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diff --git a/23405.txt b/23405.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..49cbc32 --- /dev/null +++ b/23405.txt @@ -0,0 +1,14408 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 7, by +Charles H. Sylvester + +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: Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 7 + +Author: Charles H. Sylvester + +Release Date: November 7, 2007 [EBook #23405] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOURNEYS THROUGH BOOKLAND, VOL. 7 *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Julia Miller, and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +Transcriber's Note + +Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. A list of changes is +found at the end of the book. Oe ligatures have been expanded. + + + + +[Illustration: THE CANOE RACE] + + + + + Journeys + Through Bookland + + + A NEW AND ORIGINAL + PLAN FOR READING APPLIED TO THE + WORLD'S BEST LITERATURE + FOR CHILDREN + + _BY_ + CHARLES H. SYLVESTER + _Author of English and American Literature_ + + + VOLUME SEVEN + _New Edition_ + + [Illustration] + + Chicago + BELLOWS-REEVE COMPANY + PUBLISHERS + + + + + Copyright, 1922 + BELLOWS-REEVE COMPANY + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + THE DAFFODILS _William Wordsworth_ 1 + TO THE FRINGED GENTIAN _William Cullen Bryant_ 4 + TO A MOUSE _Robert Burns_ 5 + TO A MOUNTAIN DAISY _Robert Burns_ 8 + THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET _Samuel Wordsworth_ 11 + BANNOCKBURN _Robert Burns_ 15 + BOAT SONG _Sir Walter Scott_ 17 + THE GOVERNOR AND THE NOTARY _Washington Irving_ 20 + THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER _Samuel T. Coleridge_ 29 + THE BLACK HAWK TRAGEDY _Edwin D. Coe_ 58 + THE PETRIFIED FERN _Mary Bolles Branch_ 77 + AN EXCITING CANOE RACE _J. Fenimore Cooper_ 79 + THE BUFFALO _Francis Parkman_ 96 + THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE _Alfred Tennyson_ 147 + FOR A' THAT AND A' THAT _Robert Burns_ 149 + BREATHES THERE THE MAN _Sir Walter Scott_ 151 + HOW SLEEP THE BRAVE _William Collins_ 151 + QUEEN VICTORIA _Anna McCaleb_ 152 + THE RECESSIONAL _Rudyard Kipling_ 164 + THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER _Francis Scott Key_ 167 + HOW'S MY BOY? _Sydney Dobell_ 169 + THE SOLDIER'S DREAM _Thomas Campbell_ 170 + MAKE WAY FOR LIBERTY _James Montgomery_ 172 + THE OLD CONTINENTALS _Guy Humphreys McMaster_ 175 + THE PICKET-GUARD _Mrs. Ethel Lynn Beers_ 177 + MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME _Stephen Collins Foster_ 179 + THE FORSAKEN MERMAN _Matthew Arnold_ 180 + TOM AND MAGGIE TULLIVER _George Eliot_ 186 + A GORILLA HUNT _Paul du Chaillu_ 247 + THE CLOUD _Percy Bysshe Shelley_ 257 + BRUTE NEIGHBORS _Henry David Thoreau_ 260 + ODE TO A SKYLARK _Percy Bysshe Shelley_ 275 + THE POND IN WINTER _Henry David Thoreau_ 280 + SALMON FISHING _Rudyard Kipling_ 285 + WINTER ANIMALS _Henry David Thoreau_ 293 + TREES AND ANTS THAT HELP EACH OTHER _Thomas Belt_ 306 + THE FAMILY OF MICHAEL AROUT _Emile Souvestre_ 314 + ON THE RECEIPT OF MY MOTHER'S PICTURE _William Cowper_ 331 + THOSE EVENING BELLS _Thomas Moore_ 340 + ANNABEL LEE _Edgar Allan Poe_ 341 + THE THREE FISHERS _Charles Kingsley_ 343 + THE REAPER'S DREAM _Thomas Buchanan Read_ 345 + THE RECOVERY OF THE HISPANIOLA _Robert Louis Stevenson_ 352 + JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER _Grace E. Sellon_ 381 + WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT 391 + TO A WATERFOWL _William Cullen Bryant_ 395 + OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES _Grace E. Sellon_ 398 + THE CUBES OF TRUTH _Oliver Wendell Holmes_ 406 + THE LOST CHILD _James Russell Lowell_ 409 + JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL _Grace E. Sellon_ 411 + A CHILD'S THOUGHT OF GOD _Elizabeth Barrett Browning_ 418 + ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING 419 + DON QUIXOTE _Cervantes_ 431 + + PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES 487 + +For Classification of Selections, see General Index, at end of Volume X + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + PAGE + THE CANOE RACE (Color Plate) _R. F. Babcock_ FRONTISPIECE + A HOST OF GOLDEN DAFFODILS _Albert H. Winkler_ 2 + THE FRINGED GENTIAN _G. H. Mitchell_ 4 + THOU NEED NA START AWA _Albert H. Winkler_ 6 + ROBERT BURNS (Halftone) 8 + THOU BONNY GEM _Albert H. Winkler_ 9 + INCLINED TO MY LIPS _Herbert N. Rudeen_ 12 + THE NOTARY ENTERS THE CARRIAGE _R. F. Babcock_ 26 + HE CANNOT CHOOSE BUT HEAR (Heading) _Donn P. Crane_ 29 + I SHOT THE ALBATROSS _Donn P. Crane_ 33 + AND STRAIGHT THE SUN WAS FLECKED WITH BARS _Donn P. Crane_ 38 + I WATCHED THE WATER-SNAKES _Donn P. Crane_ 42 + THEY GROANED, THEY STIRRED, THEY ALL UPROSE _Donn P. Crane_ 45 + SLOWLY AND SMOOTHLY WENT THE SKIP (Color Plate) _Donn P. Crane_ 48 + "O SHRIEVE ME, SHRIEVE ME, HOLY MAN" _Donn P. Crane_ 55 + I PASS FROM LAND TO LAND (Ending) _Donn P. Crane_ 57 + BLACK HAWK AND THE TWO RUFFIANS _R. F. Babcock_ 63 + THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN CROSSED THE RIVER _R. F. Babcock_ 71 + HAWKEYE ON THE TRAIL _R. F. Babcock_ 80 + JAMES FENIMORE COOPER (Halftone) 82 + HAWKEYE _R. F. Babcock_ 85 + GRADUALLY I CAME ABREAST OF HIM _R. F. Babcock_ 106 + ONE VAST HOST OF BUFFALO _R. F. Babcock_ 125 + ON DUNE AND HEADLAND _G. H. Mitchell_ 165 + THE LITTLE GRAY CHURCH ON THE WINDY HILL _Walter O. Reese_ 181 + "TOM'S COMING HOME!" _Herbert N. Rudeen_ 188 + "OH, HE IS CRUEL" _Herbert N. Rudeen_ 199 + "IS IT THE TIPSY CAKE, THEN?" _Herbert N. Rudeen_ 206 + "HERE, LUCY!" _Herbert N. Rudeen_ 224 + "AH, YOU'RE FONDEST O' ME, AREN'T YOU?" _Herbert N. Rudeen_ 243 + GORILLA WITH HER YOUNG _Herbert N. Rudeen_ 251 + THE BATTLE OF THE ANTS _Herbert N. Rudeen_ 265 + WATCHING FOR THE LOON _R. F. Babcock_ 272 + THE SKYLARK _R. F. Babcock_ 276 + KNEELING TO DRINK _R. F. Babcock_ 281 + SALMON FISHING (Color Plate) _R. F. Babcock_ 286 + THE RED SQUIRREL STEALING CORN _R. F. Babcock_ 296 + "HOW MUCH DO WE OWE YOU?" _Herbert N. Rudeen_ 320 + MICHAEL IS COME BACK _Herbert N. Rudeen_ 326 + "MY MOTHER!" _Iris Weddell White_ 336 + IN HER SEPULCHRE THERE BY THE SEA _Donn P. Crane_ 342 + THE NIGHT RACK CAME ROLLING UP _G. H. Mitchell_ 344 + THE CRESCENT MOON WENT BY _G. H. Mitchell_ 347 + I LOOKED INTO THE CABIN _R. F. Babcock_ 354 + WHITTIER'S BIRTHPLACE (Color Plate) 382 + JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER (Halftone) 386 + WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT (Halftone) 392 + THY FIGURE FLOATS ALONG _Jerome Rozen_ 396 + OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES (Halftone) 398 + DOWN THE SUNNY GLADE _Walter O. Reese_ 409 + JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL (Halftone) 412 + ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING (Halftone) 420 + DON QUIXOTE (Heading) _Donn P. Crane_ 431 + DON QUIXOTE TILTS WITH THE WINDMILLS _Donn P. Crane_ 439 + "DEFEND THYSELF, MISERABLE BEING!" _Donn P. Crane_ 444 + THE LION PUT HIS HEAD OUT OF THE CAGE _Donn P. Crane_ 455 + SANCHO FELL ON HIS KNEES _Donn P. Crane_ 464 + THE HORSE BLEW UP, WITH A PRODIGIOUS NOISE _Donn P. Crane_ 475 + + + + +THE DAFFODILS + +_By_ WILLIAM WORDSWORTH + + + I wandered lonely as a cloud + That floats on high o'er vales and hills, + When all at once I saw a crowd,-- + A host of golden daffodils + Beside the lake, beneath the trees, + Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. + + Continuous as the stars that shine + And twinkle on the Milky Way, + They stretched in never-ending line + Along the margin of a bay: + Ten thousand saw I, at a glance, + Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. + + The waves beside them danced, but they + Outdid the sparkling waves in glee; + A poet could not but be gay + In such a jocund company; + I gazed--and gazed--but little thought + What wealth the show to me had brought. + + For oft, when on my couch I lie, + In vacant or in pensive mood, + They flash upon that inward eye + Which is the bliss of solitude; + And then my heart with pleasure fills, + And dances with the daffodils. + +[Illustration: A HOST OF GOLDEN DAFFODILS] + + When we look at this little poem we see at a glance that the + stanzas are all the same length, that the rhyme scheme is _ababcc_ + (see "To My Infant Son," Vol. VI), and that the indentation at the + beginning of the lines corresponds with the rhymes. This poem, + then, is perfectly regular in form. + + There are other things, however, which go to make up perfect + structure in a poem. First and foremost, the words are so arranged + that the accented syllables in any given line come at regular + intervals. Take, for instance, the first two lines of this poem. + Each line contains eight syllables. If you number these syllables + 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, you will see that it is the second one each + time that bears the accent, thus: + + I wan'dered lone'ly as' a cloud' + That floats' on high' o'er vales' and hills'. + + Now, if you read the four remaining lines of the stanza you will + see that in each one of these the second syllable bears the + accent, until you come to the last line, where in the word + _fluttering_, which, by the way, you pronounce _flutt'ring_, the + accent is on the first syllable. If the poet did not now and then + change the accent a little it would become tedious and monotonous. + + It is a very simple matter, you see, to separate every line of + poetry into groups of syllables, and in every group to place one + accented syllable and one or more syllables that are not accented. + Such a group is called a _foot_. Thus in each of the first two + lines in this poem there are four _feet_. Each _foot_ contains an + accented and an unaccented syllable. + + If you examine _To the Fringed Gentian_, _To a Mouse_, and _To a + Mountain Daisy_, the three poems which follow this, you will see + the same structure, except that in _To a Mouse_ and in _To A + Mountain Daisy_ there are some short lines and some double rhymes, + making the last foot a little different in character from the + others. + + When a line of poetry is composed of two-syllable feet in which the + second syllable bears the accent we call that meter _iambic_. It is + the prevalent foot in English poetry, and if you examine the + different poems in these volumes you will be surprised to find out + how many of them are written substantially on the plan of _The + Daffodils_. + + In naming the meter of a poem two things are considered: First the + _character_ of the feet, and second, the _number_ of feet. In this + poem the feet are iambic and there are four of them, consequently + we name the meter of this poem _iambic tetrameter_. Whenever you + hear those words you think of a poem whose meter is exactly like + that of _The Daffodils_. + + These words seem long and hard to remember. It may help you to + remember them if you think that the word _iam'bic_ contains an + iambic foot. + + In naming the meter we use the Greek numerals--_mono_ (one), _di_ + (two), _tri_ (three), _tetra_ (four), _penta_ (five), _hexa_ (six), + _hepta_ (seven), and _octa_ (eight), and add to them the word + _meter_, thus: _Mo-nom'e-ter_, a line containing one foot, + _dim'e-ter_, _trim'e-ter_, _te-tram'e-ter_, _pen-tam'e-ter_, + _hex-am'e-ter_, _hep-tam'e-ter_, _and oc-tam'e-ter_. + + + + +TO THE FRINGED GENTIAN + +_By_ WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT + + + Thou blossom, bright with autumn dew, + And colored with the heaven's own blue, + That openest when the quiet light + Succeeds the keen and frosty night; + +[Illustration] + + Thou comest not when violets lean + O'er wandering brooks and springs unseen, + Or columbines, in purple dressed, + Nod o'er the ground-bird's hidden nest. + + Thou waitest late, and com'st alone, + When woods are bare and birds are flown, + And frosts and shortening days portend + The aged Year is near his end. + + Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye + Look through its fringes to the sky, + Blue--blue--as if that sky let fall + A flower from its cerulean wall. + + I would that thus, when I shall see + The hour of death draw near to me, + Hope, blossoming within my heart, + May look to heaven as I depart. + + + + +TO A MOUSE + +ON TURNING HER UP IN HER NEST WITH THE PLOW, NOVEMBER, 1785 + +_By_ ROBERT BURNS + + + Wee, sleekit,[5-1] cow'rin', tim'rous beastie, + O, what a panic's in thy breastie! + Thou need na start awa sae hasty, + Wi' bickering brattle![5-2] + I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee, + Wi' murdering pattle![5-3] + + I'm truly sorry man's dominion + Has broken Nature's social union, + An' justifies that ill opinion + Which makes thee startle + At me, thy poor earth-born companion, + An' fellow-mortal! + + I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve; + What then? poor beastie, thou maun live! + A daimen-icker[6-4] in a thrave[6-5] + 'S a sma' request: + I'll get a blessin' wi' the lave[6-6] + And never miss't! + +[Illustration: THOU NEED NA START AWA] + + Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin! + Its silly wa's the win's are strewin'! + An' naething, now, to big a new ane, + O' foggage[7-7] green! + An' bleak December's winds ensuin', + Baith snell[7-8] and keen! + + Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste, + And weary winter comin' fast, + And cozie, here, beneath the blast, + Thou thought to dwell, + Till crash! the cruel coulter[7-9] past + Out thro' thy cell. + + That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble, + Has cost thee mony a weary nibble! + Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble, + But house or hald,[7-10] + To thole[7-11] the winter's sleety dribble, + An' cranreuch[7-12] cauld! + + But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,[7-13] + In proving foresight may be vain; + The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, + Gang aft a-gley,[7-14] + An' lea'e us nought but grief and pain, + For promis'd joy. + + Still them are blest, compar'd wi' me! + The present only toucheth thee: + But, Och! I backward cast my e'e + On prospects drear; + An' forward, tho' I canna see,[8-15] + I guess an' fear. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[5-1] _Sleekit_ means _sly_. + +[5-2] _Brattle_ means a short race. + +[5-3] A _pattle_ is a scraper for cleaning a plow. + +[6-4] _Daimen-icker_ means an ear of corn occasionally. + +[6-5] A _thrave_ is twenty-four sheaves. + +[6-6] _Lave_ is the Scotch word for _remainder_. + +[7-7] _Foggage_ is coarse uncut grass. + +[7-8] _Snell_ means _sharp_. + +[7-9] The coulter is the sharp iron which cuts the sod before the plow. + +[7-10] _Hald_ means a resting place. _But_ here means _without_. + +[7-11] _Thole_ is the Scotch word for _endure_. + +[7-12] _Cranreuch_ is hoar-frost. + +[7-13] _No thy lane_ means _not alone_. + +[7-14] _Gang aft a-gley_ means _often go wrong_. + +[8-15] In this poem and the one _To a Mountain Daisy_, does the allusion +to the poet's own hard fate add to or detract from the beauty of the +composition? Do these allusions give any insight into his character? +What was always uppermost in his mind? + + +[Illustration: ROBERT BURNS +1759-1796] + + + + +TO A MOUNTAIN DAISY + +ON TURNING ONE DOWN WITH THE PLOUGH IN APRIL, 1786 + +_By_ ROBERT BURNS + + + Wee, modest, crimson-tipped flower, + Thou's met me in an evil hour, + For I maun[8-1] crush amang the stoure[8-2] + Thy slender stem; + To spare thee now is past my power, + Thou bonny gem. + + Alas! it's no thy neibor sweet, + The bonny lark, companion meet, + Bending thee' mang the dewy weet, + Wi' spreckled[8-3] breast, + When upward springing, blithe, to greet + The purpling east. + + Cauld blew the bitter biting north + Upon thy early, humble birth; + Yet cheerfully thou glinted forth + Amid the storm, + Scarce reared above the parent earth + Thy tender form. + +[Illustration: THOU BONNY GEM] + + The flaunting flowers our gardens yield, + High sheltering woods and wa's maun shield. + But thou beneath the random bield[9-4] + O' clod or stane, + Adorns the histie[9-5] stibble-field, + Unseen, alane. + + There, in thy scanty mantle clad, + Thy snawie bosom sunward spread, + Thou lifts thy unassuming head + In humble guise; + But now the share uptears thy bed, + And low thou lies! + + Such is the fate of artless maid, + Sweet floweret of the rural shade! + By love's simplicity betrayed, + And guileless trust, + Till she, like thee, all soiled, is laid + Low i' the dust. + + Such is the fate of simple bard, + On life's rough ocean luckless starred! + Unskilful he to note the card + Of prudent lore, + Till billows rage, and gales blow hard + And whelm him o'er! + + Such fate to suffering worth is given, + Who long with wants and woes has striven, + By human pride or cunning driven + To misery's brink, + Till wrenched of every stay but Heaven, + He, ruined, sink! + + Even thou who mourn'st the daisy's fate, + That fate is thine,--no distant date: + Stern Ruin's ploughshare drives, elate, + Full on thy bloom, + Till crushed beneath the furrow's weight, + Shall be thy doom! + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[8-1] _Maun_ is the Scotch word for _must_. + +[8-2] _Stoure_ is the Scotch name for dust. + +[8-3] _Spreckled_ is the Scotch and provincial English form of +_speckled_. + +[9-4] _Bield_ means _shelter_. + +[9-5] _Histie_ means _dry_ or _barren_. + + + + +THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET[11-1] + +_By_ SAMUEL WOODWORTH + + + How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood, + When fond[11-2] recollection presents them to view; + The orchard, the meadow, the deep, tangled wild-wood, + And every loved spot that my infancy[11-3] knew. + The wide-spreading pond, and the mill[11-4] that stood by it; + The bridge and the rock where the cataract fell; + The cot of my father, the dairy house[11-5] nigh it, + And e'en the rude bucket which hung in the well-- + The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, + The moss-covered bucket which hung in the well. + + That moss-covered bucket I hail as a treasure; + For often at noon, when returned from the field, + I found it the source of an exquisite pleasure, + The purest and sweetest that nature can yield. + How ardent I seized it, with hands that were glowing, + And quick to the white-pebbled bottom it fell[12-6]; + Then soon with the emblem of truth[12-7] overflowing, + And dripping with coolness it rose from the well-- + The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, + The moss-covered bucket arose from the well. + +[Illustration: INCLINED TO MY LIPS] + + How sweet from the green mossy brim to receive it, + As poised on the curb,[12-8] it inclined to my lips! + Not a full blushing goblet[13-9] could tempt me to leave it, + Though filled with the nectar[13-10] that Jupiter sips. + And now, far removed from the loved situation,[13-11] + The tear of regret will oftentimes swell, + As fancy returns to my father's plantation, + And sighs for the bucket which hangs in the well-- + The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, + The moss-covered bucket which hangs in the well. + + + If we compare _The Old Oaken Bucket_ with _The Daffodils_ (page 1), + we will see that the lines of the former are longer, and when we + read aloud a few lines from the one and compare the other, we see + that the movement is very different. In _The Old Oaken Bucket_ the + accents are farther apart, and the result is to make the movement + long and smooth, like that of a swing with long ropes. + + Let us examine more closely the lines of _The Old Oaken Bucket_ in + a manner similar to that suggested on page 2, for _The Daffodils_. + If we place the accent on the proper syllables in the first four + lines, they will read as follows: + + How dear'| to my heart'| are the scenes'| of my child'|hood, + When fond'| rec-ol-lec'|tion pre-sents'| them to view'; + The or'|chard, the mead'|ow, the deep'| tan-gled wild'|-wood, + And ev'|'ry loved spot'| that my in'|fan-cy knew.' + + The vertical lines above are drawn at the ends of the feet. How + many feet are there in the first line; how many in the second; how + many in the third; how many in the fourth? How many syllables in + the first foot in the first line? How many other feet do you find + containing the same number of syllables? How many syllables are + there in the second foot in the first line? How many other feet are + there containing the same number of syllables? Examine the feet + that contain three syllables. On which syllable is the accent + placed when there are three syllables in the foot? A poetic foot of + three syllables which bears the accent on the third syllable is + called an _anapestic_ foot. The meter of this poem, then is + _anapestic tetrameter_, varied by an added syllable in most of the + odd-numbered lines and by an iambic foot at the beginning of each + line. + + Can you find any other poem in this volume in which the meter is + the same? Can you find such poems in other volumes? + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[11-1] Samuel Woodworth, the author of this familiar song, was an +American, the editor of many publications and the writer of a great many +poems; but no one of the latter is now remembered, except _The Old Oaken +Bucket_. + +[11-2] This means that the author remembers fondly the scenes of his +childhood, or remembers the things of which he was fond in his +childhood. + +[11-3] As the term is used in the law-books, a person is an _infant_ +until he is twenty-one years of age; though, probably the word _infancy_ +here means the same as _childhood_. + +[11-4] Let us picture a large mill-pond with a race running out of one +side of it past the old-fashioned mill, which has a big wooden water +wheel on the outside of it. + +[11-5] The dairy house was probably a low, broad building through which +the water from the stream ran. The milkpans were set on low shelves or +in a trough so that the water could run around them and keep the milk +cool. + +[12-6] If he could see the white-pebbled bottom of the well, it must +have been a shallow one, or perhaps merely a square box built around a +deep spring. + +[12-7] Water is usually spoken of as an emblem of _purity_, not of +_truth_; but sometimes truth is spoken of as hiding at the bottom of a +well. + +[12-8] The curb is the square box usually built around the mouth of the +well to a height of a few feet, to protect the water from dirt. +Sometimes three of the sides are carried up to a height of six or eight +feet, and a roof is built over the whole, making a little house of the +curb. The fourth side is left open, except for two or three feet at the +bottom. In these old wells two buckets were often used. They were +attached to a rope which ran over a wheel suspended from the roof of the +well house. When a bucket was drawn up it was often rested on the low +curb in front, while people drank from it. + +[13-9] _Blushing goblet_ alludes to wine or some other liquor that has a +reddish color. + +[13-10] Nectar was the drink of the old Greek gods, of whom Jupiter was +the chief. + +[13-11] _Situation_ and _plantation_ do not rhyme well, and _situation_ +is scarcely the right word to use. _Location_ would be better, so far as +the meaning is concerned. + + +[Illustration] + + + + +BANNOCKBURN + +ROBERT BRUCE'S ADDRESS TO HIS ARMY + +_By_ ROBERT BURNS + + + Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled; + Scots, wham Bruce has aften led; + Welcome to your gory bed, + Or to glorious victorie! + + Now's the day and now's the hour-- + See the front o' battle lour; + See approach proud Edward's power-- + Edward! chains and slaverie! + + Wha will be a traitor knave? + Wha can fill a coward's grave? + Wha sae base as be a slave? + Traitor! coward! turn and flee! + + Wha for Scotland's king and law + Freedom's sword will strongly draw! + Freeman stand or freeman fa', + Caledonian! on wi' me! + + By oppression's woes and pains! + By our sons in servile chains! + We will drain our dearest veins, + But they shall be--shall be free! + + Lay the proud usurpers low! + Tyrants fall in every foe! + Liberty's in every blow! + Forward! let us do or die! + + + On pages 2, and 13, of this volume we talked about the different + meters in which poetry is written. In iambic poetry each foot + contains two syllables, the second of which is accented. There is + another kind of foot composed of two syllables. In this the accent + falls on the first syllable. _Bannockburn_ gives examples of this. + To illustrate, we will rewrite the first stanza, using the words in + their English form, and mark off the feet and the accent: + + Scots', who | have' with | Wal'-lace | bled', + Scots', whom | Bruce' has | of'-ten | led'; + Wel'-come | to' your | go'-ry | bed', + Or' to | glo'rious | vic'-to | ry'. + + Each one of these lines ends with an accented syllable, but that + may be disregarded in studying the feet. This foot is called the + _trochee_, and it will help you to remember it if you will think + that the word _tro'chee_ has two syllables and is accented on the + first. This poem, then, is in _trochaic trimeter_, with added + accented syllables at the ends of the lines. Read the other stanzas + carefully, throwing the accent prominently on the first syllable of + each foot. + + When you read to bring out the meter of a poem you are said to be + _scanning_ it. When you are in the habit of scanning poetry you + will find that you can do it very nicely and without spoiling the + sound. At first you will probably accent the syllables too + strongly, and then people will say that you are reading in a + _sing-song_ way, a thing to be avoided. Of course you will + understand that the only way to bring out the meter of a poem is to + read it aloud, but after you have become familiar with the various + meters and have read aloud a great deal, you will be conscious of + the rhythm when you read to yourself. It is this consciousness of + rhythm that gives much of the enjoyment to those who love poetry, + even when they do not read it aloud. + + + + +BOAT SONG + +_From_ LADY OF THE LAKE + +_By_ SIR WALTER SCOTT + + + Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances! + Honored and blest be the evergreen pine! + Long may the tree, in his banner that glances, + Flourish, the shelter and grace of our line! + Heaven send it happy dew, + Earth lend it sap anew, + Gayly to bourgeon, and broadly to grow, + While every Highland glen + Sends our shout back again, + "Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!" + + Ours is no sapling, chance sown by the fountain, + Blooming at Beltane, in winter to fade; + When the whirlwind has stripped every leaf on the mountain + The more shall Clan Alpine exult in her shade. + Moored in the rifted rock, + Proof to the tempest's shock, + Firmer he roots him the ruder it blow: + Menteith and Breadalbane, then + Echo his praise again, + "Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!" + + Proudly our pibroch has thrilled in Glen Fruin, + And Bannochar's groans to our slogan replied; + Glen Luss and Ross-dhu, they are smoking in ruin, + And the best of Loch-Lomond lie dead on her side. + Widow and Saxon maid + Long shall lament our raid, + Think of Clan Alpine with fear and with woe; + Lennox and Leven-glen + Shake when they hear again, + "Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!" + + Row, vassals, row for the pride of the Highlands! + Stretch to your oars for the evergreen pine! + O that the rosebud that graces yon islands + Were wreathed in a garland around him to twine! + O that some seedling gem, + Worthy such noble stem, + Honored and blessed in their shadow might grow! + Loud should Clan Alpine then + Ring from her deepmost glen, + "Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!" + + + The last of the common feet which we shall have to consider in + reading English poetry is called _dactyl_. This foot consists of + three syllables, the first of which is accented. Scott's _Boat + Song_ is a very fine example of _dactylic tetrameter_, in which the + last foot consists either of a _trochee_ (see page 16) or of a + single accented syllable. In every stanza there are four short + lines of _dactylic dimeter_. Study the four lines which we have + divided for you below: + + Hail' to the | chief' who in | tri'umph ad|van'ces! + Hon'ored and | blest' be the | ev'er green | pine!' + Long' may the | tree', in his | ban'ner that | glan'ces, + Flou'rish, the | shel'ter and | grace' of our | line.' + + This is one of the finest meters in which poetry may be written, + and one which you will learn to recognize and like whenever you see + it. + + To assist you in remembering what we have said on this subject in + the four poems we have studied, we will give this brief outline: + + Poetic feet + + 1. Consisting of two syllables: + _Iambic_, when the second syllable is accented. + Example: I wan'|dered lone|ly as'| a cloud'. + _Trochaic_, when the first syllable is accented. + Example: Scots', who | have' with | Wal'lace | bled'. + + 2. Consisting of three syllables: + _Anapestic_, when the third syllable is accented. + Example: How dear' | to my heart' | are the scenes' | of my + child'|hood. + _Dactylic_, when the first syllable is accented. + Example: Hail' to the | chief' who in | tri'umph ad|van'ces. + + There are two other feet which are found occasionally in English + poetry, namely the _spondee_, which has two accented syllables, and + the _amphilbrach_, which consists of three syllables with the + accent on the middle one. + + Of course it is not necessary for you to know the names of these + different feet in order to enjoy poetry, but it is interesting + information. What you must do is to notice whenever you read poetry + the kind of feet that compose the lines and how many there are in + the line. After a while this becomes second nature to you, and + while you may not really pause to think about it at any time, yet + you are always conscious of the rhythm and remember that it is + produced by a fixed arrangement of the accented syllables. If you + would look over the poems in these volumes, beginning even with the + nursery rhymes, it would not take you long to become familiar with + all the different forms. + + While study of this kind may seem tiresome at first, you will soon + find that you are making progress and will really enjoy it, and you + will never be sorry that you took the time when you were young to + learn to understand the structure of poetry. + + + + +THE GOVERNOR AND THE NOTARY + +_By_ WASHINGTON IRVING + + +In former times there ruled, as governor of the Alhambra[20-1], a +doughty old cavalier, who, from having lost one arm in the wars, was +commonly known by the name of El Gobernador Manco, or the one-armed +governor. He in fact prided himself upon being an old soldier, wore his +mustachios curled up to his eyes, a pair of campaigning boots, and a +toledo[20-2] as long as a spit, with his pocket handkerchief in the +basket-hilt. + +He was, moreover, exceedingly proud and punctilious, and tenacious of +all his privileges and dignities. Under his sway, the immunities of the +Alhambra, as a royal residence and domain, were rigidly exacted. No one +was permitted to enter the fortress with firearms, or even with a sword +or staff, unless he were of a certain rank, and every horseman was +obliged to dismount at the gate and lead his horse by the bridle. Now, +as the hill of the Alhambra rises from the very midst of the city of +Granada, being, as it were, an excrescence of the capital, it must at +all times be somewhat irksome to the captain-general, who commands the +province, to have thus an _imperium in imperio_,[21-3] a petty, +independent post in the very core of his domains. It was rendered the +more galling in the present instance, from the irritable jealousy of the +old governor, that took fire on the least question of authority and +jurisdiction, and from the loose, vagrant character of the people that +had gradually nestled themselves within the fortress as in a sanctuary, +and from thence carried on a system of roguery and depredation at the +expense of the honest inhabitants of the city. Thus there was a +perpetual feud and heart-burning between the captain-general and the +governor; the more virulent on the part of the latter, inasmuch as the +smallest of two neighboring potentates is always the most captious about +his dignity. The stately palace of the captain-general stood in the +Plaza Nueva, immediately at the foot of the hill of the Alhambra, and +here was always a bustle and parade of guards, and domestics, and city +functionaries. A beetling bastion of the fortress overlooked the palace +and the public square in front of it; and on this bastion the old +governor would occasionally strut backward and forward, with his toledo +girded by his side, keeping a wary eye down upon his rival, like a hawk +reconnoitering his quarry from his nest in a dry tree. + +Whenever he descended into the city it was in grand parade, on +horseback, surrounded by his guards, or in his state coach, an ancient +and unwieldy Spanish edifice of carved timber and gilt leather, drawn +by eight mules, with running footmen, outriders, and lackeys, on which +occasions he flattered himself he impressed every beholder with awe and +admiration as vicegerent of the king, though the wits of Granada were +apt to sneer at his petty parade, and, in allusion to the vagrant +character of his subjects, to greet him with the appellation of "the +king of the beggars." + +One of the most fruitful sources of dispute between these two doughty +rivals was the right claimed by the governor to have all things passed +free of duty through the city, that were intended for the use of himself +or his garrison. By degrees, this privilege had given rise to extensive +smuggling. A nest of contrabandistas[22-4] took up their abode in the +hovels of the fortress and the numerous caves in its vicinity, and drove +a thriving business under the connivance of the soldiers of the +garrison. + +The vigilance of the captain-general was aroused. He consulted his legal +adviser and factotum, a shrewd, meddlesome Escribano or notary, who +rejoiced in an opportunity of perplexing the old potentate of the +Alhambra, and involving him in a maze of legal subtilities. He advised +the captain-general to insist upon the right of examining every convoy +passing through the gates of his city, and he penned a long letter for +him, in vindication of the right. Governor Manco was a straightforward, +cut-and-thrust old soldier, who hated an Escribano worse than the devil, +and this one in particular, worse than all other Escribanoes. + +"What!" said he, curling up his mustachios fiercely, "does the +captain-general set this man of the pen to practice confusions upon me? +I'll let him see that an old soldier is not to be baffled by +schoolcraft." + +He seized his pen, and scrawled a short letter in a crabbed hand, in +which he insisted on the right of transit free of search, and denounced +vengeance on any custom-house officer who should lay his unhallowed hand +on any convoy protected by the flag of the Alhambra. + +While this question was agitated between the two pragmatical potentates, +it so happened that a mule laden with supplies for the fortress arrived +one day at the gate of Xenil, by which it was to traverse a suburb of +the city on its way to the Alhambra. The convoy was headed by a testy +old corporal, who had long served under the governor, and was a man +after his own heart--as trusty and stanch as an old Toledo blade. As +they approached the gate of the city, the corporal placed the banner of +the Alhambra on the pack saddle of the mule, and drawing himself up to a +perfect perpendicular, advanced with his head dressed to the front, but +with the wary side glance of a cur passing through hostile grounds, and +ready for a snap and a snarl. + +"Who goes there?" said the sentinel at the gate. + +"Soldier of the Alhambra," said the corporal, without turning his head. + +"What have you in charge?" + +"Provisions for the garrison." + +"Proceed." + +The corporal marched straight forward, followed by the convoy, but had +not advanced many paces before a posse of custom-house officers rushed +out of a small toll-house. + +"Halloo there!" cried the leader. "Muleteer, halt and open those +packages." + +The corporal wheeled round, and drew himself up in battle array. +"Respect the flag of the Alhambra," said he; "these things are for the +governor." + +"A fig for the governor, and a fig for his flag. Muleteer, halt, I say." + +"Stop the convoy at your peril!" cried the corporal, cocking his musket. +"Muleteer, proceed." + +The muleteer gave his beast a hearty thwack, the custom-house officer +sprang forward and seized the halter; whereupon the corporal leveled his +piece and shot him dead. + +The street was immediately in an uproar. The old corporal was seized, +and after undergoing sundry kicks and cuffs, and cudgelings, which are +generally given impromptu by the mob in Spain, as a foretaste of the +after penalties of the law, he was loaded with irons, and conducted to +the city prison; while his comrades were permitted to proceed with the +convoy, after it had been well rummaged, to the Alhambra. + +The old governor was in a towering passion, when he heard of this insult +to his flag and capture of his corporal. For a time he stormed about the +Moorish halls, and vapored about the bastions, and looked down fire and +sword upon the palace of the captain-general. Having vented the first +ebullition of his wrath, he dispatched a message demanding the surrender +of the corporal, as to him alone belonged the right of sitting in +judgment on the offenses of those under his command. The +captain-general, aided by the pen of the delighted Escribano, replied at +great length, arguing that as the offense had been committed within the +walls of his city, and against one of his civil officers, it was clearly +within his proper jurisdiction. The governor rejoined by a repetition of +his demand; the captain-general gave a surrejoinder of still greater +length, and legal acumen; the governor became hotter and more peremptory +in his demands, and the captain-general cooler and more copious in his +replies; until the old lion-hearted soldier absolutely roared with fury +at being thus entangled in the meshes of legal controversy. + +While the subtle Escribano was thus amusing himself at the expense of +the governor, he was conducting the trial of the corporal; who, mewed up +in a narrow dungeon of the prison, had merely a small grated window at +which to show his iron-bound visage, and receive the consolations of his +friends; a mountain of written testimony was diligently heaped up, +according to Spanish form, by the indefatigable Escribano; the corporal +was completely overwhelmed by it. He was convicted of murder, and +sentenced to be hanged. + +It was in vain the governor sent down remonstrance and menace from the +Alhambra. The fatal day was at hand, and the corporal was put _in +capilla_, that is to say, in the chapel of the prison; as is always done +with culprits the day before execution, that they may meditate on their +approaching end and repent them of their sins. + +Seeing things drawing to an extremity, the old governor determined to +attend to the affair in person. He ordered out his carriage of state +and, surrounded by his guards, rumbled down the avenue of the Alhambra +into the city. Driving to the house of the Escribano, he summoned him to +the portal. + +The eye of the old governor gleamed like a coal at beholding the +smirking man of the law advancing with an air of exultation. + +[Illustration: THE NOTARY ENTERS THE CARRIAGE] + +"What is this I hear," cried he, "that you are about to put to death one +of my soldiers?" + +"All according to law--all in strict form of justice," said the +self-sufficient Escribano, chuckling and rubbing his hands. "I can show +your excellency the written testimony in the case." + +"Fetch it hither," said the governor. + +The Escribano bustled into his office, delighted with having another +opportunity of displaying his ingenuity at the expense of the +hard-headed veteran. He returned with a satchel full of papers, and +began to read a long deposition with professional volubility. By this +time a crowd had collected, listening with outstretched necks and gaping +mouths. + +"Prithee man, get into the carriage out of this pestilent throng, that I +may the better hear thee," said the governor. The Escribano entered the +carriage, when in a twinkling the door was closed, the coachman smacked +his whip, mules, carriage, guards, and all dashed off at a thundering +rate, leaving the crowd in gaping wonderment, nor did the governor pause +until he had lodged his prey in one of the strongest dungeons of the +Alhambra. + +He then sent down a flag of truce in military style, proposing a cartel +or exchange of prisoners, the corporal for the notary. The pride of the +captain-general was piqued, he returned a contemptuous refusal, and +forthwith caused a gallows, tall and strong, to be erected in the center +of the Plaza Nueva, for the execution of the corporal. + +"Oho! is that the game?" said Governor Manco; he gave orders, and +immediately a gibbet was reared on the verge of the great beetling +bastion that overlooked the Plaza. "Now," said he, in a message to the +captain-general, "hang my soldier when you please; but at the same time +that he is swung off in the square, look up to see your Escribano +dangling against the sky." + +The captain-general was inflexible; troops were paraded in the square; +the drums beat; the bell tolled; an immense multitude of amateurs had +collected to behold the execution; on the other hand, the governor +paraded his garrison on the bastion, and tolled the funeral dirge of the +notary from the Torre de la Campana, or tower of the bell. + +The notary's wife pressed through the crowd with a whole progeny of +little embryo Escribanoes at her heels, and throwing herself at the feet +of the captain-general implored him not to sacrifice the life of her +husband and the welfare of herself and her numerous little ones to a +point of pride. + +The captain-general was overpowered by her tears and lamentations, and +the clamors of her callow brood. The corporal was sent up to the +Alhambra under a guard, in his gallows garb, like a hooded friar; but +with head erect and a face of iron. The Escribano was demanded in +exchange, according to the cartel. The once bustling and self-sufficient +man of the law was drawn forth from his dungeon, more dead than alive. +All his flippancy and conceit had evaporated; his hair, it is said, had +nearly turned gray with fright, and he had a downcast, dogged look, as +if he still felt the halter round his neck. + +The old governor stuck his one arm akimbo, and for a moment surveyed him +with an iron smile. "Henceforth, my friend," said he, "moderate your +zeal in hurrying others to the gallows; be not too certain of your own +safety, even though you should have the law on your side; and, above +all, take care how you play off your schoolcraft another time upon an +old soldier." + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[20-1] The Alhambra was the fortified palace, or citadel, of the Moorish +kings when they reigned over Granada, in Spain. It was built in the +thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and is one of the most beautiful +examples of Moorish architecture. + +[20-2] A toledo is a sword having a blade made at Toledo, in Spain, a +place famous for blades of remarkably fine temper and great elasticity. + +[21-3] _Imperium in imperio_ is a Latin phrase meaning a _government +within a government_. + +[22-4] _Contrabandista_ is a Spanish name for a smuggler. + + + + +[Illustration] + +THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER[29-*] + +_By_ SAMUEL T. COLERIDGE + + + PART I + + It is an ancient Mariner, + And he stoppeth one of three. + "By thy long gray beard and glittering eye, + Now wherefore stopp'st thou me? + + "The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide, + And I am next of kin; + The guests are met, the feast is set: + May'st hear the merry din." + + He holds him with a skinny hand. + "There was a ship," quoth he. + "Hold off! unhand me, gray-beard loon!" + Eftsoons[30-1] his hand dropt he. + + He holds him with his glittering eye-- + The Wedding-guest stood still, + And listens like a three years' child: + The Mariner hath his will. + + The Wedding-guest sat on a stone: + He cannot choose but hear; + And thus spake on that ancient man, + The bright-eyed Mariner:[30-2]-- + + "The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared, + Merrily did we drop + Below the kirk, below the hill, + Below the lighthouse top. + + "The sun came up upon the left,[30-3] + Out of the sea came he! + And he shone bright, and on the right + Went down into the sea. + + "Higher and higher every day, + Till over the mast at noon--"[30-4] + The Wedding-guest here beat his breast, + For he heard the loud bassoon. + + The bride hath paced into the hall, + Red as a rose is she; + Nodding their heads before her goes + The merry minstrelsy. + + The Wedding-guest he beat his breast, + Yet he cannot choose but hear; + And thus spake on that ancient man, + The bright-eyed Mariner:-- + + "And now the storm-blast came, and he + Was tyrannous and strong; + He struck with his o'ertaking wings, + And chased us south along. + + "With sloping masts and dipping prow, + As who[31-5] pursued with yell and blow + Still treads the shadow of his foe[31-6], + And forward bends his head, + The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast, + And southward aye we fled. + + "And now there came both mist and snow, + And it grew wondrous cold: + And ice, mast-high, came floating by, + As green as emerald.[32-7] + + "And through the drifts, the snowy clifts[32-8] + Did send a dismal sheen: + Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken-- + The ice was all between. + + "The ice was here, the ice was there, + The ice was all around: + It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, + Like noises in a swound![32-9] + + "At length did cross an Albatross, + Thorough[32-10] the fog it came; + As if it had been a Christian soul, + We hailed it in God's name.[32-11] + + "It ate the food it ne'er had eat, + And round and round it flew. + The ice did split with a thunder-fit; + The helmsman steered us through. + +[Illustration: I SHOT THE ALBATROSS] + + "And a good south wind sprung up behind;[34-12] + The Albatross did follow, + And every day, for food or play, + Came to the mariner's hollo! + + "In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud, + It perched for vespers nine; + Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white, + Glimmered the white moonshine." + + "God save thee, ancient Mariner, + From the fiends that plague thee thus!-- + Why look'st thou so?"--"With my cross-bow + I shot the Albatross." + + + PART II + + "The Sun now rose upon the right:[34-13] + Out of the sea came he, + Still hid in mist, and on the left + Went down into the sea. + + "And the good south wind still blew behind, + But no sweet bird did follow, + Nor any day for food or play + Came to the mariner's hollo! + + "And I had done a hellish thing, + And it would work 'em woe: + For all averred I had killed the bird + That made the breeze to blow,-- + Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay, + That made the breeze to blow. + + "Nor dim, nor red, like God's own head, + The glorious Sun uprist:[35-14] + Then all averred I had killed the bird + That brought the fog and mist. + 'Twas right, said they, such birds to slay, + That bring the fog and mist.[35-15] + + "The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, + The furrow followed free;[35-16] + We were the first that ever burst + Into that silent sea. + + "Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down, + 'Twas sad as sad could be; + And we did speak only to break + The silence of the sea! + + "All in a hot and copper sky, + The bloody Sun, at noon, + Right up above the mast did stand,[35-17] + No bigger than the Moon.[35-18] + + "Day after day, day after day, + We stuck, nor breath nor motion; + As idle as a painted ship + Upon a painted ocean. + + "Water, water, everywhere, + And all the boards did shrink; + Water, water, everywhere, + Nor any drop to drink. + + "The very deep did rot: O Christ! + That ever this should be! + Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs + Upon the slimy sea. + + "About, about, in reel and rout[36-19] + The death-fires[36-20] danced at night; + The water, like a witch's oils, + Burnt green, and blue, and white. + + "And some in dreams assured were + Of the Spirit that plagued us so; + Nine fathom deep he had followed us + From the land of mist and snow. + + "And every tongue, through utter drought, + Was withered at the root; + We could not speak, no more than if + We had been choked with soot. + + "Ah! well a day! what evil looks + Had I from old and young! + Instead of the cross, the Albatross + About my neck was hung.[36-21] + + + PART III + + "There passed a weary time. Each throat + Was parched, and glazed each eye. + A weary time! a weary time! + How glazed each weary eye! + When looking westward, I beheld + A something in the sky. + + "At first it seemed a little speck, + And then it seemed a mist: + It moved and moved, and took at last + A certain shape, I wist.[37-22] + + "A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! + And still it neared and neared: + As if it dodged a water-sprite, + It plunged, and tacked, and veered. + + "With throats unslaked, with black lips baked + We could not laugh nor wail; + Through utter drought all dumb we stood! + I bit my arm, I sucked the blood, + And cried, A sail! a sail! + + "With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, + Agape they heard me call: + Gramercy![37-23] they for joy did grin,[37-24] + And all at once their breath drew in, + As they were drinking all. + +[Illustration: AND STRAIGHT THE SUN WAS FLECKED WITH BARS] + + "See! see! (I cried) she tacks no more! + Hither to work us weal; + Without a breeze, without a tide, + She steadies with upright keel! + + "The western wave was all a-flame, + The day was well-nigh done! + Almost upon the western wave + Rested the broad, bright Sun; + When that strange shape drove suddenly + Betwixt us and the Sun. + + "And straight the Sun was flecked with bars, + (Heaven's Mother send us grace!) + As if through a dungeon grate he peered + With broad and burning face. + + "Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud) + How fast she nears and nears! + Are those her sails that glance in the Sun, + Like restless gossameres?[39-25] + + "Are those her ribs through which the Sun + Did peer, as through a grate? + And is that Woman all her crew? + Is that a Death? and are there two? + Is Death that Woman's mate? + + "Her lips were red, her looks were free, + Her locks were yellow as gold: + Her skin was as white as leprosy, + The Night-mare Life-in-Death was she, + Who thicks man's blood with cold. + + "The naked hulk alongside came, + And the twain were casting dice; + 'The game is done! I've won, I've won!'[39-26] + Quoth she, and whistles thrice. + + "The Sun's rim dips: the stars rush out: + At one stride comes the dark;[40-27] + With far-heard whisper, o'er the sea, + Off shot the spectre-bark. + + "We listened and looked sideways up! + Fear at my heart, as at a cup, + My life-blood seemed to sip! + The stars were dim, and thick the night, + The steersman's face by his lamp gleamed white; + From the sails the dew did drip-- + Till clomb[40-28] above the eastern bar + The horned Moon,[40-29] with one bright star + Within the nether tip. + + "One after one, by the star-dogged Moon, + Too quick for groan or sigh, + Each turned his face with a ghastly pang, + And cursed me with his eye. + + "Four times fifty living men, + (And I heard nor sigh nor groan) + With heavy thump, a lifeless lump, + They dropped down one by one. + + "The souls did from their bodies fly,-- + They fled to bliss or woe! + And every soul, it passed me by, + Like the whiz of my cross-bow!" + + + PART IV + + "I fear thee, ancient Mariner! + I fear thy skinny hand! + And thou art long, and lank and brown. + As is the ribbed sea-sand.[41-30] + + "I fear thee and thy glittering eye, + And thy skinny hand so brown." + "Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-guest! + This body dropt not down. + + "Alone, alone, all, all alone, + Alone on a wide, wide sea! + And never a saint took pity on + My soul in agony. + + "The many men, so beautiful! + And they all dead did lie: + And a thousand, thousand slimy things + Lived on; and so did I. + + "I looked upon the rotting sea, + And drew my eyes away; + I looked upon the rotting deck, + And there the dead men lay. + + "I looked to heaven, and tried to pray + But or ever a prayer had gusht, + A wicked whisper came, and made + My heart as dry as dust. + + "I closed my lids, and kept them close, + And the balls like pulses beat; + For the sky and the sea, and the sea and the sky,[42-31] + Lay like a load on my weary eye, + And the dead were at my feet. + + "The cold sweat melted from their limbs, + Nor rot nor reek did they: + The look with which they looked on me + Had never passed away. + +[Illustration: I WATCHED THE WATER-SNAKES] + + "An orphan's curse would drag to hell + A spirit from on high; + But oh! more horrible than that + Is the curse in a dead man's eye! + Seven days, seven nights, I saw that curse, + And yet I could not die. + + "The moving Moon went up the sky, + And nowhere did abide: + Softly she was going up, + And a star or two beside-- + + "Her beams bemock'd the sultry main, + Like April hoar-frost spread; + But where the ship's huge shadow lay, + The charmed water burnt alway + A still and awful red. + + "Beyond the shadow of the ship, + I watched the water-snakes: + They moved in tracks of shining white, + And when they reared, the elfish light + Fell off in hoary flakes. + + "Within the shadow of the ship + I watched their rich attire: + Blue, glossy green, and velvet black, + They coiled and swam; and every track + Was a flash of golden fire. + + "O happy living things! no tongue + Their beauty might declare: + A spring of love gushed from my heart, + And I blessed them unaware: + Sure my kind saint took pity on me, + And I blessed them unaware.