gathering mist, gilded by the last sunbeams, he could still distinguish + those glorious features which had impressed themselves into his soul. + Their aspect cheered him. What did the benign lips seem to say? + </p> + <p> + ‘He will come! Fear not, Ernest; the man will come!’ + </p> + <p> + The years went on, and Ernest ceased to be a boy. He had grown to be a + young man now. He attracted little notice from the other inhabitants of + the valley; for they saw nothing remarkable in his way of life, save that, + when the labor of the day was over, he still loved to go apart and gaze + and meditate upon the Great Stone Face. According to their idea of the + matter, it was a folly, indeed, but pardonable, inasmuch as Ernest was + industrious, kind, and neighborly, and neglected no duty for the sake of + indulging this idle habit. They knew not that the Great Stone Face had + become a teacher to him, and that the sentiment which was expressed in it + would enlarge the young man’s heart, and fill it with wider and deeper + sympathies than other hearts. They knew not that thence would come a + better wisdom than could be learned from books, and a better life than + could be moulded on the defaced example of other human lives. Neither did + Ernest know that the thoughts and affections which came to him so + naturally, in the fields and at the fireside, and wherever he communed + with himself, were of a higher tone than those which all men shared with + him. A simple soul—simple as when his mother first taught him the + old prophecy—he beheld the marvellous features beaming adown the + valley, and still wondered that their human counterpart was so long in + making his appearance. + </p> + <p> + By this time poor Mr. Gathergold was dead and buried; and the oddest part + of the matter was, that his wealth, which was the body and spirit of his + existence, had disappeared before his death, leaving nothing of him but a + living skeleton, covered over with a wrinkled, yellow skin. Since the + melting away of his gold, it had been very generally conceded that there + was no such striking resemblance, after all, betwixt the ignoble features + of the ruined merchant and that majestic face upon the mountainside. So + the people ceased to honor him during his lifetime, and quietly consigned + him to forgetfulness after his decease. Once in a while, it is true, his + memory was brought up in connection with the magnificent palace which he + had built, and which had long ago been turned into a hotel for the + accommodation of strangers, multitudes of whom came, every summer, to + visit that famous natural curiosity, the Great Stone Face. Thus, Mr. + Gathergold being discredited and thrown into the shade, the man of + prophecy was yet to come. + </p> + <p> + It so happened that a native-born son of the valley, many years before, + had enlisted as a soldier, and, after a great deal of hard fighting, had + now become an illustrious commander. Whatever he may be called in history, + he was known in camps and on the battlefield under the nickname of Old + Blood-and-Thunder. This war-worn veteran, being now infirm with age and + wounds, and weary of the turmoil of a military life, and of the roll of + the drum and the clangor of the trumpet, that had so long been ringing in + his ears, had lately signified a purpose of returning to his native + valley, hoping to find repose where he remembered to have left it. The + inhabitants, his old neighbors and their grown-up children, were resolved + to welcome the renowned warrior with a salute of cannon and a public + dinner; and all the more enthusiastically, it being affirmed that now, at + last, the likeness of the Great Stone Face had actually appeared. An + aid-de-camp of Old Blood-and-Thunder, travelling through the valley, was + said to have been struck with the resemblance. Moreover the schoolmates + and early acquaintances of the general were ready to testify, on oath, + that, to the best of their recollection, the aforesaid general had been + exceedingly like the majestic image, even when a boy, only that the idea + had never occurred to them at that period. Great, therefore, was the + excitement throughout the valley; and many people, who had never once + thought of glancing at the Great Stone Face for years before, now spent + their time in gazing at it, for the sake of knowing exactly how General + Blood-and-Thunder looked. + </p> + <p> + On the day of the great festival, Ernest, with all the other people of the + valley, left their work, and proceeded to the spot where the sylvan + banquet was prepared. As he approached, the loud voice of the Rev. Dr. + Battleblast was heard, beseeching a blessing on the good things set before + them, and on the distinguished friend of peace in whose honor they were + assembled. The tables were arranged in a cleared space of the woods, shut + in by the surrounding trees, except where a vista opened eastward, and + afforded a distant view of the Great Stone Face. Over the general’s chair, + which was a relic from the home of Washington, there was an arch of + verdant boughs, with the laurel profusely intermixed, and surmounted by + his country’s banner, beneath which he had won his victories. Our friend + Ernest raised himself on his tiptoes, in hopes to get a glimpse of the + celebrated guest; but there was a mighty crowd about the tables anxious to + hear the toasts and speeches, and to catch any word that might fall from + the general in reply; and a volunteer company, doing duty as a guard, + pricked ruthlessly with their bayonets at any particularly quiet person + among the throng. So Ernest, being of an unobtrusive character, was thrust + quite into the background, where he could see no more of Old + Blood-and-Thunder’s physiognomy than if it had been still blazing on the + battlefield. To console himself, he turned towards the Great Stone Face, + which, like a faithful and long-remembered friend, looked back and smiled + upon him through the vista of the forest. Meantime, however, he could + overhear the remarks of various individuals, who were comparing the + features of the hero with the face on the distant mountainside. + </p> + <p> + ‘’T is the same face, to a hair!’ cried one man, cutting a caper for joy. + </p> + <p> + ‘Wonderfully like, that’s a fact!’ responded another. + </p> + <p> + ‘Like! why, I call it Old Blood-and-Thunder himself, in a monstrous + looking-glass!’ cried a third. + </p> + <p> + ‘And why not? He’s the greatest man of this or any other age, beyond a + doubt.’ + </p> + <p> + And then all three of the speakers gave a great shout, which communicated + electricity to the crowd, and called forth a roar from a thousand voices, + that went reverberating for miles among the mountains, until you might + have supposed that the Great Stone Face had poured its thunder-breath into + the cry. All these comments, and this vast enthusiasm, served the more to + interest our friend; nor did he think of questioning that now, at length, + the mountain-visage had found its human counterpart. It is true, Ernest + had imagined that this long-looked-for personage would appear in the + character of a man of peace, uttering wisdom, and doing good, and making + people happy. But, taking an habitual breadth of view, with all his + simplicity, he contended that providence should choose its own method of + blessing mankind, and could conceive that this great end might be effected + even by a warrior and a bloody sword, should inscrutable wisdom see fit to + order matters SO. + </p> + <p> + ‘The general! the general!’ was now the cry. ‘Hush! silence! Old + Blood-and-Thunder’s going to make a speech.’ + </p> + <p> + Even so; for, the cloth being removed, the general’s health had been + drunk, amid shouts of applause, and he now stood upon his feet to thank + the company. Ernest saw him. There he was, over the shoulders of the + crowd, from the two glittering epaulets and embroidered collar upward, + beneath the arch of green boughs with intertwined laurel, and the banner + drooping as if to shade his brow! And there, too, visible in the same + glance, through the vista of the forest, appeared the Great Stone Face! + And was there, indeed, such a resemblance as the crowd had testified? + Alas, Ernest could not recognize it! He beheld a war-worn and + weather-beaten countenance, full of energy, and expressive of an iron + will; but the gentle wisdom, the deep, broad, tender sympathies, were + altogether wanting in Old Blood-and-Thunder’s visage; and even if the + Great Stone Face had assumed his look of stern command, the milder traits + would still have tempered it. + </p> + <p> + ‘This is not the man of prophecy,’ sighed Ernest to himself, as he made + his way out of the throng. ‘And must the world wait longer yet?’ + </p> + <p> + The mists had congregated about the distant mountainside, and there were + seen the grand and awful features of the Great Stone Face, awful but + benignant, as if a mighty angel were sitting among the hills, and enrobing + himself in a cloud-vesture of gold and purple. As he looked, Ernest could + hardly believe but that a smile beamed over the whole visage, with a + radiance still brightening, although without motion of the lips. It was + probably the effect of the western sunshine, melting through the thinly + diffused vapors that had swept between him and the object that he gazed + at. But—as it always did—the aspect of his marvellous friend + made Ernest as hopeful as if he had never hoped in vain. + </p> + <p> + ‘Fear not, Ernest,’ said his heart, even as if the Great Face were + whispering him—‘fear not, Ernest; he will come.’ + </p> + <p> + More years sped swiftly and tranquilly away. Ernest still dwelt in his + native valley, and was now a man of middle age. By imperceptible degrees, + he had become known among the people. Now, as heretofore, he labored for + his bread, and was the same simple-hearted man that he had always been. + But he had thought and felt so much, he had given so many of the best + hours of his life to unworldly hopes for some great good to mankind, that + it seemed as though he had been talking with the angels, and had imbibed a + portion of their wisdom unawares. It was visible in the calm and + well-considered beneficence of his daily life, the quiet stream of which + had made a wide green margin all along its course. Not a day passed by, + that the world was not the better because this man, humble as he was, had + lived. He never stepped aside from his own path, yet would always reach a + blessing to his neighbor. Almost involuntarily, too, he had become a + preacher. The pure and high simplicity of his thought, which, as one of + its manifestations, took shape in the good deeds that dropped silently + from his hand, flowed also forth in speech. He uttered truths that wrought + upon and moulded the lives of those who heard him. His auditors, it may + be, never suspected that Ernest, their own neighbor and familiar friend, + was more than an ordinary man; least of all did Ernest himself suspect it; + but, inevitably as the murmur of a rivulet, came thoughts out of his mouth + that no other human lips had spoken. + </p> + <p> + When the people’s minds had had a little time to cool, they were ready + enough to acknowledge their mistake in imagining a similarity between + General Blood-and-Thunder’s truculent physiognomy and the benign visage on + the mountain-side. But now, again, there were reports and many paragraphs + in the newspapers, affirming that the likeness of the Great Stone Face had + appeared upon the broad shoulders of a certain eminent statesman. He, like + Mr. Gathergold and old Blood-and-Thunder, was a native of the valley, but + had left it in his early days, and taken up the trades of law and + politics. Instead of the rich man’s wealth and the warrior’s sword, he had + but a tongue, and it was mightier than both together. So wonderfully + eloquent was he, that whatever he might choose to say, his auditors had no + choice but to believe him; wrong looked like right, and right like wrong; + for when it pleased him, he could make a kind of illuminated fog with his + mere breath, and obscure the natural daylight with it. His tongue, indeed, + was a magic instrument: sometimes it rumbled like the thunder; sometimes + it warbled like the sweetest music. It was the blast of war—the song + of peace; and it seemed to have a heart in it, when there was no such + matter. In good truth, he was a wondrous man; and when his