[43-32] + + "The selfsame moment I could pray; + And from my neck so free + The Albatross fell off, and sank + Like lead into the sea." + + + PART V + + "O sleep! it is a gentle thing, + Beloved from pole to pole! + To Mary Queen the praise be given! + She sent the gentle sleep from heaven, + That slid into my soul. + + "The silly[44-33] buckets on the deck, + That had so long remained, + I dreamt that they were filled with dew; + And when I awoke, it rained. + + "My lips were wet, my throat was cold, + My garments all were dank; + Sure I had drunken in my dreams, + And still my body drank. + + "I moved, and could not feel my limbs: + I was so light--almost + I thought that I had died in sleep, + And was a blessed ghost. + + "And soon I heard a roaring wind: + It did not come anear; + But with its sound it shook the sails, + That were so thin and sere. + + "The upper air burst into life! + And a hundred fire-flags sheen,[44-34] + To and fro they were hurried about! + And to and fro, and in and out, + The wan stars danced between. + + "And the coming wind did roar more loud, + And the sails did sigh like sedge:[45-35] + And the rain poured down from one black cloud: + The Moon was at its edge. + +[Illustration: THEY GROANED, THEY STIRRED, THEY ALL UPROSE] + + "The thick black cloud was cleft, and still + The Moon was at its side: + Like waters shot from some high crag, + The lightning fell with never a jag, + A river steep and wide. + + "The loud wind never reached the ship, + Yet now the ship moved on! + Beneath the lightning and the Moon + The dead men gave a groan. + + "They groaned, they stirred, they all uprose, + Nor spake, nor moved their eyes; + It had been strange, even in a dream, + To have seen those dead men rise. + + "The helmsman steered; the ship moved on; + Yet never a breeze up blew; + The mariners all 'gan work the ropes, + Where they were wont to do; + They raised their limbs like lifeless tools-- + We were a ghastly crew. + + "The body of my brother's son + Stood by me, knee to knee: + The body and I pulled at one rope, + But he said naught to me." + + "I fear thee, ancient Mariner!" + "Be calm, thou Wedding-guest! + 'Twas not those souls that fled in pain, + Which to their corses came again, + But a troop of spirits blest: + + "For when it dawned--they dropped their arms, + And clustered round the mast; + Sweet sounds rose slowly through their mouths, + And from their bodies passed. + + "Around, around, flew each sweet sound, + Then darted to the Sun; + Slowly the sounds came back again, + Now mixed, now one by one. + + "Sometimes a-drooping from the sky + I heard the sky-lark sing; + Sometimes all little birds that are, + How they seemed to fill the sea and air + With their sweet jargoning! + + "And now 'twas like all instruments, + Now like a lonely flute; + And now it is an angel's song, + That makes the heavens be mute. + + "It ceased; yet still the sails made on + A pleasant noise till noon, + A noise like of a hidden brook + In the leafy month of June, + That to the sleeping woods all night + Singeth a quiet tune. + + "Till noon we quietly sailed on, + Yet never a breeze did breathe: + Slowly and smoothly went the ship, + Moved onward from beneath. + + "Under the keel nine fathom deep, + From the land of mist and snow, + The spirit slid: and it was he + That made the ship to go. + The sails at noon left off their tune, + And the ship stood still also. + + "The Sun, right up above the mast, + Had fixed her to the ocean: + But in a minute she 'gan stir, + With a short, uneasy motion-- + Backwards and forwards half her length + With a short, uneasy motion. + + "Then like a pawing horse let go, + She made a sudden bound: + It flung the blood into my head, + And I fell down in a swound. + + "How long in that same fit I lay, + I have not to declare; + But ere my living life returned, + I heard, and in my soul discerned, + Two voices in the air. + + "'Is it he?' quoth one, 'Is this the man? + By him who died on cross, + With his cruel bow he laid full low + The harmless Albatross. + + "'The spirit who bideth by himself + In the land of mist and snow, + He loved the bird that loved the man + Who shot him with his bow.' + + "The other was a softer voice, + As soft as honey-dew: + Quoth he, 'The man hath penance done, + And penance more will do.'" + +[Illustration: SLOWLY AND SMOOTHLY WENT THE SHIP] + + + PART VI + + _First Voice_ + + "'But tell me, tell me! speak again, + Thy soft response renewing-- + What makes that ship drive on so fast? + What is the ocean doing?' + + _Second Voice_ + + "'Still as a slave before his lord, + The ocean hath no blast; + His great bright eye most silently + Up to the Moon is cast-- + + "'If he may know which way to go; + For she guides him smooth or grim. + See, brother, see! how graciously + She looketh down on him.' + + _First Voice_ + + "'But why drives on that ship so fast, + Without or wave or wind?'[49-36] + + _Second Voice_ + + "'The air is cut away before, + And closes from behind. + + "'Fly, brother, fly! more high, more high! + Or we shall be belated: + For slow and slow that ship will go, + When the mariner's trance is abated.' + + "I woke, and we were sailing on + As in a gentle weather: + 'Twas night, calm night, the Moon was high; + The dead men stood together. + + "All stood together on the deck, + For a charnel-dungeon[50-37] fitter: + All fixed on me their stony eyes, + That in the Moon did glitter. + + "The pang, the curse, with which they died, + Had never passed away: + I could not draw my eyes from theirs, + Nor turn them up to pray. + + "And now this spell was snapt:[50-38] once more + I viewed the ocean green, + And looked far forth, yet little saw + Of what had else been seen-- + + "Like one, that on a lonesome road + Doth walk in fear and dread, + And having once turned round walks on, + And turns no more his head; + Because he knows a frightful fiend + Doth close behind him tread. + + "But soon there breathed a wind on me, + Nor sound nor motion made: + Its path was not upon the sea, + In ripple or in shade. + + "It raised my hair, it fanned my cheek + Like a meadow-gale of spring-- + It mingled strangely with my fears, + Yet it felt like a welcoming. + + "Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship, + Yet she sailed softly too: + Sweetly, sweetly blew the breeze-- + On me alone it blew. + + "Oh! dream of joy! is this indeed + The lighthouse top I see? + Is this the hill? is this the kirk? + Is this mine own countree? + + "We drifted o'er the harbour-bar, + And I with sobs did pray-- + O let me be awake, my God! + Or let me sleep alway. + + "The harbour-bay was clear as glass, + So smoothly it was strewn! + And on the bay the moonlight lay, + And the shadow of the Moon. + + "The rock shone bright, the kirk no less, + That stands above the rock: + The moonlight steeped in silentness + The steady weathercock. + + "And the bay was white with silent light, + Till, rising from the same, + Full many shapes, that shadows were, + In crimson colours came. + + "A little distance from the prow + Those crimson shadows were: + I turned my eyes upon the deck-- + O Christ! what saw I there! + + "Each corse lay flat, lifeless and flat, + And, by the holy rood![52-39] + A man all light, a seraph-man, + On every corse there stood. + + "This seraph-band, each waved his hand: + It was a heavenly sight! + They stood as signals to the land. + Each one a lovely light; + + "This seraph-band, each waved his hand: + No voice did they impart-- + No voice; but oh! the silence sank + Like music on my heart.[52-40] + + "But soon I heard the dash of oars, + I heard the Pilot's cheer; + My head was turned perforce away, + And I saw a boat appear. + + "The Pilot and the Pilot's boy, + I heard them coming fast: + Dear Lord in Heaven! it was a joy + The dead men could not blast. + + "I saw a third--I heard his voice: + It is the Hermit good! + He singeth loud his godly hymns + That he makes in the wood. + He'll shrieve my soul, he'll wash away + The Albatross's blood." + + + PART VII + + "This Hermit good lives in that wood + Which slopes down to the sea. + How loudly his sweet voice he rears! + He loves to talk with marineres + That come from a far countree. + + "He kneels at morn, and noon, and eve-- + He hath a cushion plump: + It is the moss that wholly hides + The rotted old oak-stump. + + "The skiff-boat neared: I heard them talk, + 'Why, this is strange, I trow! + Where are those lights so many and fair, + That signal made but now?' + + "'Strange, by my faith!' the Hermit said-- + 'And they answered not our cheer. + The planks look warped! and see those sails, + How thin they are and sere! + I never saw aught like to them, + Unless perchance it were + + "'Brown skeletons of leaves that lag + My forest-brook along; + When the ivy-tod[53-41] is heavy with snow, + And the owlet whoops to the wolf below, + That eats the she-wolf's young.' + + "'Dear Lord! it hath a fiendish look!' + (The Pilot made reply) + 'I am a-feared'--'Push on, push on!' + Said the Hermit cheerily. + + "The boat came closer to the ship, + But I nor spake nor stirred; + The boat came close beneath the ship, + And straight a sound was heard. + + "Under the water it rumbled on, + Still louder and more dread: + It reached the ship, it split the bay; + The ship went down like lead. + + "Stunned by that loud and dreadful sound, + Which sky and ocean smote, + Like one that hath been seven days drowned + My body lay afloat; + But swift as dreams, myself I found + Within the Pilot's boat. + + "Upon the whirl where sank the ship, + The boat spun round and round; + And all was still, save that the hill + Was telling of the sound. + + "I moved my lips--the Pilot shrieked + And fell down in a fit; + The holy Hermit raised his eyes, + And prayed where he did sit. + + "I took the oars: the Pilot's boy, + Who now doth crazy go, + Laughed loud and long, and all the while + His eyes went to and fro. + 'Ha! ha!' quoth he, 'full plain I see, + The Devil knows how to row.' + + "And now, all in my own countree, + I stood on the firm land! + The Hermit stepped forth from the boat, + And scarcely he could stand. + +[Illustration: 'O SHRIEVE ME, SHRIEVE ME, HOLY MAN'] + + "'O shrieve me, shrieve me, holy man!' + The Hermit crossed his brow. + 'Say quick,' quoth he, 'I bid thee say-- + What manner of man art thou?' + + "Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched + With a woeful agony, + Which forced me to begin my tale; + And then it left me free. + + "Since then, at an uncertain hour, + That agony returns: + And till my ghastly tale is told, + This heart within me burns. + + "I pass, like night, from land to land; + I have strange power of speech; + The moment that his face I see, + I know the man that must hear me: + To him my tale I teach. + + "What loud uproar bursts from that door! + The wedding-guests are there: + But in the garden-bower the bride + And bridesmaids singing are: + And hark the little vesper bell, + Which biddeth me to prayer! + + "O Wedding-guest! This soul hath been + Alone on a wide, wide sea: + So lonely 'twas, that God himself + Scarce seemed there to be. + + "O sweeter than the marriage feast, + 'Tis sweeter far to me, + To walk together to the kirk + With a goodly company! + + "To walk together to the kirk, + And all together pray, + While each to his great Father bends, + Old men, and babes, and loving friends, + And youths and maidens gay! + + "Farewell, farewell! but this I tell + To thee, thou Wedding-guest! + He prayeth well, who loveth well + Both man and bird and beast. + + "He prayeth best, who loveth best + All things both great and small; + For the dear God who loveth us, + He made and loveth all."[57-42] + + The Mariner, whose eye is bright, + Whose beard with age is hoar, + Is gone: and now the Wedding-guest + Turned from the bridegroom's door. + + He went like one that hath been stunned, + And is of sense forlorn: + A sadder and a wiser man, + He rose the morrow morn. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[29-*] NOTE.--In 1798 there was published in England a little volume of +poems known as _Lyrical Ballads_. This collection brought to its two +young authors, Wordsworth and Coleridge, little immediate fame, but not +long afterward people began to realize that much that was contained in +the little book was real poetry, and great poetry. The chief +contribution of Coleridge to this venture was _The Ancient Mariner_. + +The poem as originally printed had a series of quaintly explanatory +notes in the margin, and an introductory argument which read as follows: + +"How a ship having passed the Line, was driven by storms to the cold +Country towards the South Pole; and how from thence she made her course +to the tropical latitudes of the great Pacific Ocean, and of the strange +things that befell; and in what manner the Ancient Mariner came back to +his own country." + +[30-1] _Eftsoons_ means _quickly_. The poem is written in ballad form, +and many quaint old words are introduced. + +[30-2] Such rhymes as this--_Mariner_ with _hear_,--were common in the +old ballads which Coleridge so perfectly imitates. + +[30-3] Does this line tell you anything about the direction in which +they were sailing? + +[30-4] Where was the ship when the sun stood "over the mast at noon"? + +[31-5] Two words are to be understood in this line--"As _one_ who _is_ +pursued." + +[31-6] Is not this an effective line? Can you think of any way in which +the closeness of the foe could be more effectively suggested? + +[32-7] Coleridge's wonderful power of painting word-pictures is shown in +this and the succeeding stanzas. With the simplest language he makes us +realize the absolute lonesomeness and desolateness of the scene: he +produces in us something of the same feeling of awe and horror that we +should have were we actually in the situation he describes. + +[32-8] _Clifts_ means _cleft rocks_. + +[32-9] "Like noises _one hears_ in a swound." + +[32-10] _Thorough_ is used here instead of _through_, as it often is in +poetry, for the sake of the meter. + +[32-11] Besides the joy the sailors felt at seeing a living creature +after the days in which they had seen "nor shapes of men nor beasts," +they had a special pleasure in welcoming the albatross because it was +regarded as a bird of good omen. + +[34-12] Coleridge does not state that it was the albatross that brought +the "good south wind:" he lets us infer it. + +[34-13] In what direction were they sailing now? + +[35-14] _Uprist_ is an old form for _uprose_. + +[35-15] It was this attitude of the sailors toward the mariner's brutal +act of killing the bird that brought punishment upon them; they cared +nothing for the death of the harmless bird, but only for its effect upon +them. + +[35-16] Note the striking alliteration in these two lines. Read this +stanza and the succeeding one aloud, and see how much easier it is to +read these alliterative lines rapidly than it is any of the other six +lines. Such relation of movement to meaning is one of the artistic +things about the poem. + +[35-17] How far northward had the ship returned? + +[35-18] When such a definite picture is presented, close your eyes and +try to see it. Did you ever see the sun when it seemed to have no +radiance--when it was just a red circle? + +[36-19] A rout is a confused and whirling dance. + +[36-20] The death-fires are a sort of phosphorescent light, or +will-o'-the-wisp, supposed to portend death. + +[36-21] The shipmates try in this manner to fasten all the guilt on the +ancient mariner and mark him alone for punishment. + +[37-22] _Wist_ means _knew_. + +[37-23] _Gramercy_ is an exclamation derived from the French _grand +merci_, which means _great thanks_. + +[37-24] In a comment on _The Ancient Mariner_ Coleridge says: "I took +the thought of 'grinning for joy' from my companion's remark to me, when +we had climbed to the top of Plinlimmon, and were nearly dead with +thirst. We could not speak from the constriction, till we found a little +puddle under a stone. He said to me: 'You grinned like an idiot.' He had +done the same." + +[39-25] Gossameres are the cobweb-like films seen floating in the air in +summer. + +[39-26] Death and Life-in-Death have been casting dice for the crew, as +to whether they shall die, or live and suffer. Life-in-Death has won the +ancient mariner. + +[40-27] This is Coleridge's beautiful way of telling us that in the +tropics there is little or no twilight. + +[40-28] _Clomb_ is an old form of _climbed_. + +[40-29] That is, the waning moon. Did you ever see the moon "with one +bright star within the nether tip"? + +[41-30] In his notes on the poem, Coleridge stated that the last two +lines of this stanza were composed by Wordsworth. + +[42-31] Can you see any reason for the repetition in this line, and for +the unusual length? Does it suggest the _load_ and the _weariness_ in +the next line? + +[43-32] This is the turning point of the poem. As soon as the mariner +felt in his heart love for the "happy living things," the spell which +had been laid on him for the wanton slaying of the albatross began to +break. In the third stanza from the end of the poem, this point is +clearly brought out. + +[44-33] _Silly_ here means _helpless, useless_. + +[44-34] _Sheen_ means bright, _glittering_. + +[45-35] Note this fine alliterative line. + +[49-36] The mariner has been thrown into a trance, for the ship is being +driven northward faster than a human being could endure. + +[50-37] A charnel-dungeon is a vault or chamber underneath or near a +church, where the bones of the dead are laid. + +[50-38] The sin is finally expiated. + +[52-39] The holy rood is the holy cross. + +[52-40] "The silence sank like music on my heart," is among the +beautiful lines that you will often hear quoted. + +[53-41] An ivy-tod is a thick clump of ivy. + +[57-42] A friend of Coleridge's once told him that she admired _The +Ancient Mariner_, but had a serious fault to find with it--it had no +moral. Do you think, as you read this stanza, that her objection was a +valid one? + + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE BLACK HAWK TRAGEDY[58-1] + +_By_ EDWIN D. COE + + +I do not pose as an Indian lover. In fact the instincts and impressions +of my early life bent me in the opposite direction. My father's log +house, in which I was born, stood within a few rods of Rock River, about +forty-five miles west of this city. The stream was the boundary line, in +a half-recognized way, between two tribes of Indians, and a common +highway for both. I well remember their frequent and unheralded entries +into our house, and their ready assumption of its privileges. I can see +them yet--yes, and smell them, too. In some unventilated chamber of my +rather capacious nostrils an abiding breath of that intense, +all-conquering odor of fish, smoke and muskrat, which they brought with +them, still survives. I well remember their impudent and sometimes +bullying demeanor; and the horror of one occasion I shall never forget, +when a stalwart Winnebago, armed with a knife, tomahawk and gun, seized +my mother by the shoulder as she stood by her ironing table, and shook +her because she said she had no bread for him. I wrapped myself in her +skirts and howled in terror. Having been transplanted from the city to +the wilderness, she had a mortal fear of Indians, but never revealed it +to them. She had nerve, and resolution as well; and this particular +fellow she threatened with her hot flat-iron and drove him out of the +house. So you see I have no occasion for morbid or unnatural sympathy +with any of the Indian kind. + +Black Hawk was born in 1767 at Saukenuk. His father was the war chief of +the nation and a very successful leader. Young Black Hawk inherited his +martial spirit and conducted himself so valorously in battle that he was +recognized as a brave when only fifteen years old. He was enthusiastic +and venturesome, and before the close of his twentieth year had led +several expeditions against the Osages and Sioux. It was his boast that +he had been in a hundred Indian battles and had never suffered defeat. + +Life passed pleasantly with Black Hawk and his tribe at Saukenuk for +many years. The location combined all the advantages possible for their +mode of existence. When Black Hawk was taken to Washington after his +capture in 1832, he made an eloquent and most pathetic speech at one of +the many interviews which he held with the high officials of the +government. He said: "Our home was very beautiful. My house always had +plenty. I never had to turn friend or stranger away for lack of food. +The island was our garden. There the young people gathered plums, +apples, grapes, berries and nuts. The rapids furnished us fish. On the +bottom lands our women raised corn, beans and squashes. The young men +hunted game on the prairie and in the woods. It was good for us. When I +see the great fields and big villages of the white people, I wonder why +they wish to take our little territory from us." + +We are apt to regard the agriculture of the Indians as of small moment, +but the Sauks and Foxes cultivated three thousand acres on the peninsula +between the Rock and the Mississippi. Black Hawk said it was eight +hundred acres, but the measurement of the cornfields shows that the area +was nearly four times that. Of this the Foxes, who were much the smaller +and weaker tribe, farmed five hundred acres; they also occupied +considerable land on the opposite side of the Mississippi, where the +city of Davenport now stands. These lands were all fenced with posts and +rails, the latter being held in place by bark withes. The barrier was +sufficient to keep the ponies out of the corn, but their lately acquired +razor-back hogs gave them more trouble. The work of preparing a field +for their planting involved much labor. The women heaped the ground into +hills nearly three feet high, and the corn was planted in the top for +many successive years without renewing the hills. Accordingly a field +was much more easily prepared on the mellow bottom lands than on the +tough prairie sod. They raised three kinds of corn: a sweet corn for +roasting ears, a hard variety for hominy and a softer for meal. They +also cultivated beans, squashes, pumpkins, artichokes and some tobacco. +The Sauks at one time sold three thousand bushels of corn to the +government officials at Fort Crawford for their horses. The Winnebagoes +at Lake Koshkonong sold four thousand bushels of corn to General +Atkinson when he was pursuing Black Hawk in 1832. The hundreds of acres +of corn hills still visible about the latter lake show how extensively +that region was inhabited and farmed by the Indians. + +Aside from the devastating wars which the tribe carried on with their +new enemies west of the great river, whereby their numbers were steadily +reduced, no serious shadow fell upon their life at and about Rock Island +till the year 1804. A French trader had established himself a few miles +below on the Mississippi. The young braves and squaws delighted in +visiting his place and were always sure of a dance in the evening. One +night in that year an Indian killed one of the habitues of the place, +the provocation being unbearable. A few weeks after demand was made that +he be given up, and he was at once surrendered and taken to Saint Louis. + +Soon after, his relative, Quashquamme, one of the sub-chiefs of the +tribe, and four or five other Sauks went to Saint Louis to work for his +release. A bargain was made to the effect that a tract of land including +parts of Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and Illinois, comprising fifty +million acres, be ceded to the government, the consideration being the +cancellation of a debt of $2,400, which the Indians owed trader Choteau, +of Saint Louis, and a perpetual annuity of $1,000 thereafter. It was +also tacitly agreed that the imprisoned Indian should be released. This +part of the program was carried out, but the poor fellow had not gone +three hundred feet before he was shot dead. We are sorry to say that +General William Henry Harrison was the chief representative of the +government in this one-sided treaty, though, of course, he knew nothing +of the predetermined killing of the Indian prisoner. This treaty, made +without due authority on the part of Quashquamme, was not accepted by +the Sauks till 1816, when its ratification was made a side issue in an +agreement which the government negotiated between the Sauks and the +Osages or Sioux. + +Black Hawk always claimed that he had never consented to the sale of +Saukenuk; and it is but fair to Quashquamme to say that he always +insisted that his cession of land went only to the Rock--and therefore +did not include Saukenuk--and not to the Wisconsin, as the whites +asserted. I have been thus explicit, as the disagreement about this +treaty led to the final conflict between the Sauks and the whites. + +One proposition of the original paper was that the Indians should be +allowed to occupy all the territory as aforetime until it was surveyed +and sold to settlers. Along in the '20's the frontier line rapidly +approached the great river; and about 1823, when still fifty miles +distant, squatters began to settle on the Indian lands at Saukenuk. +Protest was made against this to the commander of Fort Armstrong (which +was built on Rock Island in 1816) and to the government, but without +avail. + +The squatters, relying for protection on the troops near by, perpetrated +outrages of the most exasperating character. They turned their horses +into the Indian cornfields, threw down fences, whipped one young woman +who had pulled a few corn suckers from one of their fields to eat, while +on her way to work, and finally two ruffians met Black Hawk himself one +day as he was hunting on the river bottom and accused him of shooting +their hogs. He indignantly denied it, but they snatched his rifle from +his hand, wrenched the flint out, and then beat the old man with a +hickory stick till the blood ran down his back, and he could not leave +his house for days. Doubtless this indignity surpassed all other +outrages in the proud old chief's estimation, and we can imagine him +sitting in his cabin on the highest ground in the village, looking over +the magnificent landscape, brooding upon the blight which had fallen +upon the beautiful home of his tribe, and harboring thoughts of revenge. +Still he refrained from open resistance till the spring of 1831. + +[Illustration: BLACKHAWK AND THE TWO RUFFIANS] + +It was the custom of the tribe to spend the winter months hunting and +trapping in northeastern Missouri, returning in the spring to Saukenuk. +This time they found the whites more aggressive than ever. They had +fenced in the most of the cultivated land, plowed over the burying +ground, and destroyed a number of houses. They received the Indians with +hostile looks, but Black Hawk at last did what he ought to have done at +first, ordered the squatters all off the peninsula. He then went to an +island where a squatter sold liquor and had paid no heed to his +entreaties not to sell to the Indians, and with a party of his braves +knocked in the heads of the whisky barrels and poured their contents on +the ground. The liquor vendor immediately hurried to Governor Reynolds, +of Illinois, with his tale of woe and represented that Black Hawk was +devastating the country with torch and tomahawk. + +Governor Reynolds at once issued a flamboyant proclamation calling for +volunteers, and asked the United States authorities at Saint Louis for +aid. A considerable body of regulars was dispatched up the river and +reached Saukenuk before the volunteers. Black Hawk told his people to +remain in their houses, and not to obey any orders to leave Saukenuk, +for they had not sold their home and had done no wrong. But when he saw +the undisciplined, lawless and wildly excited volunteers, who came a few +days later, he told the people that their lives were in danger and they +must go. Accordingly the next morning at an early hour all embarked in +their canoes and crossed the Mississippi. They were visited there by the +officials, and Black Hawk entered into an agreement to remain west of +the river. + +Black Hawk's band spent the fall and winter, after their expulsion from +Saukenuk, in great unhappiness and want. It was too late to plant corn, +and they suffered from hunger. Their winter's hunt was unsuccessful, as +they lacked ammunition, and many of their guns and traps had gone to pay +for the whisky they had drunk before Black Hawk broke up the traffic. In +the meantime Black Hawk was planning to recover Saukenuk by force. He +visited Canada, but received little encouragement there, except sympathy +and the assurance that his cause was just. + +Black Hawk's worst adviser was Neapope, his second in command, and a +terrible liar. He also visited Canada and claimed that the British whom +he had seen stood ready to help Black Hawk with men, arms and +ammunition, and that a steamboat would bring them to Milwaukee in the +spring. This was good news to the credulous old chief; and quite as +acceptable as this was Neapope's story that the Winnebagoes and +Pottawatomi would join in the campaign to secure his rights. Added to +these encouragements were the entreaties of the homesick hungry women, +who longed for their houses and cornfields at Saukenuk. + +Keokuk did his utmost to dissuade Black Hawk but in vain, and then he +gave warning to the whites of Black Hawk's purpose. He feared that the +whole nation might be drawn into the war if it was once started. Black +Hawk's first move with his band in the spring of 1832 was to visit +Keokuk's village, set up his war post and call for recruits. He wore a +British uniform and displayed a British flag. This foolishness and +gratification of vanity cost him dearly in the end. He made an +impassioned speech and wrought the Indians up to such enthusiasm that +they demanded that Keokuk join with Black Hawk. It was a critical moment +for the young chief--even his life was in danger; but he was a more +skillful master of oratory than even the eloquent Black Hawk, and, +seeming at first to fall in with his plan, he gradually showed up its +danger and its impracticable character, until at last he saved all his +own party and even won a considerable number away from Black Hawk. + +On the 26th of April the Black Hawk band crossed the Mississippi several +miles below Rock River. They numbered twelve hundred in all, less than +four hundred being warriors, and these only partly armed. Their +destination was Prophetstown, as Black Hawk's plan was to raise a crop +there and go on the war path in the fall. The braves struck across the +country, while the women, weak with famine, slowly paddled the canoes up +against the swift current of the river. They reached Prophetstown late +in April, the heavy rains which had swollen the rivers greatly impeding +their progress. A marvelous feature of this journey across the territory +which the whites claimed had been ceded to them, is the fact that not +the slightest depredation was committed at any farm or house on the +march. The inhabitants fled, but the hungry Indians touched none of the +abundant food which they left behind. Not a gun was fired. Black Hawk +had ordered that no offense be given, and he was strictly obeyed. + +Black Hawk was disappointed to find that the Winnebagoes were lukewarm +as to his enterprise, and also reluctant to let him plant a crop, +fearing to get into trouble with the government. He then pushed on to +confer with the Pottawatomi, who had a village at Sycamore Creek about +forty miles farther on. Here he found similar conditions; also he +learned the falsity of the story that he could get aid from the British. + +He says that he then determined to return to Iowa and make the best of +it there. But he was too late--Governor Reynolds had issued another +proclamation, and two thousand volunteers besides a considerable body of +regulars were on his trail. He had made a farewell dog feast for his +Pottawatomi friends, when a scout brought news that about three hundred +whites were going into camp five miles distant. This was a sort of +independent command under Major Stillman, who had pushed ahead of the +main body. It was composed of lawless, undisciplined material, and at +that moment was suffering under the effects of drinking two barrels of +whisky which the troops had poured down their throats rather than leave +it on a wagon that was hopelessly stuck in the mud. + +Black Hawk directed three young braves to take a white flag, go to the +camp, ask what the purpose of the command was, and to say that he +desired a conference with them. He then sent five others on horseback to +report the reception which the flag bearers met with. Three of them an +hour later came at full speed into camp, reporting that the whites had +surrounded the flag bearers and killed them and then chased the five who +had followed, killing two of them, and were coming on in full force. All +the devil in the old warrior's heart was roused by this brutal +treachery, and calling on the forty warriors who were with him at the +conference, the rest being in camp some miles away, he hastened to meet +the enemy. Forming an ambush in the brush, the Indians fired their guns +as the whites approached, just at nightfall, and rose up and charged +with a wild yell. The drunken volunteers at once turned and fled, the +panic gathering force as they went. The fugitives rushed through the +camp pell-mell, and all who were left there joined in the stampede. In +their desperate fear, every soldier thought every other an Indian and +fired hither and yon. Eleven were killed, probably only one by the +redskins. The survivors for the most part continued their flight, +spreading the most exaggerated stories of the numbers and ferocity of +the Indians, until they reached their several homes. As it proved, the +three Indian flag bearers were not harmed till the stampede began, when +one of them was shot by a soldier just mounting his horse to run. One of +the surviving Indians immediately killed him with his tomahawk. + +This easy triumph changed Black Hawk's purpose. He regarded it as an +omen of victory and determined to go on. But his strenuous efforts to +enlist the Pottawatomi in the cause were unavailing. Old Chief Shaubenee +had absolute control over them and steadily said "no." Even Chief Big +Foot at the head of Lake Geneva refused. He was a drunken, sullen, +brutal savage, but had given his word to keep the peace and did so, +though he bitterly hated the whites and would have been glad to see the +war go on. About one hundred reckless, lawless individuals of the +Winnebago and Pottawatomi tribes joined Black Hawk, but gradually +deserted him as his fortunes waned. + +Black Hawk was now anxious to take his women, children and old men to a +place of safety, and, following the guidance of two Winnebagoes, they +made their way up the Rock to Hustisford Rapids and there went into +camp. Fish, game, clams, roots and the bark of trees constituted their +food while there, but Black Hawk in his biography says they found it +difficult to keep from starving. And, adding to their present misery, +the thrifty, provident squaws saw another harvestless summer passing and +a winter of famine before them. With his warriors he then returned to +continue the contest. A few skirmishes and collisions took place along +the line that now separates Wisconsin and Illinois, and predatory +parties of Winnebagoes and Pottawatomi worked out their grudges and +revenges on whites who had incurred their enmity. These outrages were +numerous and were attributed to the Sauks, as their perpetrators +expected would be the case. It is now believed that not a single case of +the murder of an unarmed man or of a woman or child was justly +chargeable to the Sauks. + +Governor Reynolds had called for a second levy of two thousand +volunteers, and General Atkinson, with a considerable force of regulars, +was in the field. All were under his command, and he followed Black +Hawk, as the latter retired northward, with an army of four thousand, +all mounted, fully twelve times as great in number as the starving band +which he was pursuing. They camped near Beloit, camped at Milton, near +the south end of Storr's Lake, and followed on cautiously to Lake +Koshkonong, for Atkinson had a most wholesome regard for Black Hawk's +prowess. At the lake they found an old blind Sauk who had been left +behind. They gave him food, but a straggler coming along later shot him +as he was crawling to a spring for water. His bones lay on the ground +unburied for years after the country was settled, the skull having been +hung on a bush. At the junction of the Bark and Rock rivers Atkinson +went into utter bewilderment and uncertainty as to Black Hawk's +whereabouts, and he finally built the stockade at the point which bears +his name. He dispatched a considerable force under Colonels Alexander, +Dodge and Henry to Portage for supplies. There they learned where Black +Hawk's camp was; Henry and Dodge set out to attack it, while Alexander +returned to Atkinson. The latter had heard that Black Hawk was in full +force at Burnt Village on the Whitewater River, about four miles north +of the location now occupied by the city bearing that name. He sent off +messengers for the remainder of the army to join him for an attack. + +But in going and coming, the trail of Black Hawk and his entire band was +discovered leading to the west. Henry and Dodge started in rapid +pursuit, sending word to Atkinson that the game had been flushed. That +doughty warrior had in the meantime learned that the Burnt Village story +was a myth; and those of his men whose time had expired, broke ranks and +returned to their homes, all believing that Black Hawk had finally +escaped. The fugitive's trail crossed the site of the present city of +Madison and also the University grounds, bearing thence northwest to the +Wisconsin River. Singularly enough, Black Hawk struck this stream +directly opposite the site of his people's ancient village of Prairie +du Sac. Soon after leaving Fourth Lake the Indians discovered their +pursuers and hastened their painful flight. All along the trail had been +marked by evidences of their extremity: in the skeletons of ponies +robbed of their flesh, in the trees stripped of bark for food, and the +ground dug over for roots. To these proofs were now added kettles and +blankets which the enfeebled women could no longer carry, and the dead +bodies of famished papooses and old people. + +[Illustration: THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN CROSSED THE RIVER] + +About four o'clock in the afternoon, the rear guard of the Sauks was +overtaken a few miles from the river. This was on the 21st day of July, +and the troops had made a forced march of eighty miles in three days +from the Rock to the Wisconsin, much of the way through swamps and dense +forests. Until dark a series of skirmishes was maintained, the Indians +skilfully forming new lines and holding the enemy back while the women +and children were crossing the river. Black Hawk directed the fight +while sitting on his pony, his stentorian voice reaching every part of +the field. He always counted this battle as most creditable to his +military genius, and there is reason for the claim, for he delayed the +whites till the passage of the river was secured. Jefferson Davis, who +was present, says that the squaws tore the bark off the trees and made +little canoes in which to float their papooses and utensils across the +river; and that half the braves swam the river holding their rifles in +the air, while the rest kept the whites back, and then, having landed, +fired on the whites from the other side, while the remaining braves +crossed. Davis pronounced it the most brilliant defensive battle he ever +witnessed. + +The next morning the Indians had disappeared, but during the night they +had constructed a raft upon which a large number of the women and +children and old men were placed and set adrift, hoping that they would +be allowed to go down the river unmolested, and reach their late village +in Iowa. But Colonel Dodge sent word ahead, and the soldiers at Fort +Crawford lay in wait for them; and when the raft approached they fired +upon the helpless creatures, killing a large number. A few were taken +prisoners, but the rest were drowned or swam ashore and afterwards +perished of hunger in the woods. + +Late in the night after the fight at Wisconsin Heights, a loud, shrill +voice was heard from the eminence which Black Hawk had occupied during +the conflict. It caused consternation at first among the whites, as it +was thought to signify a night attack. But the voice continued in +strong, impassioned harangue for more than an hour, eliciting, however, +only jeers and an occasional rifle shot. It was afterwards learned that +the orator was Neapope, speaking in the Winnebago tongue. He had seen a +few Winnebagoes with the whites in the afternoon but did not know that +they had gone away at nightfall. He told how they saw their great +mistake in leaving Iowa, that they had their wives and children with +them, that all were dying for want of food, and that they only asked to +be allowed to go in peace; and they pledged themselves to return to +Iowa, and never again come east of the river. Neapope was an orator of +great power, and he presented his plea with all the eloquence of which +he was master. But it fell on ears that understood not its purport. I +know of no more pathetic incident in all the long chapter of human woe +and despair than this pitiful prayer of a perishing people for mercy and +forgiveness, spoken in a tongue that carried no meaning to those who +heard. Let us hope that if the petition had been understood it would +have been granted. + +The loss in the battle on the 21st had not been large on either side, +and the Black Hawk band pursued their journey to the Mississippi +without guides, through a rugged, trackless wilderness, sorrowing, +suffering and despairing. The whites continued down the Wisconsin to +Helena, where General Atkinson took command. Helena was a deserted +village which had been built to carry on shot-making. The soldiers tore +down the log houses and made rafts of the logs to cross the river. Five +days in all were consumed before the Black Hawk trail was discovered, +and then the pursuers were guided to it by crows and buzzards gathering +in the air over the bodies of dead refugees left by the wayside. + +On the first of August the Indians reached the Mississippi and began +crossing in two canoes. In the afternoon the steamer Warrior, which had +been sent up from Fort Crawford to notify the Sioux Chief, Wabasha, one +hundred and twenty miles above to look out for his enemy, Black Hawk, +who was headed that way, stopped opposite the spot where the Indians had +gathered. Black Hawk raised a white flag and tried to parley; but the +captain assumed that it was an attempt to trap him and, without warning, +fired into the Indians at short range with a cannon loaded with +cannister. Thus a second time was the usage of all nations violated in +this war by refusing to recognize the flag of truce. Twenty-three were +killed by this discharge. There were twenty riflemen on the boat who +then began firing, and the Sauks responded. The Warrior soon after +steamed away to Fort Crawford, twenty miles below, and the Indians +continued their efforts to cross the river, here three hundred rods wide +and running a strong current. Some were drowned and others were carried +down the stream on improvised rafts. A few of these were rescued at +Prairie du Chien. + +The next day Atkinson appeared on the ground. Black Hawk seems to have +been utterly demoralized and had told those who had not crossed that he +was going to the Chippewa country, and that they had better follow. Only +a few did so, and after going a few miles he turned back on August 2nd, +just in time to see the closing scene of the massacre called the battle +of Bad Axe. + +As Atkinson approached he was skilfully decoyed beyond the Indian camp +some distance, but its location was finally discovered and a fierce +onslaught was made. The poor wretches at first begged for quarter, but +as the soldiers shot them down without discrimination, they fought for a +time with desperation, and then men, women and children plunged into the +river, the most of them to drown before reaching the other side. The +steamer Warrior reappeared, and the sharpshooters fired at the swimmers, +some of them women with babies on their backs. The incidents of the +merciless slaughter are too harrowing for recital, and would be +incredible if not thoroughly authenticated. It is difficult to +understand the ferocity with which Black Hawk's band was pursued and +destroyed. Probably the belief that he was still in the British service +had much to do with it; also his first success at Stillman's Run, and +the murder of the whites in Northern Illinois by marauders from other +tribes, which were unjustly charged to him, may account for it in large +part. About three hundred Indians succeeded in crossing the river, but +their ill fate still pursued them. Their fierce enemy, Wabasha, was on +their track, and before reaching the Iowa river half of the three +hundred had been relentlessly slain. Of the twelve hundred who crossed +the Mississippi in April, only one hundred and fifty, and they barely +living skeletons, returned in August. + +Black Hawk gave himself up soon after the Bad Axe massacre to the +Winnebagoes, and was surrendered to our officers at Prairie du Chien. +Thence he was taken to Saint Louis, Washington, through the east, and +back to Fort Armstrong, where he was delivered over to Keokuk, who +became surety for his good behavior. Although always kindly treated by +the latter, the old chief never ceased to be mindful of his +subordination. For five years he brooded over his misfortunes and +humiliation, and then died in his seventy-second year. Even his body was +not allowed to rest in peace; it was stolen, and when the Indians +discovered the theft and demanded the return of the bones, the building +in which the skeleton was stored burned before it was delivered up, and +only indistinguishable ashes remained. + +A word further is due the stalwart old chief, whose good qualities +certainly surpassed his evil ones. He was honorable, brave, generous and +magnanimous. He never permitted a captive to be tortured, and early gave +up the practice of scalping the enemies he had slain. As a leader in +Indian warfare he ranks high, and his final campaign had in its purpose +the same comprehensive idea which actuated Tecumseh and Pontiac, that of +a union of all Indian tribes; and he had the further intent of drawing +in the British to enforce the treaty of 1815, which he claimed had been +violated in his own case--the guarantee of immunity to all Indian allies +of the British having been disregarded. Absolute honesty and +truthfulness in business matters were among his characteristics. These +he shared with his people generally. Colonel Davenport, who had a +trading establishment on the island for many, many years, used often to +go to dinner leaving his store full of Indians, and he said they never +took so much as a clay pipe in his absence. + +Black Hawk was impulsive, hopeful and credulous, and so was easily +imposed upon; he had an ardent love for the beauties of nature; he was +deeply religious, and said that he never took a drink of water from a +brook without sincere gratitude to the Great Spirit who cared for him. +He was a tender husband and father, and, contrary to the usage of his +tribe, married only one wife. When his father was killed he mourned and +fasted five years. He did the same for two years, when a son and +daughter died, eating only a little corn each evening, "hoping that the +Great Spirit would take pity on him." We wish for the honor of our race +that this poor savage whose only offense was that of loving his home too +well to give it up without a struggle, had not gone out of life leaving +such a red, indelible page on the book of history against us. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[58-1] The following account is taken from a paper read before the Loyal +Legion at Milwaukee, May 6, 1896, by Mr. Coe. + + + + +THE PETRIFIED FERN + +_By_ MARY BOLLES BRANCH + + In a valley, centuries ago, + Grew a little fern-leaf, green and slender, + Veining delicate and fibres tender; + Waving when the wind crept down so low. + Rushes tall, and moss, and grass grew round it, + Playful sunbeams darted in and found it, + Drops of dew stole in by night, and crowned it, + But no foot of man e'er trod that way; + Earth was young, and keeping holiday. + + Monster fishes swam the silent main, + Stately forests waved their giant branches, + Mountains hurled their snowy avalanches, + Mammoth creatures stalked across the plain; + Nature revelled in grand mysteries, + But the little fern was not of these, + Did not number with the hills and trees; + Only grew and waved its wild sweet way, + None ever came to note it day by day. + + Earth one time put on a frolic mood, + Heaved the rocks and changed the mighty motion + Of the deep, strong currents of the ocean; + Moved the plain and shook the haughty wood, + Crushed the little fern in soft moist clay,-- + Covered it, and hid it safe away. + O the long, long centuries since that day! + O the agony! O life's bitter cost, + Since that useless little fern was lost! + + Useless? Lost? There came a thoughtful man + Searching Nature's secrets, far and deep; + From a fissure in a rocky steep + He withdrew a stone, o'er which there ran + Fairy pencilings, a quaint design, + Veinings, leafage, fibres clear and fine, + And the fern's life lay in every line! + So, I think, God hides some souls away, + Sweetly to surprise us, the last day. + + + + +AN EXCITING CANOE RACE + +_By_ J. FENIMORE COOPER + + +The heavens were still studded with stars when Hawkeye[79-1] came to +arouse the sleepers. Casting aside their cloaks, Munro[79-2] and +Heyward[79-3] were on their feet while the woodsman was still making his +low calls at the entrance of the rude shelter where they had passed the +night. When they issued from beneath its concealment, they found the +scout awaiting their appearance nigh by, and the only salutation between +them was the significant gesture for silence made by their sagacious +leader. + +"Think over your prayers," he whispered, as they approached him; "for He +to whom you make them knows all tongues; that of the heart, as well as +those of the mouth. But speak not a syllable; it is rare for a white +voice to pitch itself properly in the woods. Come," he continued, +turning toward a curtain of the works; "let us get into the ditch on +this side, and be regardful to step on the stones and fragments of wood +as you go." + +[Illustration: HAWKEYE ON THE TRAIL] + +His companions complied, though to two of them the reasons of this +extraordinary precaution were yet a mystery. When they were in the low +cavity that surrounded the earthen fort on three of its sides, they +found the passage nearly choked by the ruins. With care and patience, +however, they succeeded in clambering after the scout until they reached +the sandy shore of the Horicon. + +"That's a trail that nothing but a nose can follow," said the satisfied +scout, looking back along their difficult way; "grass is a treacherous +carpet for a flying party to tread on, but wood and stone take no print +from a moccasin. Had you worn your armed boots, there might indeed have +been something to fear; but with the deerskin suitably prepared, a man +may trust himself, generally, on rocks with safety. Shove in the canoe +nigher to the land, Uncas;[81-4] this sand will take a stamp as easily +as the butter of the Jarmans on the Mohawk. Softly, lad, softly; it must +not touch the beach, or the knaves will know by what road we have left +the place." + +The young man observed the precaution; and the scout laying a board from +the ruins to the canoe, made a sign for the two officers to enter. When +this was done, everything was studiously restored to its former +disorder; and then Hawkeye succeeded in reaching his little birchen +vessel without leaving behind him any of those marks which he appeared +so much to dread. + +"Now," continued the scout, looking back at the dim shore of William +Henry, which was now fast receding, and laughing in his own silent but +heartfelt manner; "I have put a trail of water atween us; and unless the +imps can make friends with the fishes, and hear who has paddled across +their basin this fine morning, we shall throw the length of the Horicon +behind us before they have made up their minds which path to take." + +"With foes in front and foes in our rear, our journey is like to be one +of danger." + +"Danger," repeated Hawkeye, calmly; "no, not absolutely of danger, for, +with vigilant ears and quick eyes, we can manage to keep a few hours +ahead of the knaves; or, if we must try the rifle, there are three of us +who understand its gifts as well as any you can name on the borders. No, +not of danger; but that we shall have what you may call a brisk push of +it is probable; and it may happen a brush, a scrimmage, or some such +divarsion, but always where covers are good and ammunition abundant." + +[Illustration: JAMES FENIMORE COOPER +1789-1851] + +It is possible that Heyward's estimate of danger differed in some degree +from that of the scout, for, instead of replying, he now sat in silence, +while the canoe glided over several miles of water. Just as the day +dawned, they entered the narrows of the lake[82-5], and stole swiftly +and cautiously among their numberless little islands. It was by this +road that Montcalm had retired with his army, and the adventurers knew +not but he had left some of his Indians in ambush, to protect the rear +of his forces and collect the stragglers. They therefore approached +the passage with the customary silence of their guarded habits. +Chingachgook[83-6] laid aside his paddle, while Uncas and the scout +urged the light vessel through crooked and intricate channels, where +every foot that they advanced exposed them to the danger of some sudden +rising on their progress. The eyes of the sagamore moved warily from +islet to islet and copse to copse as the canoe proceeded; and when a +clearer sheet of water permitted, his keen vision was bent along the +bald rocks and impending forests that frowned upon the narrow strait. + +Heyward, who was a doubly interested spectator as well from the beauties +of the place as from the apprehension natural to his situation, was just +believing that he had permitted the latter to be excited without +sufficient reason, when the paddle ceased moving, in obedience to a +signal from Chingachgook. + +"Ugh!" exclaimed Uncas, nearly at the moment that the light tap his +father had made on the side of the canoe notified them of the vicinity +of danger. + +"What now?" asked the scout; "the lake is as smooth as if the winds had +never blown, and I can see along its sheets for miles; there is not so +much as the black head of a loon dotting the water." + +The Indian gravely raised his paddle, and pointed in the direction in +which his own steady look was riveted. Duncan's eyes followed the +motion. A few rods in their front lay another of the low-wooded islets, +but it appeared as calm and peaceful as if its solitude had never been +disturbed by the foot of man. + +"I see nothing," he said, "but land and water; and a lovely scene it +is." + +"Hist!" interrupted the scout. "Ay, sagamore, there is always a reason +for what you do. 'Tis but a shade, and yet it is not natural. You see +the mist, major, that is rising above the island; you can't call it a +fog, for it is more like a streak of thin cloud----" + +"It is a vapor from the water." + +"That a child could tell. But what is the edging of blacker smoke that +hangs along its lower side, and which you may trace down into the +thicket of hazel? 