tongue had + acquired him all other imaginable success—when it had been heard in + halls of state, and in the courts of princes and potentates—after it + had made him known all over the world, even as a voice crying from shore + to shore—it finally persuaded his countrymen to select him for the + Presidency. Before this time—indeed, as soon as he began to grow + celebrated—his admirers had found out the resemblance between him + and the Great Stone Face; and so much were they struck by it, that + throughout the country this distinguished gentleman was known by the name + of Old Stony Phiz. The phrase was considered as giving a highly favorable + aspect to his political prospects; for, as is likewise the case with the + Popedom, nobody ever becomes President without taking a name other than + his own. + </p> + <p> + While his friends were doing their best to make him President, Old Stony + Phiz, as he was called, set out on a visit to the valley where he was + born. Of course, he had no other object than to shake hands with his + fellow-citizens, and neither thought nor cared about any effect which his + progress through the country might have upon the election. Magnificent + preparations were made to receive the illustrious statesman; a cavalcade + of horsemen set forth to meet him at the boundary line of the State, and + all the people left their business and gathered along the wayside to see + him pass. Among these was Ernest. Though more than once disappointed, as + we have seen, he had such a hopeful and confiding nature, that he was + always ready to believe in whatever seemed beautiful and good. + </p> + <p> + He kept his heart continually open, and thus was sure to catch the + blessing from on high when it should come. So now again, as buoyantly as + ever, he went forth to behold the likeness of the Great Stone Face. + </p> + <p> + The cavalcade came prancing along the road, with a great clattering of + hoofs and a mighty cloud of dust, which rose up so dense and high that the + visage of the mountainside was completely hidden from Ernest’s eyes. All + the great men of the neighborhood were there on horseback; militia + officers, in uniform; the member of Congress; the sheriff of the county; + the editors of newspapers; and many a farmer, too, had mounted his patient + steed, with his Sunday coat upon his back. It really was a very brilliant + spectacle, especially as there were numerous banners flaunting over the + cavalcade, on some of which were gorgeous portraits of the illustrious + statesman and the Great Stone Face, smiling familiarly at one another, + like two brothers. If the pictures were to be trusted, the mutual + resemblance, it must be confessed, was marvellous. We must not forget to + mention that there was a band of music, which made the echoes of the + mountains ring and reverberate with the loud triumph of its strains; so + that airy and soul-thrilling melodies broke out among all the heights and + hollows, as if every nook of his native valley had found a voice, to + welcome the distinguished guest. But the grandest effect was when the + far-off mountain precipice flung back the music; for then the Great Stone + Face itself seemed to be swelling the triumphant chorus, in + acknowledgment, that, at length, the man of prophecy was come. + </p> + <p> + All this while the people were throwing up their hats and shouting, with + enthusiasm so contagious that the heart of Ernest kindled up, and he + likewise threw up his hat, and shouted, as loudly as the loudest, ‘Huzza + for the great man! Huzza for Old Stony Phiz!’ But as yet he had not seen + him. + </p> + <p> + ‘Here he is, now!’ cried those who stood near Ernest. ‘There! There! Look + at Old Stony Phiz and then at the Old Man of the Mountain, and see if they + are not as like as two twin brothers!’ + </p> + <p> + In the midst of all this gallant array came an open barouche, drawn by + four white horses; and in the barouche, with his massive head uncovered, + sat the illustrious statesman, Old Stony Phiz himself. + </p> + <p> + ‘Confess it,’ said one of Ernest’s neighbors to him, ‘the Great Stone Face + has met its match at last!’ + </p> + <p> + Now, it must be owned that, at his first glimpse of the countenance which + was bowing and smiling from the barouche, Ernest did fancy that there was + a resemblance between it and the old familiar face upon the mountainside. + The brow, with its massive depth and loftiness, and all the other + features, indeed, were boldly and strongly hewn, as if in emulation of a + more than heroic, of a Titanic model. But the sublimity and stateliness, + the grand expression of a divine sympathy, that illuminated the mountain + visage and etherealized its ponderous granite substance into spirit, might + here be sought in vain. Something had been originally left out, or had + departed. And therefore the marvellously gifted statesman had always a + weary gloom in the deep caverns of his eyes, as of a child that has + outgrown its playthings or a man of mighty faculties and little aims, + whose life, with all its high performances, was vague and empty, because + no high purpose had endowed it with reality. + </p> + <p> + Still, Ernest’s neighbor was thrusting his elbow into his side, and + pressing him for an answer. + </p> + <p> + ‘Confess! confess! Is not he the very picture of your Old Man of the + Mountain?’ + </p> + <p> + ‘No!’ said Ernest, bluntly, ‘I see little or no likeness.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Then so much the worse for the Great Stone Face!’ answered his neighbor; + and again he set up a shout for Old Stony Phiz. + </p> + <p> + But Ernest turned away, melancholy, and almost despondent: for this was + the saddest of his disappointments, to behold a man who might have + fulfilled the prophecy, and had not willed to do so. Meantime, the + cavalcade, the banners, the music, and the barouches swept past him, with + the vociferous crowd in the rear, leaving the dust to settle down, and the + Great Stone Face to be revealed again, with the grandeur that it had worn + for untold centuries. + </p> + <p> + ‘Lo, here I am, Ernest!’ the benign lips seemed to say. ‘I have waited + longer than thou, and am not yet weary. Fear not; the man will come.’ + </p> + <p> + The years hurried onward, treading in their haste on one another’s heels. + And now they began to bring white hairs, and scatter them over the head of + Ernest; they made reverend wrinkles across his forehead, and furrows in + his cheeks. He was an aged man. But not in vain had he grown old: more + than the white hairs on his head were the sage thoughts in his mind; his + wrinkles and furrows were inscriptions that Time had graved, and in which + he had written legends of wisdom that had been tested by the tenor of a + life. And Ernest had ceased to be obscure. Unsought for, undesired, had + come the fame which so many seek, and made him known in the great world, + beyond the limits of the valley in which he had dwelt so quietly. College + professors, and even the active men of cities, came from far to see and + converse with Ernest; for the report had gone abroad that this simple + husbandman had ideas unlike those of other men, not gained from books, but + of a higher tone—a tranquil and familiar majesty, as if he had been + talking with the angels as his daily friends. Whether it were sage, + statesman, or philanthropist, Ernest received these visitors with the + gentle sincerity that had characterized him from boyhood, and spoke freely + with them of whatever came uppermost, or lay deepest in his heart or their + own. While they talked together, his face would kindle, unawares, and + shine upon them, as with a mild evening light. Pensive with the fulness of + such discourse, his guests took leave and went their way; and passing up + the valley, paused to look at the Great Stone Face, imagining that they + had seen its likeness in a human countenance, but could not remember + where. + </p> + <p> + While Ernest had been growing up and growing old, a bountiful Providence + had granted a new poet to this earth. He, likewise, was a native of the + valley, but had spent the greater part of his life at a distance from that + romantic region, pouring out his sweet music amid the bustle and din of + cities. Often, however, did the mountains which had been familiar to him + in his childhood lift their snowy peaks into the clear atmosphere of his + poetry. Neither was the Great Stone Face forgotten, for the poet had + celebrated it in an ode, which was grand enough to have been uttered by + its own majestic lips. This man of genius, we may say, had come down from + heaven with wonderful endowments. If he sang of a mountain, the eyes of + all mankind beheld a mightier grandeur reposing on its breast, or soaring + to its summit, than had before been seen there. If his theme were a lovely + lake, a celestial smile had now been thrown over it, to gleam forever on + its surface. If it were the vast old sea, even the deep immensity of its + dread bosom seemed to swell the higher, as if moved by the emotions of the + song. Thus the world assumed another and a better aspect from the hour + that the poet blessed it with his happy eyes. The Creator had bestowed + him, as the last best touch to his own handiwork. Creation was not + finished till the poet came to interpret, and so complete it. + </p> + <p> + The effect was no less high and beautiful, when his human brethren were + the subject of his verse. The man or woman, sordid with the common dust of + life, who crossed his daily path, and the little child who played in it, + were glorified if they beheld him in his mood of poetic faith. He showed + the golden links of the great chain that intertwined them with an angelic + kindred; he brought out the hidden traits of a celestial birth that made + them worthy of such kin. Some, indeed, there were, who thought to show the + soundness of their judgment by affirming that all the beauty and dignity + of the natural world existed only in the poet’s fancy. Let such men speak + for themselves, who undoubtedly appear to have been spawned forth by + Nature with a contemptuous bitterness; she plastered them up out of her + refuse stuff, after all the swine were made. As respects all things else, + the poet’s ideal was the truest truth. + </p> + <p> + The songs of this poet found their way to Ernest. He read them after his + customary toil, seated on the bench before his cottage-door, where for + such a length of time he had filled his repose with thought, by gazing at + the Great Stone Face. And now as he read stanzas that caused the soul to + thrill within him, he lifted his eyes to the vast countenance beaming on + him so benignantly. + </p> + <p> + ‘O majestic friend,’ he murmured, addressing the Great Stone Face, ‘is not + this man worthy to resemble thee?’ + </p> + <p> + The face seemed to smile, but answered not a word. + </p> + <p> + Now it happened that the poet, though he dwelt so far away, had not only + heard of Ernest, but had meditated much upon his character, until he + deemed nothing so desirable as to meet this man, whose untaught wisdom + walked hand in hand with the noble simplicity of his life. + </p> + <p> + One summer morning, therefore, he took passage by the railroad, and, in + the decline of the afternoon, alighted from the cars at no great distance + from Ernest’s cottage. The great hotel, which had formerly been the palace + of Mr. Gathergold, was close at hand, but the poet, with his carpetbag on + his arm, inquired at once where Ernest dwelt, and was resolved to be + accepted as his guest. + </p> + <p> + Approaching the door, he there found the good old man, holding a volume in + his hand, which alternately he read, and then, with a finger between the + leaves, looked lovingly at the Great Stone Face. + </p> + <p> + ‘Good evening,’ said the poet. ‘Can you give a traveller a night’s + lodging?’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Willingly,’ answered Ernest; and then he added, smiling, ‘Methinks I + never saw the Great Stone Face look so hospitably at a stranger.’ + </p> + <p> + The poet sat down on the bench beside him, and he and Ernest talked + together. Often had the poet held intercourse with the wittiest and the + wisest, but never before with a man like Ernest, whose thoughts and + feelings gushed up with such a natural feeling, and who made great truths + so familiar by his simple utterance of them. Angels, as had been so often + said, seemed to have wrought with him at his labor in the fields; angels + seemed to have sat with him by the fireside; and, dwelling with angels as + friend with friends, he had imbibed the sublimity of their ideas, and + imbued it with the sweet and lowly charm of household words. So thought + the poet. And Ernest, on the other hand, was moved and agitated by the + living images which the poet flung out of his mind, and which peopled all + the air about the cottage-door with shapes of beauty, both gay and + pensive. The sympathies of these two men instructed them with a profounder + sense than either could have attained alone. Their minds accorded into one + strain, and made delightful music which neither of them could have claimed + as all his own, nor distinguished his own share from the other’s. They led + one another, as it were, into a high pavilion of their thoughts, so + remote, and hitherto so dim, that they had never entered it before, and so + beautiful that they desired to be there always. + </p> + <p> + As Ernest listened to the poet, he imagined that the Great Stone Face was + bending forward to listen too. He gazed earnestly into the poet’s glowing + eyes. + </p> + <p> + ‘Who are you, my strangely gifted guest?’ he said. + </p> + <p> + The poet laid his finger on the volume that Ernest had been reading. + </p> + <p> + ‘You have read these poems,’ said he. ‘You know me, then—for I wrote + them.’ + </p> + <p> + Again, and still more earnestly than before, Ernest examined the poet’s + features; then turned towards the Great Stone Face; then back, with an + uncertain aspect, to his guest. But his countenance fell; he shook his + head, and sighed. + </p> + <p> + ‘Wherefore are you sad?’ inquired the poet. ‘Because,’ replied Ernest, + ‘all through life I have awaited the fulfilment of a prophecy; and, when I + read these poems, I hoped that it might be fulfilled in you.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘You hoped,’ answered the poet, faintly smiling, ‘to find in me the + likeness of the Great Stone Face. And you are disappointed, as formerly + with Mr. Gathergold, and old Blood-and-Thunder, and Old Stony Phiz. Yes, + Ernest, it is my doom. + </p> + <p> + You must add my name to the illustrious three, and record another failure + of your hopes. For—in shame and sadness do I speak it, Ernest—I + am not worthy to be typified by yonder benign and majestic image.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘And why?’ asked Ernest. He pointed to the volume. ‘Are not those thoughts + divine?’ + </p> + <p> + ‘They have a strain of the Divinity,’ replied the poet. ‘You can hear in + them the far-off echo of a heavenly song. But my life, dear Ernest, has + not corresponded with my thought. I have had grand dreams, but they have + been only dreams, because I have lived—and that, too, by my own + choice among poor and mean realities. Sometimes, even—shall I dare + to say it?—-I lack faith in the grandeur, the beauty, and the + goodness, which my own works are said to have made more evident in nature + and in human life. Why, then, pure seeker of the good and true, shouldst + thou hope to find me, in yonder image of the divine?’ + </p> + <p> + The poet spoke sadly, and his eyes were dim with tears. So, likewise, were + those of Ernest. + </p> + <p> + At the hour of sunset, as had long been his frequent custom, Ernest was to + discourse to an assemblage of the neighboring inhabitants in the open air. + He and the poet, arm in arm, still talking together as they went along, + proceeded to the spot. It was a small nook among the hills, with a gray + precipice behind, the stern front of which was relieved by the pleasant + foliage of many creeping plants that made a tapestry for the naked rock, + by hanging their festoons from all its rugged angles. At a small elevation + above the ground, set in a rich framework of verdure, there appeared a + niche, spacious enough to admit a human figure, with freedom for such + gestures as spontaneously accompany earnest thought and genuine emotion. + Into this natural pulpit Ernest ascended, and threw a look of familiar + kindness around upon his audience. They stood, or sat, or reclined upon + the grass, as seemed good to each, with the departing sunshine falling + obliquely over them, and mingling its subdued cheerfulness with the + solemnity of a grove of ancient trees, beneath and amid the boughs of + which the golden rays were constrained to pass. In another direction was + seen the Great Stone Face, with the same cheer, combined with the same + solemnity, in its benignant aspect. + </p> + <p> + Ernest began to speak, giving to the people of what was in his heart and + mind. His words had power, because they accorded with his thoughts; and + his thoughts had reality and depth, because they harmonized with the life + which he had always lived. It was not mere breath that this preacher + uttered; they were the words of life, because a life of good deeds and + holy love was melted into them. Pearls, pure and rich, had been dissolved + into this precious draught. The poet, as he listened, felt that the being + and character of Ernest were a nobler strain of poetry than he had ever + written. + </p> + <p> + His eyes glistening with tears, he gazed reverentially at the venerable + man, and said within himself that never was there an aspect so worthy of a + prophet and a sage as that mild, sweet, thoughtful countenance, with the + glory of white hair diffused about it. At a distance, but distinctly to be + seen, high up in the golden light of the setting sun, appeared the Great + Stone Face, with hoary mists around it, like the white hairs around the + brow of Ernest. Its look of grand beneficence seemed to embrace the world. + </p> + <p> + At that moment, in sympathy with a thought which he was about to utter, + the face of Ernest assumed a grandeur of expression, so imbued with + benevolence, that the poet, by an irresistible impulse, threw his arms + aloft and shouted— + </p> + <p> + ‘Behold! Behold! Ernest is himself the likeness of the Great Stone Face!’ + </p> + <p> + Then all the people looked and saw that what the deep-sighted poet said + was true. The prophecy was fulfilled. But Ernest, having finished what he + had to say, took the poet’s arm, and walked slowly homeward, still hoping + that some wiser and better man than himself would by and by appear, + bearing a resemblance to the GREAT STONE FACE. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE AMBITIOUS GUEST + </h2> + <p> + One September night a family had gathered round their hearth, and piled it + high with the driftwood of mountain streams, the dry cones of the pine, + and the splintered ruins of great trees that had come crashing down the + precipice. Up the chimney roared the fire, and brightened the room with + its broad blaze. The faces of the father and mother had a sober gladness; + the children laughed; the eldest daughter was the image of Happiness at + seventeen; and the aged grandmother who sat knitting in the warmest place, + was the image of Happiness grown old. They had found the ‘herb, + heart’s-ease,’ in the bleakest spot of all New England. (This family were + situated in the Notch of the White Hills, where the wind was sharp + throughout the year, and pitilessly cold in the winter—giving their + cottage all its fresh inclemency before it descended on the valley of the + Saco) They dwelt in a cold spot and a dangerous one; for a mountain + towered above their heads, so steep, that the stones would often rumble + down its sides and startle them at midnight. + </p> + <p> + The daughter had just uttered some simple jest that filled them all with + mirth, when the wind came through the Notch and seemed to pause before + their cottage—rattling the door, with a sound of wailing and + lamentation, before it passed into the valley. For a moment it saddened + them, though there was nothing unusual in the tones. But the family were + glad again when they perceived that the latch was lifted by some + traveller, whose footsteps had been unheard amid the dreary blast which + heralded his approach, and wailed as he was entering, and went moaning + away from the door. + </p> + <p> + Though they dwelt in such a solitude, these people held daily converse + with the world. The romantic pass of the Notch is a great artery, through + which the life-blood of internal commerce is continually throbbing between + Maine, on one side, and the Green Mountains and the shores of the St. + Lawrence, on the other. The stage-coach always drew up before the door of + the cottage. The wayfarer, with no companion but his staff, paused here to + exchange a word, that the sense of loneliness might not utterly overcome + him ere he could pass through the cleft of the mountain, or reach the + first house in the valley. And here the teamster, on his way to Portland + market, would put up for the night; and, if a bachelor, might sit an hour + beyond the usual bedtime, and steal a kiss from the mountain maid at + parting. It was one of those primitive taverns where the traveller pays + only for food and lodging, but meets with a homely kindness beyond all + price. When the footsteps were heard, therefore, between the outer door + and the inner one, the whole family rose up, grandmother, children, and + all, as if about to welcome some one who belonged to them, and whose fate + was linked with theirs. + </p> + <p> + The door was opened by a young man. His face at first wore the melancholy + expression, almost despondency, of one who travels a wild and bleak road, + at nightfall and alone, but soon brightened up when he saw the kindly + warmth of his reception. He felt his heart spring forward to meet them + all, from the old woman, who wiped a chair with her apron, to the little + child that held out its arms to him. One glance and smile placed the + stranger on a footing of innocent familiarity with the eldest daughter. + </p> + <p> + ‘Ah, this fire is the right thing!’ cried he; ‘especially when there is + such a pleasant circle round it. I am quite benumbed; for the Notch is + just like the pipe of a great pair of bellows; it has blown a terrible + blast in my face all the way from Bartlett.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Then you are going towards Vermont?’ said the master of the house, as he + helped to take a light knapsack off the young man’s shoulders. + </p> + <p> + ‘Yes; to Burlington, and far enough beyond,’ replied he. ‘I meant to have + been at Ethan Crawford’s tonight; but a pedestrian lingers along such a + road as this. It is no matter; for, when I saw this good fire, and all + your cheerful faces, I felt as if you had kindled it on purpose for me, + and were waiting my arrival. So I shall sit down among you, and make + myself at home.’ + </p> + <p> + The frank-hearted stranger had just drawn his chair to the fire when + something like a heavy footstep was heard without, rushing down the steep + side of the mountain, as with long and rapid strides, and taking such a + leap in passing the cottage as to strike the opposite precipice. The + family held their breath, because they knew the sound, and their guest + held his by instinct. + </p> + <p> + ‘The old mountain has thrown a stone at us, for fear we should forget + him,’ said the landlord, recovering himself. ‘He sometimes nods his head + and threatens to come down; but we are old neighbors, and agree together + pretty well upon the whole. Besides we have a sure place of refuge hard by + if he should be coming in good earnest.’ + </p> + <p> + Let us now suppose the stranger to have finished his supper of bear’s + meat; and, by his natural felicity of manner, to have placed himself on a + footing of kindness with the whole family, so that they talked as freely + together as if he belonged to their mountain brood. He was of a proud, yet + gentle spirit—haughty and reserved among the rich and great; but + ever ready to stoop his head to the lowly cottage door, and be like a + brother or a son at the poor man’s fireside. In the household of the Notch + he found warmth and simplicity of feeling, the pervading intelligence of + New England, and a poetry of native growth, which they had gathered when + they little thought of it from the mountain peaks and chasms, and at the + very threshold of their romantic and dangerous abode. He had travelled far + and alone; his whole life, indeed, had been a solitary path; for, with the + lofty caution of his nature, he had kept himself apart from those who + might otherwise have been his companions. The family, too, though so kind + and hospitable, had that consciousness of unity among themselves, and + separation from the world at large, which, in every domestic circle, + should still keep a holy place where no stranger may intrude. But this + evening a prophetic sympathy impelled the refined and educated youth to + pour out his heart before the simple mountaineers, and constrained them to + answer him with the same free confidence. And thus it should have been. Is + not the kindred of a common fate a closer tie than that of birth? + </p> + <p> + The secret of the young man’s character was a high and abstracted + ambition. He could have borne to live an undistinguished life, but not to + be forgotten in the grave. Yearning desire had been transformed to hope; + and hope, long cherished, had become like certainty, that, obscurely as he + journeyed now, a glory was to beam on all his pathway—though not, + perhaps, while he was treading it. But when posterity should gaze back + into the gloom of what was now the present, they would trace the + brightness of his footsteps, brightening as meaner glories faded, and + confess that a gifted one had passed from his cradle to his tomb with none + to recognize him. + </p> + <p> + ‘As yet,’ cried the stranger—his cheek glowing and his eye flashing + with enthusiasm—‘as yet, I have done nothing. Were I to vanish from + the earth tomorrow, none would know so much of me as you: that a nameless + youth came up at nightfall from the valley of the Saco, and opened his + heart to you in the evening, and passed through the Notch by sunrise, and + was seen no more. Not a soul would ask, ‘Who was he? Whither did the + wanderer go? But I cannot die till I have achieved my destiny. Then, let + Death come! I shall have built my monument!’ + </p> + <p> + There was a continual flow of natural emotion, gushing forth amid + abstracted reverie, which enabled the family to understand this young + man’s sentiments, though so foreign from their own. With quick sensibility + of the ludicrous, he blushed at the ardor into which he had been betrayed. + </p> + <p> + ‘You laugh at me,’ said he, taking the eldest daughter’s hand, and + laughing himself. ‘You think my ambition as nonsensical as if I were to + freeze myself to death on the top of Mount Washington, only that people + might spy at me from the country round about. And, truly, that would be a + noble pedestal for a man’s statue!’ + </p> + <p> + ‘It is better to sit here by this fire,’ answered the girl, blushing, ‘and + be comfortable and contented, though nobody thinks about us.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘I suppose,’ Said her father, after a fit of musing, ‘there is something + natural in what the young man says; and if my mind had been turned that + way, I might have felt just the same. It is strange, wife, how his talk + has set my head running on things that are pretty certain never to come to + pass.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Perhaps they may,’ observed the wife. ‘Is the man thinking what he will + do when he is a widower?’ + </p> + <p> + ‘No, no!’ cried he, repelling the idea with reproachful kindness. ‘When I + think of your death, Esther, I think of mine, too. But I was wishing we + had a good farm in Bartlett, or Bethlehem, or Littleton, or some other + township round the White Mountains; but not where they could tumble on our + heads. I should want to stand well with my neighbors and be called Squire, + and sent to General Court for a term or two; for a plain, honest man may + do as much good there as a lawyer. And when I should be grown quite an old + man, and you an old woman, so as not to be long apart, I might die happy + enough in my bed, and leave you all crying around me. A slate gravestone + would suit me as well as a marble one—with just my name and age, and + a verse of a hymn, and something to let people know that I lived an honest + man and died a Christian.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘There now!’ exclaimed the stranger; ‘it is our nature to desire a + monument, be it slate or marble, or a pillar of granite, or a glorious + memory in the universal heart of man.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘We’re in a strange way, tonight,’ said the wife, with tears in her eyes. + ‘They say it’s a sign of something, when folks’ minds go a wandering so. + Hark to the children!’ + </p> + <p> + They listened accordingly. The younger children had been put to bed in + another room, but with an open door between, so that they could be heard + talking busily among themselves. One and all seemed to have caught the + infection from the fireside circle, and were outvying each other in wild + wishes, and childish projects of what they would do when they came to be + men and women. At length a little boy, instead of addressing his brothers + and sisters, called out to his mother. + </p> + <p> + ‘I’ll tell you what I wish, mother,’ cried he. ‘I want you and father and + grandma’m, and all of us, and the stranger too, to start right away, and + go and take a drink out of the basin of the Flume!’ + </p> + <p> + Nobody could help laughing at the child’s notion of leaving a warm bed, + and dragging them from a cheerful fire, to visit the basin of the Flume—a + brook, which tumbles over the precipice, deep within the Notch. The boy + had hardly spoken when a wagon rattled along the road, and stopped a + moment before the door. It appeared to contain two or three men, who were + cheering their hearts with the rough chorus of a song, which resounded, in + broken notes, between the cliffs, while the singers hesitated whether to + continue their journey or put up here for the night. + </p> + <p> + ‘Father,’ said the girl, ‘they are calling you by name.’ + </p> + <p> + But the good man doubted whether they had really called him, and was + unwilling to show himself too solicitous of gain by inviting people to + patronize his house. He therefore did not hurry to the door; and the lash + being soon applied, the travellers plunged into the Notch, still singing + and laughing, though their music and mirth came back drearily from the + heart of the mountain. + </p> + <p> + ‘There, mother!’ cried the boy, again. ‘They’d have given us a ride to the + Flume.’ + </p> + <p> + Again they laughed at the child’s pertinacious fancy for a night ramble. + But it happened that a light cloud passed over the daughter’s spirit; she + looked gravely into the fire, and drew a breath that was almost a sigh. It + forced its way, in spite of a little struggle to repress it. Then starting + and blushing, she looked quickly round the circle, as if they had caught a + glimpse into her bosom. The stranger asked what she had been thinking of. + </p> + <p> + ‘Nothing,’ answered she, with a downcast smile. ‘Only I felt lonesome just + then.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Oh, I have always had a gift of feeling what is in other people’s + hearts,’ said he, half seriously. ‘Shall I tell the secrets of yours? For + I know what to think when a young girl shivers by a warm hearth, and + complains of lonesomeness at her mother’s side. Shall I put these feelings + into words?’ + </p> + <p> + ‘They would not be a girl’s feelings any longer if they could be put into + words,’ replied the mountain nymph, laughing, but avoiding his eye. + </p> + <p> + All this was said apart. Perhaps a germ of love was springing in their + hearts, so pure that it might blossom in Paradise, since it could not be + matured on earth; for women worship such gentle dignity as his; and the + proud, contemplative, yet kindly soul is oftenest captivated by simplicity + like hers. But while they spoke softly, and he was watching the happy + sadness, the lightsome shadows, the shy yearnings of a maiden’s nature, + the wind through the Notch took a deeper and drearier sound. It seemed, as + the fanciful stranger said, like the choral strain of the spirits of the + blast, who in old Indian times had their dwelling among these mountains, + and made their heights and recesses a sacred region. There was a wail + along the road, as if a funeral were passing. To chase away the gloom, the + family threw pine branches on their fire, till the dry leaves crackled and + the flame arose, discovering once again a scene of peace and humble + happiness. The light hovered about them fondly, and caressed them all. + There were the little faces of the children, peeping from their bed apart, + and here the father’s frame of strength, the mother’s subdued and careful + mien, the high-browed youth, the budding girl, and the good old grandam, + still knitting in the warmest place. The aged woman looked up from her + task, and, with fingers ever busy, was the next to speak. + </p> + <p> + ‘Old folks have their notions,’ said she, ‘as well as young ones. You’ve + been wishing and planning; and letting your heads run on one thing and + another, till you’ve set my mind a wandering too. Now what should an old + woman wish for, when she can go but a step or two before she comes to her + grave? Children, it will haunt me night and day till I tell you.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘What is it, mother?’ cried the husband and wife at once. + </p> + <p> + Then the old woman, with an air of mystery which drew the circle closer + round the fire, informed them that she had provided her grave-clothes some + years before—a nice linen shroud, a cap with a muslin ruff, and + everything of a finer sort than she had worn since her wedding day. But + this evening an old superstition had strangely recurred to her. It used to + be said, in her younger days, that if anything were amiss with a corpse, + if only the ruff were not smooth, or the cap did not set right, the corpse + in the coffin and beneath the clods would strive to put up its cold hands + and arrange it. The bare thought made her nervous. + </p> + <p> + ‘Don’t talk so, grandmother!’ said the girl, shuddering. + </p> + <p> + ‘Now’—continued the old woman, with singular earnestness, yet + smiling strangely at her own folly—‘I want one of you, my children—when + your mother is dressed and in the coffin—-I want one of you to hold + a looking-glass over my face. Who knows but I may take a glimpse at + myself, and see whether all’s right?’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Old and young, we dream of graves and monuments,’ murmured the stranger + youth. ‘I wonder how mariners feel when the ship is sinking, and they, + unknown and undistinguished, are to be buried together in the ocean—that + wide and nameless sepulchre?’ + </p> + <p> + For a moment, the old woman’s ghastly conception so engrossed the minds of + her hearers that a sound abroad in the night, rising like the roar of a + blast, had grown broad, deep, and terrible, before the fated group were + conscious of it. The house and all within it trembled; the foundations of + the earth seemed to be shaken, as if this awful sound were the peal of the + last trump. Young and old exchanged one wild glance, and remained an + instant, pale, affrighted, without utterance, or power to move. Then the + same shriek burst simultaneously from all their lips. + </p> + <p> + ‘The Slide! The Slide!’ + </p> + <p> + The simplest words must intimate, but not portray, the unutterable horror + of the catastrophe. The victims rushed from their cottage, and sought + refuge in what they deemed a safer spot—where, in contemplation of + such an emergency, a sort of barrier had been reared. Alas! they had + quitted their security, and fled right into the pathway of destruction. + Down came the whole side of the mountain, in a cataract of ruin. Just + before it reached the house, the stream broke into two branches—shivered + not a window there, but overwhelmed the whole vicinity, blocked up the + road, and annihilated everything in its dreadful course. Long ere the + thunder of the great Slide had ceased to roar among the mountains, the + mortal agony had been endured, and the victims were at peace. Their bodies + were never found. + </p> + <p> + The next morning, the light smoke was seen stealing from the cottage + chimney up the mountain side. Within, the fire was yet smouldering on the + hearth, and the chairs in a circle round it, as if the inhabitants had but + gone forth to view the devastation of the Slide, and would shortly return, + to thank Heaven for their miraculous escape. All had left separate tokens, + by which those who had known the family were made to shed a tear for each. + Who has not heard their name? (The story has been told far and wide, and + Will forever be a legend of these mountains.) Poets have sung their fate. + </p> + <p> + There were circumstances which led some to suppose that a stranger had + been received into the cottage on this awful night, and had shared the + catastrophe of all its inmates. Others denied that there were sufficient + grounds for such a conjecture. Woe for the high-souled youth, with his + dream of Earthly Immortality! His name and person utterly unknown; his + history, his way of life, his plans, a mystery never to be solved, his + death and his existence equally a doubt! Whose was the agony of that death + moment? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE GREAT CARBUNCLE + </h2> + <h3> + A MYSTERY OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS + </h3> + <p> + (The Indian tradition, on which this somewhat extravagant tale is founded, + is both too wild and too beautiful to be adequately wrought up in prose. + Sullivan, in his History of Maine, written since the Revolution, remarks, + that even then the existence of the Great Carbuncle was not entirely + discredited.) + </p> + <p> + AT nightfall, once in the olden time, on the rugged side of one of the + Crystal Hills, a party of adventurers were refreshing themselves, after a + toilsome and fruitless quest for the Great Carbuncle. They had come + thither, not as friends nor partners in the enterprise, but each, save one + youthful pair, impelled by his own selfish and solitary longing for this + wondrous gem. Their feeling of brotherhood, however, was strong enough to + induce them to contribute a mutual aid in building a rude hut of branches, + and kindling a great fire of shattered pines, that had drifted down the + headlong current of the Amonoosuck, on the lower bank of which they were + to pass the night. There was but one of their number, perhaps, who had + become so estranged from natural sympathies, by the absorbing spell of the + pursuit, as to acknowledge no satisfaction at the sight of human faces, in + the remote and solitary region whither they had ascended. A vast extent of + wilderness lay between them and the nearest settlement, while scant a mile + above their heads was that black verge where the hills throw off their + shaggy mantle of forest trees, and either robe themselves in clouds or + tower naked into the sky. The roar of the Amonoosuck would have been too + awful for endurance if only a solitary man had listened, while the + mountain stream talked with the wind. + </p> + <p> + The adventurers, therefore, exchanged hospitable greetings, and welcomed + one another to the hut, where each man was the host, and all were the + guests of the whole company. They spread their individual supplies of food + on the flat surface of a rock, and partook of a general repast; at the + close of which, a sentiment of good fellowship was perceptible among the + party, though repressed by the idea, that the renewed search for the Great + Carbuncle must make them strangers again in the morning. Seven men and one + young woman, they warmed themselves together at the fire, which extended + its bright wall along the whole front of their wigwam. As they observed + the various and contrasted figures that made up the assemblage, each man + looking like a caricature of himself, in the unsteady light that flickered + over him, they came mutually to the conclusion, that an odder society had + never met, in city or wilderness, on mountain or plain. + </p> + <p> + The eldest of the group, a tall, lean, weather-beaten man, some sixty + years of age, was clad in the skins of wild animals, whose fashion of + dress he did well to imitate, since the deer, the wolf, and the bear, had + long been his most intimate companions. He was one of those ill-fated + mortals, such as the Indians told of, whom, in their early youth, the + Great Carbuncle smote with a peculiar madness, and became the passionate + dream of their existence. All who visited that region knew him as the + Seeker and by no other name. As none could remember when he first took up + the search, there went a fable in the valley of the Saco, that for his + inordinate lust after the Great Carbuncle, he had been condemned to wander + among the mountains till the end of time, still with the same feverish + hopes at sunrise—the same despair at eve. Near this miserable Seeker + sat a little elderly personage, wearing a high-crowned hat, shaped + somewhat like a crucible. He was from beyond the sea, a Doctor Cacaphodel, + who had wilted and dried himself into a mummy by continually stooping over + charcoal furnaces, and inhaling unwholesome fumes during his researches in + chemistry and alchemy. It was told of him, whether truly or not, that, at + the commencement of his studies, he had drained his body of all its + richest blood, and wasted it, with other inestimable ingredients, in an + unsuccessful experiment—and had never been a well man since. Another + of the adventurers was Master bod Pigsnort, a weighty merchant and + selector Boston, and an elder of the famous Mr. Norton’s church. His + enemies had a ridiculous story that Master Pigsnort was accustomed to + spend a whole hour after prayer time, every morning and evening, in + wallowing naked among an immense quantity of pine-tree shillings, which + were the earliest silver coinage of Massachusetts. The fourth whom we + shall notice had no name that his companions knew of, and was chiefly + distinguished by a sneer that always contorted his thin visage, and by a + prodigious pair of spectacles, which were supposed to deform and discolor + the whole face of nature, to this gentleman’s perception. The fifth + adventurer likewise lacked a name, which was the greater pity, as he + appeared to be a poet. He was a bright-eyed man, but woefully pined away, + which was no more than natural, if, as some people affirmed, his ordinary + diet was fog, morning mist, and a slice of the densest cloud within his + reach, sauced with moonshine, whenever he could get it. Certain it is, + that the poetry which flowed from him had a smack of all these dainties. + The sixth of the party was a young man of haughty mien, and sat somewhat + apart from the rest, wearing his plumed hat loftily among his elders, + while the fire glittered on the rich embroidery of his dress and gleamed + intensely on the jewelled pommel of his sword. This was the Lord de Vere, + who, when at home, was said to spend much of his time in the burial vault + of his dead progenitors, rummaging their mouldy coffins in search of all + the earthly pride and vainglory that was hidden among bones and dust; so + that, besides his own share, he had the collected haughtiness of his whole + line of ancestry. + </p> + <p> + Lastly, there was a handsome youth in rustic garb, and by his side a + blooming little person, in whom a delicate shade of maiden reserve was + just melting into the rich glow of a young wife’s affection. Her name was + Hannah, and her husband’s Matthew; two homely names, yet well enough + adapted to the simple pair, who seemed strangely out of place among the + whimsical fraternity whose wits had been set agog by the Great Carbuncle. + </p> + <p> + Beneath the shelter of one hut, in the bright blaze of the same fire, sat + this varied group of adventurers, all so intent upon a single object, + that, of whatever else they began to speak, their closing words were sure + to be illuminated with the Great Carbuncle. Several related the + circumstances that brought them thither. One had listened to a traveller’s + tale of this marvellous stone in his own distant country, and had + immediately been seized with such a thirst for beholding it as could only, + be quenched in its intensest lustre. Another, so long ago as when the + famous Captain Smith visited these coasts, had seen it blazing far at sea, + and had felt no rest in all the intervening years till now that he took up + the search. A third, being camped on a hunting expedition full forty miles + south of the White Mountains, awoke at midnight, and beheld the Great + Carbuncle gleaming like a meteor, so that the shadows of the trees fell + backward from it. They spoke of the innumerable attempts which had been + made to reach the spot, and of the singular fatality which had hitherto + withheld success from all adventurers, though it might seem so easy to + follow to its source a light that overpowered the moon, and almost matched + the sun. It was observable that each smiled scornfully at the madness of + every other in anticipating better fortune than the past, yet nourished a + scarcely hidden conviction that he would himself be the favored one. As if + to allay their too sanguine hopes, they recurred to the Indian traditions + that a spirit kept watch about the gem, and bewildered those who sought it + either by removing it from peak to peak of the higher hills, or by calling + up a mist from the enchanted lake over which it hung. But these tales were + deemed unworthy of credit, all professing to believe that the search had + been baffled by want of sagacity or perseverance in the adventurers, or + such other causes as might naturally obstruct the passage to any given + point among the intricacies of forest, valley, and mountain. + </p> + <p> + In a pause of the conversation the wearer of the prodigious spectacles + looked round upon the party, making each individual, in turn, the object + of the sneer which invariably dwelt upon his countenance. + </p> + <p> + ‘So, fellow-pilgrims,’ said he, ‘here we are, seven wise men, and one fair + damsel—who, doubtless, is as wise as any graybeard of the company: + here we are, I say, all bound on the same goodly enterprise. Methinks, + now, it were not amiss that each of us declare what he proposes to do with + the Great Carbuncle, provided he have the good hap to clutch it. What says + our friend in the bear skin? How mean you, good sir, to enjoy the prize + which you have been seeking, the Lord knows how long, among the Crystal + Hills?’ + </p> + <p> + ‘How enjoy it!’ exclaimed the aged Seeker, bitterly. ‘I hope for no + enjoyment from it; that folly has passed long ago! I keep up the search + for this accursed stone because the vain ambition of my youth has become a + fate upon me in old age. The pursuit alone is my strength—the energy + of my soul—the warmth of my blood—and the pith and marrow of + my bones! Were I to turn my back upon it I should fall down dead on the + hither side of the Notch, which is the gateway of this mountain region. + Yet not to have my wasted lifetime back again would I give up my hopes of + the Great Carbuncle! Having found it, I shall bear it to a certain cavern + that I wot of, and there, grasping it in my arms, lie down and die, and + keep it buried with me forever.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘O wretch, regardless of the interests of science!’ cried Doctor + Cacaphodel, with philosophic indignation. ‘Thou art not worthy to behold, + even from afar off, the lustre of this most precious gem that ever was + concocted in the laboratory of Nature. Mine is the sole purpose for which + a wise man may desire the possession of the Great Carbuncle. + </p> + <p> + ‘Immediately on obtaining it—for I have a presentiment, good people, + that the prize is reserved to crown my scientific reputation—I shall + return to Europe, and employ my remaining years in reducing it to its + first elements. A portion of the stone will I grind to impalpable powder; + other parts shall be dissolved in acids, or whatever solvents will act + upon so admirable a composition; and the remainder I design to melt in the + crucible, or set on fire with the blow-pipe. By these various methods I + shall gain an accurate analysis, and finally bestow the result of my + labors upon the world in a folio volume.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Excellent!’ quoth the man with the spectacles. ‘Nor need you hesitate, + learned sir, on account of the necessary destruction of the gem; since the + perusal of your folio may teach every mother’s son of us to concoct a + Great Carbuncle of his own.