'Tis from a fire; but one that, in my judgment, has +been suffered to burn low." + +"Let us then push for the place, and relieve our doubts," said the +impatient Duncan; "the party must be small that can lie on such a bit of +land." + +"If you judge of Indian cunning by the rules you find in books or by +white sagacity, they will lead you astray, if not to your death," +returned Hawkeye, examining the signs of the place with that acuteness +which distinguished him. "If I may be permitted to speak in this matter, +it will be to say that we have but two things to choose between: the one +is, to return and give up all thought of following the Hurons----" + +"Never!" exclaimed Heyward in a voice far too loud for their +circumstances. + +"Well, well," continued Hawkeye, making a hasty sign to repress his +impatience, "I am much of your mind myself; though I thought it becoming +my experience to tell the whole. We must then make a push, and, if the +Indians or Frenchers are in the narrows, run the gantlet through these +toppling mountains. Is there reason in my words, sagamore?" + +[Illustration: HAWKEYE] + +The Indian made no further answer than by dropping his paddle into the +water and urging forward the canoe. As he held the office of directing +its course, his resolution was sufficiently indicated by the movement. +The whole party now plied their paddles vigorously, and in a very few +moments they had reached a point whence they might command an entire +view of the northern shore of the island. + +"There they are, by all the truth of signs," whispered the scout; "two +canoes and a smoke. The knaves haven't yet got their eyes out of the +mist, or we should hear the accursed whoop. Together, friends--we are +leaving them, and are already nearly out of whistle of a bullet." + +The well-known crack of a rifle, whose ball came skipping along the +placid surface of the strait, and a shrill yell from the island +interrupted his speech and announced that their passage was discovered. +In another instant several savages were seen rushing into the canoes, +which were soon dancing over the water in pursuit. These fearful +precursors of a coming struggle produced no change in the countenances +and movements of his three guides, so far as Duncan could discover, +except that the strokes of their paddles were longer and more in unison, +and caused the little bark to spring forward like a creature possessing +life and volition. + +"Hold them there, sagamore," said Hawkeye, looking coolly backward over +his left shoulder, while he still plied his paddle; "keep them just +there. Them Hurons have never a piece in their nation that will execute +at this distance; but 'Kill Deer'[86-7] has a barrel on which a man may +calculate." + +The scout, having ascertained that the Mohicans were sufficient of +themselves to maintain the requisite distance, deliberately laid aside +his paddle and raised the fatal rifle. Then several times he brought the +piece to his shoulder, and when his companions were expecting its report +he as often lowered it to request the Indians would permit their enemies +to approach a little nigher. At length his accurate and fastidious eye +seemed satisfied, and throwing out his left arm on the barrel, he was +slowly elevating the muzzle, when an exclamation from Uncas, who sat in +the bow, once more caused him to suspend the shot. + +"How now, lad?" demanded Hawkeye; "you saved a Huron[87-8] from the +death-shriek by that word; have you reason for what you do?" + +Uncas pointed toward the rocky shore a little in their front, whence +another war canoe was darting directly across their course. It was too +obvious now that their situation was imminently perilous to need the aid +of language to confirm it. The scout laid aside his rifle, and resumed +the paddle, while Chingachgook inclined the bows of the canoe a little +toward the western shore, in order to increase the distance between them +and this new enemy. In the meantime they were reminded of the presence +of those who pressed on their rear, by wild and exulting shouts. The +stirring scene awakened even Munro from his apathy. + +"Let us make for the rocks on the main," he said, with the mien of a +tried soldier, "and give battle to the savages. God forbid that I or +those attached to me or mine should ever trust again to the faith of any +servant of the Louises." + +"He who wishes to prosper in Indian warfare," returned the scout, "must +not be too proud to learn from the wit of a native. Lay her more along +the land, sagamore; we are doubling on the varlets, and perhaps they may +try to strike our trail on the long calculation." + +Hawkeye was not mistaken; for, when the Hurons found that their course +was likely to throw them behind their chase, they rendered it less +direct, until, by gradually bearing more and more obliquely, the two +canoes were, ere long, gliding on parallel lines, within two hundred +yards of each other. It now became entirely a trial of speed. So rapid +was the progress of the light vessels that the lake curled in their +front in miniature waves, and their motion became undulating by its own +velocity. It was, perhaps, owing to this circumstance, in addition to +the necessity of keeping every hand employed at the paddles, that the +Hurons had not immediate recourse to their firearms. The exertions of +the fugitives were too severe to continue long, and the pursuers had the +advantage of numbers. Duncan observed, with uneasiness, that the scout +began to look anxiously about him, as if searching for some further +means of assisting their flight. + +"Edge her a little more from the sun, Sagamore," said the stubborn +woodsman; "I see the knaves are sparing a man to the rifle. A single +broken bone might lose us our scalps. Edge more from the sun, and we +will put the island between us." + +The expedient was not without its use. A long, low island lay a little +distance before them, and, as they closed with it, the chasing canoe was +compelled to take a side opposite to that on which the pursued passed. +The scout and his companions did not neglect this advantage, but, the +instant they were hid from observation by the bushes, they redoubled +efforts that before had seemed prodigious. The two canoes came round the +last low point, like two coursers at the top of their speed, the +fugitives taking the lead. This change had brought them nigher to each +other, however, while it altered their relative positions. + +"You showed knowledge in the shaping of birchen bark, Uncas, when you +chose this from among the Huron canoes," said the scout, smiling, +apparently more in satisfaction at their superiority in the race, than +from that prospect of final escape which now began to open a little upon +them. "The imps have put all their strength again at the paddles, and we +are to struggle for our scalps with bits of flattened wood, instead of +clouded barrels and true eyes. A long stroke, and together, friends!" + +"They are preparing for a shot," said Heyward; "and as we are in a line +with them, it can scarcely fail." + +"Get you then into the bottom of the canoe," returned the scout; "you +and the colonel; it will be so much taken from the size of the mark." + +Heyward smiled, as he answered: + +"It would be but an ill example for the highest in rank to dodge, while +the warriors were under fire!" + +"Lord! Lord! that is now a white man's courage!" exclaimed the scout, +"and, like too many of his notions, not to be maintained by reason. Do +you think the sagamore, or Uncas, or even I, who am a man without a +cross, would deliberate about finding a cover in a scrimmage when an +open body would do no good? For what have the Frenchers reared up their +Quebec, if fighting is always to be done in the clearings?" + +"All that you say is very true, my friend," replied Heyward; "still, our +custom must prevent us from doing as you wish." + +A volley from the Hurons interrupted the discourse; and, as the bullets +whistled about them, Duncan saw the head of Uncas turned, looking back +at himself and Munro. Notwithstanding the nearness of the enemy, and his +own great personal danger, the countenance of the young warrior +expressed no other emotion, as the former was compelled to think, than +amazement at finding men willing to encounter so useless an exposure. +Chingachgook was probably better acquainted with the notions of white +men, for he did not even cast a glance aside from the riveted look his +eye maintained on the object by which he governed their course. A ball +soon struck the light and polished paddle from the hands of the chief, +and drove it through the air far in advance. A shout rose from the +Hurons, who seized the opportunity to fire another volley. Uncas +described an arc in the water with his own blade, and, as the canoe +passed swiftly on, Chingachgook recovered his paddle, and, flourishing +it on high, he gave the war-whoop of the Mohicans, and then lent his +strength and skill again to the important task. + +The clamorous sounds of "Le Gros Serpent!"[91-9] "La Longue +Carabine!"[91-10] "Le Cerf Agile!"[91-11] burst at once from the canoes +behind, and seemed to give new zeal to the pursuers. The scout seized +"Kill Deer" in his left hand, and, elevating it above his head, he shook +it in triumph at his enemies. The savages answered the insult with a +yell, and immediately another volley succeeded. The bullets pattered +along the lake, and one even pierced the bark of their little vessel. No +perceptible emotion could be discovered in the Mohicans during this +critical moment, their rigid features expressing neither hope nor alarm; +but the scout again turned his head, and, laughing in his own silent +manner, he said to Heyward: + +"The knaves love to hear the sounds of their pieces, but the eye is not +to be found among the Mingoes that can calculate a true range in a +dancing canoe! You see the dumb devils have taken off a man to charge, +and by the smallest measurement that can be allowed we move three feet +to their two." + +Duncan, who was not altogether as easy under this nice estimate of +distances as his companions, was glad to find, however, that, owing to +their superior dexterity, and the diversion among their enemies they +were very sensibly obtaining the advantage. The Hurons soon fired again, +and a bullet struck the blade of Hawkeye's paddle without injury. + +"That will do," said the scout, examining the slight indentation with a +curious eye; "it would not have cut the skin of an infant, much less of +men who, like us, have been blown upon by the heavens in their anger. +Now, major, if you will try to use this piece of flattened wood, I'll +let 'Kill Deer' take a part in the conversation." + +Heyward seized the paddle and applied himself to the work with an +eagerness that supplied the place of skill, while Hawkeye was engaged in +inspecting the priming of his rifle. The latter then took a swift aim +and fired. The Huron in the bows of the leading canoe had risen with a +similar object, and he now fell backward, suffering the gun to escape +from his hands into the water. In an instant, however, he recovered his +feet, though his gestures were wild and bewildered. At the same moment +his companions suspended their efforts, and the chasing canoes clustered +together and became stationary. Chingachgook and Uncas profited by the +interval to regain their wind, though Duncan continued to work with the +most persevering industry. The father and son now cast calm but +inquiring glances at each other, to learn if either had sustained any +injury by the fire; for both well knew that no cry or exclamation would, +in such a moment of necessity, have been permitted to betray the +accident. A few large drops of blood were trickling down the shoulders +of the sagamore, who, when he perceived that the eyes of Uncas dwelt +too long on the sight, raised some water in the hollow of his hand, and, +washing off the stain, was content to manifest, in this simple manner, +the slightness of the injury. + +The lake now began to expand, and their route lay along a reacher, that +was lined, as before, by high and rugged mountains. But the islands were +few and easily avoided. The strokes of the paddles grew more measured +and regular; while they who plied them continued their labor, after the +close and deadly chase from which they had just relieved themselves, +with as much coolness as though their speed had been tried in sport, +rather than under such pressing, nay, almost desperate circumstances. + +Instead of following the western shore, whither their errand led them, +the wary Mohican inclined his course more toward those hills behind +which Montcalm was known to have led his army into the formidable +fortress of Ticonderoga. As the Hurons, to every appearance, had +abandoned the pursuit, there was no apparent reason for this excess of +caution. It was, however, maintained for hours until they had reached a +bay nigh the northern termination of the lake. Here the canoe was driven +upon the beach, and the whole party landed. Hawkeye and Heyward ascended +an adjacent bluff, where the former, after considering the expanse of +water beneath him, pointed out to the latter a small black object, +hovering under a headland, at a distance of several miles. + +"Do you see it?" demanded the scout. "Now, what would you account that +spot, were you left alone to white experience to find your way through +this wilderness?" + +"But for its distance and its magnitude, I should suppose it a bird. Can +it be a living object?" + +"'Tis a canoe of good birchen bark, and paddled by fierce and crafty +Mingoes. Though Providence has lent to those who inhabit the woods eyes +that would be needless to men in the settlements where there are +inventions to assist the sight, yet no human organs can see all the +dangers which at this moment circumvent us. These varlets pretend to be +bent chiefly on their sundown meal, but the moment it is dark they will +be on our trail as true as hounds on the scent. We must throw them off. +These lakes are useful at times, especially when the game takes the +water," continued the scout, gazing about him with a countenance of +concern; "but they give no cover, except it be to fishes. God knows what +the country would be, if the settlement should ever spread far from the +two rivers. Both hunting and war would lose their beauty." + +"Let us not delay a moment without some good and obvious cause." + +"I little like that smoke which you may see worming up along the rock +above the canoe," interrupted the abstracted scout. "My life on it, +other eyes than ours see it, and know its meaning. Well, words will not +mend the matter, and it is time we were doing." + +Hawkeye moved away from the lookout, and descended, musing profoundly, +to the shore. He communicated the result of his observations to his +companions, in Delaware, and a short and earnest consultation succeeded. +When it terminated, the three instantly set about executing their new +resolutions. + +The canoe was lifted from the water, and borne on the shoulders of the +party. They proceeded into the wood, making as broad and obvious a trail +as possible. They soon reached a water course, which they crossed, and +continued onward until they came to an extensive and naked rock. At this +point, where their footsteps might be expected to be no longer visible, +they retraced their route to the brook, walking backward with the utmost +care. They now followed the bed of the little stream to the lake, into +which they immediately launched their canoe again. A low point concealed +them from the headland, and the margin of the lake was fringed for some +distance with dense and overhanging bushes. Under the cover of these +natural advantages, they toiled their way, with patient industry, until +the scout pronounced that he believed it would be safe once more to +land. + +The halt continued until evening rendered objects indistinct and +uncertain to the eye. Then they resumed their route, and, favored by the +darkness, pushed silently and vigorously toward the western shore. +Although the rugged outline of mountain, to which they were steering, +presented no distinctive marks to the eyes of Duncan, the Mohican +entered the little haven he had selected with the confidence and +accuracy of an experienced pilot. + +The boat was again lifted and borne into the woods, where it was +carefully concealed under a pile of brush. The adventurers assumed their +arms and packs, and the scout announced to Munro and Heyward that he and +the Indians were at last in readiness to proceed. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[79-1] Hawkeye is an American scout working with the English army. He is +one of the most important characters in this book, and under different +names figures in the other volumes of _The Leather-Stocking Tales_. In +one he is known as the Deerslayer, in others as Leather-Stocking and the +Pathfinder. His real name is Natty Bumppo. The five stories which Cooper +includes among _The Leather-Stocking Tales_ are in their natural order: +_Deerslayer_, _The Last of the Mohicans_, _The Pathfinder_, _The +Pioneers_ and _The Prairie_. This selection is taken from _The Last of +the Mohicans_. + +[79-2] Munro is the father of two young ladies who have been captured +and carried away by the Indians. With his companions he is now following +the trail of the captors, and this canoe race is but one of many +adventures through which they pass before they finally rescue the women. + +[79-3] Duncan Heyward is a British officer who was with the young ladies +when they were captured. + +[81-4] Uncas is the son of the last chief of the Mohicans, a fine Indian +who sides with the Americans, and is, as his tribe has always been, a +bitter enemy of the Huron Indians. + +[82-5] The beauties of Lake George are well known to every American +tourist. In the height of the mountains which surround it, and in +artificial accessories, it is inferior to the finest of the Swiss and +Italian lakes, while in outline and purity of water it is fully their +equal, and in the number and disposition of its isles and islets much +superior to them altogether. There are said to be some hundreds of +islands in a sheet of water less than thirty miles long. The narrows, +which connect what may be called, in truth two lakes, are crowded with +islands, to such a degree as to leave passages between them frequently +of only a few feet in width. The lake itself varies in breadth from one +to three miles. + +[83-6] Chingachgook, the father of Uncas, is the chief of the Delaware +or Mohican Indians. + +[86-7] _Kill Deer_, his favorite rifle, has a particularly long barrel, +much longer than the rifle used by the soldiers. Hawkeye's appearance is +described in another place as follows: "The frame of the white man, +judging by such parts as were not concealed by his clothes, was like +that of one who had known hardships and exertion from his earliest +youth. His person, though muscular, was rather attenuated than full; but +every nerve and muscle appeared strung and indurated by unremitted +exposure and toil. He wore a hunting-shirt of forest green, fringed with +faded yellow, and a summer cap of skins which had been shorn of their +fur. He also bore a knife in a girdle of wampum, like that which +confined the scanty garments of the Indian, but no tomahawk. His +moccasins were ornamented after the gay fashion of the natives, while +the only part of his under-dress which appeared below the hunting-frock, +was a pair of buckskin leggings that laced at the sides, and which were +gartered above the knees with the sinews of a deer. A pouch and horn +completed his personal accoutrements, though a rifle of great length, +which the theory of the more ingenious whites had taught them was the +most dangerous of all fire-arms, leaned against a neighboring sapling. +The eye of the hunter, or scout, whichever he might be, was small, +quick, keen, and restless, roving while he spoke, on every side of him, +as if in quest of game, or distrusting the sudden approach of some +lurking enemy. Notwithstanding these symptoms of habitual suspicion, his +countenance was not only without guile, but, at the moment at which he +is introduced, it was charged with an expression of sturdy honesty." + +[87-8] The Huron tribe sided with the French, and as they were powerful +Indians, wise in woodcraft and fierce in battle, they were among the +most deadly foes whom the English colonists had to meet. + +[91-9] _Le Gros Serpent_ is a French phrase meaning _The Great Serpent_, +or _The Big Snake_, a name which the Hurons gave to Chingachgook. + +[91-10] _La Longue Carabine_ means _The Long Rifle_, and is the French +name which the Hurons gave to Hawkeye. + +[91-11] _Le Cerf Agile_ is a French phrase which means _The Nimble +Deer_. It is the name given to Uncas by the Hurons. + + + + +THE BUFFALO + + + NOTE.--The following selections are taken from _The Oregon Trail_, + a narrative written by Francis Parkman describing the journey which + he undertook in order to study the manners, customs and character + of the Indians in their native state. Parkman planned this + investigation to prepare himself more fully for writing his + splendid _Histories of the French and Indians in America_, a series + of books which are not only the best accounts we have of the + period, but are also written in most charming style. His + _Conspiracy of Pontiac_ and _La Salle_ are among the most readable + of these works. The selections which we have made are peculiarly + interesting. His journey was begun in the spring of 1846, and in + the brief time that has elapsed the wilderness he describes has + given way to populous states and thriving cities. The red man is + seen there no longer, and the vast herds of buffalo whose numbers + seem to us incredible have become wholly extinct. In the United + States there remain almost no wild bison, and to study the animal + at all a person must now examine those half domesticated groups + that are confined in public parks. + + The extravagant slaughter which he chronicles bears little + comparison to the hunts in which others engaged. The cruel and + wanton destruction of the bison takes its place in history with the + more fierce and relentless persecution which the Indians have + suffered. When we read of the innumerable herds of bison which + Parkman saw, we are inclined, however, not to wonder that he + expressed the belief that the extinction of the animal was + impossible. His description of his hunts are fascinating, and will + rouse the wild blood in any boy's nature. + + +Four days on the Platte, and yet no buffalo! Last year's signs of them +were provokingly abundant; and wood being extremely scarce, we found an +admirable substitute in the _bois de vache_, which burns exactly like +peat, producing no unpleasant effects. The wagons one morning had left +the camp; Shaw and I were already on horseback, but Henry Chatillon +still sat cross-legged by the dead embers of the fire, playing pensively +with the lock of his rifle, while his sturdy Wyandotte pony stood +quietly behind him, looking over his head. At last he got up, patted the +neck of the pony (whom, from an exaggerated appreciation of his merits, +he had christened "Five Hundred Dollar"), and then mounted with a +melancholy air. + +"What is it, Henry?" + +"Ah, I feel lonesome; I never been here before; but I see away yonder +over the buttes, and down there on the prairie, black--all black with +buffalo!" + +In the afternoon he and I left the party in search of an antelope; until +at the distance of a mile or two on the right, the tall white wagons and +the little black specks of horsemen were just visible, so slowly +advancing that they seemed motionless; and far on the left rose the +broken line of scorched, desolate sand-hills. The vast plain waved with +tall rank grass that swept our horses' bellies; it swayed to and fro in +billows with the light breeze, and far and near antelope and wolves were +moving through it, the hairy backs of the latter alternately appearing +and disappearing as they bounded awkwardly along: while the antelope, +with the simple curiosity peculiar to them, would often approach us +closely, their little horns and white throats just visible above the +grass tops, as they gazed eagerly at us with their round black eyes. + +I dismounted, and amused myself with firing at the wolves. Henry +attentively scrutinized the surrounding landscape; at length he gave a +shout, and called on me to mount again, pointing in the direction of the +sand-hills. A mile and a half from us, two minute black specks slowly +traversed the face of one of the bare glaring declivities, and +disappeared behind the summit. "Let us go!" cried Henry, belaboring the +sides of Five Hundred Dollar; and I following in his wake, we galloped +rapidly through the rank grass toward the base of the hills. + +From one of their openings descended a deep ravine, widening as it +issued on the prairie. We entered it, and galloping up, in a moment were +surrounded by the bleak sand-hills. Half of their steep sides were bare; +the rest were scantily clothed with clumps of grass, and various uncouth +plants, conspicuous among which appeared the reptile-like prickly pear. +They were gashed with numberless ravines; and as the sky had suddenly +darkened, and a cold gusty wind arisen, the strange shrubs and the +dreary hills looked doubly wild and desolate. But Henry's face was all +eagerness. He tore off a little hair from the piece of buffalo robe +under his saddle, and threw it up to show the course of the wind. It +blew directly before us. The game were therefore to windward, and it was +necessary to make our best speed to get around them. + +We scrambled from this ravine, and galloping away through the hollows, +soon found another, winding like a snake among the hills, and so deep +that it completely concealed us. We rode up the bottom of it, glancing +through the shrubbery at its edge, till Henry abruptly jerked his rein, +and slid out of his saddle. Full a quarter of a mile distant, on the +outline of the farthest hill, a long procession of buffalo were walking +in Indian file, with the utmost gravity and deliberation; then more +appeared, clambering from a hollow not far off, and ascending, one +behind the other, the grassy slope of another hill; then a shaggy head +and a pair of short broken horns appeared issuing out of a ravine close +at hand, and with a slow, stately step, one by one, the enormous brutes +came into view, taking their way across the valley, wholly unconscious +of an enemy. In a moment Henry was worming his way, lying flat on the +ground, through grass and prickly pears, toward his unsuspecting +victims. He had with him both my rifle and his own. He was soon out of +sight, and still the buffalo kept issuing into the valley. For a long +time all was silent; I sat holding his horse, and wondering what he was +about, when suddenly, in rapid succession, came the sharp reports of the +two rifles, and the whole line of buffalo, quickening their pace into a +clumsy trot, gradually disappeared over the ridge of the hill. Henry +rose to his feet, and stood looking after them. + +"You have missed them," said I. + +"Yes," said Henry; "let us go." He descended into the ravine, loaded the +rifles, and mounted his horse. We rode up the hill after the buffalo. +The herd was out of sight when we reached the top, but lying on the +grass not far off was one quite lifeless, and another violently +struggling in the death agony. + +"You see I miss him!" remarked Henry. He had fired from a distance of +more than a hundred and fifty yards, and both balls had passed through +the lungs--the true mark in shooting buffalo. + +The darkness increased, and a driving storm came on. Tying our horses to +the horns of the victims, Henry began the bloody work of dissection, +slashing away with the science of a connoisseur, while I vainly +endeavored to imitate him. Old Hendrick recoiled with horror and +indignation when I endeavored to tie the meat to the strings of rawhide, +always carried for this purpose, dangling at the back of the saddle. +After some difficulty we overcame his scruples; and heavily burdened +with the more eligible portions of the buffalo, we set out on our +return. Scarcely had we emerged from the labyrinth of gorges and +ravines, and issued upon the open prairie, when the pricking sleet came +driving, gust upon gust, directly in our faces. It was strangely dark, +though wanting still an hour of sunset. The freezing storm soon +penetrated to the skin, but the uneasy trot of our heavy-gaited horses +kept us warm enough, as we forced them unwillingly in the teeth of the +sleet and rain, by the powerful suasion of our Indian whips. + +The prairie in this place was hard and level. A flourishing colony of +prairie dogs had burrowed into it in every direction, and the little +mounds of fresh earth around their holes were about as numerous as the +hills in a cornfield; but not a yelp was to be heard; not a nose of a +single citizen was visible; all had retired to the depths of their +burrows, and we envied them their dry and comfortable habitations. + +An hour's hard riding showed us our tent dimly looming through the +storm, one side puffed out by the force of the wind, and the other +collapsed in proportion, while the disconsolate horses stood shivering +close around, and the wind kept up a dismal whistling in the boughs of +three old half-dead trees above. Shaw, like a patriarch, sat on his +saddle in the entrance, with a pipe in his mouth, and his arms folded, +contemplating, with cool satisfaction, the piles of meat that we flung +on the ground before him. A dark and dreary night succeeded; but the sun +rose with a heat so sultry and languid that the captain excused himself +on that account from waylaying an old buffalo bull, who with stupid +gravity was walking over the prairie to drink at the river. So much for +the climate of the Platte! + +We encamped that night upon the bank of the river. Among the emigrants +there was an overgrown boy, some eighteen years old, with a head as +round and about as large as a pumpkin, and fever-and-ague fits had dyed +his face of a corresponding color. He wore an old white hat, tied under +his chin with a handkerchief; his body was short and stout, but his legs +of disproportioned and appalling length. I observed him at sunset, +breasting the hill with gigantic strides, and standing against the sky +on the summit, like a colossal pair of tongs. In a moment after we heard +him screaming frantically behind the ridge, and nothing doubting that he +was in the clutches of Indians or grizzly bears, some of the party +caught up their rifles and ran to the rescue. His outcries, however, +proved but an ebullition of joyous excitement; he had chased two little +wolf pups to their burrow, and he was on his knees, grubbing away like a +dog at the mouth of the hole, to get at them. + +Before morning he caused more serious disquiet in the camp. It was his +turn to hold the middle guard; but no sooner was he called up, than he +coolly arranged a pair of saddle-bags under a wagon, laid his head upon +them, closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and fell asleep. The guard on +our side of the camp, thinking it no part of his duty to look after the +cattle of the emigrants, contented himself with watching our own horses +and mules; the wolves, he said, were unusually noisy; but still no +mischief was anticipated until the sun rose, and not a hoof or horn was +in sight! The cattle were gone! While Tom was quietly slumbering, the +wolves had driven them away. + +Then we reaped the fruits of R.'s precious plan of traveling in company +with emigrants. To leave them in their distress was not to be thought +of, and we felt bound to wait until the cattle could be searched for, +and, if possible, recovered. But the reader may be curious to know what +punishment awaited the faithless Tom. By the wholesome law of the +prairie, he who falls asleep on guard is condemned to walk all day, +leading his horse by the bridle, and we found much fault with our +companions for not enforcing such a sentence on the offender. +Nevertheless, had he been of our own party, I have no doubt he would in +like manner have escaped scot-free. But the emigrants went farther than +mere forbearance: they decreed that since Tom couldn't stand guard +without falling asleep, he shouldn't stand guard at all, and +henceforward his slumbers were unbroken. + +"Buffalo! buffalo!" It was but a grim old bull, roaming the prairie by +himself in misanthropic seclusion; but there might be more behind the +hills. Dreading the monotony and languor of the camp, Shaw and I saddled +our horses, buckled our holsters in their places, and set out with Henry +Chatillon in search of the game. Henry, not intending to take part in +the chase, but merely conducting us, carried his rifle with him, while +we left ours behind as incumbrances. We rode for some five or six miles, +and saw no living thing but wolves, snakes, and prairie dogs. + +"This won't do at all," said Shaw. + +"What won't do?" + +"There's no wood about here to make a litter for the wounded man; I have +an idea that one of us will need something of the sort before the day is +over." + +There was some foundation for such an apprehension, for the ground was +none of the best for a race, and grew worse continually as we proceeded; +indeed it soon became desperately bad, consisting of abrupt hills and +deep hollows, cut by frequent ravines not easy to pass. At length, a +mile in advance, we saw a band of bulls. Some were scattered grazing +over a green declivity, while the rest were crowded more densely +together in the wide hollow below. Making a circuit to keep out of +sight, we rode toward them until we ascended a hill within a furlong of +them, beyond which nothing intervened that could possibly screen us from +their view. We dismounted behind the ridge just out of sight, drew our +saddle-girths, examined our pistols, and mounting again rode over the +hill, and descended at a canter toward them, bending close to our +horses' necks. Instantly they took the alarm; those on the hill +descended; those below gathered into a mass, and the whole got in +motion, shouldering each other along at a clumsy gallop. We followed, +spurring our horses to full speed; and as the herd rushed, crowding and +trampling in terror through an opening in the hills, we were close at +their heels, half suffocated by the clouds of dust. + +But as we drew near, their alarm and speed increased; our horses showed +signs of the utmost fear, bounding violently aside as we approached, and +refusing to enter among the herd. + +The buffalo now broke into several small bodies, scampering over the +hills in different directions, and I lost sight of Shaw; neither of us +knew where the other had gone. Old Pontiac ran like a frantic elephant +up hill and down hill, his ponderous hoofs striking the prairie like +sledge-hammers. He showed a curious mixture of eagerness and terror, +straining to overtake the panic-stricken herd, but constantly recoiling +in dismay as we drew near. The fugitives offered no very attractive +spectacle, with their enormous size and weight, their shaggy manes and +the tattered remnants of their last winter's hair covering their backs +in irregular shreds and patches, and flying off in the wind as they ran. + +At length I urged my horse close behind a bull, and after trying in +vain, by blows and spurring, to bring him alongside, I shot a bullet +into the buffalo from this disadvantageous position. At the report, +Pontiac swerved so much that I was again thrown a little behind the +game. The bullet, entering too much in the rear, failed to disable the +bull, for a buffalo requires to be shot at particular points, or he will +certainly escape. The herd ran up a hill, and I followed in pursuit. As +Pontiac rushed headlong down on the other side, I saw Shaw and Henry +descending the hollow on the right, at a leisurely gallop; and in front, +the buffalo were just disappearing behind the crest of the next hill, +their short tails erect, and their hoofs twinkling through a cloud of +dust. + +At that moment, I heard Shaw and Henry shouting to me; but the muscles +of a stronger arm than mine could not have checked at once the furious +course of Pontiac, whose mouth was as insensible as leather. Added to +this, I rode him that morning with a common snaffle, having the day +before, for the benefit of my other horse, unbuckled from my bridle the +curb which I ordinarily used. A stronger and hardier brute never trod +the prairie; but the novel sight of the buffalo filled him with terror, +and when at full speed he was almost uncontrollable. Gaining the top of +the ridge, I saw nothing of the buffalo; they had all vanished amid the +intricacies of the hills and hollows. Reloading my pistols, in the best +way I could, I galloped on until I saw them again scuttling along at the +base of the hill, their panic somewhat abated. Down went old Pontiac +among them, scattering them to the right and left, and then we had +another long chase. + +About a dozen bulls were before us, scouring over the hills, rushing +down the declivities with tremendous weight and impetuosity, and then +laboring with a weary gallop upward. Still Pontiac, in spite of spurring +and beating, would not close with them. One bull at length fell a little +behind the rest, and by dint of much effort I urged my horse within six +or eight yards of his side. His back was darkened with sweat; he was +panting heavily, while his tongue lolled out a foot from his jaws. +Gradually I came up abreast of him, urging Pontiac with leg and rein +nearer to his side, when suddenly he did what buffalo in such +circumstances will always do; he slackened his gallop, and turning +toward us, with an aspect of mingled rage and distress, lowered his +huge shaggy head for a charge. Pontiac, with a snort, leaped aside in +terror, nearly throwing me to the ground, as I was wholly unprepared for +such an evolution. I raised my pistol in a passion to strike him on the +head, but thinking better of it, fired the bullet after the bull, who +had resumed his flight; then drew rein, and determined to rejoin my +companions. It was high time. The breath blew hard from Pontiac's +nostrils, and the sweat rolled in big drops down his sides; I myself +felt as if drenched in warm water. + +[Illustration: GRADUALLY I CAME ABREAST OF HIM] + +Pledging myself (and I redeemed the pledge) to take my revenge at a +future opportunity, I looked round for some indications to show me where +I was, and what course I ought to pursue; I might as well have looked +for landmarks in the midst of the ocean. How many miles I had run or in +what direction, I had no idea; and around me the prairie was rolling in +steep swells and pitches, without a single distinctive feature to guide +me. I had a little compass hung at my neck; and ignorant that the Platte +at this point diverged considerably from its easterly course, I thought +that by keeping to the northward I should certainly reach it. So I +turned and rode about two hours in that direction. The prairie changed +as I advanced, softening away into easier undulations, but nothing like +the Platte appeared, nor any sign of a human being; the same wild +endless expanse lay around me still; and to all appearance I was as far +from my object as ever. I began now to consider myself in danger of +being lost; and therefore, reining in my horse, summoned the scanty +share of woodcraft that I possessed (if that term be applicable upon the +prairie) to extricate me. Looking round, it occurred to me that the +buffalo might prove my best guides. I soon found one of the paths made +by them in their passage to the river; it ran nearly at right angles to +my course; but turning my horse's head in the direction it indicated, +his freer gait and erected ears assured me that I was right. + +But in the meantime my ride had been by no means a solitary one. The +whole face of the country was dotted far and wide with countless +hundreds of buffalo. They trooped along in files and columns, bulls, +cows, and calves, on the green faces of the declivities in front. They +scrambled away over the hills to the right and left; and far off, the +pale blue swells in the extreme distance were dotted with innumerable +specks. Sometimes I surprised shaggy old bulls grazing alone, or +sleeping behind the ridges I ascended. They would leap up at my +approach, stare stupidly at me through their tangled manes, and then +gallop heavily away. The antelope were very numerous; and as they are +always bold when in the neighborhood of buffalo, they would approach +quite near to look at me, gazing intently with their great round eyes, +then suddenly leap aside, and stretch lightly away over the prairie, as +swiftly as a racehorse. Squalid, ruffianlike wolves sneaked through the +hollows and sandy ravines. Several times I passed through villages of +prairie dogs, who sat, each at the mouth of his burrow, holding his paws +before him in a supplicating attitude, and yelping away most vehemently, +energetically whisking his little tail with every squeaking cry he +uttered. Prairie dogs are not fastidious in their choice of companions; +various long, checkered snakes were sunning themselves in the midst of +the village, and demure little gray owls, with a large white ring around +each eye, were perched side by side with the rightful inhabitants. The +prairie teemed with life. Again and again I looked toward the crowded +hillsides, and was sure I saw horsemen; and riding near, with a mixture +of hope and dread, for Indians were abroad, I found them transformed +into a group of buffalo. There was nothing in human shape amid all this +vast congregation of brute forms. + +When I turned down the buffalo path, the prairie seemed changed; only a +wolf or two glided past at intervals, like conscious felons, never +looking to the right or left. Being now free from anxiety, I was at +leisure to observe minutely the objects around me; and here, for the +first time, I noticed insects wholly different from any of the varieties +found farther to the eastward. Gaudy butterflies fluttered about my +horse's head; strangely formed beetles, glittering with metallic luster, +were crawling upon plants that I had never seen before; multitudes of +lizards, too, were darting like lightning over the sand. + +I had run to a great distance from the river. It cost me a long ride on +the buffalo path before I saw from the ridge of a sand-hill the pale +surface of the Platte glistening in the midst of its desert valleys and +the faint outline of the hills beyond waving along the sky. From where I +stood, not a tree nor a bush nor a living thing was visible throughout +the whole extent of the sun-scorched landscape. In half an hour I came +upon the trail, not far from the river; and seeing that the party had +not yet passed, I turned eastward to meet them, old Pontiac's long +swinging trot again assuring me that I was right in doing so. Having +been slightly ill on leaving camp in the morning, six or seven hours of +rough riding had fatigued me extremely. I soon stopped, therefore; flung +my saddle on the ground, and with my head resting on it, and my horse's +trail-rope tied loosely to my arm, lay waiting the arrival of the party, +speculating meanwhile on the extent of the injuries Pontiac had +received. At length the white wagon coverings rose from the verge of the +plain. By a singular coincidence, almost at the same moment two horsemen +appeared coming down from the hills. They were Shaw and Henry, who had +searched for me awhile in the morning, but well knowing the futility of +the attempt in such a broken country, had placed themselves on the top +of the highest hill they could find, and picketing their horses near +them, as a signal to me, had lain down and fallen asleep. The stray +cattle had been recovered, as the emigrants told us, about noon. Before +sunset, we pushed forward eight miles farther. + + +TETE ROUGE + +The next morning, having directed Delorier to repair with his cart to +the place of meeting, we came again to the fort to make some +arrangements for the journey. After completing these we sat down under a +sort of perch, to smoke with some Cheyenne Indians whom we found there. +In a few minutes we saw an extraordinary little figure approach us in a +military dress. He had a small, round countenance, garnished about the +eyes with the kind of wrinkles commonly known as crow's feet and +surrounded by an abundant crop of red curls, with a little cap resting +on the top of them. Altogether, he had the look of a man more conversant +with mint juleps and oyster suppers than with the hardships of prairie +service. He came up to us and entreated that we would take him home to +the settlements, saying that unless he went with us he should have to +stay all winter at the fort. We liked our petitioner's appearance so +little that we excused ourselves from complying with his request. At +this he begged us so hard to take pity on him, that at last we +consented, though not without many misgivings. + +The rugged Anglo-Saxon of our new recruit's real name proved utterly +unmanageable on the lips of our French attendants, and Henry Chatillon, +after various abortive attempts to pronounce it, one day coolly +christened him Tete Rouge, in honor of his red curls. He had at +different times been clerk of a Mississippi steamboat, and agent in a +trading establishment at Nauvoo, besides filling various other +capacities, in all of which he had seen much more of "life" than was +good for him. In the spring, thinking that a summer's campaign would be +an agreeable recreation, he had joined a company of Saint Louis +volunteers. + +"There were three of us," said Tete Rouge, "me and Bill Stevens and John +Hopkins. We thought we would just go out with the army, and when we had +conquered the country, we would get discharged and take our pay, you +know, and go down to Mexico. They say there is plenty of fun going on +there. Then we could go back to New Orleans by way of Vera Cruz." + +But Tete Rouge, like many a stouter volunteer, had reckoned without his +host. Fighting Mexicans was a less amusing occupation than he had +supposed, and his pleasure trip was disagreeably interrupted by brain +fever, which attacked him when about halfway to Bent's Fort. He jolted +along through the rest of the journey in a baggage wagon. When they came +to the fort he was taken out and left there, together with the rest of +the sick. Bent's Fort does not supply the best accommodations for an +invalid. Tete Rouge's sick chamber was a little mud room, where he and a +companion attacked by the same disease were laid together, with nothing +but a buffalo robe between them and the ground. The assistant surgeon's +deputy visited them once a day and brought them each a huge dose of +calomel, the only medicine, according to his surviving victim, which he +was acquainted with. + +Tete Rouge woke one morning, and turning to his companion, saw his eyes +fixed upon the beams above with the glassy stare of a dead man. At this +the unfortunate volunteer lost his senses outright. In spite of the +doctor, however, he eventually recovered; though between the brain fever +and the calomel, his mind, originally none of the strongest, was so much +shaken that it had not quite recovered its balance when we came to the +fort. In spite of the poor fellow's tragic story, there was something so +ludicrous in his appearance, and the whimsical contrast between his +military dress and his most unmilitary demeanor, that we could not help +smiling at them. + +We asked him if he had a gun. He said they had taken it from him during +his illness, and he had not seen it since; "but perhaps," he observed, +looking at me with a beseeching air, "you will lend me one of your big +pistols if we should meet with any Indians." I next inquired if he had a +horse; he declared he had a magnificent one, and at Shaw's request a +Mexican led him in for inspection. He exhibited the outline of a good +horse, but his eyes were sunk in the sockets, and every one of his ribs +could be counted. There were certain marks too about his shoulders, +which could be accounted for by the circumstance, that during Tete +Rouge's illness, his companions had seized upon the insulted charger, +and harnessed him to a cannon along with the draft horses. To Tete +Rouge's astonishment we recommended him by all means to exchange the +horse, if he could, for a mule. Fortunately the people at the fort were +so anxious to get rid of him that they were willing to make some +sacrifice to effect the object, and he succeeded in getting a tolerable +mule in exchange for the broken-down steed. + +A man soon appeared at the gate, leading in the mule by a cord which he +placed in the hands of Tete Rouge, who, being somewhat afraid of his new +acquisition, tried various flatteries and blandishments to induce her to +come forward. The mule, knowing that she was expected to advance, +stopped short in consequence, and stood fast as a rock, looking straight +forward with immovable composure. Being stimulated by a blow from behind +she consented to move, and walked nearly to the other side of the fort +before she stopped again. Hearing the bystanders laugh, Tete Rouge +plucked up spirit and tugged hard at the rope. The mule jerked backward, +spun herself round, and made a dash for the gate. Tete Rouge, who clung +manfully to the rope, went whisking through the air for a few rods, when +he let go and stood with his mouth open, staring after the mule, who +galloped away over the prairie. She was soon caught and brought back by +a Mexican, who mounted a horse and went in pursuit of her with his +lasso. + +Having thus displayed his capacities for prairie traveling, Tete +proceeded to supply himself with provisions for the journey, and with +this view he applied to a quartermaster's assistant who was in the fort. +This official had a face as sour as vinegar, being in a state of chronic +indignation because he had been left behind the army. He was as anxious +as the rest to get rid of Tete Rouge. So, producing a rusty key, he +opened a low door which led to a half-subterranean apartment, into which +the two disappeared together. After some time they came out again, Tete +Rouge greatly embarrassed by a multiplicity of paper parcels containing +the different articles of his forty days' rations. They were consigned +to the care of Delorier, who about that time passed by with the cart on +his way to the appointed place of meeting with Munroe and his +companions. + +We next urged Tete Rouge to provide himself, if he could, with a gun. He +accordingly made earnest appeals to the charity of various persons in +the fort, but totally without success, a circumstance which did not +greatly disturb us, since in the event of a skirmish he would be much +more apt to do mischief to himself or his friends than to the enemy. +When all these arrangements were completed we saddled our horses and +were preparing to leave the fort, when looking round we discovered that +our new associate was in fresh trouble. A man was holding the mule for +him in the middle of the fort, while he tried to put the saddle on her +back, but she kept stepping sideways and moving round and round in a +circle until he was almost in despair. It required some assistance +before all his difficulties could be overcome. At length he clambered +into the black war saddle on which he was to have carried terror into +the ranks of the Mexicans. + +"Get up," said Tete Rouge. "Come now, go along, will you." + +The mule walked deliberately forward out of the gate. Her recent conduct +had inspired him with so much awe that he never dared to touch her with +his whip. We trotted forward toward the place of meeting, but before he +had gone far we saw that Tete Rouge's mule, who perfectly understood her +rider, had stopped and was quietly grazing, in spite of his +protestations, at some distance behind. So getting behind him, we drove +him and the contumacious mule before us, until we could see through the +twilight the gleaming of a distant fire. + +We began our journey for the frontier settlements on the 27th of August, +and certainly a more ragamuffin cavalcade never was seen on the upper +Arkansas. Of the large and fine horses with which we had left the +frontier in the spring, not one remained; we had supplied their place +with the rough breed of the prairie, as hardy as mules and almost as +ugly; we had also with us a number of the latter detestable animals. In +spite of their strength and hardihood, several of the band were already +worn down by hard service and hard fare, and as none of them were shod, +they were fast becoming foot-sore. Every horse and mule had a cord of +twisted bull-hide coiled around his neck, which by no means added to the +beauty of his appearance. Our saddles and all our equipments were by +this time lamentably worn and battered, and our weapons had become dull +and rusty. The dress of the riders fully corresponded with the +dilapidated furniture of our horses, and of the whole party none made a +more disreputable appearance than my friend and I. Shaw had for an upper +garment an old red flannel shirt, flying open in front and belted around +him like a frock; while I, in absence of other clothing, was attired in +a time-worn suit of leather. + +Thus happy and careless as so many beggars, we crept slowly from day to +day along the monotonous banks of the Arkansas. Tete Rouge gave constant +trouble, for he could never catch his mule, saddle her, or indeed do +anything else without assistance. Every day he had some new ailment, +real or imaginary, to complain of. At one moment he would be woebegone +and disconsolate, and the next he would be visited with a violent flow +of spirits, to which he could only give vent by incessant laughing, +whistling, and telling stories. When other resources failed, we used to +amuse ourselves by tormenting him; a fair compensation for the trouble +he cost us. Tete Rouge rather enjoyed being laughed at, for he was an +odd compound of weakness, eccentricity, and good-nature. He made a +figure worthy of a painter as he paced along before us, perched on the +back of his mule, and enveloped in a huge buffalo-robe coat, which some +charitable person had given him at the fort. This extraordinary garment, +which would have contained two men of his size, he chose, for some +reason best known to himself, to wear inside out, and he never took it +off, even in the hottest weather. It was fluttering all over with seams +and tatters, and the hide was so old and rotten that it broke out every +day in a new place. Just at the top of it a large pile of red curls was +visible, with his little cap set jauntily upon one side, to give him a +military air. His seat in the saddle was no less remarkable than his +person and equipment. He pressed one leg close against his mule's side, +and thrust the other out at an angle of 45 deg.. His pantaloons were +decorated with a military red stripe, of which he was extremely vain; +but being much too short, the whole length of his boots was usually +visible below them. His blanket, loosely rolled up into a large bundle, +dangled at the back of his saddle, where he carried it tied with a +string. Four or five times a day it would fall to the ground. Every few +minutes he would drop his pipe, his knife, his flint and steel, or a +piece of tobacco, and have to scramble down to pick them up. In doing +this he would contrive to get in everybody's way; and as the most of the +party were by no means remarkable for a fastidious choice of language, a +storm of anathemas would be showered upon him, half in earnest and half +in jest, until Tete Rouge would declare that there was no comfort in +life, and that he never saw such fellows before. + +On the next afternoon, as we moved along the bank of the river, we saw +the white tops of wagons on the horizon. It was some hours before we met +them, when they proved to be a train of clumsy ox-wagons, quite +different from the rakish vehicles of the Santa Fe traders, and loaded +with government stores for the troops. They all stopped, and the +drivers gathered around us in a crowd. I thought that the whole frontier +might have been ransacked in vain to furnish men worse fitted to meet +the dangers of the prairie. Many of them were mere boys, fresh from the +plow, and devoid of knowledge and experience. + +Just after leaving the government wagons, as Shaw and I were riding +along a narrow passage between the river bank and a rough hill that +passed close upon it, we heard Tete Rouge's voice behind us. "Hallo!" he +called out; "I say, stop the cart just for a minute, will you?" + +"What's the matter, Tete?" asked Shaw, as he came riding up to us with a +grin of exultation. He had a bottle of molasses in one hand, and a large +bundle of hides on the saddle before him, containing, as he triumphantly +informed us, sugar, biscuits, coffee, and rice. These supplies he had +obtained by a stratagem on which he greatly plumed himself, and he was +extremely vexed and astonished that we did not fall in with his views of +the matter. He had told Coates, the master-wagoner, that the commissary +at the fort had given him an order for sick-rations, directed to the +master of any government train which he might meet upon the road. This +order he had unfortunately lost, but he hoped that the rations would not +be refused on that account, as he was suffering from coarse fare and +needed them very much. As soon as he came to camp that night Tete Rouge +repaired to the box at the back of the cart, where Delorier used to keep +his culinary apparatus, took possession of a saucepan, and after +building a little fire of his own, set to work preparing a meal out of +his ill-gotten booty. This done, he seized on a tin plate and spoon, and +sat down under the cart to regale himself. His preliminary repast did +not at all prejudice his subsequent exertions at supper; where, in spite +of his miniature dimensions, he made a better figure than any of us. +Indeed, about this time his appetite grew quite voracious. He began to +thrive wonderfully. His small body visibly expanded, and his cheeks, +which when we first took him were rather yellow and cadaverous, now +dilated in a wonderful manner, and became ruddy in proportion. Tete +Rouge, in short, began to appear like another man. + + +THE CHASE + +The country before us was now thronged with buffalo, and a sketch of the +manner of hunting them will not be out of place. There are two methods +commonly practiced, "running" and "approaching." The chase on horseback, +which goes by the name of "running," is the more violent and dashing +mode of the two. Indeed, of all American wild sports, this is the +wildest. Once among the buffalo, the hunter, unless long use has made +him familiar with the situation, dashes forward in utter recklessness +and self-abandonment. He thinks of nothing, cares for nothing, but the +game; his mind is stimulated to the highest pitch, yet intensely +concentrated on one object. In the midst of the flying herd, where the +uproar and the dust are thickest, it never wavers for a moment; he drops +the rein and abandons his horse to his furious career; he levels his +gun, the report sounds faint amid the thunder of the buffalo; and when +his wounded enemy leaps in vain fury upon him, his heart thrills with a +feeling like the fierce delight of the battlefield. A practiced and +skilful hunter, well mounted, will sometimes kill five or six cows in a +single chase, loading his gun again and again as his horse rushes +through the tumult. An exploit like this is quite beyond the capacities +of a novice. + +In attacking a small band of buffalo, or in separating a single animal +from the herd and assailing it apart from the rest, there is less +excitement and less danger. With a bold and well-trained horse the +hunter may ride so close to the buffalo that as they