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘But, verily,’ said Master Ichabod Pigsnort, ‘for mine own part I object + to the making of these counterfeits, as being calculated to reduce the + marketable value of the true gem. I tell ye frankly, sirs, I have an + interest in keeping up the price. Here have I quitted my regular traffic, + leaving my warehouse in the care of my clerks, and putting my credit to + great hazard, and, furthermore, have put myself in peril of death or + captivity by the accursed heathen savages—and all this without + daring to ask the prayers of the congregation, because the quest for the + Great Carbuncle is deemed little better than a traffic with the Evil One. + Now think ye that I would have done this grievous wrong to my soul, body, + reputation, and estate, without a reasonable chance of profit?’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Not I, pious Master Pigsnort,’ said the man with the spectacles. ‘I never + laid such a great folly to thy charge.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Truly, I hope not,’ said the merchant. ‘Now, as touching this Great + Carbuncle, I am free to own that I have never had a glimpse of it; but be + it only the hundredth part so bright as people tell, it will surely + outvalue the Great Mogul’s best diamond, which he holds at an incalculable + sum. Wherefore, I am minded to put the Great Carbuncle on shipboard, and + voyage with it to England, France, Spain, Italy, or into Heathendom, if + Providence should send me thither, and, in a word, dispose of the gem to + the best bidder among the potentates of the earth, that he may place it + among his crown jewels. If any of ye have a wiser plan, let him expound + it.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘That have I, thou sordid man!’ exclaimed the poet. ‘Dost thou desire + nothing brighter than gold that thou wouldst transmute all this ethereal + lustre into such dross as thou wallowest in already? For myself, hiding + the jewel under my cloak, I shall hie me back to my attic chamber, in one + of the darksome alleys of London. There, night and day, will I gaze upon + it; my soul shall drink its radiance; it shall be diffused throughout my + intellectual powers, and gleam brightly in every line of poesy that I + indite. Thus, long ages after I am gone, the splendor of the Great + Carbuncle will blaze around my name?’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Well said, Master Poet!’ cried he of the spectacles. ‘Hide it under thy + cloak, sayest thou? Why, it will gleam through the holes, and make thee + look like a jack-o’-lantern!’ + </p> + <p> + ‘To think!’ ejaculated the Lord de Vere, rather to himself than his + companions, the best of whom he held utterly unworthy of his intercourse—‘to + think that a fellow in a tattered cloak should talk of conveying the Great + Carbuncle to a garret in Grub Street! Have not I resolved within myself + that the whole earth contains no fitter ornament for the great hall of my + ancestral castle? There shall it flame for ages, making a noonday of + midnight, glittering on the suits of armor, the banners, and escutcheons, + that hang around the wall, and keeping bright the memory of heroes. + Wherefore have all other adventurers sought the prize in vain but that I + might win it, and make it a symbol of the glories of our lofty line? And + never, on the diadem of the White Mountains, did the Great Carbuncle hold + a place half so honored as is reserved for it in the hall of the De + Veres!’ + </p> + <p> + ‘It is a noble thought,’ said the Cynic, with an obsequious sneer. ‘Yet, + might I presume to say so, the gem would make a rare sepulchral lamp, and + would display the glories of your lordship’s progenitors more truly in the + ancestral vault than in the castle hall.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Nay, forsooth,’ observed Matthew, the young rustic, who sat hand in hand + with his bride, ‘the gentleman has bethought himself of a profitable use + for this bright stone. Hannah here and I are seeking it for a like + purpose.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘How, fellow!’ exclaimed his lordship, in surprise. ‘What castle hall hast + thou to hang it in?’ + </p> + <p> + ‘No castle,’ replied Matthew, ‘but as neat a cottage as any within sight + of the Crystal Hills. Ye must know, friends, that Hannah and I, being + wedded the last week, have taken up the search of the Great Carbuncle, + because we shall need its light in the long winter evenings; and it will + be such a pretty thing to show the neighbors when they visit us. It will + shine through the house so that we may pick up a pin in any corner, and + will set all the windows aglowing as if there were a great fire of pine + knots in the chimney. And then how pleasant, when we awake in the night, + to be able to see one another’s faces!’ + </p> + <p> + There was a general smile among the adventurers at the simplicity of the + young couple’s project in regard to this wondrous and invaluable stone, + with which the greatest monarch on earth might have been proud to adorn + his palace. Especially the man with spectacles, who had sneered at all the + company in turn, now twisted his visage into such an expression of + ill-natured mirth, that Matthew asked him, rather peevishly, what he + himself meant to do with the Great Carbuncle. + </p> + <p> + ‘The Great Carbuncle!’ answered the Cynic, with ineffable scorn. ‘Why, you + blockhead, there is no such thing in rerum natura. I have come three + thousand miles, and am resolved to set my foot on every peak of these + mountains, and poke my head into every chasm, for the sole purpose of + demonstrating to the satisfaction of any man one whit less an ass than + thyself that the Great Carbuncle is all a humbug!’ + </p> + <p> + Vain and foolish were the motives that had brought most of the adventurers + to the Crystal Hills; but none so vain, so foolish, and so impious too, as + that of the scoffer with the prodigious spectacles. He was one of those + wretched and evil men whose yearnings are downward to the darkness, + instead of heavenward, and who, could they but distinguish the lights + which God hath kindled for us, would count the midnight gloom their + chiefest glory. As the Cynic spoke, several of the party were startled by + a gleam of red splendor, that showed the huge shapes of the surrounding + mountains and the rock-bed of the turbulent river with an illumination + unlike that of their fire on the trunks and black boughs of the forest + trees. They listened for the roll of thunder, but heard nothing, and were + glad that the tempest came not near them. The stars, those dial-points of + heaven, now warned the adventurers to close their eyes on the blazing + logs, and open them, in dreams, to the glow of the Great Carbuncle. + </p> + <p> + The young married couple had taken their lodgings in the farthest corner + of the wigwam, and were separated from the rest of the party by a curtain + of curiously-woven twigs, such as might have hung, in deep festoons, + around the bridal-bower of Eve. The modest little wife had wrought this + piece of tapestry while the other guests were talking. She and her husband + fell asleep with hands tenderly clasped, and awoke from visions of + unearthly radiance to meet the more blessed light of one another’s eyes. + They awoke at the same instant, and with one happy smile beaming over + their two faces, which grew brighter with their consciousness of the + reality of life and love. But no sooner did she recollect where they were, + than the bride peeped through the interstices of the leafy curtain, and + saw that the outer room of the hut was deserted. + </p> + <p> + ‘Up, dear Matthew!’ cried she, in haste. ‘The strange folk are all gone! + Up, this very minute, or we shall loose the Great Carbuncle!’ + </p> + <p> + In truth, so little did these poor young people deserve the mighty prize + which had lured them thither, that they had slept peacefully all night, + and till the summits of the hills were glittering with sunshine; while the + other adventurers had tossed their limbs in feverish wakefulness, or + dreamed of climbing precipices, and set off to realize their dreams with + the earliest peep of dawn. But Matthew and Hannah, after their calm rest, + were as light as two young deer, and merely stopped to say their prayers + and wash themselves in a cold pool of the Amonoosuck, and then to taste a + morsel of food, ere they turned their faces to the mountainside. It was a + sweet emblem of conjugal affection, as they toiled up the difficult + ascent, gathering strength from the mutual aid which they afforded. After + several little accidents, such as a torn robe, a lost shoe, and the + entanglement of Hannah’s hair in a bough, they reached the upper verge of + the forest, and were now to pursue a more adventurous course. The + innumerable trunks and heavy foliage of the trees had hitherto shut in + their thoughts, which now shrank affrighted from the region of wind and + cloud and naked rocks and desolate sunshine, that rose immeasurably above + them. They gazed back at the obscure wilderness which they had traversed, + and longed to be buried again in its depths rather than trust themselves + to so vast and visible a solitude. + </p> + <p> + ‘Shall we go on?’ said Matthew, throwing his arm round Hannah’s waist, + both to protect her and to comfort his heart by drawing her close to it. + </p> + <p> + But the little bride, simple as she was, had a woman’s love of jewels, and + could not forego the hope of possessing the very brightest in the world, + in spite of the perils with which it must be won. + </p> + <p> + ‘Let us climb a little higher,’ whispered she, yet tremulously, as she + turned her face upward to the lonely sky. + </p> + <p> + ‘Come, then,’ said Matthew, mustering his manly courage and drawing her + along with him, for she became timid again the moment that he grew bold. + </p> + <p> + And upward, accordingly, went the pilgrims of the Great Carbuncle, now + treading upon the tops and thickly-interwoven branches of dwarf pines, + which, by the growth of centuries, though mossy with age, had barely + reached three feet in altitude. Next, they came to masses and fragments of + naked rock heaped confusedly together, like a cairn reared by giants in + memory of a giant chief. In this bleak realm of upper air nothing + breathed, nothing grew; there was no life but what was concentrated in + their two hearts; they had climbed so high that Nature herself seemed no + longer to keep them company. She lingered beneath them, within the verge + of the forest trees, and sent a farewell glance after her children as they + strayed where her own green footprints had never been. But soon they were + to be hidden from her eye. Densely and dark the mists began to gather + below, casting black spots of shadow on the vast landscape, and sailing + heavily to one centre, as if the loftiest mountain peak had summoned a + council of its kindred clouds. Finally, the vapors welded themselves, as + it were, into a mass, presenting the appearance of a pavement over which + the wanderers might have trodden, but where they would vainly have sought + an avenue to the blessed earth which they had lost. And the lovers yearned + to behold that green earth again, more intensely, alas! than, beneath a + clouded sky, they had ever desired a glimpse of heaven. They even felt it + a relief to their desolation when the mists, creeping gradually up the + mountain, concealed its lonely peak, and thus annihilated, at least for + them, the whole region of visible space. But they drew closely together, + with a fond and melancholy gaze, dreading lest the universal cloud should + snatch them from each other’s sight. + </p> + <p> + Still, perhaps, they would have been resolute to climb as far and as high, + between earth and heaven, as they could find foothold, if Hannah’s + strength had not begun to fail, and with that, her courage also. Her + breath grew short. She refused to burden her husband with her weight, but + often tottered against his side, and recovered herself each time by a + feebler effort. At last, she sank down on one of the rocky steps of the + acclivity. + </p> + <p> + ‘We are lost, dear Matthew,’ said she, mournfully. ‘We shall never find + our way to the earth again. And oh how happy we might have been in our + cottage!’ + </p> + <p> + ‘Dear heart! we will yet be happy there,’ answered Matthew. ‘Look! In this + direction, the sunshine penetrates the dismal mist. By its aid, I can + direct our course to the passage of the Notch. Let us go back, love, and + dream no more of the Great Carbuncle!’ + </p> + <p> + ‘The sun cannot be yonder,’ said Hannah, with despondence. ‘By this time + it must be noon. If there could ever be any sunshine here, it would come + from above our heads.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘But look!’ repeated Matthew, in a somewhat altered tone. ‘It is + brightening every moment. If not sunshine, what can it be?’ + </p> + <p> + Nor could the young bride any longer deny that a radiance was breaking + through the mist, and changing its dim hue to a dusky red, which + continually grew more vivid, as if brilliant particles were interfused + with the gloom. Now, also, the cloud began to roll away from the mountain, + while, as it heavily withdrew, one object after another started out of its + impenetrable obscurity into sight, with precisely the effect of a new + creation, before the indistinctness of the old chaos had been completely + swallowed up. As the process went on, they saw the gleaming of water close + at their feet, and found themselves on the very border of a mountain lake, + deep, bright, clear, and calmly beautiful, spreading from brim to brim of + a basin that had been scooped out of the solid rock. A ray of glory + flashed across its surface. The pilgrims looked whence it should proceed, + but closed their eyes with a thrill of awful admiration, to exclude the + fervid splendor that glowed from the brow of a cliff impending over the + enchanted lake. For the simple pair had reached that lake of mystery, and + found the long-sought shrine of the Great Carbuncle! + </p> + <p> + They threw their arms around each other, and trembled at their own + success; for, as the legends of this wondrous gem rushed thick upon their + memory, they felt themselves marked out by fate and the consciousness was + fearful. Often, from childhood upward, they had seen it shining like a + distant star. And now that star was throwing its intensest lustre on their + hearts. They seemed changed to one another’s eyes, in the red brilliancy + that flamed upon their cheeks, while it lent the same fire to the lake, + the rocks, and sky, and to the mists which had rolled back before its + power. But, with their next glance, they beheld an object that drew their + attention even from the mighty stone. At the base of the cliff, directly + beneath the Great Carbuncle, appeared the figure of a man, with his arms + extended in the act of climbing, and his face turned upward, as if to + drink the full gush of splendor. But he stirred not, no more than if + changed to marble. + </p> + <p> + ‘It is the Seeker,’ whispered Hannah, convulsively grasping her husband’s + arm. ‘Matthew, he is dead.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘The joy of success has killed him,’ replied Matthew, trembling violently. + ‘Or, perhaps, the very light of the Great Carbuncle was death!’ + </p> + <p> + ‘The Great Carbuncle,’ cried a peevish voice behind them. ‘The Great + Humbug! If you have found it, prithee point it out to me.’ + </p> + <p> + They turned their heads, and there was the Cynic, with his prodigious + spectacles set carefully on his nose, staring now at the lake, now at the + rocks, now at the distant masses of vapor, now right at the Great + Carbuncle itself, yet seemingly as unconscious of its light as if all the + scattered clouds were condensed about his person. Though its radiance + actually threw the shadow of the unbeliever at his own feet, as he turned + his back upon the glorious jewel, he would not be convinced that there was + the least glimmer there. + </p> + <p> + ‘Where is your Great Humbug?’ he repeated. ‘I challenge you to make me see + it!’ + </p> + <p> + ‘There,’ said Matthew, incensed at such perverse blindness, and turning + the Cynic round towards the illuminated cliff. ‘Take off those abominable + spectacles, and you cannot help seeing it!’ + </p> + <p> + Now these colored spectacles probably darkened the Cynic’s sight, in at + least as great a degree as the smoked glasses through which people gaze at + an eclipse. With resolute bravado, however, he snatched them from his + nose, and fixed a bold stare full upon the ruddy blaze of the Great + Carbuncle. But scarcely had he encountered it, when, with a deep, + shuddering groan, he dropped his head, and pressed both hands across his + miserable eyes. Thenceforth there was, in very truth, no light of the + Great Carbuncle, nor any other light on earth, nor light of heaven itself, + for the poor Cynic. So long accustomed to View all objects through a + medium that deprived them of every glimpse of brightness, a single flash + of so glorious a phenomenon, striking upon his naked vision, had blinded + him forever. + </p> + <p> + ‘Matthew,’ said Hannah, clinging to him, ‘let us go hence!’ + </p> + <p> + Matthew saw that she was faint, and kneeling down, supported her in his + arms, while he threw some of the thrillingly cold water of the enchanted + lake upon her face and bosom. It revived her, but could not renovate her + courage. + </p> + <p> + ‘Yes, dearest!’ cried Matthew, pressing her tremulous form to his breast—‘we + will go hence, and return to our humble cottage. The blessed sunshine and + the quiet moonlight shall come through our window. We will kindle the + cheerful glow of our hearth, at eventide, and be happy in its light. But + never again will we desire more light than all the world may share with + us.’ + </p> + <p> + ‘No,’ said his bride, ‘for how could we live by day, or sleep by night, in + this awful blaze of the Great Carbuncle!’ + </p> + <p> + Out of the hollow of their hands, they drank each a draught from the lake, + which presented them its waters uncontaminated by an earthly lip. Then, + lending their guidance to the blinded Cynic, who uttered not a word, and + even stifled his groans in his own most wretched heart, they began to + descend the mountain. Yet, as they left the shore, till then untrodden, of + the spirit’s lake, they threw a farewell glance towards the cliff, and + beheld the vapors gathering in dense volumes, through which the gem burned + duskily. + </p> + <p> + As touching the other pilgrims of the Great Carbuncle, the legend goes on + to tell, that the worshipful Master Ichabod Pigsnort soon gave up the + quest as a desperate speculation, and wisely resolved to betake himself + again to his warehouse, near the town dock, in Boston. But, as he passed + through the Notch of the mountains, a war party of Indians captured our + unlucky merchant, and carried him to Montreal, there holding him in + bondage, till, by the payment of a heavy ransom, he had woefully + subtracted from his hoard of pine-tree shillings. By his long absence, + moreover, his affairs had become so disordered that, for the rest of his + life, instead of wallowing in silver, he had seldom a sixpence worth of + copper. Doctor Cacaphodel, the alchemist, returned to his laboratory with + a prodigious fragment of granite, which he ground to powder, dissolved in + acids, melted in the crucible, and burned with the blow-pipe, and + published the result of his experiments in one of the heaviest folios of + the day. And, for all these purposes, the gem itself could not have + answered better than the granite. The poet, by a somewhat similar mistake, + made prize of a great piece of ice, which he found in a sunless chasm of + the mountains, and swore that it corresponded, in all points, with his + idea of the Great Carbuncle. The critics say, that, if his poetry lacked + the splendor of the gem, it retained all the coldness of the ice. The Lord + de Vere went back to his ancestral hall, where he contented himself with a + wax-lighted chandelier, and filled, in due course of time, another coffin + in the ancestral vault. As the funeral torches gleamed within that dark + receptacle, there was no need of the Great Carbuncle to show the vanity of + earthly pomp. + </p> + <p> + The Cynic, having cast aside his spectacles, wandered about the world, a + miserable object, and was punished with an agonizing desire of light, for + the wilful blindness of his former life. The whole night long, he would + lift his splendor-blasted orbs to the moon and stars; he turned his face + eastward, at sunrise, as duly as a Persian idolater; he made a pilgrimage + to Rome, to witness the magnificent illumination of St. Peter’s Church; + and finally perished in the great fire of London, into the midst of which + he had thrust himself, with the desperate idea of catching one feeble ray + from the blaze that was kindling earth and heaven. + </p> + <p> + Matthew and his bride spent many peaceful years, and were fond of telling + the legend of the Great Carbuncle. The tale, however, towards the close of + their lengthened lives, did not meet with the full credence that had been + accorded to it by those who remembered the ancient lustre of the gem. For + it is affirmed that, from the hour when two mortals had shown themselves + so simply wise as to reject a jewel which would have dimmed all earthly + things, its splendor waned. When other pilgrims reached the cliff, they + found only an opaque stone, with particles of mica glittering on its + surface. There is also a tradition that, as the youthful pair departed, + the gem was loosened from the forehead of the cliff, and fell into the + enchanted lake, and that, at noontide, the Seeker’s form may still be seen + to bend over its quenchless gleam. + </p> + <p> + Some few believe that this inestimable stone is blazing as of old, and say + that they have caught its radiance, like a flash of summer lightning, far + down the valley of the Saco. And be it owned that, many a mile from the + Crystal Hills, I saw a wondrous light around their summits, and was lured, + by the faith of poesy, to be the latest pilgrim of the GREAT CARBUNCLE. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SKETCHES FROM MEMORY + </h2> + <h3> + THE NOTCH OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS + </h3> + <p> + IT was now the middle of September. We had come since sunrise from + Bartlett, passing up through the valley of the Saco, which extends between + mountainous walls, sometimes with a steep ascent, but often as level as a + church aisle. All that day and two preceding ones we had been loitering + towards the heart of the White Mountains—those old crystal hills, + whose mysterious brilliancy had gleamed upon our distant wanderings before + we thought of visiting them. Height after height had risen and towered one + above another till the clouds began to hang below the peaks. Down their + slopes were the red pathways of the slides, those avalanches of earth, + stones and trees, which descend into the hollows, leaving vestiges of + their track hardly to be effaced by the vegetation of ages. We had + mountains behind us and mountains on each side, and a group of mightier + ones ahead. Still our road went up along the Saco, right towards the + centre of that group, as if to climb above the clouds in its passage to + the farther region. + </p> + <p> + In old times the settlers used to be astounded by the inroads of the + northern Indians coming down upon them from this mountain rampart through + some defile known only to themselves. It is, indeed, a wondrous path. A + demon, it might be fancied, or one of the Titans, was travelling up the + valley, elbowing the heights carelessly aside as he passed, till at length + a great mountain took its stand directly across his intended road. He + tarries not for such an obstacle, but, rending it asunder a thousand feet + from peak to base, discloses its treasures of hidden minerals, its sunless + waters, all the secrets of the mountain’s inmost heart, with a mighty + fracture of rugged precipices on each side. This is the Notch of the White + Hills. Shame on me that I have attempted to describe it by so mean an + image—feeling, as I do, that it is one of those symbolic scenes + which lead the mind to the sentiment, though not to the conception, of + Omnipotence. + </p> + <p> + We had now reached a narrow passage, which showed almost the appearance of + having been cut by human strength and artifice in the solid rock. There + was a wall of granite on each side, high and precipitous, especially on + our right, and so smooth that a few evergreens could hardly find foothold + enough to grow there. This is the entrance, or, in the direction we were + going, the extremity, of the romantic defile of the Notch. Before emerging + from it, the rattling of wheels approached behind us, and a stage-coach + rumbled out of the mountain, with seats on top and trunks behind, and a + smart driver, in a drab greatcoat, touching the wheel horses with the + whipstock and reining in the leaders. To my mind there was a sort of + poetry in such an incident, hardly inferior to what would have accompanied + the painted array of an Indian war party gliding forth from the same wild + chasm. All the passengers, except a very fat lady on the back seat, had + alighted. One was a mineralogist, a scientific, green-spectacled figure in + black, bearing a heavy hammer, with which he did great damage to the + precipices, and put the fragments in his pocket. Another was a + well-dressed young man, who carried an opera glass set in gold, and seemed + to be making a quotation from some of Byron’s rhapsodies on mountain + scenery. There was also a trader, returning from Portland to the upper + part of Vermont; and a fair young girl, with a very faint bloom like one + of those pale and delicate flowers which sometimes occur among alpine + cliffs. + </p> + <p> + They disappeared, and we followed them, passing through a deep pine + forest, which for some miles allowed us to see nothing but its own dismal + shade. Towards nightfall we reached a level amphitheatre, surrounded by a + great rampart of hills, which shut out the sunshine long before it left + the external world. It was here that we obtained our first view, except at + a distance, of the principal group of mountains. They are majestic, and + even awful, when contemplated in a proper mood, yet, by their breadth of + base and the long ridges which support them, give the idea of immense bulk + rather than of towering height. Mount Washington, indeed, looked near to + heaven: he was white with snow a mile downward, and had caught the only + cloud that was sailing through the atmosphere to veil his head. Let us + forget the other names of American statesmen that have been stamped upon + these hills, but still call the loftiest Washington. Mountains are Earth’s + undecaying monuments. They must stand while she endures, and never should + be consecrated to the mere great men of their own age and country, but to + the mighty ones alone, whose glory is universal, and whom all time will + render illustrious. + </p> + <p> + The air, not often sultry in this elevated region, nearly two thousand + feet above the sea, was now sharp and cold, like that of a clear November + evening in the lowlands. By morning, probably, there would be a frost, if + not a snowfall, on the grass and rye, and an icy surface over the standing + water. I was glad to perceive a prospect of comfortable quarters in a + house which we were approaching, and of pleasant company in the guests who + were assembled at the door. + </p> + <p> + OUR EVENING PARTY AMONG THE MOUNTAINS We stood in front of a good + substantial farmhouse, of old date in that wild country. A sign over the + door denoted it to be the White Mountain Post Office—an + establishment which distributes letters and newspapers to perhaps a score + of persons, comprising the population of two or three townships among the + hills. The broad and weighty antlers of a deer, ‘a stag of ten,’ were + fastened at the corner of the house; a fox’s bushy tail was nailed beneath + them; and a huge black paw lay on the ground, newly severed and still + bleeding the trophy of a bear hunt. Among several persons collected about + the doorsteps, the most remarkable was a sturdy mountaineer, of six feet + two and corresponding bulk, with a heavy set of features, such as might be + moulded on his own blacksmith’s anvil, but yet indicative of mother wit + and rough humor. As we appeared, he uplifted a tin trumpet, four or five + feet long, and blew a tremendous blast, either in honor of our arrival or + to awaken an echo from the opposite hill. + </p> + <p> + Ethan Crawford’s guests were of such a motley description as to form quite + a picturesque group, seldom seen together except at some place like this, + at once the pleasure house of fashionable tourists and the homely inn of + country travellers. Among the company at the door were the mineralogist + and the owner of the gold opera glass whom we had encountered in the + Notch; two Georgian gentlemen, who had chilled their southern blood that + morning on the top of Mount Washington; a physician and his wife from + Conway; a trader of Burlington, and an old squire of the Green Mountains; + and two young married couples, all the way from Massachusetts, on the + matrimonial jaunt, Besides these strangers, the rugged county of Coos, in + which we were, was represented by half a dozen wood-cutters, who had slain + a bear in the forest and smitten off his paw. + </p> + <p> + I had joined the party, and had a moment’s leisure to examine them before + the echo of Ethan’s blast returned from the hill. Not one, but many echoes + had caught up the harsh and tuneless sound, untwisted its complicated + threads, and found a thousand aerial harmonies in one stern trumpet tone. + It was a distinct yet distant and dreamlike symphony of melodious + instruments, as if an airy band had been hidden on the hillside and made + faint music at the summons. No subsequent trial produced so clear, + delicate, and spiritual a concert as the first. A field-piece was then + discharged from the top of a neighboring hill, and gave birth to one long + reverberation, which ran round the circle of mountains in an unbroken + chain of sound and rolled away without a separate echo. After these + experiments, the cold atmosphere drove us all into the house, with the + keenest appetites for supper. + </p> + <p> + It did one’s heart good to see the great fires that were kindled in the + parlor and bar-room, especially the latter, where the fireplace was built + of rough stone, and might have contained the trunk of an old tree for a + backlog. A man keeps a comfortable hearth when his own forest is at his + very door. In the parlor, when the evening was fairly set in, we held our + hands before our eyes to shield them from the ruddy glow, and began a + pleasant variety of conversation. The mineralogist and the physician + talked about the invigorating qualities of the mountain air, and its + excellent effect on Ethan Crawford’s father, an old man of seventy-five, + with the unbroken frame of middle life. The two brides and the doctor’s + wife held a whispered discussion, which, by their frequent titterings and + a blush or two, seemed to have reference to the trials or enjoyments of + the matrimonial state. The bridegrooms sat together in a corner, rigidly + silent, like Quakers whom the spirit moveth not, being still in the odd + predicament of bashfulness towards their own young wives. The Green + Mountain squire chose me for his companion, and described the difficulties + he had met with half a century ago in travelling from the Connecticut + River through the Notch to Conway, now a single day’s journey, though it + had cost him eighteen. The Georgians held the album between them, and + favored us with the few specimens of its contents which they considered + ridiculous enough to be worth hearing. One extract met with deserved + applause. It was a ‘Sonnet to the Snow on Mount Washington,’ and had been + contributed that very afternoon, bearing a signature of great distinction + in magazines and annals. The lines were elegant and full of fancy, but too + remote from familiar sentiment, and cold as their subject, resembling + those curious specimens of crystallized vapor which I observed next day on + the mountain top. The poet was understood to be the young gentleman of the + gold opera glass, who heard our laudatory remarks with the composure of a + veteran. + </p> + <p> + Such was our party, and such their ways of amusement. But on a winter + evening another set of guests assembled at the hearth where these summer + travellers were now sitting. I once had it in contemplation to spend a + month hereabouts, in sleighing time, for the sake of studying the yeomen + of New England, who then elbow each other through the Notch by hundreds, + on their way to Portland. There could be no better school for such a place + than Ethan Crawford’s inn. Let the student go thither in December, sit + down with the teamsters at their meals, share their evening merriment, and + repose with them at night when every bed has its three occupants, and + parlor, barroom, and kitchen are strewn with slumberers around the fire. + Then let him rise before daylight, button his greatcoat, muffle up his + ears, and stride with the departing caravan a mile or two, to see how + sturdily they make head against the blast. A treasure of characteristic + traits will repay all inconveniences, even should a frozen nose be of the + number. + </p> + <p> + The conversation of our party soon became more animated and sincere, and + we recounted some traditions of the Indians, who believed that the father + and mother of their race were saved from a deluge by ascending the peak of + Mount Washington. The children of that pair have been overwhelmed, and + found no such refuge. In the mythology of the savage, these mountains were + afterwards considered sacred and inaccessible, full of unearthly wonders, + illuminated at lofty heights by the blaze of precious stones, and + inhabited by deities, who sometimes shrouded themselves in the snowstorm + and came down on the lower world. There are few legends more poetical than + that of the’ Great Carbuncle’ of the White Mountains. The belief was + communicated to the English settlers, and is hardly yet extinct, that a + gem, of such immense size as to be seen shining miles away, hangs from a + rock over a clear, deep lake, high up among the hills. They who had once + beheld its splendor were inthralled with an unutterable yearning to + possess it. But a spirit guarded that inestimable jewel, and bewildered + the adventurer with a dark mist from the enchanted lake. Thus life was + worn away in the vain search for an unearthly treasure, till at length the + deluded one went up the mountain, still sanguine as in youth, but returned + no more. On this theme methinks I could frame a tale with a deep moral. + </p> + <p> + The hearts of the palefaces would not thrill to these superstitions of the + red men, though we spoke of them in the centre of the haunted region. The + habits and sentiments of that departed people were too distinct from those + of their successors to find much real sympathy. It has often been a matter + of regret to me that I was shut out from the most peculiar field of + American fiction by an inability to see any romance, or poetry, or + grandeur, or beauty in the Indian character, at least till such traits + were pointed out by others. I do abhor an Indian story. Yet no writer can + be more secure of a permanent place in our literature than the biographer + of the Indian chiefs. His subject, as referring to tribes which have + mostly vanished from the earth, gives him a right to be placed on a + classic shelf, apart from the merits which will sustain him there. + </p> + <p> + I made inquiries whether, in his researches about these parts, our + mineralogist had found the three ‘Silver Hills’ which an Indian sachem + sold to an Englishman nearly two hundred years ago, and the treasure of + which the posterity of the purchaser have been looking for ever since. But + the man of science had ransacked every hill along the Saco, and knew + nothing of these prodigious piles of wealth. By this time, as usual with + men on the eve of great adventure, we had prolonged our session deep into + the night, considering how early we were to set out on our six miles’ ride + to the foot of Mount Washington. There was now a general breaking up. I + scrutinized the faces of the two bridegrooms, and saw but little + probability of their leaving the bosom of earthly bliss, in the first week + of the honeymoon and at the frosty hour of three, to climb above the + clouds; nor when I felt how sharp the wind was as it rushed through a + broken pane and eddied between the chinks of my unplastered chamber, did I + anticipate much alacrity on my own part, though we were to seek for the + ‘Great Carbuncle.’ + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s The Great Stone Face, by Nathaniel Hawthorne + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT STONE FACE *** + +***** This file should be named 1916-h.htm or 1916-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/1/1916/ + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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