gallop side by side +he may reach over and touch him with his hand; nor is there much danger +in this as long as the buffalo's strength and breath continue unabated; +but when he becomes tired and can no longer run at ease, when his tongue +lolls out and foam flies from his jaws, then the hunter had better keep +at a respectful distance; the distressed brute may turn upon him at any +instant; and especially at the moment when he fires his gun. The wounded +buffalo springs at his enemy; the horse leaps violently aside; and then +the hunter has need of a tenacious seat in the saddle, for if he is +thrown to the ground there is no hope for him. When he sees his attack +defeated the buffalo resumes his flight, but if the shot be well +directed he soon stops; for a few minutes he stands still, then totters +and falls heavily upon the prairie. + +The chief difficulty in running buffalo, as it seems to me, is that of +loading the gun or pistol at full gallop. Many hunters for convenience' +sake carry three or four bullets in the mouth; the powder is poured +down the muzzle of the piece, the bullet dropped in after it, the stock +struck hard upon the pommel of the saddle, and the work is done. The +danger of this method is obvious. Should the blow on the pommel fail to +send the bullet home, or should the latter, in the act of aiming, start +from its place and roll toward the muzzle, the gun would probably burst +in discharging. Many a shattered hand and worse casualties besides have +been the result of such an accident. To obviate it, some hunters make +use of a ramrod, usually hung by a string from the neck, but this +materially increases the difficulty of loading. The bows and arrows +which the Indians use in running buffalo have many advantages over +firearms, and even white men occasionally employ them. + +The danger of the chase arises not so much from the onset of the wounded +animal as from the nature of the ground which the hunter must ride over. +The prairie does not always present a smooth, level, and uniform +surface; very often it is broken with hills and hollows, intersected by +ravines, and in the remoter parts studded by the stiff wild-sage bushes. +The most formidable obstructions, however, are the burrows of wild +animals, wolves, badgers, and particularly prairie dogs, with whose +holes the ground for a very great extent is frequently honeycombed. In +the blindness of the chase the hunter rushes over it unconscious of +danger; his horse, at full career, thrusts his leg deep into one of the +burrows; the bone snaps, the rider is hurled forward to the ground and +probably killed. Yet accidents in buffalo running happen less frequently +than one would suppose; in the recklessness of the chase, the hunter +enjoys all the impunity of a drunken man, and may ride in safety over +the gullies and declivities where, should he attempt to pass in his +sober senses, he would infallibly break his neck. + +The method of "approaching," being practiced on foot, has many +advantages over that of "running"; in the former, one neither breaks +down his horse nor endangers his own life; instead of yielding to +excitement he must be cool, collected, and watchful; he must understand +the buffalo, observe the features of the country and the course of the +wind, and be well skilled, moreover, in using the rifle. The buffalo are +strange animals; sometimes they are so stupid and infatuated that a man +may walk up to them in full sight on the open prairie and even shoot +several of their number before the rest will think it necessary to +retreat. Again at another moment they will be so shy and wary, that in +order to approach them the utmost skill, experience, and judgment are +necessary. Kit Carson, I believe, stands pre-eminent in running buffalo; +in approaching, no man living can bear away the palm from Henry +Chatillon. + +The next day was one of activity and excitement, for about ten o'clock +the men in advance shouted the gladdening cry of "Buffalo, buffalo!" and +in the hollow of the prairie just below us, a band of bulls were +grazing. The temptation was irresistible, and Shaw and I rode down upon +them. We were badly mounted on our traveling horses, but by hard lashing +we overtook them, and Shaw, running alongside of a bull, shot into him +both balls of his double-barreled gun. Looking around as I galloped +past, I saw the bull in his mortal fury rushing again and again upon +his antagonist, whose horse constantly leaped aside, and avoided the +onset. My chase was more protracted, but at length I ran close to the +bull and killed him with my pistols. Cutting off the tails of our +victims by way of trophy, we rejoined the party in about a quarter of an +hour after we left it. + +Again and again that morning rang out the same welcome cry of "Buffalo, +buffalo!" Every few minutes in the broad meadows along the river, we +would see bands of bulls, who, raising their shaggy heads, would gaze in +stupid amazement at the approaching horsemen, and then breaking into a +clumsy gallop, would file off in a long line across the trail in front, +toward the rising prairie on the left. At noon, the whole plain before +us was alive with thousands of buffalo--bulls, cows, and calves--all +moving rapidly as we drew near; and far off beyond the river the +swelling prairie was darkened with them to the very horizon. The party +was in gayer spirits than ever. We stopped for a nooning near a grove of +trees by the river-side. + +"Tongues and hump ribs to-morrow," said Shaw, looking with contempt at +the venison steaks which Delorier placed before us. Our meal finished, +we lay down under a temporary awning to sleep. A shout from Henry +Chatillon aroused us, and we saw him standing on the cart-wheel, +stretching his tall figure to its full height while he looked toward the +prairie beyond the river. Following the direction of his eyes we could +clearly distinguish a large dark object, like the black shadow of a +cloud, passing rapidly over swell after swell of the distant plain; +behind it followed another of similar appearance though smaller. Its +motion was more rapid, and it drew closer and closer to the first. It +was Arapahoe hunters pursuing a band of buffalo. Shaw and I hastily +sought and saddled our best horses, and went plunging through sand and +water to the farther bank. We were too late. The hunters had already +mingled with the herd, and the work of slaughter was nearly over. When +we reached the ground we found it strewn far and near with numberless +black carcasses, while the remnants of the herd, scattered in all +directions, were flying away in terror, and the Indians still rushing in +pursuit. Many of the hunters, however, remained upon the spot, and among +the rest was our yesterday's acquaintance, the chief of the village. He +had alighted by the side of a cow, into which he had shot five or six +arrows, and his squaw, who had followed him on horseback to the hunt, +was giving him a draught of water out of a canteen, purchased or +plundered from some volunteer soldier. Recrossing the river we overtook +the party, who were already on their way. + +We had scarcely gone a mile when an imposing spectacle presented itself. +From the river bank on the right, away over the swelling prairie on the +left, and in front as far as we could see, extended one vast host of +buffalo. The outskirts of the herd were within a quarter of a mile. In +many parts they were crowded so densely together that in the distance +their rounded backs presented a surface of uniform blackness; but +elsewhere they were more scattered, and from amid the multitude rose +little columns of dust where the buffalo were rolling on the ground. +Here and there a great confusion was perceptible, where a battle was +going forward among the bulls. We could distinctly see them rushing +against each other, and hear the clattering of their horns and their +hoarse bellowing. Shaw was riding at some distance in advance, with +Henry Chatillon; I saw him stop and draw the leather covering from his +gun. Indeed, with such a sight before us, but one thing could be thought +of. That morning I had used pistols in the chase. I had now a mind to +try the virtue of a gun. Delorier had one, and I rode up to the side of +the cart; there he sat under the white covering, biting his pipe between +his teeth and grinning with excitement. + +[Illustration: ONE VAST HOST OF BUFFALO] + +"Lend me your gun, Delorier," said I. + +"_Oui, monsieur, oui_,"[126-1] said Delorier, tugging with might and +main to stop the mule, which seemed obstinately bent on going forward. +Then everything but his moccasins disappeared as he crawled into the +cart and pulled at the gun to extricate it. + +"_Oui, bien charge_;[126-2] you'll kill, _mon bourgeois_;[126-3] yes, +you'll kill--_c'est un bon fusil_."[126-4] + +I handed him my rifle and rode forward to Shaw. + +"Are you ready?" he asked. + +"Come on," said I. + +"Keep down that hollow," said Henry, "and then they won't see you till +you get close to them." + +The hollow was a kind of ravine very wide and shallow; it ran obliquely +toward the buffalo, and we rode at a canter along the bottom until it +became too shallow, when we bent close to our horses' necks, and then +finding that it could no longer conceal us, came out of it and rode +directly toward the herd. It was within gunshot; before its outskirts, +numerous grizzly old bulls were scattered, holding guard over their +females. They glared at us in anger and astonishment, walked toward us a +few yards, and then turning slowly round retreated at a trot which +afterward broke into a clumsy gallop. In an instant the main body caught +the alarm. The buffalo began to crowd away from the point toward which +we were approaching, and a gap was opened in the side of the herd. We +entered it, still restraining our excited horses. Every instant the +tumult was thickening. The buffalo, pressing together in large bodies, +crowded away from us on every hand. In front and on either side we could +see dark columns and masses, half hidden by clouds of dust, rushing +along in terror and confusion, and hear the tramp and clattering of ten +thousand hoofs. That countless multitude of powerful brutes, ignorant of +their own strength, were flying in a panic from the approach of two +feeble horsemen. To remain quiet longer was impossible. + +"Take that band on the left," said Shaw; "I'll take these in front." + +He sprang off, and I saw no more of him. A heavy Indian whip was +fastened by a band to my wrist; I swung it into the air and lashed my +horse's flank with all the strength of my arm. Away she darted, +stretching close to the ground. I could see nothing but a cloud of dust +before me, but I knew that it concealed a band of many hundreds of +buffalo. In a moment I was in the midst of the cloud, half suffocated by +the dust and stunned by the trampling of the flying herd; but I was +drunk with the chase and cared for nothing but the buffalo. Very soon a +long dark mass became visible, looming through the dust; then I could +distinguish each bulky carcass, the hoofs flying out beneath, the short +tails held rigidly erect. In a moment I was so close that I could have +touched them with my gun. + +Suddenly, to my utter amazement, the hoofs were jerked upward, the tails +flourished in the air, and amid a cloud of dust the buffalo seemed to +sink into the earth before me. One vivid impression of that instant upon +my mind. I remember looking down upon the backs of several buffalo dimly +visible through the dust. We had run unawares upon a ravine. At that +moment I was not the most accurate judge of depth and width, but when I +passed it on my return, I found it about twelve feet deep and not quite +twice as wide at the bottom. It was impossible to stop; I would have +done so gladly if I could; so, half sliding, half plunging, down went +the little mare. I believe she came down on her knees in the loose sand +at the bottom; I was pitched forward violently against her neck and +nearly thrown over her head among the buffalo, who amid dust and +confusion came tumbling in all around. The mare was on her feet in an +instant and scrambling like a cat up the opposite side. I thought for a +moment that she would have fallen back and crushed me, but with a +violent effort she clambered out and gained the hard prairie above. +Glancing back I saw the huge head of a bull clinging as it were by the +forefeet at the edge of the dusty gulf. At length I was fairly among the +buffalo. They were less densely crowded than before, and I could see +nothing but bulls, who always run at the rear of the herd. As I passed +amid them they would lower their heads, and turning as they ran, attempt +to gore my horse; but as they were already at full speed there was no +force in their onset, and as Pauline ran faster than they, they were +always thrown behind her in the effort. + +I soon began to distinguish cows amid the throng. One just in front of +me seemed to my liking, and I pushed close to her side. Dropping the +reins I fired, holding the muzzle of the gun within a foot of her +shoulder. Quick as lightning she sprang at Pauline; the little mare +dodged the attack, and I lost sight of the wounded animal amid the +tumultuous crowd. Immediately after I selected another, and urging +forward Pauline, shot into her both pistols in succession. For a while I +kept her in view, but in attempting to load my gun, lost sight of her +also in the confusion. Believing her to be mortally wounded and unable +to keep up with the herd, I checked my horse. The crowd rushed onward. +The dust and tumult passed away, and on the prairie, far behind the +rest, I saw a solitary buffalo galloping heavily. In a moment I and my +victim were running side by side. My firearms were all empty, and I had +in my pouch nothing but rifle bullets, too large for the pistols and too +small for the gun. I loaded the latter, however, but as often as I +leveled it to fire, the little bullets would roll out of the muzzle and +the gun returned only a faint report like a squib, as the powder +harmlessly exploded. I galloped in front of the buffalo, and attempted +to turn her back; but her eyes glared, her mane bristled, and lowering +her head, she rushed at me with astonishing fierceness and activity. +Again and again I rode before her, and again and again she repeated her +furious charge. But little Pauline was in her element. She dodged her +enemy at every rush, until at length the buffalo stood still, exhausted +with her own efforts; she panted, and her tongue hung lolling from her +jaws. + +Riding to a little distance I alighted, thinking to gather a handful of +dry grass to serve the purpose of wadding, and load the gun at my +leisure. No sooner were my feet on the ground than the buffalo came +bounding in such a rage toward me that I jumped back again into the +saddle with all possible dispatch. After waiting a few minutes more, I +made an attempt to ride up and stab her with my knife; but the +experiment proved such as no wise man would repeat. At length, +bethinking me of the fringes at the seams of my buckskin pantaloons, I +jerked off a few of them, and reloading the gun, forced them down the +barrel to keep the bullet in its place; then approaching, I shot the +wounded buffalo through the heart. Sinking to her knees, she rolled over +lifeless on the prairie. To my astonishment, I found that instead of a +fat cow I had been slaughtering a stout yearling bull. No longer +wondering at the fierceness he had shown, I opened his throat, and +cutting out his tongue, tied it at the back of my saddle. My mistake was +one which a more experienced eye than mine might easily make in the dust +and confusion of such a chase. + +Then for the first time I had leisure to look at the scene around me. +The prairie in front was darkened with the retreating multitude, and on +the other hand the buffalo came filing up in endless unbroken columns +from the low plains upon the river. The Arkansas was three or four miles +distant. I turned and moved slowly toward it. A long time passed, +before, far down in the distance, I distinguished the white covering of +the cart and the little black specks of horsemen before and behind it. +Drawing near, I recognized Shaw's elegant tunic, the red flannel shirt, +conspicuous far off. I overtook the party, and asked him what success +he had met with. He had assailed a fat cow, shot her with two bullets, +and mortally wounded her. But neither of us were prepared for the chase +that afternoon, and Shaw, like myself, had no spare bullets in his +pouch; so he abandoned the disabled animal to Henry Chatillon, who +followed, dispatched her with his rifle, and loaded his horse with her +meat. + +We encamped close to the river. The night was dark, and as we lay down +we could hear mingled with the howling of the wolves the hoarse +bellowing of the buffalo, like the ocean beating upon a distant coast. + + +THE BUFFALO CAMP + +The morning was a bright and gay one, and the air so clear that on the +farthest horizon the outline of the pale blue prairie was sharply drawn +against the sky. Shaw felt in the mood for hunting; he rode in advance +of the party, and before long we saw a file of bulls galloping at full +speed upon a vast green swell of the prairie at some distance in front. +Shaw came scouring along behind them, arrayed in his red shirt, which +looked very well in the distance; he gained fast on the fugitives, and +as the foremost bull was disappearing behind the summit of the swell, we +saw him in the act of assailing the hindmost; a smoke sprang from the +muzzle of his gun, and floated away like a little white cloud; the bull +turned upon him, and just then the rising ground concealed them both +from view. + +We were moving forward until about noon, when we stopped by the side of +the Arkansas. At that moment Shaw appeared riding slowly down the side +of a distant hill; his horse was tired and jaded; and when he threw his +saddle upon the ground, I observed that the tails of two bulls were +dangling behind it. No sooner were the horses turned loose to feed than +Henry, asking Munroe to go with him, took his rifle and walked quietly +away. Shaw, Tete Rouge and I sat down by the side of the cart to discuss +the dinner which Delorier placed before us; we had scarcely finished +when we saw Munroe walking toward us along the river bank. Henry, he +said, had killed four fat cows, and had sent him back for horses to +bring in the meat. Shaw took a horse for himself and another for Henry, +and he and Munroe left the camp together. + +After a short absence all three of them came back, their horses loaded +with the choicest parts of the meat; we kept two of the cows for +ourselves and gave the others to Munroe and his companions. Delorier +seated himself on the grass before the pile of meat, and worked +industriously for some time to cut it into thin broad sheets for drying. +This is no easy matter, but Delorier had all the skill of an Indian +squaw. Long before night cords of rawhide were stretched around the +camp, and the meat was hung upon them to dry in the sunshine and pure +air of the prairie. Our California companions were less successful at +the work; but they accomplished it after their own fashion, and their +side of the camp was soon garnished in the same manner as our own. + +We meant to remain at this place long enough to prepare provisions for +our journey to the frontier, which as we supposed might occupy about a +month. Had the distance been twice as great and the party ten times as +large, the unerring rifle of Henry Chatillon would have supplied meat +enough for the whole within two days; we were obliged to remain, +however, until it should be dry enough for transportation; so we erected +our tent and made the other arrangements for a permanent camp. + +In the meantime we had nothing to do but amuse ourselves. Our tent was +within a rod of the river, if the broad sand-beds, with a scanty stream +of water coursing here and there along their surface, deserve to be +dignified with the name of river. The vast plains on either side were +almost level with the sand-beds, and they were bounded in the distance +by low, monotonous hills, parallel to the course of the Arkansas. All +was one expanse of grass; there was no wood in view, except some trees +and stunted bushes upon two islands which rose from amid the wet sands +of the river. Yet far from being dull and tame, this boundless scene was +often a wild and animated one; for twice a day, at sunrise and at noon, +the buffalo came issuing from the hills, slowly advancing in their grave +processions to drink at the river. All our amusements were at their +expense. Except an elephant, I have seen no animal that can surpass a +buffalo bull in size and strength, and the world may be searched in vain +to find anything of a more ugly and ferocious aspect. At first sight of +him every feeling of sympathy vanishes; no man who has not experienced +it can understand with what keen relish one inflicts his death wound, +with what profound contentment of mind he beholds him fall. + +The cows are much smaller and of a gentler appearance, as becomes their +sex. While in this camp we forebore to attack them, leaving to Henry +Chatillon, who could better judge their fatness and good quality, the +task of killing such as we wanted for use; but against the bulls we +waged an unrelenting war. Thousands of them might be slaughtered without +causing any detriment to the species, for their numbers greatly exceed +those of the cows; it is the hides of the latter alone which are used +for the purpose of commerce and for making the lodges of the Indians; +and the destruction among them is therefore altogether disproportioned. + +Our horses were tired, and we now usually hunted on foot. The wide, flat +sand-beds of the Arkansas, as the reader will remember, lay close by the +side of our camp. While we were lying on the grass after dinner, +smoking, conversing, or laughing at Tete Rouge, one of us would look up +and observe, far out on the plains beyond the river, certain black +objects slowly approaching. He would inhale a parting whiff from the +pipe, then rising lazily, take his rifle, which leaned against the cart, +throw over his shoulder the strap of his pouch and powder-horn, and with +his moccasins in his hand walk quietly across the sand toward the +opposite side of the river. + +This was very easy; for though the sands were about a quarter of a mile +wide, the water was nowhere more than two feet deep. The farther bank +was about four or five feet high, and quite perpendicular, being cut +away by the water in spring. Tall grass grew along its edge. Putting it +aside with his hand, and cautiously looking through it, the hunter can +discern the huge shaggy back of the buffalo slowly swaying to and fro, +as with his clumsy swinging gait he advances toward the water. The +buffalo have regular paths by which they come down to drink. Seeing at +a glance along which of these his intended victim is moving, the hunter +crouches under the bank within fifteen or twenty yards, it may be, of +the point where the path enters the river. Here he sits down quietly on +the sand. Listening intently, he hears the heavy, monotonous tread of +the approaching bull. The moment after he sees a motion among the long +weeds and grass just at the spot where the path is channeled through the +bank. An enormous black head is thrust out, the horns just visible amid +the mass of tangled mane. Half sliding, half plunging, down comes the +buffalo upon the river-bed below. He steps out in full sight upon the +sands. Just before him a runnel of water is gliding, and he bends his +head to drink. You may hear the water as it gurgles down his capacious +throat. He raises his head, and the drops trickle from his wet beard. He +stands with an air of stupid abstraction, unconscious of the lurking +danger. Noiselessly the hunter cocks his rifle. As he sits upon the +sand, his knee is raised, and his elbow rests upon it, that he may level +his heavy weapon with a steadier aim. The stock is at his shoulder; his +eye ranges along the barrel. Still he is in no haste to fire. The bull, +with slow deliberation, begins his march over the sands to the other +side. He advances his fore-leg, and exposes to view a small spot denuded +of hair, just behind the point of his shoulder; upon this the hunter +brings the sight of his rifle to bear; lightly and delicately his finger +presses upon the hair-trigger. Quick as thought the spiteful crack of +the rifle responds to his slight touch, and instantly in the middle of +the bare spot appears a small red dot. The buffalo shivers; death has +overtaken him, he cannot tell from whence; still he does not fall, but +walks heavily forward, as if nothing had happened. Yet before he has +advanced far out upon the sand, you see him stop; he totters; his knees +bend under him, and his head sinks forward to the ground. Then his whole +vast bulk sways to one side; he rolls over on the sand, and dies with a +scarcely perceptible struggle. + +Waylaying the buffalo in this manner, and shooting them as they come to +water, is the easiest and laziest method of hunting them. They may also +be approached by crawling up ravines or behind hills, or even over the +open prairie. This is often surprisingly easy; but at other times it +requires the utmost skill of the most experienced hunter. Henry +Chatillon was a man of extraordinary strength and hardihood; but I have +seen him return to camp quite exhausted with his efforts, his limbs +scratched and wounded, and his buckskin dress stuck full of thorns of +the prickly pear among which he had been crawling. Sometimes he would +lie flat upon his face, and drag himself along in this position for many +rods together. + +On the second day of our stay at this place, Henry went out for an +afternoon hunt. Shaw and I remained in camp until, observing some bulls +approaching the water from the other side of the river, we crossed over +to attack them. They were so near, however, that before we could get +under cover of the bank our appearance as we walked over the sands +alarmed them. Turning round before coming within gunshot, they began to +move off to the right in a direction parallel to the river. I climbed up +the bank and ran after them. They were walking swiftly, and before I +could come within gunshot distance they slowly wheeled about and faced +toward me. Before they had turned far enough to see me I had fallen flat +on my face. For a moment they stood and stared at the strange object +upon the grass; then turning away, again they walked on as before; and +I, rising immediately ran once more in pursuit. Again they wheeled +about, and again I fell prostrate. Repeating this three or four times, I +came at length within a hundred yards of the fugitives, and as I saw +them turning again I sat down and leveled my rifle. The one in the +center was the largest I had ever seen. I shot him behind the shoulder. +His two companions ran off. He attempted to follow, but soon came to a +stand, and at length lay down as quietly as an ox chewing the cud. +Cautiously approaching him, I saw by his dull and jellylike eye that he +was dead. + +When I began the chase, the prairie was almost tenantless; but a great +multitude of buffalo had suddenly thronged upon it, and looking up, I +saw within fifty rods a heavy, dark column stretching to the right and +left as far as I could see. I walked toward them. My approach did not +alarm them in the least. The column itself consisted entirely of cows +and calves, but a great many old bulls were ranging about the prairie on +its flank, and as I drew near they faced toward me with such a shaggy +and ferocious look that I thought it best to proceed no farther. Indeed, +I was already within close rifle-shot of the column, and I sat down on +the ground to watch their movements. Sometimes the whole would stand +still, their heads all facing one way; then they would trot forward, as +if by common impulse, their hoofs and horns clattering together as they +moved. + +I soon began to hear at a distance on the left the sharp reports of a +rifle, again and again repeated; and not long after, dull and heavy +sounds succeeded, which I recognized as the familiar voice of Shaw's +double-barreled gun. When Henry's rifle was at work there was always +meat to be brought in. I went back across the river for a horse, and +returning, reached the spot where the hunters were standing. The buffalo +were visible on the distant prairie. The living had retreated from the +ground, but ten or twelve carcasses were scattered in various +directions. Henry, knife in hand, was stooping over a dead cow, cutting +away the best and fattest of the meat. + +When Shaw left me he had walked down for some distance under the river +bank to find another bull. At length he saw the plains covered with the +host of buffalo, and soon after heard the crack of Henry's rifle. +Ascending the bank, he crawled through the grass, which for a rod or two +from the river was very high and rank. He had not crawled far before to +his astonishment he saw Henry standing erect upon the prairie, almost +surrounded by the buffalo. + +Henry was in his appropriate element. Nelson, on the deck of the +_Victory_, hardly felt a prouder sense of mastery than he. Quite +unconscious that any one was looking at him, he stood at the full height +of his tall, strong figure, one hand resting upon his side, and the +other arm leaning carelessly on the muzzle of his rifle. His eyes were +ranging over the singular assemblage around him. Now and then he would +select such a cow as suited him, level his rifle, and shoot her dead; +then quietly reloading, he would resume his former position. The +buffalo seemed no more to regard his presence than if he were one of +themselves; the bulls were bellowing and butting at each other, or else +rolling about in the dust. A group of buffalo would gather about the +carcass of a dead cow, snuffing at her wounds; and sometimes they would +come behind those that had not yet fallen, and endeavor to push them +from the spot. Now and then some old bull would face toward Henry with +an air of stupid amazement, but none seemed inclined to attack or fly +from him. + +For some time Shaw lay among the grass, looking in surprise at this +extraordinary sight; at length he crawled cautiously forward, and spoke +in a low voice to Henry, who told him to rise and come on. Still the +buffalo showed no sign of fear; they remained gathered about their dead +companions. Henry had already killed as many cows as we wanted for use, +and Shaw, kneeling behind one of the carcasses, shot five bulls before +the rest thought it necessary to disperse. + +The frequent stupidity and infatuation of the buffalo seems the more +remarkable from the contrast it offers to their wildness and wariness at +other times. Henry knew all their peculiarities; he had studied them as +a scholar studies his books, and he derived quite as much pleasure from +the occupation. The buffalo were a kind of companions to him, and as he +said, he never felt alone when they were about him. He took great pride +in his skill in hunting. Henry was one of the most modest of men; yet in +the simplicity and frankness of his character, it was quite clear that +he looked upon his pre-eminence in this respect as a thing too palpable +and well established ever to be disputed. But whatever may have been +his estimate of his own skill, it was rather below than above that which +others placed upon it. The only time that I ever saw a shade of scorn +darken his face was when two volunteer soldiers, who had just killed a +buffalo for the first time, undertook to instruct him as to the best +method of "approaching." Henry always seemed to think that he had a sort +of prescriptive right to the buffalo, and to look upon them as something +belonging peculiarly to himself. Nothing excited his indignation so much +as any wanton destruction among the cows, and in his view shooting a +calf was a cardinal sin. + +Henry Chatillon and Tete Rouge were of the same age; that is, about +thirty. Henry was twice as large, and fully six times as strong as Tete +Rouge. Henry's face was roughened by winds and storms; Tete Rouge's was +bloated by sherry cobblers and brandy toddy. Henry talked of Indians and +buffalo; Tete Rouge of theaters and oyster cellars. Henry had led a life +of hardship and privation; Tete Rouge never had a whim which he would +not gratify at the first moment he was able. Henry moreover was the most +disinterested man I ever saw; while Tete Rouge, though equally +good-natured in his way, cared for nobody but himself. Yet we would not +have lost him on any account; he admirably served the purpose of a +jester in a feudal castle; our camp would have been lifeless without +him. For the past week he had fattened in a most amazing manner; and +indeed this was not at all surprising, since his appetite was most +inordinate. He was eating from morning till night; half the time he +would be at work cooking some private repast for himself, and he paid a +visit to the coffee-pot eight or ten times a day. His rueful and +disconsolate face became jovial and rubicund, his eyes stood out like a +lobster's, and his spirits, which before were sunk to the depths of +despondency, were now elated in proportion; all day he was singing, +whistling, laughing, and telling stories. As he had a considerable fund +of humor, his anecdotes were extremely amusing, especially since he +never hesitated to place himself in a ludicrous point of view, provided +he could raise a laugh by doing so. + +Tete Rouge, however, was sometimes rather troublesome; he had an +inveterate habit of pilfering provisions at all times of the day. He set +ridicule at utter defiance; and being without a particle of +self-respect, he would never have given over his tricks, even if they +had drawn upon him the scorn of the whole party. Now and then, indeed, +something worse than laughter fell to his share; on these occasions he +would exhibit much contrition, but half an hour after we would generally +observe him stealing round to the box at the back of the cart and slyly +making off with the provisions which Delorier had laid by for supper. He +was very fond of smoking; but having no tobacco of his own, we used to +provide him with as much as he wanted, a small piece at a time. At first +we gave him half a pound together, but this experiment proved an entire +failure, for he invariably lost not only the tobacco, but the knife +intrusted to him for cutting it, and a few minutes after he would come +to us with many apologies and beg for more. + +We had been two days at this camp, and some of the meat was nearly fit +for transportation, when a storm came suddenly upon us. About sunset +the whole sky grew as black as ink, and the long grass at the river's +edge bent and rose mournfully with the first gusts of the approaching +hurricane. Delorier ensconced himself under the cover of the cart. Shaw +and I, together with Henry and Tete Rouge, crowded into the little tent; +but first of all the dried meat was piled together, and well protected +by buffalo robes pinned firmly to the ground. + +About nine o'clock the storm broke, amid absolute darkness; it blew a +gale, and torrents of rain roared over the boundless expanse of open +prairie. Our tent was filled with mist and spray beating through the +canvas, and saturating everything within. We could only distinguish each +other at short intervals by the dazzling flash of lightning, which +displayed the whole waste around us with its momentary glare. We had our +fears for the tent; but for an hour or two it stood fast, until at +length the cap gave way before a furious blast; the pole tore through +the top, and in an instant we were half suffocated by the cold and +dripping folds of the canvas, which fell down upon us. Seizing upon our +guns, we placed them erect, in order to lift the saturated cloth above +our heads. In this agreeable situation, involved among wet blankets and +buffalo robes, we spent several hours of the night during which the +storm would not abate for a moment, but pelted down above our heads with +merciless fury. + +Before long the ground beneath us became soaked with moisture, and the +water gathered there in a pool two or three inches deep; so that for a +considerable part of the night we were partially immersed in a cold +bath. In spite of all this, Tete Rouge's flow of spirits did not desert +him for an instant; he laughed, whistled, and sung in defiance of the +storm, and that night he paid off the long arrears of ridicule which he +owed us. While we lay in silence, enduring the infliction with what +philosophy we could muster, Tete Rouge, who was intoxicated with animal +spirits, was cracking jokes at our expense by the hour together. + +At about three o'clock in the morning, "preferring the tyranny of the +open night" to such a wretched shelter, we crawled out from beneath the +fallen canvas. The wind had abated, but the rain fell steadily. The fire +of the California men still blazed amid the darkness, and we joined them +as they sat around it. We made ready some hot coffee by way of +refreshment; but when some of the party sought to replenish their cups, +it was found that Tete Rouge, having disposed of his own share, had +privately abstracted the coffee-pot and drunk up the rest of the +contents out of the spout. + +In the morning, to our great joy, an unclouded sun rose upon the +prairie. We presented rather a laughable appearance, for the cold and +clammy buckskin, saturated with water, clung fast to our limbs; the +light wind and warm sunshine soon dried them again, and then we were all +incased in armor of intolerable rigidity. Roaming all day over the +prairie and shooting two or three bulls, were scarcely enough to restore +the stiffened leather to its usual pliancy. + +A great flock of buzzards were usually soaring about a few trees that +stood on the island just below our camp. Throughout the whole of +yesterday we had noticed an eagle among them; to-day he was still +there; and Tete Rouge, declaring that he would kill the bird of America, +borrowed Delorier's gun and set out on his unpatriotic mission. As might +have been expected, the eagle suffered no great harm at his hands. He +soon returned, saying that he could not find him, but had shot a buzzard +instead. Being required to produce the bird in proof of his assertion, +he said he believed that he was not quite dead, but he must be hurt, +from the swiftness with which he flew off. + +"If you want," said Tete Rouge, "I'll go and get one of his feathers; I +knocked off plenty of them when I shot him." + +Just opposite our camp was another island covered with bushes, and +behind it was a deep pool of water, while two or three considerable +streams coursed over the sand not far off. I was bathing at this place +in the afternoon when a white wolf, larger than the largest Newfoundland +dog, ran out from behind the point of the island, and galloped leisurely +over the sand not half a stone's throw distant. I could plainly see his +red eyes and the bristles about his snout; he was an ugly scoundrel, +with a bushy tail, large head, and a most repulsive countenance. Having +neither rifle to shoot nor stone to pelt him with, I was looking eagerly +after some missile for his benefit, when the report of a gun came from +the camp, and the ball threw up the sand just beyond him; at this he +gave a slight jump, and stretched away so swiftly that he soon dwindled +into a mere speck on the distant sand-beds. + +The number of carcasses that by this time were lying about the prairie +all around us summoned the wolves from every quarter; the spot where +Shaw and Henry had hunted together soon became their favorite resort, +for here about a dozen dead buffalo were fermenting under the hot sun. I +used often to go over the river and watch them at their meal; by lying +under the bank it was easy to get a full view of them. Three different +kinds were present; there were the white wolves and the gray wolves, +both extremely large, and besides these the small prairie wolves, not +much bigger than spaniels. They would howl and fight in a crowd around a +single carcass, yet they were so watchful, and their senses so acute, +that I was never able to crawl within a fair shooting distance; whenever +I attempted it, they would all scatter at once and glide silently away +through the tall grass. + +The air above this spot was always full of buzzards or black vultures; +whenever the wolves left a carcass they would descend upon it, and cover +it so densely that a rifle-shot at random among the gormandizing crowd +would generally strike down two or three of them. These birds would now +be sailing by scores just above our camp, their broad black wings +seeming half transparent as they expanded them against the bright sky. +The wolves and the buzzards thickened about us with every hour, and two +or three eagles also came into the feast. I killed a bull within +rifle-shot of the camp; that night the wolves made a fearful howling +close at hand, and in the morning the carcass was completely hollowed +out by these voracious feeders. + +After we had remained four days at this camp we prepared to leave it. We +had for our own part about five hundred pounds of dried meat, and the +California men had prepared some three hundred more; this consisted of +the fattest and choicest parts of eight or nine cows, a very small +quantity only being taken from each, and the rest abandoned to the +wolves. The pack animals were laden, the horses were saddled, and the +mules harnessed to the cart. Even Tete Rouge was ready at last, and +slowly moving from the ground, we resumed our journey eastward. + +When we had advanced about a mile, Shaw missed a valuable hunting knife +and turned back in search of it, thinking he had left it at the camp. He +approached the place cautiously, fearful that Indians might be lurking +about, for a deserted camp is dangerous to return to. He saw no enemy, +but the scene was a wild and dreary one; the prairie was overshadowed by +dull, leaden clouds, for the day was dark and gloomy. The ashes of the +fires were still smoking by the river-side; the grass around them was +trampled down by men and horses, and strewn with all the litter of a +camp. Our departure had been a gathering signal to the birds and beasts +of prey; Shaw assured me that literally dozens of wolves were prowling +about the smoldering fires, while multitudes were roaming over the +prairie around; they all fled as he approached, some running over the +sand-beds and some over the grassy plains. As he searched about the +fires he saw the wolves seated on the distant hills waiting for his +departure. Having looked in vain for his knife, he mounted again and +left the wolves and the vultures to banquet freely upon the carrion of +the camp. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[126-1] "Yes, sir, yes." + +[126-2] "Yes, well loaded." + +[126-3] "My master" or "gentleman." + +[126-4] "It is a good gun." + + + + +THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE + +_By_ ALFRED TENNYSON + + + NOTE.--The Battle of Balaklava, in which the charge commemorated by + Tennyson in this poem occurred, was one of the important + engagements of the Crimean War, between Russia on the one hand and + Turkey, France and England on the other. The battle was fought on + October 25th, 1854. Through some error in issuing orders, a brigade + of six hundred light cavalry, under Lord Cardigan, was ordered to + advance against the Russian center. The numbers of the enemy were + overwhelming, and but a remnant of the brigade returned alive. + + + Half a league, half a league, + Half a league onward, + All in the valley of Death + Rode the six hundred. + "Forward, the Light Brigade! + Charge for the guns!" he said; + Into the valley of death + Rode the six hundred. + + "Forward, the Light Brigade!" + Was there a man dismay'd? + Not tho' the soldier knew + Some one had blunder'd: + Theirs not to make reply, + Theirs not to reason why, + Theirs but to do and die: + Into the valley of Death + Rode the six hundred. + + Cannon to right of them, + Cannon to left of them, + Cannon in front of them + Volley'd and thunder'd; + Storm'd at with shot and shell, + Boldly they rode and well, + Into the jaws of Death, + Into the mouth of Hell + Rode the six hundred. + + Flash'd all their sabres bare, + Flash'd as they turn'd in air + Sabring the gunners there, + Charging an army, while + All the world wonder'd; + Plunged in the battery-smoke + Right thro' the line they broke; + Cossack and Russian + Reel'd from the sabre-stroke + Shatter'd and sunder'd. + Then they rode back, but not, + Not the six hundred. + + Cannon to right of them, + Cannon to left of them, + Cannon behind them + Volley'd and thunder'd; + Storm'd at with shot and shell, + While horse and hero fell, + They that had fought so well + Came thro' the jaws of Death, + Back from the mouth of Hell, + All that was left of them, + Left of six hundred. + + When can their glory fade? + O the wild charge they made! + All the world wonder'd. + Honor the charge they made! + Honor the Light Brigade, + Noble six hundred. + + + + +FOR A' THAT AND A' THAT + +_By_ ROBERT BURNS + + + Is there, for honest poverty, + Wha[149-1] hangs his head, and a' that? + The coward slave, we pass him by, + We dare be poor for a' that! + For a' that, and a' that, + Our toils obscure, and a' that; + The rank is but the guinea's stamp, + The man's the gowd[149-2] for a' that! + + What though on hamely[149-3] fare we dine, + Wear hodden-gray,[149-4] and a' that; + Gie[149-5] fools their silks, and knaves their wine, + A man's a man for a' that! + For a' that, and a' that, + Their tinsel show and a' that; + The honest man though e'er sae poor, + Is king o' men for a' that! + + Ye see yon birkie,[150-6] ca'd[150-7] a lord, + Wha struts, and stares, and a' that; + Though hundreds worship at his word + He's but a coof[150-8] for a' that. + For a' that, and a' that, + His ribbon, star, and a' that; + The man of independent mind, + He looks and laughs at a' that. + + A prince can mak' a belted knight, + A marquis, duke, and a' that; + But an honest man's aboon[150-9] his might, + Guid faith, he mauna[150-10] fa'[150-11] that! + For a' that, and a' that, + Their dignities, and a' that; + The pith o' sense, and pride o' worth, + Are higher rank than a' that. + + Then let us pray that come it may-- + As come it will for a' that-- + That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth, + May bear the gree,[150-12] and a' that. + For a' that, and a' that, + It's coming yet, for a' that, + When man to man, the warld o'er, + Shall brithers be for a' that! + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[149-1] _Wha_ is the Scotch form of _who_. It modifies _a man_, +understood, after _is there_. + +[149-2] _Gowd_ means _gold_. + +[149-3] _Hamely_ means _homely_, in the sense of _simple_, or _common_. + +[149-4] Hodden-gray is coarse woolen cloth. + +[149-5] _Gie_ is the Scotch contraction for _give_. + +[150-6] A birkie is a conceited, forward fellow. + +[150-7] _Ca'd_ is a contracted form of _called_. + +[150-8] A coof is a stupid person, a blockhead. + +[150-9] _Aboon_ means above. + +[150-10] _Mauna_ is _must not_. + +[150-11] _Fa_' means _try_. + +[150-12] _Bear the gree_ means _carry off the victory_. + + + + +BREATHES THERE THE MAN + +_By_ SIR WALTER SCOTT + + + Breathes there the man with soul so dead + Who never to himself hath said, + This is my own, my native land! + Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned, + As home his footsteps he hath turned + From wandering on a foreign strand? + If such there breathe, go, mark him well; + For him no minstrel raptures swell; + High though his titles, proud his name, + Boundless his wealth as wish can claim, + Despite those titles, power, and pelf, + The wretch, concentred all in self, + Living, shall forfeit fair renown, + And, doubly dying, shall go down + To the vile dust from whence he sprung, + Unwept, unhonored, and unsung. + + + + +HOW SLEEP THE BRAVE + +_By_ WILLIAM COLLINS + + + How sleep the brave, who sink to rest + By all their country's wishes blessed! + When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, + Returns to deck their hallowed mould, + She there shall dress a sweeter sod + Than Fancy's feet have ever trod. + + By fairy hands their knell is rung; + By forms unseen their dirge is sung; + There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray, + To bless the turf that wraps their clay; + And Freedom shall awhile repair, + To dwell a weeping hermit there! + + + + +QUEEN VICTORIA + +_By_ ANNA MCCALEB + + +George III, King of England, was by no means fortunate in his sons, for +there was in the most of them little of which a father could be proud. +Edward, Duke of Kent, the fourth son, was by far the best; he was +honorable, generous and charitable, so much so in fact that he lived far +beyond the small income which his royal father was willing to allow him. +This son married, and to him was born on the twenty-fourth of May, 1819, +in the Palace of Kensington at London, a daughter. + +One month after her birth the child was baptized with great ceremony, a +gold font being brought from the Tower for the purpose, and the +Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London officiating. The +Prince of Wales, at that time acting as Prince Regent in the place of +his father, who was insane, was the chief sponsor for the child, and he +gave her the name of Alexandrina in honor of Alexander, Emperor of +Russia. The Duke of Kent wished her to bear her mother's name also, and +George IV added the name Victoria. "Little Drina," the child was usually +called when she was small, but when she grew older she decided that her +mother's name should stand second to no other, and desired that she be +called simply Victoria. There were uncles and cousins and her own father +between the little princess and the throne, and it did not look as if +her chances of becoming queen were very great, so that people used to +laugh indulgently when the Duke of Kent would produce his baby and say +proudly, "Look at her well; she will yet be Queen of England." + +Victoria's father died when she was but eight months old, but the child +knew no lack, for her mother superintended her training and her teaching +in a very wise manner, for she thought that it was possible, if not +probable, that her child would one day have the chief place in the +kingdom, and she wanted to fit her for it. Very simply was the little +princess brought up; her clothing as well as her food was of the +plainest, and habits of economy and regularity were impressed upon her +and stayed with her all her life. Her governess, Baroness Lehzen, was +German, as were all of her teachers until the time she was twelve years +old, and it is said that she spoke English with a German accent. + +Of course Victoria's life was different from the lives of other +children, and this she must early have perceived. There are, however, +little stories of her childhood which show that she was really not so +different from ordinary children as some of her serious biographers +would have one think. She was very fond of dolls, and had, it is said, +one hundred and thirty-two of them who lived in a house of their own. +Even with these, however, she was not allowed to play just as other +children did, for her governess made use of them to teach her little +charge court etiquette. And indeed, some means of teaching the child +court etiquette was necessary, as her mother refused to allow her to +appear at the royal court and receive her lessons there at first hand. +The court of George IV was most disreputable, and the Duchess of Kent +wisely judged that it was no place for her little daughter. When William +IV came to the throne in 1830, Victoria's mother still refused to allow +the child to be much at court, for though the new king was in some ways +better than his predecessor had been, he was far from being a moral man. + +When Victoria was twelve years old her mother felt that it was time she +should know of the high destiny to which she might be called, for there +now stood no one between her and the throne, William IV's children +having died in infancy. Accordingly, the governess placed in a book +which the princess was reading, a genealogical table, so that the +princess might come upon it as if by accident. Victoria examined it +gravely and then exclaimed, "Why I never saw this before!" + +"It was not necessary that you should see it," replied the governess. + +"I am nearer the throne than I supposed," said the child, and then, with +a seriousness beyond her years, she added, "It is a great +responsibility, but I will be good." + +Kept as she was from the court world, Victoria was the subject of +intense interest and curiosity to the English people. England had always +been fortunate in her queens if not always in her kings, and it was felt +that if Victoria should come to the throne, England would be the better +morally. Certain it is that the young girl was adored by the British +people generally; her simplicity, her prettiness, her fresh girlishness +appealed to them, and the thought of what she would probably be called +upon to do lent more than a touch of romance to all that concerned her. +Nathaniel P. Willis, the American writer, who had seen Victoria during a +visit to England, wrote: "The princess is much better looking than any +picture of her in the shops, and for the heir to such a crown as that of +England, quite unnecessarily pretty and interesting." + +Her "Uncle King," as she called William IV, was very wrathful because +his young niece was not allowed to appear at all court affairs, and at +one time when the Duchess of Kent and Victoria were present, with about +a hundred other guests, at his birthday celebration, he made a most +remarkable speech. + +"I only hope," he said, "that I may live for nine months longer, until +the Princess Victoria is of age, so that I may leave the power in her +hands and not be forced to entrust it to a regent in the person of a +lady who sits near me." + +At this insult to her mother, Victoria burst into tears, but the Duchess +herself made no reply. + +In 1837 Victoria became of age, and her birthday was celebrated with +rejoicing throughout the country. Schools were closed, feasts were held, +and the city of London was brightly illuminated. But at the great ball +which was given that night, the king could not be present; for he was +that very day taken ill, and in less than a month he died. + +Early in the morning of June twentieth, the Archbishop of Canterbury and +the Lord Chamberlain hastened to Kensington Palace to acquaint Victoria +with the fact that she was queen of England. They reached there in the +gray dawn and found no one stirring. After much waiting and knocking, +they were shown into the palace, and finally succeeded in having the +princess's special attendant sent to them. They asked her to inform her +mistress that they desired to see her immediately on very important +business; whereupon the attendant told them that she preferred not to +waken her mistress, who was sleeping soundly. With great dignity then +the Archbishop said, "We are come on business of State to _The Queen_"; +and thus, startled out of her sleep, Victoria was told by her attendant +that she was now the first person in Great Britain. + +Hastily taking off her nightcap and throwing a shawl over her nightgown, +Victoria descended to receive the official announcement of her +succession to the throne of England, and to receive on her hand the kiss +of allegiance from these two great lords of the realm. + +Her first reported words after she was made queen were to the Archbishop +of Canterbury--"I beg your Grace to pray for me;" and one of her very +first acts after the august messengers had left her was to write to the +widowed queen of William IV, Adelaide, offering her condolences and +begging that she would remain as long as she chose in the royal palace. +She addressed the letter to "Her Majesty the Queen," and when some one +standing by said to her, "you are now the queen, and your aunt deserves +the title no longer," she replied, "I know that, but I shall not be the +first to remind her of that fact." + +Later in the same day, the eighteen-year-old queen was called upon to +meet the council of the high officers of Church and State. Dressed in +her simple mourning she looked dignified and calm, and her behavior +corresponded well with her looks. Of course all the great statesmen who +were thus called on to meet her, felt much curiosity as to how she would +carry off her new honors, and one of the greatest. Sir Robert Peel, said +afterward that he was "amazed at her manner and behavior; at her +apparent deep sense of her situation, her modesty and at the same time +her firmness. She appeared to be awed but not daunted." + +On the following day she was publicly proclaimed at Saint James's +Palace, and all of those who had gathered to watch the ceremony, which +was performed at a window looking out on the courtyard, were as deeply +impressed as the peers and princes had been on the preceding day. It +must have been difficult for the simple, unassuming young girl to +preserve her calm dignity when she heard the singing of that grand +national anthem, _God Save the Queen_, and knew that it was for her. + +In midsummer the queen moved to Buckingham Palace, and on July +seventeenth she took part in her first elaborate public ceremony--that +is, she drove in state to dissolve Parliament. All were impressed with +the manner in which she read her speech, and one distinguished observer +said to another, "How beautifully she performs!" + +A pleasant story is told of the young queen shortly after her accession. +The Duke of Wellington, whom Victoria greatly admired, brought to her +for signature a court-martial death sentence. The queen, horrified, and +feeling that she could not sign her name to such a document, begged the +Duke to tell her whether there was not some excuse for the offender. + +"None," said the Iron Duke; "he has deserted three times." + +"Oh, think, your Grace," Victoria replied, "whether there be not +something in his favor." + +"Well," said the Duke, "I am certain that he is a very bad soldier, but +he may, for aught I know, be a very good man. In fact, I remember +hearing some one speak for him." + +"Oh, thank you!" exclaimed the queen, as she joyously wrote the word +"Pardoned" across the document. + +It soon became evident that the tender-hearted queen would never be able +to deal with questions of this sort--that there was danger of all +offenders being pardoned; and a commission was finally appointed to +attend to such matters. + +On June twenty-eighth, 1838, after she had been queen for over a year, +Victoria was formally crowned at Westminster Abbey. The crown worn by +her predecessors was far too large for her, so a new crown was made at a +cost of over five hundred thousand dollars. The spectacle was a most +impressive and inspiring one, and the queen went through her part in it, +as she had gone through her part at all ceremonies in which she had +participated, in a manner which roused anew the enthusiasm of her +subjects. When the prime minister finally placed the crown on Victoria's +head, all the peers and peeresses placed their coronets on their heads +and shouted _God Save the Queen_. Carlyle said of her at that time, +"Poor little Queen! She is at an age at which a girl can hardly be +trusted to choose a bonnet for herself, yet a task is laid upon her from +which an archangel might shrink." + +Another writer, however, said, "I consider that it would be impossible +to exaggerate the enthusiasm of the English people on the accession of +Victoria to the throne." And it was this enthusiasm on the part of her +subjects, joined with her own extraordinary common sense, which enabled +her to bear up under circumstances which might well have daunted an +older and a wiser sovereign. + +Of course one of the chief questions with regard to the new queen was +that of her marriage. Usually the marriage of a sovereign was +practically settled as a question of statecraft, but Victoria showed no +inclination to allow her domestic life to be regulated by her ministers. +In 1836 there had visited her at Kensington Palace her cousin Albert of +Saxe-Coburg, and Victoria had looked upon him very favorably. Her uncle +Leopold of Belgium, who had always been one of her chief advisers, +desired her to marry Albert, and urged the matter after her accession to +the throne, but Victoria's answer was, "I am too young and he is too +young. I shall not think of marrying for four years yet." However, when +in 1839 Albert and his brother came to England, it was unnecessary for +uncle or ministers to urge upon Victoria the wisdom of a speedy +marriage; her own heart was her counselor, and Albert had not been long +in the palace, before the queen, to whom it was impossible that he +should propose marriage, proposed marriage to him. She persisted in +looking upon it as a sacrifice on Albert's part, but we may readily +believe that he looked upon it in no such manner. They were married on +February 10, 1840, and then began a life of domestic happiness which was +unbroken until the death of Albert. + +Immediately after the wedding the young couple drove to Windsor, passing +through over twenty miles of frantically cheering, loyal subjects. On +their return, after a brief season of seclusion, to Buckingham Palace, +Victoria turned her attention at once to her royal duties, and Albert +showed himself from the outset a man peculiarly fitted to aid and advise +her. His one desire was to sink his own individuality in that of the +queen, but this was by no means her desire. She could not bear that her +husband should be regarded as in any way subordinate to herself--that he +should be forced to take a lower seat, or to walk behind her; and it was +a real grief to her that she was not able to bestow upon him the title +of "King Consort" rather than that of "Prince Consort." In one of her +first letters after her marriage, Victoria said of her husband, "There +cannot exist a purer, dearer, nobler being in the world than the +prince," and this same attitude toward her husband she kept throughout +her life. + +Victoria and Albert had nine children, the first the Princess Victoria, +being born in November, 1840, and the second, the Prince of Wales, +afterward Edward VII of England, being born in November, 1841. The +pictures that we have of the home life of this royal family; of the +discipline, loving but firm, to which the children were subjected, and +of the way in which the parents really lived with their children, are +most charming. A little story tells how the Princess Victoria, when but +a child, was told that if she persisted in speaking to the family +physician simply as "Brown" without prefixing either "Mr." or "Dr.," she +should certainly be sent to bed. When the doctor came the next morning, +the little girl said, "Good-morning, Brown," and then hastily added, +"and good-night, Brown, for I am going to bed." + +Of course the life of this queen of the greatest of all European +countries, and that of her husband, were not all made up of pleasant +domestic duties, and journeyings from Buckingham Palace to Osborne, the +summer home on the Isle of Wight, and to Balmoral in Scotland; infinite +in number were the demands made by the State on Victoria's time and on +her clear intelligence. Prince Albert, too, was unweariedly busied on +public matters. No great enterprise was considered fairly launched, no +public building was thought properly opened without a speech from the +Prince Consort. Victoria could not well have been made prouder of him +than she was on her marriage day, but she was happy beyond words to find +that the English people were coming to recognize his worth. They had +been suspicious of him at first, and had found fault with almost every +act of his. And indeed, they did not come to do him full justice until +after his death. + +That men should have been found ready and willing to make attempts on +the life of this queen, who showed herself no less wise in ruling than +she was loving and womanly in her domestic life, seems well-nigh +incredible; but as one writer has said, Victoria was "the greatest royal +target in Europe." Repeated attempts were made to assassinate her, but +they were always made by fanatics or insane men, and were in no wise the +result of any general movement against her. Indeed, at each attempt she +endeared herself the more to her people by her firmness and +fearlessness, and by her willingness to show herself bravely in public. + +The exquisitely happy home life of the queen was brought to a close, and +new public burdens were laid upon her, by the death of Prince Albert on +December fourteenth, 1861. Throughout his illness of but two weeks, the +queen was constantly with him, and not until the end was almost at hand +did she admit even to herself that there was no hope. She had so +earnestly desired that they might grow old together and that she might +never be left after his death, that she could not persuade herself that +he was really to die. Her account in her diary of his illness and death +is most beautiful. His tenderness for her never failed, and when, +shortly before his death, when he knew no one else, she bent over him +and whispered, "It is your own little wife," he knew her and kissed her. + +After her husband's death the queen withdrew largely from public +affairs, and her place was most admirably taken on all social occasions +by her daughter-in-law, Alexandra of Denmark, whom the Prince of Wales +married in 1863. When, however, the queen felt that her presence was +necessary on any public occasion, she was always ready and willing to +set aside her personal feelings, and let herself be seen by her +subjects. To the last, too, she maintained her hold on affairs, +directing business, political and domestic matters, with the same +excellent judgment that she had shown all her life. + +A most notable event in the queen's life occurred in 1897. This was the +celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of her reign, and it was +commemorated throughout her dominions with an enthusiasm which was +without parallel. Processions, illuminations, and speech-making took +place in every town in Great Britain, and city vied with city in +erecting memorials of the occasion. The queen's strength was greatly +taxed during the Jubilee period, but she speedily regained her customary +vigor. + +Somewhat less than four years later, however, in January of 1901, the +entire nation was made anxious by the news that the queen was ill. She +grew steadily worse, and late in the afternoon of January 22nd, she +died, to the intense grief, not only of her own subjects, but of all +peoples in the world. + +In this brief sketch of the life of England's great queen, practically +no reference has been made to political affairs; her life has been +treated merely from the personal, or domestic, side. However, it is not +to be for a moment supposed that the queen was so absorbed in her family +and her friends, dear as these always were to her, that she neglected +matters of state. Every important project that was attempted during her +reign had her consideration, and all of her ministers united in +regarding her opinion as valuable beyond words. The influence of this +wonderful woman on the history of her times was incalculable, and +further study of her life and character will only deepen and intensify +the respect and love which all must hold for her memory. + + + + +THE RECESSIONAL + +_By_ RUDYARD KIPLING + + + NOTE.--_The Recessional_ is one of the most delicate and graceful + poems in the language, yet it has such strength and virility, is so + easily understood and has such profound religious sentiment, that + it is regarded as one of the noblest things ever written. Kipling + himself tells us how it was written: + + "That poem gave me more trouble than anything I ever wrote. I had + promised the _Times_ a poem on the Jubilee, and when it became due, + I had written nothing that had satisfied me. The _Times_ began to + want the poem badly, and sent letter after letter asking for it. I + made many more attempts but no further progress. Finally the + _Times_ began sending telegrams. So I shut myself in a room with a + determination to stay there until I had written a Jubilee poem. + Sitting down with all my previous attempts before me I searched + through those dozens of sketches, till at last I found just one + line I liked. That was, 'Lest we forget.' Round these words _The + Recessional_ was written." + + + God of our fathers, known of old-- + Lord of our far-flung battle line, + Beneath whose awful Hand we hold + Dominion over palm and pine-- + Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, + Lest we forget--lest we forget! + + The tumult and the shouting dies-- + The Captains and the Kings depart. + Still stands Thine ancient Sacrifice, + An humble and a contrite heart.[164-1] + Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, + Lest we forget--lest we forget! + +[Illustration: ON DUNE AND HEADLAND] + + Far-called our navies melt away-- + On dune and headland sinks the fire; + Lo, all our pomp of yesterday + Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! + Judge of all Nations, spare us yet, + Lest we forget--lest we forget! + + If, drunk with sight of power, we loose + Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe-- + Such boasting as the Gentiles use + Or lesser breeds without the law-- + Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, + Lest we forget--lest we forget! + + For heathen heart that puts her trust + In reeking tube and iron shard-- + All valiant dust that builds on dust, + And guarding calls not Thee to guard-- + For frantic boast and foolish word, + Thy mercy on thy People, Lord! + Amen! + + + A recessional is a hymn sung while the clergy and the choir are + retiring at the end of a church service. We must remember that this + hymn was written for the celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of + the coronation of Queen Victoria, and that its sentiment is + English. The central idea appearing in the refrain at the end of + each stanza is that the nation must recognize the presence of God, + and remember its duties to Him. While the phrases in the poem call + us constantly back to England and English dominions, yet the + sentiment is so universal and so applicable to all nations, that + the hymn is admired everywhere. + + The first stanza refers to the conquests of England, whose battle + lines have been flung far over all parts of the world, and to the + fact that under the awful hand of God the British hold dominion + over India and the tropical lands where the palm tree grows, as + well as over the pine-clad hills of Canada and other Northern + regions. It is an appeal to the Almighty to be with the nation, and + to remind the people of their duty to the God of Hosts. The + succeeding stanzas may be paraphrased as follows: + + After the tumult and the shouting of the celebration die away, when + the captains and the kings, who have met from all parts of the + world to pay homage to the queen and to the nation, depart, there + still remains as the most acceptable gift to God, the ancient + sacrifice--an humble and a contrite heart. + + The British navies, called to far distant climes, separate and melt + away. Sinking below the horizon they see behind them on the dunes + and headlands the smouldering bonfires lit in celebration of the + Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The once magnificent cities of + Nineveh and Tyre are now in ruins, perhaps covered by shifting + desert sands. Their pomp and their glory have departed, but no more + completely than the glory and the pomp of yesterday have gone from + the nation. Judge of all Nations, spare the English from + destruction, and keep them in mind of their obligations to Thee. + + If, glorying in our power, we talk wildly of what we have done in + words that give no praise to God, and boast as the barbaric races + do, we pray Thee, Lord God of Hosts, to remind us that everything + we possess has come from thy guiding hand. + + Show mercy to thy people, Lord, for frantic boasts and foolish + words, for heathen hearts that put their trust in reeking cannon + and the fragments of bursting shells, and to those who, bravely + guarding the wide borders of our land, forget that they are but + valiant dust, and call not upon Thee to guard them. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[164-1] This is a reference to _Psalms LI, 17_: "The sacrifices of God +are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not +despise." + + + + +THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER[167-*] + +_By_ FRANCIS SCOTT KEY + + + O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, + What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? + Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, + O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming! + And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, + Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there; + O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave + O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave? + + On that shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep, + Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, + What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, + As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses? + Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, + In full glory reflected now shines on the stream; + 'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave + O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave! + + And where is that band who so vauntingly swore + That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion + A home and a country should leave us no more? + Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. + No refuge could save the hireling and slave + From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave; + And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave + O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave. + + O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand + Between their loved homes and the war's desolation! + Blest with vic'try and peace, may the heaven-rescued land + Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! + Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, + And this be our motto, "_In God is our trust_"; + And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave + O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[167-*] On the night of Sept. 12, 1814, Fort Henry in Chesapeake Bay not +far from Baltimore was unsuccessfully attacked by a British fleet. The +author, detained a prisoner on the fleet, witnessed the bombardment and +began the song there. + + + + +HOW'S MY BOY? + +_By_ SYDNEY DOBELL + + + "Ho, sailor of the sea! + How's my boy--my boy?" + "What's your boy's name, good wife, + And in what ship sailed he?" + + "My boy John-- + He that went to sea-- + What care I for the ship, sailor? + My boy's my boy to me. + + "You come back from the sea, + And not know my John? + I might as well have asked some landsman + Yonder down in the town. + There's not an ass in all the parish + But he knows my John. + + "How's my boy--my boy? + And unless you let me know + I'll swear you are no sailor, + Blue jacket or no, + Brass buttons or no, sailor, + Anchor and crown, or no! + Sure his ship was the 'Jolly Briton--'" + "Speak low, woman, speak low!" + + "And why should I speak low, sailor, + About my own boy John? + If I was loud as I am proud + I'd sing him over the town! + Why should I speak low, sailor?" + "That good ship went down." + + "How's my boy--my boy? + What care I for the ship, sailor, + I was never aboard her. + Be she afloat or be she aground, + Sinking or swimming, I'll be bound + Her owners can afford her! + I say, how's my John?" + "Every man on board went down, + Every man aboard her." + + "How's my boy--my boy? + What care I for the men, sailor? + I'm not their mother-- + How's my boy--my boy? + Tell me of him and no other! + How's my boy--my boy?" + + + + +THE SOLDIER'S DREAM + +_By_ THOMAS CAMPBELL + + + Our bugles sang truce, for the night-cloud had lower'd, + And the sentinel stars set their watch in the sky; + And thousands had sunk on the ground overpower'd, + The weary to sleep, and the wounded to die. + + When reposing that night on my pallet of straw + By the wolf-scaring fagot that guarded the slain, + At the dead of the night a sweet Vision I saw; + And thrice ere the morning I dreamt it again. + + Methought from the battlefield's dreadful array + Far, far, I had roam'd on a desolate track: + 'Twas Autumn--and sunshine arose on the way + To the home of my fathers, that welcomed me back. + + I flew to the pleasant fields traversed so oft + In life's morning march, when my bosom was young; + I heard my own mountain-goats bleating aloft, + And knew the sweet strain that the corn-reapers sung. + + Then pledged we the wine-cup, and fondly I swore + From my home and my weeping friends never to part; + My little ones kiss'd me a thousand times o'er, + And my wife sobb'd aloud in her fulness of heart. + + "Stay--stay with us!--rest!--thou art weary and worn!"-- + And fain was their war-broken soldier to stay;-- + But sorrow return'd with the dawning of morn, + And the voice in my dreaming ear melted away. + + + + +MAKE WAY FOR LIBERTY! + +_By_ JAMES MONTGOMERY + + + NOTE.--In the fourteenth century the Swiss people rose against + their Austrian oppressors, and at Sempach they won, on July 9, + 1386, a complete victory over an army which greatly exceeded them + in numbers. According to tradition, a Swiss hero, Arnold + Winkelried, seeing that the Austrian line was well-nigh + unbreakable, gathered the spears of several of his enemies in his + arms and pressed the points against his breast, thus making a way + for his companions. A monument was erected in his honor five + centuries after the battle. + + + "Make way for Liberty!"--he cried; + Made way for Liberty, and died! + + In arms the Austrian phalanx stood. + A living wall, a human wood! + A wall, where every conscious stone + Seemed to its kindred thousands grown; + A rampart all assaults to bear, + Till time to dust their frames should wear; + A wood, like that enchanted grove + In which with fiends Rinaldo strove, + Where every silent tree possessed + A spirit prisoned in its breast, + Which the first stroke of coming strife + Would startle into hideous life; + So dense, so still, the Austrians stood, + A living wall, a human wood! + Impregnable their front appears, + All horrent with projected spears, + Whose polished points before them shine, + From flank to flank, one brilliant line, + Bright as the breakers' splendors run + Along the billows to the sun. + + Opposed to these, a hovering band + Contended for their native land: + Peasants, whose new-found strength had broke + From manly necks the ignoble yoke, + And forged their fetters into swords, + On equal terms to fight their lords, + And what insurgent rage had gained + In many a mortal fray maintained; + Marshaled once more at Freedom's call, + They came to conquer or to fall, + Where he who conquered, he who fell, + Was deemed a dead or living Tell! + Such virtue had that patriot breathed, + So to the soil his soul bequeathed, + That wheresoe'er his arrows flew + Heroes in his own likeness grew, + And warriors sprang from every sod + Which his awakening footstep trod. + + And now the work of life and death + Hung on the passing of a breath; + The fire of conflict burnt within, + The battle trembled to begin; + Yet, while the Austrians held their ground, + Point for attack was nowhere found, + Where'er the impatient Switzers gazed, + The unbroken line of lances blazed; + That line 't were suicide to meet, + And perish at their tyrants' feet,-- + How could they rest within their graves, + And leave their homes the homes of slaves? + Would they not feel their children tread + With clanging chains above their head? + + It must not be: this day, this hour, + Annihilates the oppressor's power; + All Switzerland is in the field, + She will not fly, she cannot yield,-- + She must not fall; her better fate + Here gives her an immortal date. + Few were the number she could boast; + But every freeman was a host, + And felt as though himself were he + On whose sole arm hung victory. + + It did depend on _one_ indeed; + Behold him,--Arnold Winkelried! + There sounds not to the trump of fame + The echo of a nobler name. + Unmarked he stood amid the throng, + In rumination deep and long, + Till you might see, with sudden grace, + The very thought come o'er his face, + And by the motion of his form + Anticipate the bursting storm, + And by the uplifting of his brow + Tell where the bolt would strike, and how. + + But 't was no sooner thought than done, + The field was in a moment won:-- + + "Make way for Liberty!" he cried, + Then ran, with arms extended wide, + As if his dearest friend to clasp; + Ten spears he swept within his grasp. + + "Make way for Liberty!" he cried; + Their keen points met from side to side; + He bowed amongst them like a tree, + And thus made way for Liberty. + + Swift to the breach his comrades fly; + "Make way for Liberty!" they cry, + And through the Austrian phalanx dart, + As rushed the spears through Arnold's heart; + While, instantaneous as his fall, + Rout, ruin, panic, scattered all; + An earthquake could not overthrow + A city with a surer blow. + + Thus Switzerland again was free; + Thus death made way for Liberty! + + + + +THE OLD CONTINENTALS + +_By_ GUY HUMPHREYS MCMASTER + + + In their ragged regimentals + Stood the old continentals, + Yielding not, + When the grenadiers were lunging, + And like hail fell the plunging + Cannon-shot; + When the files + Of the isles, + From the smoky night encampment, bore the banner of the rampant + Unicorn, + And grummer, grummer, grummer rolled the roll of the drummer, + Through the morn! + + Then with eyes to the front all, + And with guns horizontal, + Stood our sires; + And the balls whistled deadly, + And in streams flashing redly + Blazed the fires; + As the roar + On the shore, + Swept the strong battle-breakers o'er the green-sodded acres + Of the plain; + And louder, louder, louder, cracked the black gun-powder, + Cracking amain! + + Now like smiths at their forges + Worked the red Saint George's + Cannoneers; + And the "villainous saltpetre" + Rung a fierce, discordant metre + Round their ears; + As the swift + Storm-drift, + With hot sweeping anger, came the horseguards' clangor + On our flanks. + Then higher, higher, higher, burned the old-fashioned fire + Through the ranks! + + Then the old-fashioned colonel + Galloped through the white infernal + Powder-cloud; + And his broad sword was swinging + And his brazen throat was ringing + Trumpet loud. + Then the blue + Bullets flew, + And the trooper jackets redden at the touch of the leaden + Rifle-breath; + And rounder, rounder, rounder, roared the iron six-pounder, + Hurling death! + + + + +THE PICKET-GUARD + +_By_ MRS. ETHEL LYNN BEERS + + + "All quiet along the Potomac," they say, + "Except now and then a stray picket + Is shot, as he walks on his beat, to and fro, + By a rifleman hid in the thicket. + 'T is nothing: a private or two, now and then, + Will not count in the news of the battle; + Not an officer lost--only one of the men, + Moaning out, all alone, the death rattle." + + All quiet along the Potomac to-night, + Where the soldiers lie peacefully dreaming; + Their tents in the rays of the clear autumn moon, + Or the light of the watch-fires, are gleaming. + A tremulous sigh, as the gentle night wind + Through the forest leaves softly is creeping; + While stars up above, with their glittering eyes, + Keep guard--for the army is sleeping. + + There's only the sound of the lone sentry's tread + As he tramps from the rock to the fountain, + And he thinks of the two in the low trundle-bed, + Far away in the cot on the mountain. + His musket falls slack; his face, dark and grim, + Grows gentle with memories tender, + As he mutters a prayer for the children asleep, + For their mother,--may Heaven defend her! + + The moon seems to shine just as brightly as then, + That night when the love yet unspoken + Leaped up to his lips--when low, murmured vows + Were pledged to be ever unbroken; + Then drawing his sleeve roughly over his eyes, + He dashes off tears that are welling, + And gathers his gun closer up to its place, + As if to keep down the heart-swelling. + + He passes the fountain, the blasted pine tree,-- + The footstep is lagging and weary; + Yet onward he goes, through the broad belt of light, + Toward the shade of the forest so dreary. + Hark! was it the night wind that rustled the leaves? + Was it moonlight so wondrously flashing? + It looked like a rifle: "Ha! Mary, good-by!" + And the life-blood is ebbing and plashing. + + All quiet along the Potomac to-night,-- + No sound save the rush of the river; + While soft falls the dew on the face of the dead,-- + The picket's off duty forever. + + + + +MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME + +_By_ STEPHEN COLLINS FOSTER + + + The sun shines bright in our old Kentucky home; + 'Tis summer, the darkeys are gay; + The corn top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom, + While the birds make music all the day; + The young folks roll on the little cabin floor, + All merry, all happy, all bright; + By'm by hard times comes knockin' at the door,-- + Then my old Kentucky home, good night! + + CHORUS + + Weep no more, my lady; O weep no more to-day! + We'll sing one song for my old Kentucky home, + For my old Kentucky home far away. + + They hunt no more for the possum and the coon, + On the meadow, the hill, and the shore; + They sing no more by the glimmer of the moon, + On the bench by the old cabin door; + The day goes by, like a shadow o'er the heart, + With sorrow where all was delight; + The time has come, when the darkeys have to part, + Then, my old Kentucky home, good night! + + The head must bow, and the back will have to bend, + Wherever the darkey may go; + A few more days, and the troubles all will end, + In the field where the sugar-cane grow; + A few more days to tote the weary load, + No matter, it will never be light; + A few more days till we totter on the road, + Then, my old Kentucky home, good night! + + + + +THE FORSAKEN MERMAN + +_By_ MATTHEW ARNOLD + + + Come, dear children, let us away; + Down and away below! + Now my brothers call from the bay, + Now the great winds shoreward blow, + Now the salt tides seaward flow; + Now the wild white horses play, + Champ and chafe and toss in the spray. + Children dear, let us away! + This way, this way! + + Call her once before you go-- + Call once yet! + In a voice that she will know + "Margaret! Margaret!" + Children's voices should be dear + (Call once more) to a mother's ear; + Children's voices, wild with pain-- + Surely she will come again! + Call her once and come away; + This way, this way! + "Mother dear, we cannot stay! + The wild white horses foam and fret." + Margaret! Margaret! + + Come, dear children, come away down; + Call no more! + One last look at the white-wall'd town, + And the little gray church on the windy shore; + Then come down! + She will not come though you call all day; + Come away, come away! + +[Illustration: THE LITTLE GRAY CHURCH ON THE WINDY SHORE] + + Children dear, was it yesterday + We heard the sweet bells over the bay? + In the caverns where we lay, + Through the surf and through the swell, + The far-off sound of a silver bell? + Sand-strewn caverns, cool and deep, + Where the winds are all asleep; + Where the spent lights quiver and gleam, + Where the salt weed sways in the stream, + Where the sea beasts, ranged all around, + Feed in the ooze of their pasture ground; + Where the sea snakes coil and twine, + Dry their mail and bask in the brine; + Where great whales come sailing by, + Sail and sail, with unshut eye, + Round the world for ever and aye? + When did music come this way? + Children dear, was it yesterday? + + Children dear, was it yesterday + (Call yet once) that she went away? + Once she sate with you and me, + On a red gold throne in the heart of the sea, + And the youngest sate on her knee. + She comb'd its bright hair, and she tended it well, + When down swung the sound of a far-off bell. + She sigh'd, she look'd up through the clear green sea; + She said: "I must go, for my kinsfolk pray + In the little gray church on the shore to-day. + 'Twill be Easter-time in the world--ah me! + And I lose my poor soul, Merman! here with thee." + I said: "Go up, dear heart, through the waves; + Say thy prayer, and come back to the kind sea caves!" + She smil'd, she went up through the surf in the bay. + Children dear, was it yesterday? + Children dear, were we long alone? + "The sea grows stormy, the little ones moan; + Long prayers," I said, "in the world they say; + Come!" I said; and we rose through the surf in the bay. + We went up the beach, by the sandy down + Where the sea stocks bloom, to the white-wall'd town; + Through the narrow, pav'd streets, where all was still, + To the little gray church on the windy hill. + From the church came a murmur of folk at their prayers, + But we stood without in the cold blowing airs. + We climb'd on the graves, on the stones worn with rains, + And we gaz'd up the aisle through the small leaded panes. + She sate by the pillar; we saw her clear; + "Margaret, hist! come quick, we are here! + Dear heart," I said, "we are long alone; + The sea grows stormy, the little ones moan." + But, ah, she gave me never a look, + For her eyes were seal'd to the holy book! + Loud prays the priest: shut stands the door. + Come away, children, call no more! + Come away, come down, call no more! + Down, down, down! + Down to the depths of the sea! + She sits at her wheel in the humming town, + Singing most joyfully. + Hark what she sings: "O joy, O joy. + For the humming street, and the child with its toy! + For the priest, and the bell, and the holy well; + For the wheel where I spun, + And the blessed light of the sun!" + And so she sings her fill. + Singing most joyfully, + Till the spindle drops from her hand, + And the whizzing wheel stands still. + She steals to the window, and looks at the sand, + And over the sand at the sea; + And her eyes are set in a stare; + And anon there breaks a sigh, + And anon there drops a tear, + From a sorrow-clouded eye, + And a heart sorrow-laden, + A long, long sigh, + For the cold, strange eyes of a little Mermaiden + And the gleam of her golden hair. + + Come away, away, children; + Come, children, come down! + The hoarse wind blows colder; + Lights shine in the town. + She will start from her slumber + When gusts shake the door; + She will hear the winds howling, + Will hear the waves roar. + + We shall see, while above us + The waves roar and whirl, + A ceiling of amber, + A pavement of pearl. + Singing: "Here came a mortal, + But faithless was she! + And alone dwell for ever + The kings of the sea." + + But, children, at midnight, + When soft the winds blow, + When clear falls the moonlight, + When spring-tides are low; + When sweet airs come seaward + From heaths starr'd with broom, + And high rocks throw mildly + On the blanch'd sands a gloom; + Up the still, glistening beaches, + Up the creeks we will hie, + Over banks of bright seaweed + The ebb-tide leaves dry. + We will gaze, from the sand hills, + At the white, sleeping town; + At the church on the hillside-- + And then come back down. + Singing: "There dwells a lov'd one, + But cruel is she! + She left lonely forever + The kings of the sea." + +[Illustration] + + + + +TOM AND MAGGIE TULLIVER + + + NOTE.--This account of Tom and Maggie Tulliver is taken from the + early chapters of George Eliot's _The Mill on the Floss_. The book + follows the fortunes of Tom and Maggie, whom at the opening of the + story we find living with their parents at the old mill house on + the Floss River, until they meet their death, in their early + manhood and womanhood. We give here, however, only a part of the + story of their childhood. + + +I + +It was a heavy disappointment to Maggie that she was not allowed to go +with her father in the gig when he went to fetch Tom home from the +academy; but the morning was too wet, Mrs. Tulliver said, for a little +girl to go out in her best bonnet. Maggie took the opposite view very +strongly, and it was a direct consequence of this difference of opinion +that when her mother was in the act of brushing out the reluctant black +crop Maggie suddenly rushed from under her hands and dipped her head in +a basin of water standing near, in the vindictive determination that +there should be no more chance of curls that day. + +"Maggie, Maggie!" exclaimed Mrs. Tulliver, sitting stout and helpless +with the brushes on her lap, "what is to become of you if you're so +naughty? I'll tell your aunt Glegg and your aunt Pullet when they come +next week, and they'll never love you any more. Oh dear, oh dear! look +at your clean pinafore, wet from top to bottom. Folks 'ull think it's a +judgment on me as I've got such a child,--they'll think I've done summat +wicked." + +Before this remonstrance was finished, Maggie was already out of +hearing, making her way toward the great attic that run under the old +high-pitched roof, shaking the water from her black locks as she ran, +like a Skye terrier escaped from his bath. This attic was Maggie's +favorite retreat on a wet day, when the weather was not too cold; here +she fretted out all her ill humors, and talked aloud to the worm-eaten +floors and the worm-eaten shelves, and the dark rafters festooned with +cobwebs; and here she kept a Fetish which she punished for all her +misfortunes. This was the trunk of a large wooden doll, which once +stared with the roundest of eyes above the reddest of cheeks; but was +now entirely defaced by a long career of vicarious suffering. Three +nails driven into the head commemorated as many crises in Maggie's nine +years of earthly struggle; that luxury of vengeance having been +suggested to her by the picture of Jael destroying Sisera in the old +Bible. The last nail had been driven in with a fiercer stroke than +usual, for the Fetish on that occasion represented aunt Glegg. But +immediately afterward Maggie had reflected that if she drove many nails +in she would not be so well able to fancy that the head was hurt when +she knocked it against the wall, nor to comfort it, and make believe to +poultice it, when her fury was abated; for even aunt Glegg would be +pitiable when she had been hurt very much, and thoroughly humiliated, so +as to beg her niece's pardon. Since then she had driven no more nails +in, but had soothed herself by alternately grinding and beating the +wooden head against the rough brick of the great chimneys that made two +square pillars supporting the roof. That was what she did this morning +on reaching the attic, sobbing all the while with a passion that +expelled every other form of consciousness,--even the memory of the +grievance that had caused it. + +[Illustration: TOM'S COMING HOME!] + +As at last the sobs were getting quieter, and the grinding less fierce, +a sudden beam of sunshine, falling through the wire lattice across the +worm-eaten shelves, made her throw away the Fetish and run to the +window. The sun was really breaking out; the sound of the mill seemed +cheerful again; the granary doors were open; and there was Yap, the +queer white-and-brown terrier, with one ear turned back, trotting about +and sniffing vaguely, as if he were in search of a companion. It was +irresistible. + +Maggie tossed her hair back and ran downstairs, seized her bonnet +without putting it on, peeped, and then dashed along the passage lest +she should encounter her mother, and was quickly out in the yard, +whirling around like a Pythoness, and singing as she whirled, "Yap, Yap, +Tom's coming home!" while Yap danced and barked round her, as much as to +say, if there was any noise wanted he was the dog for it. + +"Hegh, hegh, Miss! you'll make yourself giddy, an' tumble down i' the +dirt," said Luke, the head miller, a tall, broad-shouldered man of +forty, black-haired, subdued by a general mealiness, like an auricula. + +Maggie paused in her whirling and said, staggering a little, "Oh no, it +doesn't make me giddy, Luke; may I go into the mill with you?" + +Maggie loved to linger in the great spaces of the mill, and often came +out with her black hair powdered to a soft whiteness that made her dark +eyes flash out with new fire. The resolute din, the unresting motion of +the great stones, giving her a dim, delicious awe as at the presence of +an uncontrollable force; the meal forever pouring, pouring; the fine +white powder softening all surfaces, and making the very spider-nets +look like a fairy lace-work; the sweet, pure scent of the meal,--all +helped to make Maggie feel that the mill was a little world apart from +her outside everyday life. She was in the habit of taking this +recreation as she conversed with Luke, to whom she was very +communicative, wishing him to think well of her understanding, as her +father did. + +Perhaps she felt it necessary to recover her position with him on the +present occasion, for, as she sat sliding on the heap of grain near +which he was busying himself, she said, at that shrill pitch which was +requisite in mill-society,-- + +"I think you never read any book but the Bible, did you, Luke?" + +"Nay, Miss, an' not much o' that," said Luke, with great frankness. "I'm +no reader, I aren't." + +"But if I lent you one of my books, Luke? I've got many _very_ pretty +books that would be easy for you to read; but there's 'Pug's Tour of +Europe,'--that would tell you all about the different sorts of people in +the world, and if you didn't understand the reading, the pictures would +help you; they show the looks and ways of the people and what they do. +There are the Dutchmen, very fat, and smoking, you know, and one sitting +on a barrel." + +"Nay, Miss, I'n no opinion o' Dutchmen. There ben't much good i' knowin' +about _them_." + +"But they're our fellow-creatures, Luke; we ought to know about our +fellow-creatures." + +"Not much o' fellow-creatures, I think, Miss; all I know--my old master, +as war a knowin' man, used to say, says he, 'If e'er I sow my wheat +wi'out brinin', I'm a Dutchman,' says he; an' that war as much as to say +a Dutchman war a fool, or next door. + +"Nay, nay, I aren't goin' to bother mysen about Dutchmen. There's fools +enoo, an' rogues enoo, wi'out lookin' i' books for 'em." + +"Oh, well," said Maggie, rather foiled by Luke's unexpectedly decided +views about Dutchmen, "perhaps you would like 'Animated Nature' better; +that's not Dutchmen, you know, but elephants and kangaroos, and the +civet cat, and the sunfish, and a bird sitting on its tail,--I forgot +its name. There are countries full of those creatures, instead of horses +and cows, you know. Shouldn't you like to know about them, Luke?" + +"Nay, Miss, I'n got to keep count o' the flour an' corn; I can't do wi' +knowin' so many things beside my work. That's what brings folks to the +gallows,--knowin' everything but what they'n got to get their bread by. +An' they're mostly lies, I think, what's printed i' the books: them +printed sheets are, anyhow, as the men cry i' the streets." + +"Why, you're like my brother Tom, Luke," said Maggie, wishing to turn +the conversation agreeably; "Tom's not fond of reading. I love Tom so +dearly, Luke,--better than anybody else in the world. When he grows up I +shall keep his house, and we shall always live together. I can tell him +everything he doesn't know. But I think Tom's clever, for all he doesn't +like books; he makes beautiful whipcord and rabbit pens." + +"Ah," said Luke, "but he'll be fine an' vexed, as the rabbits are all +dead." + +"Dead!" screamed Maggie, jumping up from her sliding seat on the corn. +"Oh dear, Luke! What! the lop-eared one, and the spotted doe that Tom +spent all his money to buy?" + +"As dead as moles," said Luke, fetching his comparison from the +unmistakable corpses nailed to the stable wall. + +"Oh, Luke," said Maggie in a piteous tone, "Tom told me to be sure and +remember the rabbits every day; but how could I, when they didn't come +into my head, you know? Oh, he will be so angry with me, I know he will, +and so sorry about his rabbits, and so am I sorry. Oh, what _shall_ I +do?" + +"Don't you fret, Miss," said Luke, soothingly; "they're nash things, +them lop-eared rabbits; they'd happen ha' died, if they'd been fed. +Things out o' natur niver thrive: God A'mighty doesn't like 'em. He made +the rabbits' ears to lie back, an' it's nothin' but contrairiness to +make 'em hing down like a mastiff dog's. Master Tom 'ull know better nor +buy such things another time. Don't you fret, Miss. Will you come along +home wi' me, and see my wife? I'm a-goin' this minute." + +The invitation offered an agreeable distraction to Maggie's grief, and +her tears gradually subsided as she trotted along by Luke's side to his +pleasant cottage, which stood with its apple and pear trees, and with +the added dignity of a lean-to pigsty, at the other end of the Mill +fields. + + +II + +Tom was to arrive early in the afternoon, and there was another +fluttering heart besides Maggie's when it was late enough for the sound +of the gig wheels to be expected; for if Mrs. Tulliver had a strong +feeling, it was fondness for her boy. At last the sound came,--that +quick light bowling of the gig wheels,--and in spite of the wind, which +was blowing the clouds about, and was not likely to respect Mrs. +Tulliver's curls and cap-strings, she came outside the door and even +held her hand on Maggie's offending head, forgetting all the griefs of +the morning. + +"There he is, my sweet lad! But, Lord ha' mercy! he's got never a collar +on; it's been lost on the road, I'll be bound, and spoilt the set." + +Mrs. Tulliver stood with her arms open; Maggie jumped first on one leg +and then on the other; while Tom descended from the gig, and said, with +masculine reticence as to the tender emotions. "Hallo! Yap--what! are +you there?" + +Nevertheless he submitted to be kissed willingly enough, though Maggie +hung on his neck in rather a strangling fashion, while his blue-gray +eyes wandered toward the croft and the lambs and the river, where he +promised himself that he would begin to fish the first thing tomorrow +morning. He was one of those lads that grow everywhere in England, and +at twelve or thirteen years of age look as much alike as goslings,--a +lad with light-brown hair, cheeks of cream and roses, full lips, +indeterminate nose and eyebrows,--face in which it seems impossible to +see anything but boyhood; as different as possible from poor Maggie's +phiz, which Nature seemed to have moulded and colored with the most +decided intention. But that same Nature has the deep cunning which hides +itself under the appearance of openness, so that simple people think +they can see through her quite well, and all the while she is secretly +preparing a refutation of their confident prophecies. Under these +average boyish physiognomies that she seems to turn off by the gross, +she conceals some of her most unmodified characters; and the dark-eyed, +demonstrative, rebellious girl may after all turn out to be a passive +being compared with this pink-and-white bit of masculinity with the +indeterminate features. + +"Maggie," said Tom, confidentially, taking her into a corner, as soon as +his mother was gone out to examine his box, and the warm parlor had +taken off the chill he had felt from the long drive, "you don't know +what I've got in _my_ pockets," nodding his head up and down as a means +of rousing her sense of mystery. + +"No," said Maggie. "How stodgy they look, Tom! Is it marls (marbles) or +cobnuts?" Maggie's heart sank a little, because Tom always said it was +"no good" playing with _her_ at those games, she played so badly. + +"Marls! no; I've swopped all my marls with the little fellows, and +cobnuts are no fun, you silly, only when the nuts are green. But see +here!" He drew something half out of his righthand pocket. + +"What is it?" said Maggie, in a whisper. "I can see nothing but a bit of +yellow." + +"Why, it's--a--new--guess, Maggie!" + +"Oh, I _can't_ guess, Tom," said Maggie, impatiently. + +"Don't be a spitfire, else I won't tell you," said Tom, thrusting his +hand back into his pocket and looking determined. + +"No, Tom," said Maggie, imploringly, laying hold of the arm that was +held stiffly in the pocket. "I'm not cross, Tom; it was only because I +can't bear guessing. _Please_ be good to me." + +Tom's arm slowly relaxed, and he said, "Well, then, it's a new fish +line--two new uns,--one for you, Maggie, all to yourself. And here's +hooks; see here--I say, _won't_ we go and fish to-morrow down by the +Round Pool? And you shall catch your own fish, Maggie, and put the worms +on, and everything; won't it be fun?" + +Maggie's answer was to throw her arms round Tom's neck and hug him, and +hold her cheek against his without speaking, while he slowly unwound +some of the line, saying, after a pause,-- + +"Wasn't I a good brother, now, to buy you a line all to yourself? You +know, I needn't have bought it, if I hadn't liked." + +"Yes, very, very good--I _do_ love you, Tom." Tom had put the line back +in his pocket, and was looking at the hooks one by one, before he spoke +again. + +"And the fellows fought me, because I wouldn't give in about the +toffee." + +"Oh, dear! I wish they wouldn't fight at your school, Tom. Didn't it +hurt you?" + +"Hurt me? no," said Tom, putting up the hooks again, taking out a large +pocketknife, and slowly opening the largest blade, which he looked at +meditatively as he rubbed his finger along it. Then he added,-- + +"I gave Spouncer a black eye, I know; that's what he got by wanting to +leather _me_; I wasn't going to go halves because anybody leathered me." + +"Oh, how brave you are, Tom! I think you're like Samson. If there came a +lion roaring at me, I think you'd fight him, wouldn't you, Tom?" + +"How can a lion come roaring at you, you silly thing? There's no lions, +only in the shows." + +"No, but if we were in the lion countries--I mean Africa, where it's +very hot; the lions eat people there. I can show it you in the book +where I read it." + +"Well, I should get a gun and shoot him." + +"But if you hadn't got a gun,--we might have gone out, you know, not +thinking, just as we go fishing; and then a great lion might run toward +us roaring, and we couldn't get away from him. What should you do, Tom?" + +Tom paused, and at last turned away contemptuously, saying, "But the +lion _isn't_ coming. What's the use of talking?" + +"But I like to fancy how it would be," said Maggie, following him, "Just +think what you would do, Tom." + +"Oh, don't bother, Maggie! you're such a silly. I shall go and see my +rabbits." + +Maggie's heart began to flutter with fear. She dared not tell the sad +truth at once, but she walked after Tom in trembling silence as he went +out, thinking how she could tell him the news so as to soften at once +his sorrow and his anger; for Maggie dreaded Tom's anger of all things; +it was quite different anger from her own. + +"Tom," she said, timidly, when they were out of doors, "how much money +did you give for your rabbits?" + +"Two half-crowns and a sixpence," said Tom, promptly. + +"I think I've got a great deal more than that in my steel purse +upstairs. I'll ask mother to give it you." + +"What for?" said Tom. "I don't want _your_ money, you silly thing. I've +got a great deal more money than you, because I'm a boy. I always have +half-sovereigns and sovereigns for my Christmas boxes because I shall be +a man, and you have only five-shilling pieces, because you're only a +girl." + +"Well, but, Tom--if mother would let me give you two half-crowns and a +sixpence out of my purse to put into your pocket and spend, you know, +and buy some more rabbits with it?" + +"More rabbits? I don't want any more." + +"Oh, but, Tom, they're all dead." + +Tom stopped in his walk and turned round toward Maggie. "You forgot to +feed 'em, then?" he said, his color heightening for a moment, but soon +subsiding. "I don't love you, Maggie. You shan't go fishing with me +tomorrow. I told you to go and see the rabbits every day." He walked on +again. + +"Yes, but I forgot--and I couldn't help it, indeed, Tom. I'm so very +sorry," said Maggie, while the tears rushed fast. + +"You're a naughty girl," said Tom, severely, "and I'm sorry I bought you +the fish line. I don't love you." + +"Oh, Tom, it's very cruel," sobbed Maggie. "I'd forgive you, if _you_ +forgot anything--I wouldn't mind what you did--I'd forgive you and love +you." + +"Yes, you're a silly; but I never _do_ forget things, _I_ don't." + +"Oh, please forgive me, Tom; my heart will break," said Maggie, shaking +with sobs, clinging to Tom's arm, and laying her wet cheek on his +shoulder. + +Tom shook her off, and stopped again, saying in a peremptory tone, "Now, +Maggie, you just listen. Aren't I a good brother to you?" + +"Ye-ye-es," sobbed Maggie, her chin rising and falling convulsedly. + +"Didn't I think about your fish line all this quarter, and mean to buy +it, and saved my money o' purpose, and wouldn't go halves in the toffee, +and Spouncer fought me because I wouldn't?" + +"Ye-ye-es--and I--lo-lo-love you so, Tom." + +"But you're a naughty girl. Last holidays you licked the paint off my +lozenge box, and the holidays before that you let the boat drag my fish +line down when I'd set you to watch it, and you pushed your head through +my kite, all for nothing." + +"But I didn't mean," said Maggie; "I couldn't help it." + +"Yes, you could," said Tom, "if you'd minded what you were doing. And +you're a naughty girl, and you sha'n't go fishing with me to-morrow." + +With this terrible conclusion, Tom ran away from Maggie toward the mill. +Maggie stood motionless, except from her sobs, for a minute or two; then +she turned round and ran into the house, and up to her attic, where she +sat on the floor and laid her head against the worm-eaten shelf, with a +crushing sense of misery. Tom was come home, and she had thought how +happy she should be; and now he was cruel to her. What use was anything +if Tom didn't love her? Oh, he was very cruel! Hadn't she wanted to give +him the money, and said how very sorry she was? She knew she was naughty +to her mother, but she had never been naughty to Tom--had never _meant_ +to be naughty to him. + +[Illustration: "OH, HE IS CRUEL!"] + +"Oh, he is cruel!" Maggie sobbed aloud, finding a wretched pleasure in +the hollow resonance that came through the long empty space of the +attic. She never thought of beating or grinding her Fetish; she was too +miserable to be angry. + +These bitter sorrows of childhood! when sorrow is all new and strange, +when hope has not yet got wings to fly beyond the days and weeks, and +the space from summer to summer seems measureless. + +Maggie soon thought she had been hours in the attic, and it must be tea +time, and they were all having their tea, and not thinking of her. Well, +then, she would stay up there and starve herself,--hide herself behind +the tub, and stay there all night,--and then they would all be +frightened, and Tom would be sorry. Thus Maggie thought in the pride of +her heart, as she crept behind the tub; but presently she began to cry +again at the idea that they didn't mind her being there. If she went +down again to Tom now--would he forgive her? Perhaps her father would be +there, and he would take her part. But then she wanted Tom to forgive +her because he loved her, not because his father told him. No, she would +never go down if Tom didn't come to fetch her. This resolution lasted in +great intensity for five dark minutes behind the tub; but then the need +of being loved--the strongest need in poor Maggie's nature--began to +wrestle with her pride, and soon threw it. She crept from behind the tub +into the twilight of the long attic, but just then she heard a quick +footstep on the stairs. + +Tom had been too much interested in his talk with Luke, in going the +round of the premises, walking in and out where he pleased, and +whittling sticks without any particular reason,--except that he didn't +whittle sticks at school,--to think of Maggie and the effect his anger +had produced on her. He meant to punish her, and that business having +been performed, he occupied himself with other matters, like a practical +person. But when he had been called in to tea, his father said, "Why, +where's the little wench?" and Mrs. Tulliver, almost at the same +moment, said, "Where's your little sister?"--both of them having +supposed that Maggie and Tom had been together all the afternoon. + +"I don't know," said Tom. He didn't want to "tell" of Maggie, though he +was angry with her; for Tom Tulliver was a lad of honor. + +"What! hasn't she been playing with you all this while?" said the +father. "She'd been thinking o' nothing but your coming home." + +"I haven't seen her this two hours," says Tom, commencing on the +plumcake. + +"Goodness heart! she's got drownded!" exclaimed Mrs. Tulliver, rising +from her seat and running to the window. "How could you let her do so?" +she added, as became a fearful woman, accusing she didn't know whom of +she didn't know what. + +"Nay, nay, she's none drownded," said Mr. Tulliver. "You've been naughty +to her, I doubt, Tom?" + +"I'm sure I haven't, father," said Tom indignantly. "I think she's in +the house." + +"Perhaps up in that attic," said Mrs. Tulliver, "a-singing and talking +to herself, and forgetting all about meal times." + +"You go and fetch her down, Tom," said Mr. Tulliver, rather +sharply,--his perspicacity or his fatherly fondness for Maggie making +him suspect that the lad had been hard upon "the little un," else she +would never have left his side. "And be good to her, do you hear? Else +I'll let you know better." + +Tom never disobeyed his father, for Mr. Tulliver was a peremptory man, +and, as he said, would never let anybody get hold of his whip hand; but +he went out rather sullenly, carrying his piece of plumcake, and not +intending to reprieve Maggie's punishment, which was no more than she +deserved. Tom was only thirteen, and had no decided views in grammar and +arithmetic, regarding them for the most part as open questions, but he +was particularly clear and positive on one point,--namely, that he would +punish everybody who deserved it. Why, he wouldn't have minded being +punished himself if he deserved it; but, then, he never _did_ deserve +it. + +It was Tom's step, then, that Maggie heard on the stairs, when her need +of love had triumphed over her pride, and she was going down with her +swollen eyes and dishevelled hair to beg for pity. At least her father +would stroke her head and say, "Never mind, my wench." It is a wonderful +subduer, this need of love,--this hunger of the heart,--as peremptory as +that other hunger by which Nature forces us to submit to the yoke, and +change the face of the world. + +But she knew Tom's step, and her heart began to beat violently with the +sudden shock of hope. He only stood still at the top of the stairs and +said, "Maggie, you're to come down." But she rushed to him and clung +around his neck, sobbing, "Oh, Tom, please forgive me--I can't bear +it--I will always be good--always remember things--do love me--please, +dear Tom!" + +We learn to restrain ourselves as we get older. We keep apart when we +have quarreled, express ourselves in well-bred phrases, and in this way +preserve a dignified alienation, showing much firmness on one side, and +swallowing much grief on the other. We no longer approximate in our +behavior to the mere impulsiveness of the lower animals, but conduct +ourselves in every respect like members of a highly civilized society. +Maggie and Tom were still very much like young animals, and so she could +rub her cheek against his, and kiss his ear in a random sobbing way; and +there were tender fibres in the lad that had been used to answer to +Maggie's fondling, so that he behaved with a weakness quite inconsistent +with his resolution to punish her as much as she deserved. He actually +began to kiss her in return, and say,-- + +"Don't cry, then, Magsie; here, eat a bit o' cake." + +Maggie's sobs began to subside, and she put out her mouth for the cake +and bit a piece; and then Tom bit a piece, just for company, and they +ate together and rubbed each other's cheeks and brows and noses +together, while they ate, with a humiliating resemblance to two friendly +ponies. + +"Come along, Magsie, and have tea," said Tom at last, when there was no +more cake except what was downstairs. + +So ended the sorrows of this day, and the next morning Maggie was +trotting with her own fishing rod in one hand and a handle of the basket +in the other, stepping always, by a peculiar gift, in the muddiest +places, and looking darkly radiant from under her beaver-bonnet because +Tom was good to her. She had told Tom, however, that she should like him +to put the worms on the hook for her, although she accepted his word +when he assured her that worms couldn't feel (it was Tom's private +opinion that it didn't much matter if they did). He knew all about +worms, and fish, and those things; and what birds were mischievous, and +how padlocks opened, and which way the handles of the gates were to be +lifted. Maggie thought this sort of knowledge was very wonderful,--much +more difficult than remembering what was in the books; and she was +rather in awe of Tom's superiority, for he was the only person who +called her knowledge "stuff," and did not feel surprised at her +cleverness. Tom, indeed, was of opinion that Maggie was a silly little +thing; all girls were silly,--they couldn't throw a stone so as to hit +anything, couldn't do anything with a pocketknife, and were frightened +at frogs. Still, he was very fond of his sister, and meant always to +take care of her, make her his housekeeper, and punish her when she did +wrong. + +They were on their way to the Round Pool,--that wonderful pool, which +the floods had made a long while ago. No one knew how deep it was; and +it was mysterious, too, that it should be almost a perfect round, framed +in with willows and tall reeds, so that the water was only to be seen +when you got close to the brink. The sight of the old favorite spot +always heightened Tom's good humor, and he spoke to Maggie in the most +amicable whispers, as he opened the precious basket and prepared their +tackle. He threw her line for her, and put the rod into her hand. Maggie +thought it probable that the small fish would come to her hook, and the +large ones to Tom's. But she had forgotten all about the fish, and was +looking dreamily at the glassy water, when Tom said, in a loud whisper, +"Look, look, Maggie!" and came running to prevent her from snatching her +line away. + +Maggie was frightened lest she had been doing something wrong, as usual, +but presently Tom drew out her line and brought a large tench bouncing +on the grass. + +Tom was excited. + +"O Maggie, you little duck! Empty the basket." + +Maggie was not conscious of unusual merit, but it was enough that Tom +called her Magsie, and was pleased with her. There was nothing to mar +her delight in the whispers and the dreamy silences, when she listened +to the light dipping sounds of the rising fish, and the gentle rustling, +as if the willows and the reeds and the water had their happy whispering +also. Maggie thought it would make a very nice heaven to sit by the pool +in that way, and never be scolded. She never knew she had a bite till +Tom told her; but she liked fishing very much. + + +III + +On Wednesday, the day before the aunts and uncles were coming, there +were such various and suggestive scents, as of plumcakes in the oven and +jellies in the hot state, mingled with the aroma of gravy, that it was +impossible to feel altogether gloomy; there was hope in the air. Tom and +Maggie made several inroads into the kitchen, and, like other marauders, +were induced to keep aloof for a time only by being allowed to carry +away a sufficient load of booty. + +"Tom," said Maggie, as they sat on the boughs of the elder-tree, eating +their jam-puffs, "shall you run away to-morrow?" + +"No," said Tom, slowly, when he had finished his puff, and was eyeing +the third, which was to be divided between them,--"no, I sha'n't." + +"Why, Tom? Because Lucy's coming?" + +[Illustration: "IS IT THE TIPSY-CAKE, THEN?"] + +"No," said Tom, opening his pocketknife and holding it over the puff, +with his head on one side in a dubitative manner. (It was a difficult +problem to divide that very irregular polygon into two equal parts.) +"What do _I_ care about Lucy? She's only a girl,--_she_ can't play at +bandy." + +"Is it the tipsy-cake, then?" said Maggie, exerting her hypothetic +powers, while she leaned forward toward Tom with her eyes fixed on the +hovering knife. "No, you silly, that'll be good the day after. It's the +pudden. I know what's the pudden's to be,--apricot roll-up--O my +buttons!" + +With this interjection, the knife descended on the puff, and it was in +two, but the result was not satisfactory to Tom, for he still eyed the +halves doubtfully. At last he said,-- + +"Shut your eyes, Maggie." + +"What for?" + +"You never mind what for. Shut 'em when I tell you." + +Maggie obeyed. + +"Now, which'll you have, Maggie,--right hand or left? + +"I'll have that with the jam run out," said Maggie, keeping her eyes +shut to please Tom. + +"Why, you don't like that, you silly. You may have it if it comes to you +fair, but I sha'n't give it you without. Right or left,--you choose, +now. Ha-a-a!" said Tom, in a tone of exasperation, as Maggie peeped. +"You keep your eyes shut, now, else you sha'n't have any." + +Maggie's power of sacrifice did not extend so far; indeed, I fear she +cared less that Tom should enjoy the utmost possible amount of puff, +than that he should be pleased with her for giving him the best bit. So +she shut her eyes close, till Tom told her to "say which," and then she +said, "Left hand." + +"You've got it," said Tom, in rather a bitter tone. + +"What! the bit with the jam run out?" + +"No; here, take it," said Tom, firmly, handing decidedly the best piece +to Maggie. + +"Oh, please, Tom, have it; I don't mind--I like the other; please take +this." + +"No, I sha'n't," said Tom, almost crossly, beginning on his own inferior +piece. + +Maggie, thinking it was no use to contend further, began too, and ate up +her half puff with considerable relish as well as rapidity. But Tom had +finished first, and had to look on while Maggie ate her last morsel or +two, feeling in himself a capacity for more. Maggie didn't know Tom was +looking at her; she was see-sawing on the elder bough, lost to almost +everything but a vague sense of jam and idleness. + +"Oh, you greedy thing!" said Tom, when she had swallowed the last +morsel. He was conscious of having acted very fairly, and thought she +ought to have considered this, and made up to him for it. He would have +refused a bit of hers beforehand, but one is naturally at a different +point of view before and after one's own share of puff is swallowed. + +Maggie turned quite pale. "Oh, Tom, why didn't you ask me?" + +"I wasn't going to ask you for a bit, you greedy. You might have thought +of it without, when you knew I gave you the best bit." + +"But I wanted you to have it; you know I did," said Maggie, in an +injured tone. + +"Yes, but I wasn't going to do what wasn't fair. If I go halves, I'll go +'em fair; only I wouldn't be a greedy." + +With this cutting innuendo, Tom jumped down from his bough, and threw a +stone with a "hoigh!" as a friendly attention to Yap, who had also been +looking on while the eatables vanished, with an agitation of his ears +and feelings which could hardly have been without bitterness. Yet the +excellent dog accepted Tom's attention with as much alacrity as if he +had been treated quite generously. + +But Maggie, gifted with that superior power of misery which +distinguishes the human being, and places him at a proud distance from +the most melancholy chimpanzee, sat still on her bough, and gave herself +up to the keen sense of unmerited reproach. She would have given the +world not to have eaten all her puff, and to have saved some of it for +Tom. Not but that the puff was very nice, for Maggie's palate was not at +all obtuse, but she would have gone without it many times over, sooner +than Tom should call her greedy and be cross with her. And he had said +he wouldn't have it, and she ate it without thinking; how could she help +it? The tears flowed so plentifully that Maggie saw nothing around her +for the next ten minutes; but by that time resentment began to give way +to the desire of reconciliation, and she jumped from her bough to look +for Tom. He was no longer in the paddock behind the rickyard; where was +he likely to be gone, and Yap with him? Maggie ran to the high bank +against the great holly tree, where she could see far away toward the +Floss. + +There was Tom; but her heart sank again as she saw how far he was on his +way to the great river, and that he had another companion besides +Yap,--naughty Bob Jakin, whose official, if not natural, function of +frightening the birds was just now at a standstill. + +Well! there was no hope for it; he was gone now, and Maggie could think +of no comfort but to sit down by the hollow, or wander by the hedgerow, +and fancy it was all different, refashioning her little world into just +what she should like it to be. + + +IV + +Maggie had thrown her bonnet off very carelessly, and coming in with her +hair rough as well as out of curl, rushed at once to Lucy, who was +standing by her mother's knee. Certainly the contrast between the +cousins was conspicuous. It was like the contrast between a rough, dark, +overgrown puppy and a white kitten. Lucy put up the neatest little +rosebud mouth to be kissed; everything about her was neat--her little +round neck, with the row of coral beads; her little straight nose, not +at all snubby; her little clear eyebrows, rather darker than her curls, +to match her hazel eyes, which looked up with shy pleasure at Maggie, +taller by the head, though scarcely a year older. Maggie always looked +at Lucy with delight. She was fond of fancying a world where the people +never got any larger than children of their own age, and she made the +queen of it just like Lucy, with a little crown on her head, and a +little sceptre in her hand--only the queen was Maggie herself in Lucy's +form. + +"Oh, Lucy," she burst out, after kissing her, "you'll stay with Tom and +me, won't you? Oh, kiss her, Tom." + +Tom, too, had come up to Lucy, but he was not going to kiss her--no; he +came up to her with Maggie, because it seemed easier, on the whole, than +saying, "How do you do?" to all those aunts and uncles. He stood looking +at nothing in particular, with the blushing, awkward air and semi-smile +which are common to shy boys when in company,--very much as if they had +come into the world by mistake, and found it in a degree of undress that +was quite embarrassing. + +"Maggie," said Mrs. Tulliver, beckoning Maggie to her, and whispering in +her ear, as soon as this point of Lucy's staying was settled, "go and +get your hair brushed. I told you not to come in without going to Martha +first; you know I did." + +"Tom, come out with me," whispered Maggie, pulling his sleeve as she +passed him; and Tom followed willingly enough. + +"Come upstairs with me, Tom," she whispered, when they were outside the +door. "There's something I want to do before dinner." + +"There's no time to play at anything before dinner," said Tom, whose +imagination was impatient of any intermediate prospect. + +"Oh yes, there is time for this; _do_ come, Tom." + +Tom followed Maggie upstairs into her mother's room, and saw her go at +once to a drawer, from which she took out a large pair of scissors. + +"What are they for, Maggie?" said Tom, feeling his curiosity awakened. + +Maggie answered by seizing her front locks and cutting them straight +across the middle of her forehead. + +"Oh, my buttons! Maggie, you'll catch it!" exclaimed Tom; "you'd better +not cut any more off." + +Snip! went the great scissors again while Tom was speaking, and he +couldn't help feeling it was rather good fun; Maggie would look so +queer. + +"Here, Tom, cut it behind for me," said Maggie, excited by her own +daring, and anxious to finish the deed. + +"You'll catch it, you know," said Tom, nodding his head in an admonitory +manner, and hesitating a little as he took the scissors. + +"Never mind, make haste!" said Maggie, giving a little stamp with her +foot. Her cheeks were quite flushed. + +The black locks were so thick, nothing could be more tempting to a lad +who had already tasted the forbidden pleasure of cutting the pony's +mane. I speak to those who know the satisfaction of making a pair of +shears meet through a duly resisting mass of hair. One delicious +grinding snip, and then another and another, and the hinder locks fell +heavily on the floor, and Maggie stood cropped in a jagged, uneven +manner, but with a sense of clearness and freedom, as if she had emerged +from a wood into the open plain. + +"Oh, Maggie," said Tom, jumping round her, and slapping his knees as he +laughed, "Oh, my buttons! what a queer thing you look! Look at yourself +in the glass; you look like the idiot we throw out nutshells to at +school." + +Maggie felt an unexpected pang. She had thought beforehand chiefly of +her own deliverance from her teasing hair and teasing remarks about it, +and something also of the triumph she should have over her mother and +her aunts by this very decided course of action; she didn't want her +hair to look pretty,--that was out of the question,--she only wanted +people to think her a clever little girl, and not to find fault with +her. But now, when Tom began to laugh at her, and say she was like the +idiot, the affair had quite a new aspect. She looked in the glass, and +still Tom laughed and clapped his hands, and Maggie's flushed cheeks +began to pale, and her lips to tremble a little. + +"Oh, Maggie, you'll have to go down to dinner directly," said Tom. "Oh, +my!" + +"Don't laugh at me, Tom," said Maggie, in a passionate tone, with an +outburst of angry tears, stamping, and giving him a push. + +"Now, then, spitfire!" said Tom. "What did you cut it off for, then? I +shall go down: I can smell the dinner going in." + +He hurried downstairs and left poor Maggie to that bitter sense of the +irrevocable which was almost an everyday experience of her small soul. +She could see clearly enough, now the thing was done, that it was very +foolish, and that she should have to hear and think more about her hair +than ever; for Maggie rushed to her deeds with passionate impulse, and +then saw not only their consequences, but what would have happened if +they had not been done, with all the detail and exaggerated +circumstances of an active imagination. + +"Miss Maggie, you're to come down this minute," said Kezia, entering the +room hurriedly. "Lawks! what have you been a-doing? I niver _see_ such a +fright!" + +"Don't, Kezia," said Maggie, angrily. "Go away!" + +"But I tell you you're to come down, Miss, this minute; your mother says +so," said Kezia, going up to Maggie and taking her by the hand to raise +her from the floor. + +"Get away, Kezia; I don't want any dinner," said Maggie, resisting +Kezia's arm. "I sha'n't come." + +"Oh, well, I can't stay. I've got to wait at dinner," said Kezia, going +out again. + +"Maggie, you little silly," said Tom, peeping into the room ten minutes +after, "why don't you come and have your dinner? There's lots o' +goodies, and mother says you're to come. What are you crying for, you +little spooney?" + +Oh, it was dreadful! Tom was so hard and unconcerned; if _he_ had been +crying on the floor, Maggie would have cried, too. And there was the +dinner, so nice; and she was _so_ hungry. It was very bitter. + +But Tom was not altogether hard. He was not inclined to cry, and did not +feel that Maggie's grief spoiled his prospect of the sweets; but he went +and put his head near her, and said in a lower, comforting tone,-- + +"Won't you come, then, Magsie? Shall I bring you a bit o' pudding when +I've had mine, and a custard and things?" + +"Ye-e-es," said Maggie, beginning to feel life a little more tolerable. + +"Very well," said Tom, going away. But he turned again at the door and +said, "But you'd better come, you know. There's the dessert,--nuts, you +know, and cowslip wine." + +Maggie's tears had ceased, and she looked reflective as Tom left her. +His good nature had taken off the keenest edge of her sufferings, and +nuts with cowslip wine began to assert their legitimate influence. + +Slowly she rose from amongst her scattered locks, and slowly she made +her way downstairs. Then she stood leaning with one shoulder against +the frame of the dining-parlor door, peeping in when it was ajar. She +saw Tom and Lucy with an empty chair between them, and there were the +custards on a side table; it was too much. She slipped in and went +toward the empty chair. But she had no sooner sat down than she repented +and wished herself back again. + +Mrs. Tulliver gave a little scream as she saw her, and felt such a +"turn" that she dropped the large gravy-spoon into the dish, with the +most serious results to the tablecloth. For Kezia had not betrayed the +reason of Maggie's refusal to come down, not liking to give her mistress +a shock in the moment of carving, and Mrs. Tulliver thought there was +nothing worse in question than a fit of perverseness, which was +inflicting its own punishment by depriving Maggie of half her dinner. + +Mrs. Tulliver's scream made all eyes turn toward the same point as her +own, and Maggie's cheeks and ears began to burn, while uncle Glegg, a +kind-looking, white-haired old gentleman, said,-- + +"Heyday! what little gell's this? Why, I don't know her. Is it some +little gell you've picked up in the road, Kezia?" + +"Why, she's gone and cut her hair herself," said Mr. Tulliver in an +undertone to Mr. Deane, laughing with much enjoyment. "Did you ever know +such a little hussy as it is?" + +"Why, little miss, you've made yourself look very funny," said uncle +Pullet, and perhaps he never in his life made an observation which was +felt to be so lacerating. + +"Fie, for shame!" said aunt Glegg, in her loudest, severest tone of +reproof. "Little gells as cut their own hair should be whipped and fed +on bread and water,--not come and sit down with their aunts and uncles." + +"Ay, ay," said uncle Glegg, meaning to give a playful turn to this +denunciation, "she must be sent to jail, I think, and they'll cut the +rest of her hair off there, and make it all even." + +"She's more like a gypsy nor ever," said aunt Pullet, in a pitying tone; +"it's very bad luck, sister, as the gell should be so brown; the boy's +fair enough. I doubt it'll stand in her way i' life to be so brown." + +"She's a naughty child, as'll break her mother's heart," said Mrs. +Tulliver, with the tears in her eyes. + +Maggie seemed to be listening to a chorus of reproach and derision. Her +first flush came from anger, which gave her a transient power of +defiance, and Tom thought she was braving it out, supported by the +recent appearance of the pudding and custard. Under this impression, he +whispered, "Oh, my! Maggie, I told you you'd catch it." He meant to be +friendly, but Maggie felt convinced that Tom was rejoicing in her +ignominy. Her feeble power of defiance left her in an instant, her heart +swelled, and getting up from her chair, she ran to her father, hid her +face on his shoulder, and burst out into loud sobbing. + +"Come, come, my wench," said her father, soothingly, putting his arm +round her, "never mind; you was i' the right to cut it off if it +plagued you; give over crying; father'll take your part." + +Delicious words of tenderness! Maggie never forgot any of these moments +when her father "took her part"; she kept them in her heart, and +thought of them long years after, when every one else said that her +father had done very ill by his children. + +With the dessert there came entire deliverance for Maggie, for the +children were told they might have their nuts and wine in the +summerhouse, since the day was so mild; and they scampered out among the +building bushes of the garden with the alacrity of small animals getting +from under a burning glass. + + +V + +While the possible troubles of Maggie's future were occupying her +father's mind, she herself was tasting only bitterness of the present. +Childhood has not forebodings; but then, it is soothed by no memories of +out-lived sorrow. + +The fact was, the day had begun ill with Maggie. The pleasure of having +Lucy to look at, and the prospect of the afternoon visit to Garum Firs, +where she would hear uncle Pullet's musical box, had been marred as +early as eleven o'clock by the advent of the hairdresser from Saint +Ogg's, who had spoken in the severest terms of the condition in which he +had found her hair, holding up one jagged lock after another and saying, +"see here! tut, tut, tut!" in a tone of mingled disgust and pity, which +to Maggie's imagination was equivalent to the strongest expression of +public opinion. Mr. Rappit, the hairdresser, with his well-anointed +coronal locks tending wavily upward, like the simulated pyramid of flame +on a monumental urn, seemed to her at that moment the most formidable +of her contemporaries, into whose street at Saint Ogg's she would +carefully refrain from entering through the rest of her life. + +Already, at twelve o'clock, Mrs. Tulliver had on her visiting costume, +with a protective apparatus of brown holland, as if she had been a piece +of satin furniture in danger of flies; Maggie was frowning and twisting +her shoulders, that she might if possible shrink away from the +prickliest of tuckers, while her mother was remonstrating, "Don't, +Maggie, my dear; don't make yourself so ugly!" and Tom's cheeks were +looking particularly brilliant as a relief to his best blue suit, which +he wore with becoming calmness, having, after a little wrangling, +effected what was always the one point of interest to him in his toilet: +he had transferred all the contents of his everyday pockets to those +actually in wear. + +As for Lucy, she was just as pretty and neat as she had been yesterday; +no accidents ever happened to her clothes, and she was never +uncomfortable in them, so that she looked with wondering pity at Maggie, +pouting and writhing under the exasperating tucker. Maggie would +certainly have torn it off, if she had not been checked by the +remembrance of her recent humiliation about her hair; as it was, she +confined herself to fretting and twisting, and behaving peevishly about +the card houses which they were allowed to build till dinner, as a +suitable amusement for boys and girls in their best clothes. Tom could +build perfect pyramids of houses; but Maggie's would never bear the +laying on the roof. It was always so with the things that Maggie made; +and Tom had deduced the conclusion that no girls could ever make +anything. But it happened that Lucy proved wonderfully clever at +building; she handled the cards so lightly, and moved so gently, that +Tom condescended to admire her houses as well as his own, the more +readily because she had asked him to teach her. Maggie, too, would have +admired Lucy's houses, and would have given up her own unsuccessful +building to contemplate them, without ill temper, if her tucker had not +made her peevish, and if Tom had not inconsiderately laughed when her +houses fell, and told her she was "a stupid." + +"Don't laugh at me, Tom!" she burst out angrily; "I'm not a stupid. I +know a great many things you don't." + +"Oh, I dare say, Miss Spitfire! I'd never be such a cross thing as you, +making faces like that. Lucy doesn't do so. I like Lucy better than you; +_I_ wish Lucy was _my_ sister." + +"Then it's very wicked and cruel of you to wish so," said Maggie, +starting up hurriedly from her place on the floor, and upsetting Tom's +wonderful pagoda. + +She really did not mean it, but the circumstantial evidence was against +her, and Tom turned white with anger, but said nothing; he would have +struck her, only he knew it was cowardly to strike a girl, and Tom +Tulliver was quite determined he would never do anything cowardly. + +Maggie stood in dismay and terror, while Tom got up from the floor and +walked away, pale, from the scattered ruins of his pagoda, and Lucy +looked on mutely, like a kitten pausing from its lapping. + +"Oh, Tom," said Maggie, at last, going halfway toward him, "I didn't +mean to knock it down,--indeed, indeed I didn't." + +Tom took no notice of her, but took, instead, two or three hard peas out +of his pocket, and shot them with his thumb-nail against the window, +vaguely at first, but presently with the distinct aim of hitting a +superannuated blue bottle which was exposing its imbecility in the +spring sunshine, clearly against the views of Nature, who had provided +Tom and the peas for the speedy destruction of this weak individual. + +Thus the morning had been made heavy to Maggie, and Tom's persistent +coldness to her all through their walk spoiled the fresh air and +sunshine for her. He called Lucy to look at the half-built bird's nest +without caring to show it to Maggie, and peeled a willow switch for Lucy +and himself, without offering one to Maggie. Lucy had said, "Maggie, +shouldn't _you_ like one?" but Tom was deaf. + +Still, the sight of the peacock opportunely spreading his tail on the +stackyard wall, just as they reached Garum Firs, was enough to divert +the mind temporarily from personal grievances. And this was only the +beginning of beautiful sights at Garum Firs. All the farmyard life was +wonderful there,--bantams, speckled and topknotted; Friesland hens, with +their feathers all turned the wrong way; Guinea fowls that flew and +screamed and dropped their pretty spotted feathers; pouter pigeons and a +tame magpie; nay, a goat, and a wonderful brindled dog, half mastiff, +half bulldog, as large as a lion. Then there were white railings and +white gates all about, and glittering weathercocks of various design, +and garden walks paved with pebbles in beautiful patterns,--nothing was +quite common at Garum Firs; and Tom thought that the unusual size of the +toads there was simply due to the general unusualness which +characterized uncle Pullet's possessions as a gentleman farmer. Toads +who paid rent were naturally leaner. As for the house, it was not less +remarkable; it had a receding centre, and two wings with battlemented +turrets, and was covered with glittering white stucco. + +The small demons who had taken possession of Maggie's soul at an earlier +period of the day had returned in all the greater force after a +temporary absence. All the disagreeable recollections of the morning +were thick upon her, when Tom said, "Here, Lucy, you come along with +me," and walked off to the area where the toads were, as if there were +no Maggie in existence. Seeing this, Maggie lingered at a distance, +looking like a small Medusa with her snakes cropped. Lucy was naturally +pleased that cousin Tom was so good to her, and it was very amusing to +see him tickling a fat toad with a piece of string when the toad was +safe down the area, with an iron grating over him. Still Lucy wished +Maggie to enjoy the spectacle also, especially as she would doubtless +find a name for the toad, and say what had been his past history; for +Lucy had a delighted semi-belief in Maggie's stories about the live +things they came upon by accident,--how Mrs. Earwig had a wash at home, +and one of her children had fallen into the hot copper, for which reason +she was running so fast to fetch the doctor. Tom had a profound contempt +for this nonsense of Maggie's, smashing the earwig at once as a +superfluous yet easy means of proving the entire unreality of such a +story; but Lucy, for the life of her, could not help fancying there was +something in it, and at all events thought it was very pretty +make-believe. So now the desire to know the history of a very portly +toad, added to her habitual affectionateness, made her run to Maggie and +say, "Oh, there is such a big, funny toad, Maggie! Do come and see!" + +Maggie said nothing, but turned away from her with a deeper frown. As +long as Tom seemed to prefer Lucy to her, Lucy made part of his +unkindness. Maggie would have thought a little while ago that she could +never be cross with pretty little Lucy, any more than she could be cruel +to a little white mouse; but then, Tom had always been quite indifferent +to Lucy before, and it had been left to Maggie to pet and make much of +her. As it was, she was actually beginning to think that she should like +to make Lucy cry by slapping or pinching her, especially as it might vex +Tom, whom it was of no use to slap, even if she dared, because he didn't +mind it. And if Lucy hadn't been there, Maggie was sure he would have +got friends with her sooner. + +Tickling a fat toad who is not highly sensitive is an amusement that it +is possible to exhaust, and Tom by and by began to look round for some +other mode of passing the time. But in so prim a garden, where they were +not to go off the paved walks, there was not a great choice of sport. +The only great pleasure such a restriction suggested was the pleasure of +breaking it, and Tom began to meditate an insurrectionary visit to the +pond, about a field's length beyond the garden. + +"I say, Lucy," he began, nodding his head up and down with great +significance, as he coiled up his string again, "what do you think I +mean to do?" + +"What, Tom?" said Lucy, with curiosity. + +"I mean to go to the pond and look at the pike. You may go with me if +you like," said the young sultan. + +"Oh, Tom, _dare_ you?" said Lucy. "Aunt said we mustn't go out of the +garden." + +"Oh, I shall go out at the other end of the garden," said Tom. "Nobody +'ull see us. Besides, I don't care if they do,--I'll run off home." + +"But _I_ couldn't run," said Lucy, who had never before been exposed to +such severe temptation. + +"Oh, never mind; they won't be cross with _you_," said Tom. "You say I +took you." + +Tom walked along, and Lucy trotted by his side, timidly enjoying the +rare treat of doing something naughty,--excited also by the mention of +that celebrity, the pike, about which she was quite uncertain whether it +was a fish or a fowl. Maggie saw them leaving the garden, and could not +resist the impulse to follow. Anger and jealousy can no more bear to +lose sight of their objects than love, and that Tom and Lucy should do +or see anything of which she was ignorant would have been an intolerable +idea to Maggie. So she kept a few yards behind them, unobserved by Tom, +who was presently absorbed in watching for the pike,--a highly +interesting monster; he was said to be so very old, so very large, and +to have such a remarkable appetite. The pike, like other celebrities, +did not show when he was watched for, but Tom caught sight of something +in rapid movement in the water, which attracted him to another spot on +the brink of the pond. + +[Illustration: "HERE, LUCY!"] + +"Here, Lucy!" he said in a loud whisper, "come here! take care! keep on +the grass!--don't step where the cows have been!" he added, pointing to +a peninsula of dry grass, with trodden mud on each side of it; for +Tom's contemptuous conception of a girl included the attribute of being +unfit to walk in dirty places. + +Lucy came carefully as she was bidden, and bent down to look at what +seemed a golden arrowhead darting through the water. It was a water +snake, Tom told her; and Lucy at last could see the serpentine wave of +its body, very much wondering that a snake could swim. Maggie had drawn +nearer and nearer; she _must_ see it too, though it was bitter to her, +like everything else, since Tom did not care about her seeing it. At +last she was close by Lucy; and Tom, who had been aware of her approach, +but would not notice it till he was obliged, turned round and said,-- + +"Now, get away, Maggie; there's no room for you on the grass here. +Nobody asked _you_ to come." + +There were passions at war in Maggie at that moment to have made a +tragedy, if tragedies were made by passion only; the utmost Maggie could +do, with a fierce thrust of her small brown arm, was to push poor little +pink-and-white Lucy into the cow-trodden mud. + +Then Tom could not restrain himself, and gave Maggie two smart slaps on +the arm as he ran to pick up Lucy, who lay crying helplessly. Maggie +retreated to the roots of a tree a few yards off, and looked on +impenitently. Usually her repentance came quickly after one rash deed, +but now Tom and Lucy had made her so miserable, she was glad to spoil +their happiness,--glad to make everybody uncomfortable. Why should she +be sorry? Tom was very slow to forgive _her_, however sorry she might +have been. + +"I shall tell mother, you know, Miss Mag," said Tom, loudly and +emphatically, as soon as Lucy was up and ready to walk away. Lucy was +too entirely absorbed by the evil that had befallen her,--the spoiling +of her pretty best clothes, and the discomfort of being wet and +dirty,--to think much of the cause, which was entirely mysterious to +her. She could never have guessed what she had done to make Maggie angry +with her; but she felt that Maggie was very unkind and disagreeable, and +made no magnanimous entreaties to Tom that he would not "tell," only +running along by his side and crying piteously, while Maggie sat on the +roots of the tree and looked after them with her small Medusa face. + +"Sally," said Tom, when they reached the kitchen door, and Sally looked +at them in speechless amaze, with a piece of bread-and-butter in her +mouth and a toasting-fork in her hand,--"Sally, tell mother it was +Maggie pushed Lucy into the mud." + +"But Lors ha' massy, how did you get near such mud as that?" said Sally, +making a wry face, as she stooped down and examined the _corpus +delicti_. + +Tom's imagination had not been rapid and capacious enough to include +this question among the foreseen consequences, but it was no sooner put +than he foresaw whither it tended, and that Maggie would not be +considered the only culprit in the case. He walked quietly away from the +kitchen door, leaving Sally to that pleasure of guessing which active +minds notoriously prefer to ready-made knowledge. + +Sally lost no time in presenting Lucy at the parlor door, for to have so +dirty an object introduced into the house at Garum Firs was too great a +weight to be sustained by a single mind. + +"Goodness gracious!" aunt Pullet exclaimed, after preluding by an +inarticulate scream; "keep her at the door, Sally! Don't bring her off +the oilcloth, whatever you do." + +"Why, she's tumbled into some nasty mud," said Mrs. Tulliver, going up +to Lucy to examine into the amount of damage to clothes for which she +felt herself responsible to her sister Deane. + +"If you please, 'um, it was Miss Maggie as pushed her in," said Sally; +"Master Tom's been and said so, and they must ha' been to the pond, for +it's only there they could ha' got into such dirt." + +"There it is, Bessy; it's what I've been telling you," said Mrs. Pullet, +in a tone of prophetic sadness; "it's your children,--there's no knowing +what they'll come to." + +Mrs. Tulliver was mute, feeling herself a truly wretched mother. As +usual, the thought pressed upon her that people would think she had done +something wicked to deserve her maternal troubles, while Mrs. Pullet +began to give elaborate directions to Sally how to guard the premises +from serious injury in the course of removing the dirt. Meantime tea was +to be brought in by the cook, and the two naughty children were to have +theirs in an ignominious manner in the kitchen. Mrs. Tulliver went out +to speak to these naughty children, supposing them to be close at hand; +but it was not until after some search that she found Tom leaning with a +careless air against the white paling of the poultry yard, and lowering +his piece of string on the other side as a means of exasperating the +turkey cock. + +"Tom, you naughty boy, where's your sister?" said Mrs. Tulliver, in a +distressed voice. + +"I don't know," said Tom; his eagerness for justice on Maggie had +diminished since he had seen clearly that it could hardly be brought +about without the injustice of some blame on his own conduct. + +"Why, where did you leave her?" said the mother, looking round. + +"Sitting under the tree, against the pond," said Tom, apparently +indifferent to everything but the string and the turkey cock. + +"Then go and fetch her in this minute, you naughty boy. And how could +you think o' going to the pond, and taking your sister where there was +dirt? You know she'll do mischief if there's mischief to be done." + +It was Mrs. Tulliver's way, if she blamed Tom, to refer his misdemeanor, +somehow or other, to Maggie. + +The idea of Maggie sitting alone by the pond roused an habitual fear in +Mrs. Tulliver's mind, and she mounted the horse block to satisfy herself +by a sight of that fatal child, while Tom walked--not very quickly--on +his way toward her. + +"They're such children for the water, mine are," she said aloud, without +reflecting that there was no one to hear her; "they'll be brought in +dead and drownded some day. I wish that river was far enough." + +But when she not only failed to discern Maggie, but presently saw Tom +returning from the pool alone, this hovering fear entered and took +complete possession of her, and she hurried to meet him. + +"Maggie's nowhere about the pond, mother," said Tom; "she's gone away." + +You may conceive the terrified search for Maggie, and the difficulty of +convincing her mother that she was not in the pond. Mrs. Pullet observed +that the child might come to a worse end if she lived, there was no +knowing; and Mr. Pullet reached down a key to the goose-pen as a likely +place for Maggie to lie concealed in. + +Tom, after a while, started the idea that Maggie was gone home, and the +suggestion was seized as a comfort by his mother. + +"Sister, for goodness' sake let 'em put the horse in the carriage and +take me home; we shall perhaps find her on the road. Lucy can't walk in +her dirty clothes," she said, looking at that innocent victim, who was +wrapped up in a shawl, and sitting with naked feet on the sofa. + +Aunt Pullet was quite willing to take the shortest means of restoring +her premises to order and quiet, and it was not long before Mrs. +Tulliver was in the chaise, looking anxiously at the most distant point +before her. What the father would say if Maggie was lost, was a question +that predominated over every other. + + +VI + +Maggie's intentions, as usual, were on a larger scale than Tom had +imagined. The resolution that gathered in her mind, after Tom and Lucy +had walked away, was not so simple as that of going home. No! she would +run away and go to the gypsies, and Tom should never see her any more. +That was by no means a new idea to Maggie; she had been so often told +she was like a gypsy, and "half wild," that when she was miserable it +seemed to her the only way of escaping opprobrium, and being entirely in +harmony with circumstances, would be to live in a little brown tent on +the commons; the gypsies, she considered, would gladly receive her and +pay her much respect on account of her superior knowledge. She had once +mentioned her views on this point to Tom, and suggested that he should +stain his face brown, and they should run away together; but Tom +rejected the scheme with contempt, observing that gypsies were thieves, +and hardly got anything to eat, and had nothing to drive but a donkey. +To-day, however, Maggie thought her misery had reached a pitch at which +gypsydom was her only refuge, and she rose from her seat on the roots of +the tree with the sense that this was a great crisis in her life; she +would run straight away till she came to Dunlow Common, where there +would certainly be gypsies; and cruel Tom, and the rest of her relations +who found fault with her, should never see her any more. She thought of +her father as she ran along, but she reconciled herself to the idea of +parting with him, by determining that she would secretly send him a +letter by a small gypsy, who would run away without telling where she +was, and just let him know that she was well and happy, and always loved +him very much. + +Maggie soon got out of breath with running, but by the time Tom got to +the pond again she was at the distance of three long fields, and was on +the edge of the lane leading to the highroad. She stopped to pant a +little, reflecting that running away was not a pleasant thing until one +had got quite to the common where the gypsies were, but her resolution +had not abated; she presently passed through the gate into the lane, not +knowing where it would lead her; for it was not this way that they came +from Dorlcote Mill to Garum Firs, and she felt all the safer for that, +because there was no chance of her being overtaken. But she was soon +aware, not without trembling, that there were two men coming along the +lane in front of her; she had not thought of meeting strangers, she had +been too much occupied with the idea of her friends coming after her. +The formidable strangers were two shabby-looking men with flushed faces, +one of them carrying a bundle on a stick over his shoulder; but to her +surprise, while she was dreading their disapprobation as a runaway, the +man with the bundle stopped, and in a half-whining, half-coaxing tone +asked her if she had a copper to give a poor man. Maggie had a sixpence +in her pocket, which she immediately drew out and gave this poor man +with a polite smile, hoping that he would feel very kindly toward her as +a generous person. "That's the only money I've got," she said +apologetically. "Thank you, little miss," said the man, in a less +respectful and grateful tone than Maggie anticipated, and she even +observed that he smiled and winked at his companion. She walked on +hurriedly, but was aware that the two men were standing still, probably +to look after her, and she presently heard them laughing loudly. +Suddenly it occurred to her that they might think she was an idiot; Tom +had said that her cropped hair made her look like an idiot, and it was +too painful an idea to be readily forgotten. Besides, she had no +sleeves on--only a cape and a bonnet. It was clear that she was not +likely to make a favorable impression on passengers, and she thought she +would turn into the fields again. + +She turned through the first gate that was not locked, and felt a +delightful sense of privacy in creeping along by the hedgerows, after +her recent humiliating encounter. She was used to wandering about the +fields by herself, and was less timid there than on the highroad. +Sometimes she had to climb over high gates, but that was a small evil; +she was getting out of reach very fast, and she would probably soon come +within sight of Dunlow Common, or at least of some other common, for she +had heard her father say that she couldn't go very far without coming to +a common. She hoped so, for she was getting rather tired and hungry, and +until she reached the gypsies there was no definite prospect of bread +and butter. It was still broad daylight; so though it was nearly an hour +since Maggie started, there was no gathering gloom on the fields to +remind her that the night would come. Still, it seemed to her that she +had been walking a very great distance indeed, and it was really +surprising that the common did not come within sight. + +At last, however, the green fields came to an end, and Maggie found +herself looking through the bars of a gate into a lane with a wide +margin of grass on each side of it. She had never seen such a wide lane +before, and, without her knowing why, it gave her the impression that +the common could not be far off; perhaps it was because she saw a donkey +with a log to his foot feeding on the grassy margin, for she had seen a +donkey with that pitiable encumbrance on Dunlow Common when she had +been across it in her father's gig. She crept through the bars of the +gate and walked on with new spirit, though not without haunting images +of Apollyon, and a highwayman with a pistol, and a blinking dwarf in +yellow with a mouth from ear to ear, and other miscellaneous dangers. +For poor little Maggie had at once the timidity of an active +imagination, and the daring that comes from over-mastering impulse. She +had rushed into the adventure of seeking her unknown kindred, the +gypsies; and now she was in this strange lane, she hardly dared look on +one side of her, lest she should see the diabolical blacksmith in his +leathern apron grinning at her with arms akimbo. It was not without a +leaping of the heart that she caught sight of a small pair of bare legs +sticking up, feet uppermost, by the side of a hillock; they seemed +something hideously preternatural,--a diabolical kind of fungus; for she +was too much agitated at the first glance to see the ragged clothes and +the dark shaggy head attached to them. It was a boy asleep, and Maggie +trotted along faster and more lightly, lest she should wake him; it did +not occur to her that he was one of her friends the gypsies, who in all +probability would have very genial manners. But the fact was so, for at +the next bend in the lane Maggie actually saw the little semi-circular +black tent with the blue smoke rising before it, which was to be her +refuge from all the blighting obloquy that had pursued her in civilized +life. She even saw a tall female figure by the column of smoke, +doubtless the gypsy-mother, who provided the tea and other groceries; it +was astonishing to herself that she did not feel more delight. But it +was startling to find the gypsies in a lane, after all, and not on a +common; indeed, it was rather disappointing; for a mysterious +illimitable common, where there were sand pits to hide in, and one was +out of everybody's reach, had always made part of Maggie's picture of +gypsy life. She went on, however, and thought with some comfort that +gypsies most likely knew nothing about idiots, so there was no danger of +their falling into the mistake of setting her down at the first glance +as an idiot. + +It was plain she had attracted attention; for the tall figure, who +proved to be a young woman with a baby on her arm, walked slowly to meet +her. Maggie looked up in the new face rather tremblingly as it +approached, and was reassured by the thought that her aunt Pullet and +the rest were right when they called her a gypsy; for this face, with +the bright dark eyes and the long hair, was really something like what +she used to see in the glass before she cut her hair off. + +"My little lady, where are you going to?" the gypsy said, in a tone of +coaxing deference. + +It was delightful, and just what Maggie expected; the gypsies saw at +once that she was a little lady, and were prepared to treat her +accordingly. + +"Not any farther," said Maggie, feeling as if she were saying what she +had rehearsed in a dream. "I'm come to stay with _you_, please." + +"That's pretty; come, then. Why, what a nice little lady you are, to be +sure!" said the gypsy, taking her by the hand. Maggie thought her very +agreeable, but wished she had not been so dirty. + +There was quite a group round the fire when they reached it. An old +gypsy woman was seated on the ground nursing her knees, and occasionally +poking a skewer into the round kettle that sent forth an odorous steam; +two small shock-headed children were lying prone and resting on their +elbows something like small sphinxes; and a placid donkey was bending +his head over a tall girl, who, lying on her back, was scratching his +nose and indulging him with a bite of excellent stolen hay. The slanting +sunlight fell kindly upon them, and the scene was really very pretty and +comfortable, Maggie thought, only she hoped they would soon set out the +teacups. Everything would be quite charming when she had taught the +gypsies to use a washing basin, and to feel an interest in books. It was +a little confusing, though, that the young woman began to speak to the +old one in a language which Maggie did not understand, while the tall +girl, who was feeding the donkey, sat up and stared at her without +offering any salutation. At last the old woman said,-- + +"What! my pretty lady, are you come to stay with us? Sit ye down and +tell us where you come from." + +It was just like a story; Maggie liked to be called pretty lady and +treated in this way. She sat down and said,-- + +"I'm come from home because I'm unhappy, and I mean to be a gypsy. I'll +live with you if you like, and I can teach you a great many things." + +"Such a clever little lady," said the woman with the baby, sitting down +by Maggie, and allowing baby to crawl; "and such a pretty bonnet and +frock," she added, taking off Maggie's bonnet and looking at it while +she made an observation to the old woman, in the unknown language. The +tall girl snatched the bonnet and put it on her own head hind-foremost +with a grin; but Maggie was determined not to show any weakness on this +subject, as if she were susceptible about her bonnet. + +"I don't want to wear a bonnet," she said; "I'd rather wear a red +handkerchief, like yours" (looking at her friend by her side). "My hair +was quite long till yesterday, when I cut it off; but I dare say it will +grow again very soon," she added apologetically, thinking it probable +the gypsies had a strong prejudice in favor of long hair. And Maggie had +forgotten even her hunger at that moment in the desire to conciliate +gypsy opinion. + +"Oh, what a nice little lady!--and rich, I'm sure," said the old woman. +"Didn't you live in a beautiful house at home?" + +"Yes, my home is pretty, and I'm very fond of the river, where we go +fishing, but I'm often very unhappy. I should have liked to bring my +books with me, but I came away in a hurry, you know. But I can tell you +almost everything there is in my books, I've read them so many times, +and that will amuse you. And I can tell you something about Geography +too--that's about the world we live in--very useful and interesting. Did +you ever hear about Columbus?" + +Maggie's eyes had begun to sparkle and her cheeks to flush--she was +really beginning to instruct the gypsies, and gaining great influence +over them. The gypsies themselves were not without amazement at this +talk, though their attention was divided by the contents of Maggie's +pocket, which the friend at her right hand had by this time emptied +without attracting her notice. + +"Is that where you live, my little lady?" said the old woman, at the +mention of Columbus. + +"Oh, no!" said Maggie, with some pity; "Columbus was a very wonderful +man, who found out half the world, and they put chains on him and +treated him very badly, you know; it's in my Catechism of Geography, but +perhaps it's rather too long to tell before tea--_I want my tea so_." + +The last words burst from Maggie, in spite of herself, with a sudden +drop from patronizing instruction to simple peevishness. + +"Why she's hungry, poor little lady," said the younger woman. "Give her +some o' the cold victual. You're been walking a good way, I'll be bound, +my dear. Where's your home?" + +"It's Dorlcote Mill, a good way off," said Maggie. "My father is Mr. +Tulliver, but we mustn't let him know where I am, else he'll fetch me +home again. Where does the queen of the gypsies live?" + +"What! do you want to go to her, my little lady?" said the younger +woman. The tall girl meanwhile was constantly staring at Maggie and +grinning. Her manners were certainly not agreeable. + +"No," said Maggie, "I'm only thinking that if she isn't a very good +queen you might be glad when she died, and you could choose another. If +I was a queen, I'd be a very good queen, and kind to everybody." + +"Here's a bit o' nice victual, then," said the old woman, handing to +Maggie a lump of dry bread, and a piece of cold bacon. + +"Thank you," said Maggie, looking at the food without taking it; "but +will you give me some bread-and-butter and tea instead? I don't like +bacon." + +"We've got no tea nor butter," said the old woman, with something like a +scowl, as if she were getting tired of coaxing. + +"Oh, a little bread and treacle would do," said Maggie. + +"We han't got no treacle," said the old woman, crossly, whereupon there +followed a sharp dialogue between the two women in their unknown tongue, +and one of the small sphinxes snatched at the bread and bacon, and began +to eat it. At this moment the tall girl, who had gone a few yards off, +came back, and said something which produced a strong effect. The old +woman, seeming to forget Maggie's hunger, poked the skewer into the pot +with new vigor, and the younger crept under the tent, and reached out +some platters and spoons. Maggie trembled a little, and was afraid the +tears would come into her eyes. Meanwhile the tall girl gave a shrill +cry, and presently came running up the boy whom Maggie had passed as he +was sleeping,--a rough urchin about the age of Tom. He stared at Maggie, +and there ensued much incomprehensible chattering. She felt very lonely, +and was quite sure she should begin to cry before long; the gypsies +didn't seem to mind her at all, and she felt quite weak among them. But +the springing tears were checked by new terror, when two men came up, +whose approach had been the cause of the sudden excitement. The elder of +the two carried a bag, which he flung down, addressing the women in a +loud and scolding tone, which they answered by a shower of treble +sauciness; while a black cur ran barking up to Maggie, and threw her +into a tremor that only found a new cause in the curses with which the +younger man called the dog off, and gave him a rap with a great stick he +held in his hand. + +Maggie felt that it was impossible she should ever be queen of these +people, or ever communicate to them amusing and useful knowledge. + +Both the men now seemed to be inquiring about Maggie, for they looked at +her, and the tone of the conversation became of that pacific kind which +implies curiosity on one side and the power of satisfying it on the +other. At last the younger woman said in her previous deferential, +coaxing tone,-- + +"This nice little lady's come to live with us; aren't you glad?" + +"Ay, very glad," said the younger man, who was looking at Maggie's +silver thimble and other small matters that had been taken from her +pocket. He returned them all except the thimble to the younger woman, +with some observation, and she immediately restored them to Maggie's +pocket, while the men seated themselves, and began to attack the +contents of the kettle,--a stew of meat and potatoes,--which had been +taken off the fire and turned out into a yellow platter. + +Maggie began to think that Tom must be right about the gypsies; they +must certainly be thieves, unless the man meant to return her thimble by +and by. She would willingly have given it to him, for she was not at all +attached to her thimble; but the idea that she was among thieves +prevented her from feeling any comfort in the revival of deference and +attention toward her; all thieves, except Robin Hood, were wicked +people. The women saw she was frightened. + +"We've got nothing nice for a lady to eat," said the old woman, in her +coaxing tone. "And she's so hungry, sweet little lady." + +"Here, my dear, try if you can eat a bit o' this," said the younger +woman, handing some of the stew on a brown dish with an iron spoon to +Maggie, who, remembering that the old woman had seemed angry with her +for not liking the bread and bacon, dared not refuse the stew, though +fear had chased away her appetite. If her father would but come by in +the gig and take her up! Or even if Jack the Giantkiller, or Mr. +Greatheart, or Saint George who slew the dragon on the half-pennies, +would happen to pass that way! But Maggie thought with a sinking heart +that these heroes were never seen in the neighborhood of Saint Ogg's; +nothing very wonderful ever came there. + +Maggie Tulliver, you perceive, was by no means that well-trained, +well-informed young person that a small female of eight or nine +necessarily is in these days; she had only been to school a year at +Saint Ogg's, and had so few books that she sometimes read the +dictionary; so that in traveling over her small mind you would have +found the most unexpected ignorance as well as unexpected knowledge. She +could have informed you that there was such a word as "polygamy," and +being also acquainted with "polysyllable," she had deduced the +conclusion that "poly" meant "many"; but she had had no idea that +gypsies were not well supplied with groceries, and her thoughts were the +oddest mixture of clear-eyed acumen and blind dreams. + +Her ideas about the gypsies had undergone a rapid modification in the +last five minutes. From having considered them very respectful +companions, amenable to instruction, she had begun to think that they +meant perhaps to kill her as soon as it was dark, and cut up her body +for gradual cooking; the suspicion crossed her that the fierce-eyed old +man was in fact the Devil, who might drop that transparent disguise at +any moment, and turn either into a grinning blacksmith, or else a +fiery-eyed monster with dragon's wings. It was no use trying to eat the +stew, and yet the thing she most dreaded was to offend the gypsies, by +betraying her extremely unfavorable opinion of them; and she wondered, +with a keenness of interest that no theologian could have exceeded, +whether, if the Devil were really present, he would know her thoughts. + +"What! you don't like the smell of it, my dear," said the young woman, +observing that Maggie did not even take a spoonful of the stew. "Try a +bit, come." + +"No, thank you," said Maggie, summoning all her force for a desperate +effort, and trying to smile in a friendly way. "I haven't time, I think; +it seems getting darker. I think I must go home now, and come again +another day, and then I can bring you a basket with some jam-tarts and +things." + +Maggie rose from her seat as she threw out this illusory prospect, +devoutly hoping that Apollyon was gullible; but her hope sank when the +old gypsy woman said, "Stop a bit, stop a bit, little lady; we'll take +you home, all safe, when we've done supper; you shall ride home, like a +lady." + +Maggie sat down again, with little faith in this promise, though she +presently saw the tall girl putting a bridle on the donkey, and throwing +a couple of bags on his back. + +"Now, then, little missis," said the younger man, rising, and leading +the donkey forward, "tell us where you live; what's the name of the +place?" + +"Dorlcote Mill is my home," said Maggie, eagerly. "My father is Mr. +Tulliver; he lives there." + +"What! a big mill a little way this side o' Saint Ogg's?" + +"Yes," said Maggie. "Is it far off? I think I should like to walk there, +if you please." + +"No, no, it'll be getting dark, we must make haste. And the donkey'll +carry you as nice as can be; you'll see." + +He lifted Maggie as he spoke, and set her on the donkey. She felt +relieved that it was not the old man who seemed to be going with her, +but she had only a trembling hope that she was really going home. + +"Here's your pretty bonnet," said the younger woman, putting that +recently despised but now welcome article of costume on Maggie's head; +"and you'll say we've been very good to you, won't you? and what a nice +little lady we said you was." + +"Oh yes, thank you," said Maggie, "I'm very much obliged to you. But I +wish you'd go with me too." She thought anything was better than going +with one of the dreadful men alone; it would be more cheerful to be +murdered by a larger party. + +"Ah, you're fondest o' _me_, aren't you?" said the woman. "But I can't +go; you'll go too fast for me." + +[Illustration: "AH, YOU'RE FONDEST O' ME, AREN'T YOU?"] + +It now appeared that the man also was to be seated on the donkey, +holding Maggie before him, and she was as incapable of remonstrating +against this arrangement as the donkey himself, though no nightmare had +ever seemed to her more horrible. When the woman had patted her on the +back and said "Good-bye," the donkey, at a strong hint from the man's +stick, set off at a rapid walk along the lane toward the point Maggie +had come from an hour ago, while the tall girl and the rough urchin, +also furnished with sticks, obligingly escorted them for the first +hundred yards, with much screaming and thwacking. + +Not Leonore, in that preternatural midnight excursion with her phantom +lover, was more terrified than poor Maggie in this entirely natural ride +on a short-paced donkey, with a gypsy behind her, who considered that he +was earning half-a-crown. The red light of the setting sun seemed to +have a portentous meaning, with which the alarming bray of the second +donkey with the log on its foot must surely have some connection. Two +low thatched cottages--the only houses they passed in this lane--seemed +to add to its dreariness; they had no windows to speak of, and the doors +were closed; it was probable that they were inhabited by witches, and it +was a relief to find that the donkey did not stop there. + +At last--oh, sight of joy!--this lane, the longest in the world, was +coming to an end, was opening on a broad highroad, where there was +actually a coach passing! And there was a finger-post at the +corner,--she had surely seen that finger-post before,--"To Saint Ogg's, +2 miles." The gypsy really meant to take her home, then; he was probably +a good man, after all, and might have been rather hurt at the thought +that she didn't like coming with him alone. This idea became stronger as +she felt more and more certain that she knew the road quite well, and +she was considering how she might open a conversation with the injured +gypsy, and not only gratify his feelings, but efface the impression of +her cowardice, when, as they reached a crossroad, Maggie caught sight of +some one coming on a white-faced horse. + +"Oh, stop, stop!" she cried out. "There's my father! Oh, father, +father!" + +The sudden joy was almost painful, and before her father reached her, +she was sobbing. Great was Mr. Tulliver's wonder, for he had made a +round from Basset, and had not yet been home. + +"Why, what's the meaning o' this?" he said, checking his horse, while +Maggie slipped from the donkey and ran to her father's stirrup. + +"The little miss lost herself, I reckon," said the gypsy. "She'd come to +our tent at the far end o' Dunlow Lane, and I was bringing her where she +said her home was. It's a good way to come after being on the tramp all +day." + +"Oh yes, father, he's been very good to bring me home," said Maggie,--"a +very kind, good man!" + +"Here, then, my man," said Mr. Tulliver, taking out five shillings. +"It's the best day's work _you_ ever did. I couldn't afford to lose the +little wench; here, lift her up before me." + +"Why, Maggie, how's this, how's this?" he said, as they rode along, +while she laid her head against her father and sobbed. "How came you to +be rambling about and lose yourself?" + +"Oh, father," sobbed Maggie, "I ran away because I was so unhappy; Tom +was so angry with me. I couldn't bear it." + +"Pooh, pooh," said Mr. Tulliver, soothingly, "you mustn't think o' +running away from father. What 'ud father do without his little wench?" + +"Oh, no, I never will again, father--never." + +Mr. Tulliver spoke his mind very strongly when he reached home that +evening; and the effect was seen in the remarkable fact that Maggie +never heard one reproach from her mother, or one taunt from Tom, about +this foolish business of her running away to the gypsies. Maggie was +rather awe-stricken by this unusual treatment, and sometimes thought +that her conduct had been too wicked to be alluded to. + + + Of the three children who are presented to us in these chapters, + Tom, Maggie and little Lucy, which is the most attractive to you? + + Do you think the author meant us to receive this impression? + + Is Maggie proud? Is she impetuous? Is she highly sensitive? Find as + many passages as you can which prove your answers to these + questions. Do these qualities usually make a person attractive? + + What is the mainspring of Maggie's character--the motive for most + of her actions? Does Tom seem to you worthy of the intense + affection she bestows upon him? Do you think a person with Maggie's + nature would be likely to live a happy or an unhappy life? + + Few writers have ever been able to draw as distinct, lifelike a + picture of a child as we have of Maggie Tulliver in _The Mill on + the Floss_. This is to be in part accounted for by the fact that it + is herself as a child that George Eliot is describing. + + + + +A GORILLA HUNT + +_By_ PAUL DU CHAILLU + + +I had not been at the village long before news came that gorillas had +been recently seen in the neighborhood of a plantation only half a mile +distant. Early in the morning of the twenty-fifth of June, I wended my +way thither, accompanied by one of my boys, named Odanga. The plantation +was a large one, and situated on very broken ground, surrounded by the +virgin forest. It was a lovely morning; the sky was almost cloudless, +and all around was still as death, except the slight rustling of the +tree tops moved by the gentle land breeze. When I reached the place, I +had first to pick my way through the maze of tree stumps and half-burnt +logs by the side of a field of cassada. I was going quietly along the +borders of this, when I heard, in the grove of plantain trees towards +which I was walking, a great crashing noise, like the breaking of trees. +I immediately hid myself behind a bush, and was soon gratified with the +sight of a female gorilla; but before I had time to notice its +movements, a second and third emerged from the masses of colossal +foliage; at length no less than four came into view. + +They were all busily engaged in tearing down the larger trees. One of +the females had a young one following her. I had an excellent +opportunity of watching the movements of the impish-looking band. The +shaggy hides, the protuberant abdomens, the hideous features of these +strange creatures, whose forms so nearly resemble man, made up a picture +like a vision in some morbid dream. In destroying a tree, they first +grasped the base of the stem with one of their feet, and then with their +powerful arms pulled it down, a matter of not much difficulty with so +loosely formed a stem as that of the plantain. They then set upon the +juicy heart of the trees at the bases of the leaves, and devoured it +with great voracity. While eating they made a kind of clucking noise, +expressive of contentment. Many trees they destroyed apparently out of +pure mischief. Now and then they stood still and looked around. Once or +twice they seemed on the point of starting off in alarm, but recovered +themselves and continued their work. Gradually they got nearer to the +edge of the dark forest, and finally disappeared. I was so intent on +watching them, that I let go the last chance of shooting one almost +before I became aware of it. + +The next day I went again with Odanga to the same spot. I had no +expectation of seeing gorillas in the same plantation, and was carrying +a light shot gun, having given my heavy double-barreled rifle to the boy +to carry. The plantation extended over two hills, with a deep hollow +between, planted with sugar cane. Before I had crossed the hollow I saw +on the opposite slope a monstrous gorilla, standing erect and looking +directly towards me. Without turning my face I beckoned to the boy to +bring me my rifle, but no rifle came,--the little coward had bolted, and +I lost my chance. The huge beast stared at me for about two minutes, and +then, without uttering any cry, moved off to the shade of the forest, +running nimbly on his hands and feet. + +As my readers may easily imagine, I had excellent opportunity of +observing, during these two days, the manner in which the gorillas +walked when in open ground. They move along with great rapidity and on +all fours, that is, with the knuckles of their hands touching the +ground. Artists, in representing the gorilla walking, generally make the +arms too much bowed outwards, and the elbows too much bent; this gives +the figures an appearance of heaviness and awkwardness. When the +gorillas that I watched left their plantain trees, they moved off at a +great pace over the ground, with their arms extended straight forward +towards the ground, and moving rapidly. I may mention also that having +now opened the stomachs of several freshly killed gorillas, I have never +found anything but vegetable matter in them. + +When I returned to Nkongon Mboumba I found there my old friend Akondogo, +chief of one of the Commi villages, who had just returned from the Ngobi +country, a little further south. To my great surprise and pleasure, he +had brought for me a living gorilla, a young one, but the largest I had +ever seen captured alive. Like Joe, the young male whose habits in +confinement I described in 'Equatorial Africa,' this one showed the most +violent and ungovernable disposition. He tried to bite every one who +came near him, and was obliged to be secured by a forked stick closely +applied to the back of his neck. This mode of imprisoning these animals +is a very improper one if the object be to keep them alive and to tame +them, but, unfortunately, in this barbarous country, we had not the +materials requisite to build a strong cage. The injury caused to this +one by the forked stick eventually caused his death. As I had some more +hunting to do, I left the animal in charge of Akondogo until he should +have an opportunity of sending it to me on the Fernand Vaz. + +The natives of all the neighboring country were now so well aware that I +wanted live gorillas, and was willing to give a high price for them, +that many were stimulated to search with great perseverance; the good +effects of this were soon made evident. + +One day as I was quietly dining with Captain Holder, of the _Cambria_ (a +vessel just arrived from England), one of my men came in with the +startling news that three live gorillas had been brought, one of them +full grown. I had not long to wait; in they came. First, a very large +adult female, bound hand and foot; then her female child, screaming +terribly; and lastly, a vigorous young male, also tightly bound. The +female had been ingeniously secured by the negroes to a strong stick, +the wrists bound to the upper part and the ankles to the lower, so that +she could not reach to tear the cords with her teeth. It was dark, and +the scene was one so wild and strange that I shall never forget it. The +fiendish countenances of the Calibanish trio, one of them distorted by +pain, for the mother gorilla was severely wounded, were lit up by the +ruddy glare of native torches. The thought struck me, what would I not +give to have the group in London for a few days! + +[Illustration: GORILLA WITH HER YOUNG] + +The young male I secured by a chain which I had in readiness, and gave +him henceforth the name of Tom. We untied his hands and feet; to show +his gratitude for this act of kindness he immediately made a rush at me, +screaming with all his might; happily the chain was made fast, and I +took care afterwards to keep out of his way. The old mother gorilla was +in an unfortunate plight. She had an arm broken and a wound in the +chest, besides being dreadfully beaten on the head. She groaned and +roared many times during the night, probably from pain. + +I noticed next day, and on many occasions, that the vigorous young male +whenever he made a rush at any one and missed his aim, immediately ran +back. This corresponds with what is known of the habits of the large +males in their native woods; when attacked they make a furious rush at +their enemy, break an arm or tear his bowels open, and then beat a +retreat, leaving their victim to shift for himself. + +The wounded female died in the course of the next day; her moanings were +more frequent in the morning, and they gradually became weaker as her +life ebbed out. Her death was like that of a human being, and afflicted +me more than I could have thought possible. Her child clung to her to +the last, and tried to obtain milk from her breast after she was dead. I +photographed them both when the young one was resting in its dead +mother's lap. I kept the young one alive for three days after its +mother's death. It moaned at night most piteously. I fed it on goat's +milk, for it was too young to eat berries. It died the fourth day, +having taken an unconquerable dislike to the milk. It had, I think, +begun to know me a little. As to the male, I made at least a dozen +attempts to photograph the irascible little demon, but all in vain. The +pointing of the camera towards him threw him into a perfect rage, and I +was almost provoked to give him a sound thrashing. The day after, +however, I succeeded with him, taking two views, not very perfect, but +sufficient for my object. + +I must now relate how these three animals were caught, premising that +the capture of the female was the first instance of an adult gorilla +being taken alive. The place where they were found was on the left bank +of the Fernand Vaz, about thirty miles above my village. At this part a +narrow promontory projects into the river. It was the place where I had +intended to take the distinguished traveler, Captain Burton, to show him +a live gorilla, if he had paid me a visit, as I had expected, for I had +written to invite him whilst he was on a tour from his consulate at +Fernando Po to several points on the West African coast. + +A woman, belonging to a neighboring village, had told her people that +she had seen two squads of female gorillas, some of them accompanied by +their young ones, in her plantain field. The men resolved to go in chase +of them, so they armed themselves with guns, axes, and spears, and +sallied forth. + +The situation was very favorable for the hunters; they formed a line +across the narrow strip of land and pressed forward, driving the animals +to the edge of the water. When they came in sight of them, they made all +the noise in their power, and thus bewildered the gorillas, who were +shot or beaten down in their endeavors to escape. There were eight +adult females altogether, but not a single male. The negroes thought the +males were in concealment in the adjoining woods, having probably been +frightened away by the noise. + +This incident led me to modify somewhat the opinions I had expressed, in +'Adventures in Equatorial Africa,' regarding some of the habits of the +gorilla. I there said I believed it impossible to capture an adult +female alive, but I ought to have added, unless wounded. I have also +satisfied myself that the gorilla is more gregarious than I formerly +considered it to be; at least it is now clear that, at certain times of +the year, it goes in bands more numerous than those I saw in my former +journey. Then I never saw more than five together. I have myself seen, +on my present expedition, two of these bands of gorillas, numbering +eight or ten, and have had authentic accounts from the natives of other +similar bands. It is true that, when gorillas become aged, they seem to +be more solitary, and to live in pairs, or, as in the case of old males, +quite alone. I have been assured by the negroes that solitary and aged +gorillas are sometimes seen almost white; the hair becomes grizzled with +age, and I have no doubt that the statement of their becoming +occasionally white with extreme old age is quite correct. + +The gorilla is of migratory habits at some seasons of the year. He is +then not found in the districts usually resorted to by him when the +berries, fruits, and nuts are in season. + +Besides my other collections I embarked a live gorilla, our little +friend Tom, and had full hopes that he would arrive safely and gratify +the world of London with a sight of this rare and wonderful ape in the +living state; unfortunately, he died on the passage. He did very well +for a few weeks, I am told, as long as the supply of bananas lasted +which I placed on board for his sustenance. The repugnance of the +gorilla to cooked food, or any sort of food except the fruits and juicy +plants he obtains in his own wilds, will always be a difficulty in the +way of bringing him to Europe alive. I had sent him consigned to Messrs. +Baring, who, I am sure, never had any such consignment before. I +promised the Captain that he should receive one hundred pounds if he +succeeded in taking the animal alive to London. + +During the few days Tom was in my possession he remained, like all the +others of his species that I had seen, utterly untractable. The food +that was offered to him he would come and snatch from the hand, and then +bolt with it to the length of his tether. If I looked at him he would +make a feint of darting at me, and in giving him water I had to push the +bowl towards him with a stick, for fear of his biting me. When he was +angry I saw him often beat the ground and his legs with his fists, thus +showing a similar habit to that of the adult gorillas, which I described +as beating their breasts with their fists when confronting an enemy. +Before lying down to rest he used to pack his straw very carefully as a +bed to lie on. Tom used to wake me in the night by screaming suddenly, +and in the morning I more than once detected him in the attempt to +strangle himself with his chain, no doubt through rage at being kept +prisoner. He used to twist the chain round and round the post, to which +it was attached until it became quite short and then pressed with his +feet the lower part of the post until he had nearly done the business. + +As I have before related, I took photographs of Tom, and succeeded very +well. These photographs I was unwilling to send home, and kept them +until I should have completed my whole series of photographs of African +subjects. They are now, unfortunately, lost forever; for they were left +behind in the bush during my hurried retreat from Ashango-land, as will +be related in the sequel. + +When the last boat which took on board the Captain and the live animals +left the shore for the vessel, I trembled for the safety of the cargo, +for the surf was very rough. The negroes, however, could have managed to +get her safely through if they had not been too careful. They were +nervous at having a white man on board, and did not seize the proper +moment to pass the breakers; their hesitation was very near proving +fatal, for a huge billow broke over them and filled the boat. It did +not, happily, upset, but they had to return. Captain Berridge thus +escaped with a wetting, and the Potamochoerus and eagles were half +drowned. As to poor Tom, the bath, instead of cooling his courage, made +him more violent than ever. He shouted furiously, and as soon as I +opened the door of his cage he pounced on the bystanders, clinging to +them and screaming. A present of a banana, which he ate voraciously, +quieted him down, and the passage was again tried in the afternoon with +a better result. + + + + +THE CLOUD + +_By_ PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY + + + I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers, + From the seas and the streams; + I bear light shade for the leaves when laid + In their noonday dreams. + From my wings are shaken the dews that waken + The sweet buds every one, + When rocked to rest on their mother's breast, + As she dances about the sun. + I wield the flail of the lashing hail, + And whiten the green plains under; + And then again I dissolve it in rain, + And laugh as I pass in thunder. + + I sift the snow on the mountains below, + And their great pines groan aghast; + And all the night 'tis my pillow white, + While I sleep in the arms of the blast. + Sublime on the towers of my skyey bowers + Lightning, my pilot, sits, + In a cavern under is fettered the thunder; + It struggles and howls by fits. + Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion, + This pilot is guiding me, + Lured by the love of the genii that move + In the depths of the purple sea; + Over the rills and the crags and the hills, + Over the lakes and the plains, + Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream, + The spirit he loves remains; + And I all the while bask in heaven's blue smile, + Whilst he is dissolving in rains. + + The sanguine sunrise, with his meteor eyes, + And his burning plumes outspread, + Leaps on the back of my sailing rack, + When the morning star shines dead. + As, on the jag of a mountain crag + Which an earthquake rocks and swings, + An eagle, alit, one moment may sit + In the light of its golden wings; + And when sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath, + Its ardors of rest and of love, + And the crimson pall of eve may fall + From the depth of heaven above, + With wings folded I rest on mine airy nest, + As still as a brooding dove. + + That orbed maiden with white fire laden, + Whom mortals call the moon, + Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor + By the midnight breezes strewn; + And wherever the beat of her unseen feet, + Which only the angels hear, + May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof, + The stars peep behind her and peer; + And I laugh to see them whirl and flee, + Like a swarm of golden bees, + When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent, + Till the calm rivers, lakes, and seas, + Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high, + Are each paved with the moon and these. + + I bind the sun's throne with a burning zone, + And the moon's with a girdle of pearl; + The volcanoes are dim, and the stars reel and swim, + When the whirlwinds my banner unfurl. + From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape, + Over a torrent sea, + Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof, + The mountains its columns be. + The triumphal arch, through which I march, + With hurricane, fire, and snow, + When the powers of the air are chained to my chair, + Is the million-colored bow; + The sphere-fire above its soft colors wove, + While the moist earth was laughing below. + + I am the daughter of earth and water, + And the nursling of the sky; + I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores; + I change, but I cannot die. + For after the rain, when, with never a stain, + The pavilion of heaven is bare, + And the winds and sunbeams, with their convex gleams, + Build up the blue dome of air,-- + I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, + And out of the caverns of rain, + Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb, + I rise and upbuild it again. + + + + +BRUTE NEIGHBORS + +_By_ HENRY DAVID THOREAU + + + NOTE.--The author of this sketch, Henry David Thoreau, who lived + from 1817 to 1862, was one of the oddest of American men of genius. + He was educated at Harvard University, but he did not care, in the + common phrase, to "turn his learning to practical account;" that + is, save for a short time when he taught school, he did not make it + earn his living for him. His theory was that life and energy were + being wasted when a man spent in working more time than he + absolutely needed to in order to provide himself with necessities; + and this theory he carried out in his own life. While he lived in + Concord, he did odd jobs at carpentering, surveying, and gardening, + and worked for a time at his father's trade of pencil making. + However, he contended that a man was doing himself an injustice if + he kept on at that work after he had reached the point where he + could make no further improvement in his pencils. + + From 1845 to 1847 Thoreau lived as a hermit in a hut which he had + built on the shore of Walden Pond, and the simple life he led there + gave him plenty of leisure for the things he liked best--the study + of nature, the grappling with philosophical problems, and the + society of friends. The result of the two years at Walden Pond was + his best book, _Walden, or Life in the Woods_, a work which is + distinguished for its peculiarly truthful and sympathetic studies + of nature. + + Thoreau refused to perform any of the ordinary duties of a citizen; + he never voted, he never paid taxes. Once he was arrested because + he refused to pay his taxes, and was thrown into jail; his friends + remonstrated with him, but still he refused to pay. However, when + his friends paid the sum he made no objections to accepting his + release, nor did he in the future make any objections when his + friends quietly paid his taxes. + + _The Pond in Winter_ and _Winter Animals_, which are contained in + this volume, are also from Thoreau. + + +Why do precisely these objects which we behold make a world? Why has man +just these species of animals for his neighbors; as if nothing but a +mouse could have filled this crevice? I suspect that Pilpay & Co. have +put animals to their best use, for they are all beasts of burden, in a +sense, made to carry some portion of our thoughts. + +The mice which haunted my house were not the common ones, which are said +to have been introduced into the country, but a wild native kind not +found in the village. I sent one to a distinguished naturalist, and it +interested him much. When I was building, one of these had its nest +underneath the house, and before I had laid the second floor, and swept +out the shavings, would come out regularly at lunch time and pick up the +crumbs at my feet. It probably had never seen a man before; and it soon +became quite familiar, and would run over my shoes and up my clothes. It +could readily ascend the sides of the room by short impulses, like a +squirrel, which it resembled in its motions. At length, as I leaned with +my elbow on the bench one day, it ran up my clothes, and along my +sleeve, and round and round the paper which held my dinner, while I kept +the latter close, and dodged and played at bo-peep with it; and when at +last I held still a piece of cheese between my thumb and finger, it +came and nibbled it, sitting in my hand, and afterward cleaned its face +and paws, like a fly, and walked away. + +A phoebe soon built in my shed, and a robin for protection in a pine +which grew against the house. In June the partridge (_Tetrao umbellus_), +which is so shy a bird, led her brood past my windows, from the woods in +the rear to the front of my house, clucking and calling to them like a +hen, and in all her behavior proving herself the hen of the woods. The +young suddenly disperse on your approach, at a signal from the mother, +as if a whirlwind had swept them away, and they so exactly resemble the +dried leaves and twigs that many a traveler has placed his foot in the +midst of a brood, and heard the whir of the old bird as she flew off, +and her anxious calls and mewing, or seen her trail her wings to attract +his attention, without suspecting their neighborhood. The parent will +sometimes roll and spin round before you in such a dishabille, that you +cannot, for a few moments, detect what kind of creature it is. The young +squat still and flat, often running their heads under a leaf, and mind +only their mother's directions given from a distance, nor will your +approach make them run again and betray themselves. You may even tread +on them, or have your eyes on them for a minute, without discovering +them. I have held them in my open hand at such a time, and still their +only care, obedient to their mother and their instinct, was to squat +there without fear or trembling. So perfect is this instinct, that once, +when I had laid them on the leaves again, and one accidentally fell on +its side, it was found with the rest in exactly the same position ten +minutes afterward. They are not callow like the young of most birds, but +more perfectly developed and precocious even than chickens. The +remarkably adult yet innocent expression of their open and serene eyes +is very memorable. All intelligence seems reflected in them. They +suggest not merely the purity of infancy, but a wisdom clarified by +experience. Such an eye was not born when the bird was, but is coeval +with the sky it reflects. The woods do not yield another such gem. The +traveler does not often look into such a limpid well. The ignorant or +reckless sportsman often shoots the parent at such a time, and leaves +these innocents to fall a prey to some prowling beast or bird, or +gradually mingle with the decaying leaves which they so much resemble. +It is said that when hatched by a hen they will directly disperse on +some alarm, and are so lost, for they never hear the mother's call which +gathers them again. These were my hens and chickens. + +It is remarkable how many creatures live wild and free though secret in +the woods, and still sustain themselves in the neighborhood of towns, +suspected by hunters only. How retired the otter manages to live there! +He grows to be four feet long, as big as a small boy, perhaps without +any human being getting a glimpse of him. I formerly saw the raccoon in +the woods behind where my house is built, and probably still heard their +whinnering at night. Commonly I rested an hour or two in the shade at +noon, after planting, and ate my lunch, and read a little by a spring +which was the source of a swamp and of a brook, oozing from under +Brister's Hill, half a mile from my field. The approach to this was +through a succession of descending grassy hollows, full of young pitch +pines, into a larger wood about the swamp. There, in a very secluded and +shaded spot, under a spreading white pine, there was yet a clean firm +sward to sit on. I had dug out the spring and made a well of clear gray +water, where I could dip up a pailful without roiling it, and thither I +went for this purpose almost every day in midsummer, when the pond was +warmest. Thither, too, the woodcock led her brood, to probe the mud for +worms, flying but a foot above them down the bank, while they ran in a +troop beneath; but at last, spying me, she would leave her young and +circle round and round me, nearer and nearer till within four or five +feet, pretending broken wings and legs, to attract my attention, and get +off her young, who would already have taken up their march, with faint +wiry peep, single file through the swamp, as she directed. Or I heard +the peep of the young when I could not see the parent bird. There too +the turtledoves sat over the spring, or fluttered from bough to bough of +the soft white pines over my head; or the red squirrel, coursing down +the nearest bough, was particularly familiar and inquisitive. You only +need sit still long enough in some attractive spot in the woods that all +its inhabitants may exhibit themselves to you by turns. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF THE ANTS] + +I was witness to events of a less peaceful character. One day when I +went out to my wood pile, or rather my pile of stumps, I observed two +large ants, the one red, the other much larger, nearly half an inch +long, and black, fiercely contending with one another. Having once got +hold they never let go, but struggled and wrestled and rolled on the +chips incessantly. Looking further, I was surprised to find that the +chips were covered with such combatants, that it was not a _duellum_, +but a _bellum_, a war between two races of ants, the red always pitted +against the black, and frequently two red ones to one black. The legions +of these Myrmidons covered all the hills and vales in my wood yard, and +the ground was already strewn with the dead and dying, both red and +black. It was the only battle which I have ever witnessed, the only +battlefield I ever trod while the battle was raging; internecine war; +the red republicans on the one hand, and the black imperialists on the +other. On every side they were engaged in deadly combat, yet without any +noise that I could hear, and human soldiers never fought so resolutely. +I watched a couple that were fast locked in each other's embraces, in a +little sunny valley amid the chips, now at noonday prepared to fight +till the sun went down, or life went out. The smaller red champion had +fastened himself like a vise to his adversary's front, and through all +the tumblings on that field never for an instant ceased to gnaw at one +of his feelers near the root, having already caused the other to go by +the board; while the stronger black one dashed him from side to side, +and, as I saw on looking nearer, had already divested him of several of +his members. They fought with more pertinacity than bulldogs. Neither +manifested the least disposition to retreat. It was evident that their +battle-cry was "Conquer or die." In the meanwhile there came along a +single red ant on the hillside of this valley, evidently full of +excitement, who either had despatched his foe, or had not yet taken part +in the battle; probably the latter, for he had lost none of his limbs; +whose mother had charged him to return with his shield or upon it. Or +perchance he was some Achilles, who had nourished his wrath apart, and +had now come to avenge or rescue his Patroclus. He saw this unequal +combat from afar--for the blacks were nearly twice the size of the +red--he drew near with rapid pace till he stood on his guard within half +an inch of the combatants; then, watching his opportunity, he sprang +upon the black warrior, and commenced his operations near the root of +his right fore-leg, leaving the foe to select among his own members; and +so there were three united for life, as if a new kind of attraction had +been invented which put all other locks and cements to shame. I should +not have wondered by this time to find that they had their respective +musical bands stationed on some eminent chip, and playing their national +airs the while, to excite the slow and cheer the dying combatants. I was +myself excited somewhat even as if they had been men. The more you think +of it, the less the difference. And certainly there is not the fight +recorded in Concord history, at least, if in the history of America, +that will bear a moment's comparison with this, whether for the numbers +engaged in it, or for the patriotism and heroism displayed. For numbers +and for carnage it was an Austerlitz or Dresden. Concord Fight! Two +killed on the patriots' side, and Luther Blanchard wounded! Why, here +every ant was a Butterick--"Fire! for God's sake, fire!"--and thousands +shared the fate of Davis and Hosmer. There was not one hireling there. I +have no doubt that it was a principle they fought for, as much as our +ancestors, and not to avoid a three-penny tax on their tea; and the +results of this battle will be as important and memorable to those whom +it concerns as those of the battle of Bunker Hill, at least. + +I took up the chip on which the three I have particularly described were +struggling, carried it into my house, and placed it under a tumbler on +my window sill, in order to see the issue. Holding a microscope to the +first-mentioned red ant, I saw that, though he was assiduously gnawing +at the near fore-leg of his enemy, having severed his remaining feeler, +his own breast was all torn away, exposing what vitals he had there to +the jaws of the black warrior, whose breastplate was apparently too +thick for him to pierce; and the dark carbuncles of the sufferer's eyes +shone with ferocity such as war only could excite. They struggled half +an hour longer under the tumbler, and when I looked again the black +soldier had severed the heads of his foes from their bodies, and still +living heads were hanging on either side of him like ghastly trophies +at his saddle-bow, still apparently as firmly fastened as ever, and he +was endeavoring with feeble struggles, being without feelers and with +only the remnant of a leg, and I know not how many other wounds, to +divest himself of them; which at length, after half an hour more, he +accomplished. I raised the glass, and he went off over the window sill +in that crippled state. Whether he finally survived that combat, and +spent the remainder of his days in some Hotel des Invalides, I do not +know; but I thought that his industry would not be worth much +thereafter. I never learned which party was victorious, nor the cause of +the war; but I felt for the rest of that day as if I had had my feelings +excited and harrowed by witnessing the struggle, the ferocity and +carnage, of a human battle before my door. + +Kirby and Spence tell us that the battles of ants have long been +celebrated and the date of them recorded, though they say that Huber is +the only modern author who appears to have witnessed them. "AEneas +Sylvius," say they, "after giving a very circumstantial account of one +contested with great obstinacy by a great and small species on the trunk +of a pear tree," adds that "'This action was fought in the pontificate +of Eugenius the Fourth, in the presence of Nicholas Pistoriensis, an +eminent lawyer, who related the whole history of the battle with the +greatest fidelity.' A similar engagement between great and small ants is +recorded by Olaus Magnus, in which the small ones, being victorious, are +said to have buried the bodies of their own soldiers, and left those of +their giant enemies a prey to the birds. This event happened previous to +the expulsion of the tyrant Christiern the Second from Sweden." The +battle which I witnessed took place in the Presidency of Polk, five +years before the passage of Webster's Fugitive-Slave Bill. + +Many a village Bose, fit only to course a mud-turtle in a victualling +cellar, sported his heavy quarters in the woods, without the knowledge +of his master, and ineffectually smelled at old fox burrows and +woodchucks' holes; led perchance by some slight cur which nimbly +threaded the wood, and might still inspire a natural terror in its +denizens; now far behind his guide, barking like a canine bull toward +some small squirrel which had treed itself for scrutiny, then, cantering +off, bending the bushes with his weight, imagining that he is on the +track of some stray member of the jerbilla family. Once I was surprised +to see a cat walking along the stony shore of the pond, for they rarely +wander so far from home. The surprise was mutual. Nevertheless the most +domestic cat, which has lain on a rug all her days, appears quite at +home in the woods, and, by her sly and stealthy behavior, proves herself +more native there than the regular inhabitants. Once, when berrying, I +met with a cat with young kittens in the woods, quite wild, and they +all, like their mother, had their backs up and were fiercely spitting at +me. A few years before I lived in the woods there was what was called a +"winged cat" in one of the farmhouses in Lincoln nearest the pond, Mr. +Gilian Baker's. When I called to see her in June, 1842, she was gone +a-hunting in the woods, as was her wont (I am not sure whether it was a +male or female, and so use the more common pronoun), but her mistress +told me that she came into the neighborhood a little more than a year +before, in April, and was finally taken into their house; that she was +of a dark brownish gray color, with a white spot on her throat, and +white feet, and had a large bushy tail like a fox; that in the winter +the fur grew thick and flatted out along her sides, forming strips ten +or twelve inches long by two and a half wide, and under her chin like a +muff, the upper side loose, the under matted like felt, and in the +spring these appendages dropped off. They gave me a pair of her "wings," +which I keep still. There is no appearance of a membrane about them. +Some thought it was part flying-squirrel or some other wild animal, +which is not impossible, for, according to naturalists, prolific hybrids +have been produced by the union of the marten and domestic cat. This +would have been the right kind of cat for me to keep, if I had kept any; +for why should not a poet's cat be winged as well as his horse? + +In the fall the loon (_Colymbus glacialis_) came, as usual, to moult and +bathe in the pond, making the woods ring with his wild laughter before I +had risen. At rumor of his arrival all the Milldam sportsmen are on the +alert, in gigs and on foot, two by two and three by three, with patent +rifles and conical balls and spyglasses. They come rustling through the +woods like autumn leaves, at least ten men to one loon. Some station +themselves on this side of the pond, some on that, for the poor bird +cannot be omnipresent; if he dive here he must come up there. But now +the kind October wind rises, rustling the leaves and rippling the +surface of the water, so that no loon can be heard or seen, though his +foes sweep the pond with spyglasses, and make the woods resound with +their discharges. The waves generally rise and dash angrily, taking +sides with all waterfowl, and our sportsmen must beat a retreat to town +and shop and unfinished jobs. But they were too often successful. When I +went to get a pail of water early in the morning I frequently saw this +stately bird sailing out of my cove within a few rods. If I endeavored +to overtake him in a boat, in order to see how he would manoeuvre, he +would dive and be completely lost, so that I did not discover him again +sometimes till the latter part of the day. But I was more than a match +for him on the surface. He commonly went off in a rain. + +As I was paddling along the north shore one very calm October afternoon, +for such days especially they settle on to the lakes, like the milkweed +down, having looked in vain over the pond for a loon, suddenly one, +sailing out from the shore toward the middle a few rods in front of me, +set up his wild laugh and betrayed himself. I pursued with a paddle and +he dived, but when he came up I was nearer than before. He dived again, +but I miscalculated the direction he would take, and we were fifty rods +apart when he came to the surface this time, for I had helped to widen +the interval; and again he laughed long and loud, and with more reason +than before. + +[Illustration: WATCHING FOR THE LOON] + +He manoeuvred so cunningly that I could not get within half a dozen +rods of him. Each time, when he came to the surface, turning his head +this way and that, he coolly surveyed the water and the land, and +apparently chose his course so that he might come up where there was the +widest expanse of water, and at the greatest distance from the boat. It +was surprising how quickly he made up his mind and put his resolve into +execution. He led me at once to the widest part of the pond, and could +not be driven from it. While he was thinking one thing in his brain, I +was endeavoring to divine his thought in mine. It was a pretty game, +played on the smooth surface of the pond, a man against a loon. Suddenly +your adversary's checker disappears beneath the board, and the problem +is to place yours nearest to where his will appear again. Sometimes he +would come up unexpectedly on the opposite side of me, having apparently +passed directly under the boat. So long-winded was he and so +unweariable, that when he had swum furthest he would immediately plunge +again, nevertheless; and then no wit could divine where in the deep +pond, beneath the smooth surface, he might be speeding his way like a +fish, for he had time and ability to visit the bottom of the pond in its +deepest part. + +It is said that loons have been caught in the New York lakes eighty feet +beneath the surface, with hooks set for trout--though Walden is deeper +than that. How surprised must the fishes be to see this ungainly visitor +from another sphere speeding his way amid their schools! Yet he appeared +to know his course as surely under water as on the surface, and swam +much faster there. Once or twice I saw a ripple where he approached the +surface, just put his head out to reconnoitre, and instantly dived +again. I found that it was as well for me to rest on my oars and wait +his reappearing as to endeavor to calculate where he would rise; for +again and again, when I was straining my eyes over the surface one way, +I would suddenly be startled by his unearthly laugh behind me. But why, +after displaying so much cunning, did he invariably betray himself the +moment he came up by that loud laugh? Did not his white breast enough +betray him? He was indeed a silly loon, I thought. I could commonly +hear the splash of the water when he came up, and so also detected him. +But after an hour he seemed as fresh as ever, dived as willingly and +swam yet further than at first. It was surprising to see how serenely he +sailed off with unruffled breast when he came to the surface, doing all +the work with his webbed feet beneath. His usual note was this demoniac +laughter, yet somewhat like that of a waterfowl; but occasionally, when +he had balked me most successfully and come up a long way off, he +uttered a long-drawn unearthly howl, probably more like that of a wolf +than any bird; as when a beast puts his muzzle to the ground and +deliberately howls. This was his looming--perhaps the wildest sound that +is ever heard here, making the woods ring far and wide. I concluded that +he laughed in derision of my efforts, confident of his own resources. +Though the sky was by this time overcast, the pond was so smooth that I +could see where he broke the surface when I did not hear him. His white +breast, the stillness of the air, and the smoothness of the water were +all against him. At length, having come up fifty rods off, he uttered +one of those prolonged howls, as if calling on the god of loons to aid +him, and immediately there came a wind from the east and rippled the +surface, and filled the whole air with misty rain, and I was impressed +as if it were the prayer of the loon answered, and his god was angry +with me; and so I left him disappearing far away on the tumultuous +surface. + + + + +ODE TO A SKYLARK + +_By_ PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY + + + NOTE.--There are a few places in the United States where the + skylark has been naturalized, but most of us have never heard it + sing. In Europe, however, and especially in Great Britain, it is + very common; and despite the fact that it is dull of plumage, there + are few birds which are more universally loved. For the song which + it pours forth as it soars upward in spiral curves and floats in + the air is wonderfully sweet and cheerful. Strangely enough, this + bird, which seems to like best to sing when far, far above the + earth, does not refuse to sing when confined in a cage. + + + Hail to thee, blithe spirit!-- + Bird thou never wert-- + That from heaven, or near it, + Pourest thy full heart + In profuse strains of unpremeditated art. + + Higher still and higher + From the earth thou springest + Like a cloud of fire; + The blue deep thou wingest, + And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest. + + In the golden lightning + Of the sunken sun, + O'er which clouds are brightening, + Thou dost float and run; + Like an unbodied joy whose race is just begun. + +[Illustration: THE SKYLARK] + + The pale purple even + Melts around thy flight; + Like a star of heaven + In the broad day-light, + Thou art unseen, but yet I hear thy shrill delight. + + Keen as are the arrows + Of that silver sphere + Whose intense lamp narrows + In the white dawn clear, + Until we hardly see, we feel that it is there. + + All the earth and air + With thy voice is loud, + As, when night is bare, + From one lonely cloud + The moon rains out her beams, and heaven is overflowed. + + What thou art we know not; + What is most like thee? + From rainbow clouds there flow not + Drops so bright to see. + As from thy presence showers a rain of melody. + + Like a poet hidden + In the light of thought, + Singing hymns unbidden, + Till the world is wrought + To sympathy with hopes and fears it heeded not; + + Like a high-born maiden + In a palace tower, + Soothing her love-laden + Soul in secret hour + With music sweet as love, which overflows her bower: + + Like a glowworm golden + In a dell of dew, + Scattering unbeholden + Its aerial hue + Among the flowers and grass, which screen it from the view: + + Like a rose embowered + In its own green leaves, + By warm winds deflowered, + Till the scent it gives + Makes faint with too much sweet these heavy-winged thieves. + + Sound of vernal showers + On the twinkling grass, + Rain-awakened flowers, + All that ever was + Joyous, and clear, and fresh, thy music doth surpass. + + Teach us, sprite or bird, + What sweet thoughts are thine: + I have never heard + Praise of love or wine + That panted forth a flood of rapture so divine. + + Chorus Hymenaeal, + Or triumphal chaunt, + Matched with thine would be all + But an empty vaunt, + A thing wherein we feel there is some hidden want. + + What objects are the fountains + Of thy happy strain? + What fields, or waves, or mountains? + What shapes of sky or plain? + What love of thine own kind? what ignorance of pain? + + With thy clear, keen joyance + Languor cannot be: + Shadow of annoyance + Never came near thee: + Thou lovest; but ne'er knew love's sad satiety. + + Waking or asleep, + Thou of death must deem + Things more true and deep + Than we mortals dream, + Or how could thy notes flow in such a crystal stream! + + We look before and after, + And pine for what is not; + Our sincerest laughter + With some pain is fraught; + Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought. + + Yet if we could scorn + Hate, and pride, and fear; + If we were things born + Not to shed a tear, + I know not how thy joy we ever should come near. + + Better than all measures + Of delightful sound, + Better than all treasures + That in books are found, + Thy skill to poet were, thou scorner of the ground! + + Teach me half the gladness + That thy brain must know, + Such harmonious madness + From my lips would flow, + The world should listen then, as I am listening now! + + + + +THE POND IN WINTER + +_By_ HENRY DAVID THOREAU + + +After a still winter night I awoke with the impression that some +question had been put to me, which I had been endeavoring in vain to +answer in my sleep, as what--how--when--where? But there was dawning +Nature, in whom all creatures live, looking in at my broad windows with +serene and satisfied face, and no question on _her_ lips. I awoke to an +answered question, to Nature and daylight. The snow lying deep on the +earth dotted with young pines, and the very slope of the hill on which +my house is placed, seemed to say, Forward! Nature puts no question and +answers none which we mortals ask. She has long ago taken her +resolution. "O Prince, our eyes contemplate with admiration and transmit +to the soul the wonderful and varied spectacle of this universe. The +night veils without doubt a part of this glorious creation; but day +comes to reveal to us this great work, which extends from earth even +into the plains of the ether." + +[Illustration: KNEELING TO DRINK] + +Then to my morning work. First I take an axe and pail and go in search +of water if that be not a dream. After a cold and snowy night it needed +a divining rod to find it. Every winter the liquid and trembling surface +of the pond, which was so sensitive to every breath, and reflected every +light and shadow, becomes solid to the depth of a foot or a foot and a +half, so that it will support the heaviest teams, and perchance the snow +covers it to an equal depth, and it is not to be distinguished from any +level field. Like the marmots in the surrounding hills, it closes its +eyelids and becomes dormant for three months or more. Standing on the +snow-covered plain, as if in a pasture amid the hills, I cut my way +first through a foot of snow, and then a foot of ice, and open a window +under my feet, where, kneeling to drink, I look down into the quiet +parlor of the fishes, pervaded by a softened light as through a window +of ground glass, with its bright sanded floor the same as in summer; +there a perennial waveless serenity reigns as in the amber twilight sky, +corresponding to the cool and even temperament of the inhabitants. +Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads. + +Early in the morning, while all things are crisp with frost, men come +with fishing reels and slender lunch, and let down their fine lines +through the snowy field to take pickerel and perch; wild men, who +instinctively follow other fashions and trust other authorities than +their townsmen, and by their goings and comings stitch towns together in +parts where else they would be ripped. They sit and eat their luncheon +in stout fearnaughts on the dry oak leaves on the shore, as wise in +natural lore as the citizen is in artificial. They never consulted with +books, and know and can tell much less than they have done. The things +which they practice are said not yet to be known. Here is one fishing +for pickerel with grown perch for bait. You look into his pail with +wonder as into a summer pond, as if he kept summer locked up at home, or +knew where she had retreated. How, pray, did he get these in mid-winter? +Oh, he got worms out of rotten logs since the ground froze, and so he +caught them. His life itself passes deeper in Nature than the studies of +naturalist penetrate; himself a subject for the naturalist. The latter +raises the moss and bark gently with his knife in search of insects; +the former lays open logs to their core with his axe, and moss and bark +fly far and wide. He gets his living by barking trees. Such a man has +some right to fish, and I love to see Nature carried out in him. The +perch swallows the grubworm, the pickerel swallows the perch, and the +fisherman swallows the pickerel; and so all the chinks in the scale of +being are filled. + +When I strolled around the pond in misty weather I was sometimes amused +by the primitive mode which some ruder fisherman had adopted. He would +perhaps have placed alder branches over the narrow holes in the ice, +which were four or five rods apart and an equal distance from the shore, +and having fastened the end of the line to a stick to prevent its being +pulled through, have passed the slack line over a twig of the alder, a +foot or more above the ice, and tied a dry oak leaf to it, which, being +pulled down, would show when he had a bite. These alders loomed through +the mist at regular intervals as you walked halfway round the pond. + +Ah, the pickerel of Walden! when I see them lying on the ice, or in the +well which the fisherman cuts in the ice, making a little hole to admit +the water, I am always surprised by their rare beauty, as if they were +fabulous fishes, they are so foreign to the streets, even to the woods, +foreign as Arabia to our Concord life. They possess a quite dazzling and +transcendent beauty which separates them by a wide interval from the +cadaverous cod and haddock whose fame is trumpeted in our streets. They +are not green like the pines, nor any gray like the stones, nor blue +like the sky; but they have, to my eyes, if possible, yet rarer colors, +like flowers and precious stones, as if they were the pearls, the +animalized _nuclei_ or crystals of the Walden water. They, of course, +are Walden all over and all through; are themselves small Waldens in the +animal kingdom, Waldenses. It is surprising that they are caught +here--that in this deep and capacious spring, far beneath the rattling +teams and chaises and tinkling sleighs that travel the Walden road, this +great gold and emerald fish swims. I never chanced to see its kind in +any market; it would be the cynosure of all eyes there. Easily, with a +few conclusive quirks, they give up their watery ghosts, like a mortal +translated before his time to the thin air of heaven. + +[Illustration] + + + + +SALMON FISHING + +_By_ RUDYARD KIPLING + + +California and I, crying for salmon, reached Portland, and the +real-estate man to whom I had been intrusted by "Portland" the insurance +man, met us in the street saying that fifteen miles away, across +country, we should come upon a place called Clackamas where we might +perchance find what we desired. And California, his coat-tails flying in +the wind, ran to a livery stable and chartered a wagon and team +forthwith. I could push the wagon about with one hand, so light was its +structure. The team was purely American--that is to say, almost human in +its intelligence and docility. Some one said that the roads were not +good on the way to Clackamas and warned us against smashing the springs. +"Portland," who had watched the preparations, finally reckoned "he'd +come along, too," and under heavenly skies we three companions of a day +set forth; California carefully lashing our rods into the carriage, and +the bystanders overwhelming us with directions as to the sawmills we +were to pass, the ferries we were to cross, and the signposts we were to +seek signs from. Half a mile from this city of fifty thousand souls we +struck (and this must be taken literally), a plank road that would have +been a disgrace to an Irish village. + +Then six miles of macadamized road showed us that the team could move. A +railway ran between us and the banks of the Willamette, and another +above us through the mountains. All the land was dotted with small +townships, and the roads were full of farmers in their town wagons, +bunches of tow-haired, boggle-eyed urchins sitting in the hay behind. +The men generally looked like loafers, but their women were all well +dressed. Brown hussar braiding on a tailor-made jacket does not, +however, consort with hay wagons. Then we struck into the woods along +what California called a "_camina reale_,"--a good road,--and Portland a +"fair track." It wound in and out among fire-blackened stumps, under +pine trees, along the corners of log-fences, through hollows which must +be hopeless marsh in winter, and up absurd gradients. But nowhere +throughout its length did I see any evidence of road-making. There was a +track,--you couldn't well get off it,--and it was all you could do to +stay on it. The dust lay a foot thick in the blind ruts, and under the +dust we found bits of planking and bundles of brushwood that sent the +wagon bounding into the air. Sometimes we crashed through bracken; anon +where the blackberries grew rankest we found a lonely little cemetery, +the wooden rails all awry, and the pitiful stumpy headstones nodding +drunkenly at the soft green mulleins. Then with oaths and the sound of +rent underwood a yoke of mighty bulls would swing down a "skid" road, +hauling a forty-foot log along a ready made slide. + +[Illustration: SALMON FISHING] + +A valley full of wheat and cherry trees succeeded, and halting at a +house we bought ten pound weight of luscious black cherries for +something less than a rupee and got a drink of icy-cold water for +nothing, while the untended team browsed sagaciously by the roadside. +Once we found a wayside camp of horse dealers lounging by a pool, ready +for a sale or a swap, and once two sun-tanned youngsters shot down a +hill on Indian ponies, their full creels banging from their +high-pommeled saddles. They had been fishing, and were our brethren +therefore. We shouted aloud in chorus to scare a wild cat; we squabbled +over the reasons that had led a snake to cross a road; we heaved bits of +bark at a venturesome chipmunk, who was really the little gray squirrel +of India and had come to call on me; we lost our way and got the wagon +so beautifully fixed on a steep road that we had to tie the two +hind-wheels to get it down. Above all, California told tales of Nevada +and Arizona, of lonely nights spent out prospecting, of the slaughter of +deer and the chase of men; of woman, lovely woman, who is a firebrand in +a western city, and leads to the popping of pistols, and of the sudden +changes and chances of fortune, who delights in making the miner or the +lumberman a quadruplicate millionaire, and in "busting" the railroad +king. That was a day to be remembered, and it had only begun when we +drew rein at a tiny farmhouse on the banks of the Clackamas and sought +horse-feed and lodging ere we hastened to the river that broke over a +weir not over a quarter of a mile away. + +Imagine a stream seventy yards broad divided by a pebbly island, running +over seductive riffles and swirling into deep, quiet pools where the +good salmon goes to smoke his pipe after meals. Set such a stream amid +fields of breast-high crops surrounded by hills of pine, throw in where +you please quiet water, log-fenced meadows, and a hundred foot bluff to +keep the scenery from growing too monotonous, and you will get some +faint notion of the Clackamas. + +Portland had no rod. He held the gaff and the whiskey. California +sniffed, upstream and downstream across the racing water, chose his +ground, and let the gaudy spoon drop in the tail of a riffle. I was +getting my rod together when I heard the joyous shriek of the reel and +the yells of California, and three feet of shining silver leaped into +the air far across the water. The forces were engaged. The salmon tore +up-stream, the tense line cutting the water like a tide-rip behind him, +and the light bamboo bowed to breaking. What happened after I cannot +tell. California swore and prayed, and Portland shouted advice, and I +did all three for what appeared to be half a day, but was in reality a +little over a quarter of an hour, and sullenly our fish came home with +spurts of temper, dashes head-on, and sarabands in the air; but home to +the bank came he, and the remorseless reel gathered up the thread of his +life inch by inch. We landed him in a little bay, and the spring weight +checked him at eleven and a half pounds. Eleven and a half pounds of +fighting salmon! We danced a war dance on the pebbles, and California +caught me around the waist in a hug that went near to breaking my ribs, +while he shouted: "Partner! Partner! This is glory! Now you catch your +fish! Twenty-four years I've waited for this!" + +I went into that icy-cold river and made my cast just above a weir, and +all but foul-hooked a blue and black water-snake with a coral mouth who +coiled herself on a stone and hissed maledictions. The next cast--ah, +the pride of it, the regal splendor of it! the thrill that ran down from +finger-tip to toe! The water boiled. He broke for the fly and got it! +There remained enough sense in me to give him all he wanted when he +jumped not once but twenty times before the upstream flight that ran my +line out to the last half-dozen turns, and I saw the nickeled reelbar +glitter under the thinning green coils. My thumb was burned deep when I +strove to stopper the line, but I did not feel it till later, for my +soul was out in the dancing water praying for him to turn ere he took my +tackle away. The prayer was heard. As I bowed back, the butt of the rod +on my left hip-bone and the top joint dipping like unto a weeping +willow, he turned, and I accepted each inch of slack that I could by any +means get in as a favor from on high. There be several sorts of success +in this world that taste well in the moment of enjoyment, but I question +whether the stealthy theft of line from an able-bodied salmon who knows +exactly what you are doing and why you are doing it is not sweeter than +any other victory within human scope. Like California's fish, he ran at +me head-on and leaped against the line, but the Lord gave me two hundred +and fifty pairs of fingers in that hour. The banks and the pine trees +danced dizzily around me, but I only reeled as for life--reeled for +hours, and at the end of the reeling continued to give him the butt +while he sulked in a pool. California was farther up the reach, and with +the corner of my eye I could see him casting with long casts and much +skill. Then he struck, and my fish broke for the weir at the same +instant, and down the reach went California and I, reel answering reel, +even as the morning stars sung together. + +The first wild enthusiasm of capture had died away. We were both at work +now in deadly earnest to prevent the lines fouling, to stall off a +downstream rush for deep water just above the weir, and at the same time +to get the fish into the shallow bay downstream that gave the best +practicable landing. Portland bade us both be of good heart, and +volunteered to take the rod from my hands. I would rather have died +among the pebbles than surrender the right to play and land my first +salmon, weight unknown, on an eight-ounce rod. I heard California, at my +ear it seemed, gasping: "He's a fighter from Fightersville, sure!" as +his fish made a fresh break across the stream. I saw Portland fall off a +log fence, break the overhanging bank, and clatter down to the pebbles +all sand and landing net, and I dropped on a log to rest for a moment. + +As I drew breath the weary hands slackened their hold, and I forgot to +give him the butt. A wild scutter in the water, a plunge and a break for +the head-waters of the Clackamas was my reward, and the hot toil of +reeling-in with one eye under the water and the other on the top joint +of the rod, was renewed. Worst of all, I was blocking California's path +to the little landing bay aforesaid, and he had to halt and tire his +prize where he was. "The father of all salmon!" he shouted. "For the +love of heaven, get your _trout_ to bank, Johnny Bull." But I could do +no more. Even the insult failed to move me. The rest of the game was +with the salmon. He suffered himself to be drawn, skipping with +pretended delight at getting to the haven where I fain would have him. +Yet no sooner did he feel shoal water under his ponderous belly than he +backed like a torpedo boat, and the snarl of the reel told me that my +labor was in vain. A dozen times at least this happened ere the line +hinted that he had given up the battle and would be towed in. He was +towed. The landing net was useless for one of his size, and I would not +have him gaffed. I stepped into the shallows and heaved him out with a +respectful hand under the gill, for which kindness he battered me about +the legs with his tail, and I felt the strength of him and was proud. +California had taken my place in the shallows, his fish hard held. I was +up on the bank lying full length on the sweet-scented grass, gasping in +company with my first salmon caught, played, and landed on an +eight-ounce rod. My hands were cut and bleeding. I was dripping with +sweat, spangled like harlequin with scales, wet from the waist down, +nose peeled by the sun, but utterly, supremely, and consummately happy. +He, the beauty, the daisy, the darling, my Salmon Bahadur, weighed +twelve pounds, and I had been seven and thirty minutes bringing him to +bank! He had been lightly hooked on the angle of the right jaw, and the +hook had not wearied him. That hour I sat among princes and crowned +heads--greater than them all. Below the bank we heard California +scuffling with his salmon, and swearing Spanish oaths. Portland and I +assisted at the capture, and the fish dragged the spring-balance out by +the roots. It was only constructed to weigh up to fifteen pounds. We +stretched the three fish on the grass,--the eleven-and-a-half, the +twelve, and the fifteen-pounder, and we swore an oath that all who came +after should merely be weighed and put back again. + +How shall I tell the glories of that day so that you may be interested? +Again and again did California and I prance down that little reach to +the little bay, each with a salmon in tow, and land him in the shallows. +Then Portland took my rod, and caught some ten-pounders, and my spoon +was carried away by an unknown leviathan. Each fish, for the merits of +the three that had died so gamely, was hastily hooked on the balance and +flung back, Portland recording the weight in a pocketbook, for he was a +real-estate man. Each fish fought for all he was worth, and none more +savagely than the smallest--a game little six-pounder. At the end of six +hours we added up the list. Total: 16 fish, aggregate weight, 142 lbs. +The score in detail runs something like this--it is only interesting to +those concerned: 15, 11-1/2, 12, 10, 9-3/4, 8, and so forth; as I have +said, nothing under six pounds, and three ten-pounders. + +Very solemnly and thankfully we put up our rods--it was glory enough for +all time--and returned weeping in each other's arms--weeping tears of +pure joy--to that simple, barelegged family in the packing-case house by +the waterside. + + + + +WINTER ANIMALS + +_By_ HENRY DAVID THOREAU + + +When the ponds were firmly frozen, they afforded not only new and +shorter routes to many points, but new views from their surfaces of the +familiar landscape around them. When I crossed Flint's Pond, after it +was covered with snow, though I had often paddled about and skated over +it, it was so unexpectedly wide and so strange that I could think of +nothing but Baffin's Bay. The Lincoln hills rose up around me at the +extremity of a snowy plain, in which I did not remember to have stood +before; and the fishermen, at an indeterminable distance over the ice, +moving slowly about with their wolfish dogs, passed for sealers or +Esquimaux, or in misty weather loomed like fabulous creatures, and I did +not know whether they were giants or pygmies. I took this course when I +went to lecture in Lincoln in the evening, traveling in no road and +passing no house between my hut and the lecture room. In Goose Pond, +which lay in my way, a colony of muskrats dwelt, and raised their cabins +high above the ice, though none could be seen abroad when I crossed it. +Walden, being like the rest usually bare of snow, or with only shallow +and interrupted drifts on it, was my yard, where I could walk freely +when the snow was nearly two feet deep on a level elsewhere and the +villagers were confined to their streets. There, far from the village +street, and, except at very long intervals, from the jingle of sleigh +bells, I slid and skated, as in a vast moose-yard well trodden, overhung +by oak woods and solemn pines bent down with snow or bristling with +icicles. + +For sounds in winter nights, and often in winter days, I heard the +forlorn but melodious note of a hooting owl indefinitely far; such a +sound as the frozen earth would yield if struck with a suitable +plectrum, the very _lingua vernacula_ of Walden Wood, and quite familiar +to me at last, though I never saw the bird while it was making it. I +seldom opened my door in a winter evening without hearing; _Hoo hoo hoo, +hoorer hoo_, sounded sonorously, and the first three syllables accented +somewhat like _how der do_; or sometimes _hoo hoo_ only. One night in +the beginning of winter, before the pond froze over, about nine o'clock, +I was startled by the loud honking of a goose, and, stepping to the +door, heard the sound of their wings like a tempest in the woods as they +flew low over my house. They passed over the pond toward Fair Haven, +seemingly deterred from settling by my light, their commodore honking +all the while with a regular beat. Suddenly an unmistakable cat-owl from +very near me, with the most harsh and tremendous voice I ever heard from +any inhabitant of the woods, responded at regular intervals to the +goose, as if determined to expose and disgrace this intruder from +Hudson's Bay by exhibiting a greater compass and volume of voice in a +native, and _boo-hoo_ him out of Concord horizon. "What do you mean by +alarming the citadel at this time of night consecrated to me? Do you +think I am ever caught napping at such an hour, and that I have not got +lungs and a larynx as well as yourself? _Boo-hoo, boo-hoo, boo-hoo!_" It +was one of the most thrilling discords I ever heard. And yet, if you had +a discriminating ear, there were in it the elements of a concord such as +these plains never saw nor heard. + +I also heard the whooping of the ice in the pond, my great bedfellow in +that part of Concord, as if it were restless in its bed and would fain +turn over, were troubled with flatulency and bad dreams; or I was waked +by the cracking of the ground by the frost, as if some one had driven a +team against my door, and in the morning would find a crack in the earth +a quarter of a mile long and a third of an inch wide. + +Sometimes I heard the foxes as they ranged over the snow crust, in +moonlight nights, in search of a partridge or other game, barking +raggedly and demoniacally like forest dogs, as if laboring with some +anxiety, or seeking expression, struggling for light and to be dogs +outright and run freely in the streets; for if we take the ages into our +account, may there not be a civilization going on among brutes as well +as men? They seemed to me to be rudimental, burrowing men, still +standing on their defence, awaiting their transformation. Sometimes one +came near to my window, attracted by my light, barked a vulpine curse at +me, and then retreated. + +[Illustration: THE RED SQUIRREL] + +Usually the red squirrel (_Sciurus Hudsonius_) waked me in the dawn, +coursing over the roof and up and down the sides of the house, as if +sent out of the woods for this purpose. In the course of the winter I +threw out half a bushel of ears of sweet corn, which had not got ripe, +on to the snow crust by my door, and was amused by watching the motions +of the various animals which were baited by it. In the twilight and the +night the rabbits came regularly and made a hearty meal. All day long +the red squirrels came and went, and afforded me much entertainment by +their manoeuvres. One would approach at first warily through the +shrub-oaks, running over the snow crust by fits and starts like a leaf +blown by the wind, now a few paces this way, with wonderful speed and +waste of energy, making inconceivable haste with his "trotters," as if +it were for a wager, and now as many paces that way, but never getting +on more than half a rod at a time; and then suddenly pausing with a +ludicrous expression and a gratuitous somerset, as if all the eyes in +the universe were fixed on him--for all the motions of a squirrel, even +in the most solitary recesses of the forest, imply spectators as much as +those of a dancing girl--wasting more time in delay and circumspection +than would have sufficed to walk the whole distance--I never saw one +walk--and then suddenly, before you could say Jack Robinson, he would be +in the top of a young pitch-pine, winding up his clock and chiding all +imaginary spectators, soliloquizing and talking to all the universe at +the same time--for no reason that I could ever detect, or he himself was +aware of, I suspect. + +At length he would reach the corn, and selecting a suitable ear, brisk +about in the same uncertain trigonometrical way to the topmost stick of +my wood-pile, before my window, where he looked me in the face, and +there sit for hours, supplying himself with a new ear from time to time, +nibbling at first voraciously and throwing the half-naked cobs about; +till at length he grew more dainty still and played with his food, +tasting only the inside of the kernel, and the ear, which was held +balanced over the stick by one paw, slipped from his careless grasp and +fell to the ground, when he would look over at it with a ludicrous +expression of uncertainty, as if suspecting that it had life, with a +mind not made up whether to get it again, or a new one, or be off; now +thinking of corn, then listening to hear what was in the wind. So the +little impudent fellow would waste many an ear in a forenoon; till at +last, seizing some longer and plumper one, considerably bigger than +himself, and skilfully balancing it, he would set out with it to the +woods, like a tiger with a buffalo, by the same zigzag course and +frequent pauses, scratching along with it as if it were too heavy for +him and falling all the while, making its fall a diagonal between a +perpendicular and horizontal, being determined to put it through at any +rate--a singularly frivolous and whimsical fellow--and so he would get +off with it to where he lived, perhaps carry it to the top of a pine +tree forty or fifty rods distant, and I would afterward find the cobs +strewed about the woods in various directions. + +At length the jays arrived, whose discordant screams were heard long +before, as they were warily making their approach an eighth of a mile +off; and in a stealthy and sneaking manner they flit from tree to tree, +nearer and nearer, and pick up the kernels which the squirrels have +dropped. Then, sitting on a pitch-pine bough, they attempt to swallow in +their haste a kernel which is too big for their throats and chokes them; +and after great labor they disgorge it, and spend an hour in the +endeavor to crack it by repeated blows with their bills. They were +manifestly thieves, and I had not much respect for them; but the +squirrels, though at first shy, went to work as if they were taking what +was their own. + +Meanwhile also came the chickadees in flocks, which, picking up the +crumbs the squirrels had dropped, flew to the nearest twig, and, placing +them under their claws, hammered away at them with their little bills, +as if it were an insect in the bark, till they were sufficiently reduced +for their slender throats. A little flock of these titmice came daily +to pick a dinner out of my wood pile, or the crumbs at my door, with +faint flitting lisping notes, like the tinkling of icicles in the grass, +or else with sprightly _day day day_, or more rarely, in spring-like +days, a wiry summery _phe-be_ from the wood-side. They were so familiar +that at length one alighted on an armful of wood which I was carrying +in, and pecked at the sticks without fear. I once had a sparrow alight +upon my shoulder for a moment while I was hoeing in a village garden, +and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I +should have been by any epaulet I could have worn. The squirrels also +grew at last to be quite familiar and occasionally stepped upon my shoe, +when that was the nearest way. + +When the ground was not yet quite covered, and again near the end of +winter, when the snow was melted on my south hillside and about my +wood-pile, the partridges came out of the woods morning and evening to +feed there. Whichever side you walk in the woods the partridge bursts +away on whirring wings, jarring the snow from the dry leaves and twigs +on high, which comes sifting down in the sunbeams like golden dust; for +this brave bird is not to be scared by winter. It is frequently covered +up by drifts, and, it is said, "sometimes plunges from on wing into the +soft snow, where it remains concealed for a day or two." I used to start +them in the open land also, where they had come out of the woods at +sunset to "bud" the wild apple trees. They will come regularly every +evening to particular trees, where the cunning sportsman lies in wait +for them, and the distant orchards next the woods suffer thus not a +little. I am glad that the partridge gets fed at any rate. It is +Nature's own bird which lives on buds and diet-drink. + +In dark winter mornings, or in short winter afternoons, I sometimes +heard a pack of hounds threading all the woods with hounding cry and +yelp, unable to resist the instinct of the chase, and the note of the +hunting horn at intervals, proving that man was in the rear. The woods +ring again, and yet no fox bursts forth on to the open level of the +pond, nor following pack pursuing their Actaeon. And perhaps at evening I +see the hunters returning with a single brush trailing from their sleigh +for a trophy, seeking their inn. They tell me that if the fox would +remain in the bosom of the frozen earth he would be safe, or if he would +run in a straight line away no foxhound could overtake him; but, having +left his pursuers far behind, he stops to rest and listen till they come +up, and when he runs he circles round to his old haunts, where the +hunters await him. Sometimes, however, he will run upon a wall many +rods, and then leap off far to one side, and he appears to know that +water will not retain his scent. A hunter told me that he once saw a fox +pursued by hounds burst out on to Walden when the ice was covered with +shallow puddles, run part way across, and then return to the same shore. +Ere long the hounds arrived, but here they lost the scent. Sometimes a +pack hunting by themselves would pass my door, and circle round my +house, and yelp and hound without regarding me, as if afflicted by a +species of madness, so that nothing could divert them from the pursuit. +Thus they circle until they fall upon the recent trail of a fox, for a +wise hound will forsake everything else for this. One day a man came to +my hut from Lexington to inquire after his hound that made a large +track, and had been hunting for a week by himself. But I fear that he +was not the wiser for all I told him, for every time I attempted to +answer his questions he interrupted me by asking, "What do you do here?" +He had lost a dog, but found a man. + +One old hunter who has a dry tongue, who used to come to bathe in Walden +once every year when the water was warmest, and at such times looked in +upon me, told me that many years ago he took his gun one afternoon and +went out for a cruise in Walden Wood, and as he walked the Wayland road +he heard the cry of hounds approaching, and ere long a fox leaped the +wall into the road, and as quick as thought leaped the other wall out of +the road, and his swift bullet had not touched him. Some way behind came +an old hound and her three pups in full pursuit, hunting on their own +account, and disappeared again in the woods. Later in the afternoon, as +he was resting in the thick woods south of Walden, he heard the voice of +the hounds far over toward Fair Haven still pursuing the fox; and on +they came, their hounding cry which made all the woods ring sounding +nearer and nearer, now from Well Meadow, now from the Baker Farm. For a +long time he stood still and listened to their music, so sweet to a +hunter's ear, when suddenly the fox appeared, threading the solemn +aisles with an easy coursing pace, whose sound was concealed by a +sympathetic rustle of the leaves, swift and still, keeping the ground, +leaving his pursuers far behind; and, leaping upon a rock amid the +woods, he sat erect and listening, with his back to the hunter. For a +moment compassion restrained the latter's arm; but that was a +short-lived mood, and as quick as thought can follow thought his piece +was levelled, and _whang!_--the fox rolling over the rock lay dead on +the ground. The hunter still kept his place and listened to the hounds. +Still on they came, and now the near woods resounded through all their +aisles with their demoniac cry. At length the old hound burst into view +with muzzle to the ground, and snapping the air as if possessed, and ran +directly to the rock; but spying the dead fox she suddenly ceased her +hounding, as if struck dumb with amazement, and walked round and round +him in silence; and one by one her pups arrived, and, like their mother, +were sobered into silence by the mystery. Then the hunter came forward +and stood in their midst, and the mystery was solved. They waited in +silence while he skinned the fox, then followed the brush awhile, and at +length turned off into the woods again. That evening a Weston Squire +came to the Concord hunter's cottage to inquire for his hounds, and told +how for a week they had been hunting on their own account from Weston +woods. The Concord hunter told him what he knew and offered him the +skin; but the other declined it and departed. He did not find his hounds +that night, but the next day learned that they had crossed the river and +put up at a farm-house for the night, whence, having been well fed, they +took their departure early in the morning. + +The hunter who told me this could remember one Sam Nutting, who used to +hunt bears on Fair-Haven Ledges, and exchange their skins for rum in +Concord village; who told him, even, that he had seen a moose there. +Nutting had a famous foxhound named Burgoyne,--he pronounced it +Bugine,--which my informant used to borrow. In the "Wast Book" of an old +trader of this town, who was also a captain, townclerk, and +representative, I find the following entry: Jan. 18th, 1742-3, "John +Melven Cr. by 1 Grey Fox 0--2--3;" they are not found here; and in his +ledger, Feb. 7th, 1743, Hezekiah Stratton has credit "by 1/2 a Catt skin +0--1--4-1/2;" of course a wild cat, for Stratton was a sergeant in the +old French war, and would not have got credit for hunting less noble +game. Credit is given for deerskins also, and they were daily sold. One +man still preserves the horns of the last deer that was killed in this +vicinity, and another has told me the particulars of the hunt in which +his uncle was engaged. The hunters were formerly a numerous and merry +crew here. I remember well one gaunt Nimrod who would catch up a leaf by +the road-side and play a strain on it wilder and more melodious, if my +memory serves me, than any hunting horn. + +At midnight, when there was a moon, I sometimes met with hounds in my +path prowling about the woods, which would skulk out of my way as if +afraid, and stand silent amid the bushes till I had passed. + +Squirrels and wild mice disputed for my store of nuts. There were scores +of pitch-pines around my house, from one to four inches in diameter, +which had been gnawed by mice the previous winter,--a Norwegian winter +for them, for the snow lay long and deep, and they were obliged to mix +a large proportion of pine bark with their other diet. These trees were +alive and apparently flourishing at midsummer, and many of them had +grown a foot, though completely girdled; but after another winter such +were without exception dead. It is remarkable that a single mouse should +thus be allowed a whole pine tree for its dinner, gnawing round instead +of up and down it; but perhaps it is necessary in order to thin these +trees, which are wont to grow up densely. + +The hares (_Lepus Americanus_) were very familiar. One had her form +under my house all winter, separated from me only by the flooring, and +she startled me each morning by her hasty departure when I began to +stir--thump, thump, thump, striking her head against the floor timbers +in her hurry. They used to come round my door at dusk to nibble the +potato parings which I had thrown out, and were so nearly the color of +the ground that they could hardly be distinguished when still. Sometimes +in the twilight I alternately lost and recovered sight of one sitting +motionless under my window. When I opened my door in the evening, off +they would go with a squeak and a bounce. Near at hand they only excited +my pity. One evening one sat by my door two paces from me, at first +trembling with fear, yet unwilling to move; a poor wee thing, lean and +bony, with ragged ears and sharp nose, scant tail and slender paws. It +looked as if Nature no longer contained the breed of nobler bloods, but +stood on her last toes. Its large eyes appeared young and unhealthy, +almost dropsical. I took a step, and lo, away it scudded with an +elastic spring over the snow crust, straightening its body and its limbs +into graceful length, and soon put the forest between me and itself--the +wild free venison, asserting its vigor and the dignity of Nature. Not +without reason was its slenderness. Such then was its nature (_Lepus, +levipes_, lightfoot, some think). + +What is a country without rabbits and partridges? They are among the +most simple and indigenous animal products; ancient and venerable +families known to antiquity as to modern times; of the very hue and +substance of Nature, nearest allied to leaves and to the ground--and to +one another; it is either winged or it is legged. It is hardly as if you +had seen a wild creature when a rabbit or a partridge bursts away, only +a natural one, as much to be expected as rustling leaves. The partridge +and the rabbit are still sure to thrive, like true natives of the soil, +whatever revolutions occur. If the forest is cut off, the sprouts and +bushes which spring up afford them concealment, and they become more +numerous than ever. That must be a poor country indeed that does not +support a hare. Our woods teem with them both, and around every swamp +may be seen the partridge or rabbit walk, beset with twiggy fences and +horse-hair snares, which some cow-boy tends. + + + + +TREES AND ANTS THAT HELP EACH OTHER[306-1] + +_By_ THOMAS BELT + + +One low tree, very characteristic of the dry savannahs, is a species of +acacia, belonging to the section _Gummiferoe_, with bi-pinnate leaves, +growing to a height of fifteen or twenty feet. The branches and trunk +are covered with strong curved spines, set in pairs, from which it +receives the name of the bull's-horn, they having a very strong +resemblance to the horns of that quadruped. These horns are hollow, and +are tenanted by ants, that make a small hole for their entrance and exit +near one end of the thorn, and also burrow through the partition that +separates the two horns; so that the one entrance serves for both. Here +they rear their young, and in the wet season every one of the thorns is +tenanted, and hundreds of ants are to be seen running about, especially +over the young leaves. If one of these be touched, or a branch shaken, +the little ants swarm out from the hollow thorns, and attack the +aggressor with jaws and sting. They sting severely, raising a little +white lump that does not disappear in less than twenty-four hours. + +These ants form a most efficient standing army for the plant, which +prevents not only the mammalia from browsing on the leaves, but delivers +it from the attacks of a much more dangerous enemy--the leaf-cutting +ants. For these services the ants are not only securely housed by the +plant, but are provided with a bountiful supply of food; and to secure +their attendance at the right time and place, this food is so arranged +and distributed as to effect that object with wonderful perfection. The +leaves are bi-pinnate. At the base of each pair of leaflets, on the +midrib, is a crater-formed gland, which, when the leaves are young, +secretes a honey-like liquid. Of this the ants are very fond; they are +constantly running about from one gland to another to sip up the honey +as it is secreted. But this is not all; there is a still more wonderful +provision of more solid food. At the end of each of the small divisions +of the compound leaflet there is, when the leaf first unfolds, a little +yellow fruit-like body united by a point at its base to the end of the +pinnule. Examined through a microscope, this little appendage looks like +a golden pear. When the leaf first unfolds, the little pears are not +quite ripe, and the ants are continually employed going from one to +another, examining them. When an ant finds one sufficiently advanced, it +bites the small point of attachment; then, bending down the fruit-like +body, it breaks it off and bears it away in triumph to the nest. All the +fruit-like bodies do not ripen at once, but successively, so that the +ants are kept about the young leaf for some time after it unfolds. Thus +the young leaves are always guarded by the ants; and no caterpillar or +large animal could attempt to injure them without being attacked by the +little warriors. The fruit-like bodies are about one-twelfth of an inch +long, and are about one-third of the size of the ants; so that the ant +bearing one away is as heavily laden as a man bearing a large bunch of +plantains. I think these facts show that the ants are really kept by the +acacia as a standing army, to protect its leaves from the attacks of +herbivorous mammals and insects. + +The bull's-horn thorn does not grow at the mines in the forest, nor are +the small ants attending on them found there. They seem specially +adapted for the tree, and I have seen them nowhere else. Besides the +little ants, I found another ant that lives on these acacias, whose +habits appear to be rather different. It makes the holes of entrance to +the thorns near the centre of one of each pair, and not near the end, +and it is not so active as the other species. It is also rather scarce; +but when it does occur, it occupies the whole tree, to the exclusion of +the other. The glands on the acacia are also frequented by a small +species of wasp. I sowed the seeds of the acacia in my garden, and +reared some young plants. Ants of many kinds were numerous; but none of +them took to the thorns for shelter, nor the glands and fruit-like +bodies for food; for, as I have already mentioned, the species that +attend on the thorns are not found in the forest. The leaf-cutting ants +attacked the young plants, and defoliated them; but I have never seen +any of the trees out on the savannahs that are guarded touched by them, +and have no doubt the acacia is protected from them by its little +warriors. The thorns, when they are first developed, are soft, and +filled with a sweetish, pulpy substance; so that the ant, when it makes +an entrance into them, finds its new house full of food. It hollows this +out, leaving only the hardened shell of the thorn. Strange to say, this +treatment seems to favor the development of the thorn, as it increases +in size, bulging out toward the base; whilst in my plants that were not +touched by the ants, the thorns turned yellow and dried up into dead but +persistent prickles. I am not sure, however, that this may not have been +due to the habitat of the plant not suiting it. + +These ants seem to lead the happiest of existences. Protected by their +stings, they fear no foe. Habitations full of food are provided for them +to commence housekeeping with; and cups of nectar and luscious fruits +await them every day. But there is a reverse to the picture. In the dry +season on the plains, the acacias cease to grow. No young leaves are +produced, and the old glands do not secrete honey. Then want and hunger +overtake the ants that have reveled in luxury all the wet season; many +of the thorns are depopulated, and only a few ants live through the +season of scarcity. As soon, however, as the first rains set in, the +trees throw out numerous vigorous shoots, and the ants multiply again +with astonishing rapidity. + +Both in Brazil and in Nicaragua I paid much attention to the relation +between the presence of honey-secreting glands on plants, and the +protection the latter secured by the attendance of ants attracted by the +honey. I found many plants so protected; the glands being specially +developed on the young leaves, and on the sepals of the flowers. Besides +the bull's-horn acacias, I, however, only met with two other genera of +plants that furnished the ants with houses, namely, the trumpet tree +and some of the evergreen shrubs; but I have no doubt that there are +many others. The stem of the Cecropia, or trumpet tree, is hollow, and +divided into cells by partitions that extend across the interior of the +hollow trunk. The ants gain access by making a hole from the outside, +and then burrow through the partitions, thus getting the run of the +whole stem. They do not obtain their food directly from the tree, but +keep brown scale insects in the cells, which suck the juices from the +tree, and secrete a honey-like fluid that exudes from a pore on the +back, and is lapped up by the ants. In one cell eggs will be found, in +another grubs, and in a third pupae, all lying loosely. In another cell, +by itself, a queen ant will be found, surrounded by walls made of a +brown waxy-looking substance, along with about a dozen scale insects to +supply her with food. I suppose the eggs are removed as soon as laid, +for I never found any along with the queen ant. If the tree be shaken, +the ants rush out in myriads, and search about for the molester. This +case is not like the last one, where the tree has provided food and +shelter for the ants, but rather one where the ant has taken possession +of the tree, and brought with it the scale insects; but I believe that +its presence must be beneficial. I have cut into some dozens of the +trumpet trees, and never could find one that was not tenanted by ants. I +noticed three different species, all, as far as I know, confined to the +trumpet tree, and all farming scale insects. As in the bull's-horn +thorn, there is never more than one species of ant on the same tree. + +In some species of evergreen shrub there is a direct provision of houses +for the ants. In each leaf, at the base of the laminae, the petiole, or +stalk, is furnished with a couple of pouches, divided from each other by +the midrib. Into each of these pouches there is an entrance from the +lower side of the leaf. I noticed them first in Northern Brazil, in the +province of Maranham; and afterwards at Para. Every pouch was occupied +by a nest of small black ants; and if the leaf was shaken ever so +little, they would rush out and scour all over it in search of the +aggressor. I must have tested some hundreds of leaves, and never shook +one without the ants coming out, excepting one sickly-looking plant at +Para. In many of the pouches I noticed the eggs and young ants, and in +some I saw a few dark-colored scale insects or plant lice; but my +attention had not been at that time directed to the latter as supplying +the ants with food, and I did not examine a sufficient number of pouches +to determine whether they were constant occupants of the nests or not; +but my experience since with the trumpet trees would lead me to expect +that they were. If so, we have an instance of two insects and a plant +living together, and all benefited by the companionship. The leaves of +the plant are guarded by the ants; the ants are provided with houses by +the plant, and food by the scale insects and plant lice; and the latter +are effectually protected by the ants in their common habitation. + +Amongst the numerous plants that do not provide houses, but attract ants +to their leaves and flower buds by means of glands secreting a +honey-like liquid, are many orchids, and I think all the species of +passion flowers. I had the common red passion flower growing over the +front on my verandah, where it was continually under my notice. It had +honey-secreting glands on its young leaves and on the sepals of the +flower buds. For two years I noticed that the glands were constantly +attended by a small ant, and, night and day, every young leaf and every +flower bud had a few on them. They did not sting, but attacked and bit +my finger when I touched the plant. I have no doubt that the primary +object of these honey-glands was to attract the ants, and keep them +about the most tender and vulnerable parts of the plant, to prevent them +being injured; and I further believe that one of the principal enemies +that they serve to guard against in tropical America is the leaf-cutting +ant, as I have noticed that the latter are very much afraid of the small +black ants. + +On the third year after I had noticed the attendance of the ants on my +passion flower, I found that the glands were not so well looked after as +before, and soon discovered that a number of scale insects had +established themselves on the stems, and that the ants had in a great +measure transferred their attentions to them. An ant would stand over a +scale insect and stroke it alternately on each side with its antennas, +whereupon every now and then a clear drop of honey would exude from a +pore on the back of the scale insect and be imbibed by the ant. Here it +was clear that the scale insect was competing successfully with the +leaves and sepals for the attendance and protection of the ants, and was +successful either through the fluid it furnished being more attractive +or more abundant. I have, from these facts, been led to the conclusion +that the use of honey-secreting glands in plants is to attract insects +that will protect the flower buds and leaves from being injured by +herbivorous insects and mammals; but I do not mean to infer that this is +the use of all glands, for many of the small appendicular bodies, called +"glands" by botanists, do not secrete honey. The common dog-rose of +England is furnished with glands on the stipules, and in other species +they are more numerous, until in the wild rose of the northern counties +the leaves are thickly edged, and the fruit and sepals covered with +stalked glands. I have only observed the wild roses in the north of +England, but there I have never seen insects attending the glands. These +glands, however, do not secrete honey; but a dark, resinous, sticky +liquid, that probably is useful by being distasteful to both insects and +mammals. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[306-1] From _The Naturalist in Nicaragua_. + + +[Illustration] + + + + +THE FAMILY OF MICHAEL AROUT[314-1] + +_From the French of_ EMILE SOUVESTRE + + +_September 15th, Eight O'clock._--This morning, while I was arranging my +books, Mother Genevieve came in and brought me the basket of fruit I buy +of her every Sunday. For nearly twenty years that I have lived in this +quarter I have dealt in her little fruit shop. Perhaps I should be +better served elsewhere, but Mother Genevieve has but little custom; to +leave her would do her harm and cause her unnecessary pain. It seems to +me that the length of our acquaintance has made me incur a sort of tacit +obligation to her; my patronage has become her property. + +She has put the basket upon my table, and as I wanted her husband, who +is a joiner, to add some shelves to my bookcase, she has gone downstairs +again immediately to send him to me. + +At first I did not notice either her looks or the sound of her voice; +but, now that I recall them, it seems to me that she was not as jovial +as usual. Can Mother Genevieve be in trouble about anything? + +Poor woman! All her best years were subject to such bitter trials that +she might think she had received her full share already. Were I to live +a hundred years I should never forget the circumstances which first +made her known to me and which obtained her my respect. + +It was at the time of my first settling in the faubourg. I had noticed +her empty fruit shop, which nobody came into, and being attracted by its +forsaken appearance I made my little purchases in it. I have always +instinctively preferred the poor shops; there is less choice in them, +but it seems to me that my purchase is a sign of sympathy with a brother +in poverty. These little dealings are almost always an anchor of hope to +those whose very existence is in peril--the only means by which some +orphan gains a livelihood. There the aim of the tradesman is not to +enrich himself, but to live! The purchase you make of him is more than +an exchange--it is a good action. + +Mother Genevieve at that time was still young, but had already lost that +fresh bloom of youth which suffering causes to wither so soon among the +poor. Her husband, a clever joiner, gradually left off working to +become, according to the picturesque expression of the workshops, "a +worshipper of Saint Monday." The wages of the week, which was always +reduced to two or three working days, were completely dedicated by him +to the worship of this god of the Barriers,[315-2] and Genevieve was +obliged herself to provide for all the wants of the household. + +One evening, when I went to make some trifling purchases of her, I heard +a sound of quarreling in the back shop. There were the voices of several +women, among which I distinguished that of Genevieve, broken by sobs. On +looking further in, I perceived the fruit-woman with a child in her +arms, and kissing it, while a country nurse seemed to be claiming her +wages from her. The poor woman, who without doubt had exhausted every +explanation and every excuse, was crying in silence, and one of her +neighbors was trying in vain to appease the countrywoman. Excited by +that love of money which the evils of a hard peasant life but too well +excuse, and disappointed by the refusal of her expected wages, the nurse +was launching forth in recriminations, threats, and abuse. In spite of +myself, I listened to the quarrel, not daring to interfere, and not +thinking of going away, when Michael Arout appeared at the shop door. + +The joiner had just come from the Barrier, where he had passed part of +the day at the public-house. His blouse, without a belt, and untied at +the throat, showed none of the noble stains of work; in his hand he held +his cap, which he had just picked up out of the mud; his hair was in +disorder, his eye fixed, and the pallor of drunkenness in his face. He +came reeling in, looked wildly around him, and called Genevieve. + +She heard his voice, gave a start, and rushed into the shop; but at the +sight of the miserable man, who was trying in vain to steady himself, +she pressed the child in her arms and bent over it with tears. + +The countrywoman and the neighbor had followed her. + +"Come! come! do you intend to pay me, after all?" cried the former in a +rage. + +"Ask the master for the money," ironically answered the woman from the +next door, pointing to the joiner, who had just fallen against the +counter. + +The countrywoman looked at him. + +"Ah! he is the father," returned she. "Well, what idle beggars! not to +have a penny to pay honest people, and get tipsy with wine in that way." + +The drunkard raised his head. + +"What! what!" stammered he; "who is it that talks of wine? I've had +nothing but brandy! But I am going back again to get some wine! Wife, +give me your money; there are some friends waiting for me at the wine +shop." + +Genevieve did not answer; he went round the counter, opened the till, +and began to rummage in it. + +"You see where the money of the house goes!" observed the neighbor to +the countrywoman; "how can the poor unhappy woman pay you when he takes +all?" + +"Is that my fault?" replied the nurse angrily. "They owe it to me and +somehow or other they must pay me!" + +And letting loose her tongue, as those women out of the country do, she +began relating at length all the care she had taken of the child and all +the expense it had been to her. In proportion as she recalled all she +had done, her words seemed to convince her more than ever of her rights +and to increase her anger. The poor mother, who no doubt feared that her +violence would frighten the child, returned into the back shop and put +it into its cradle. + +Whether it is that the countrywoman saw in this act a determination to +escape her claims, or that she was blinded by passion, I cannot say; +but she rushed into the next room, where I heard the sounds of +quarreling, with which the cries of the child were soon mingled. The +joiner, who was still rummaging in the till, was startled and raised his +head. + +At the same moment Genevieve appeared at the door, holding in her arms +the baby that the countrywoman was trying to tear from her. She ran +toward the counter, and throwing herself behind her husband cried: + +"Michael, defend your son!" + +The drunken man quickly stood up erect, like one who awakes with a +start. + +"My son!" stammered he; "what son?" + +His looks fell upon the child; a vague ray of intelligence passed over +his features. + +"Robert," resumed he; "it is Robert!" + +He tried to steady himself on his feet, that he might take the baby, but +he tottered. The nurse approached him in a rage. + +"My money, or I shall take the child away!" cried she. "It is I who have +fed and brought it up: if you don't pay me for what has made it live, it +ought to be the same to you as if it were dead. I shall not go until I +have my due or the baby." + +"And what would you do with him?" murmured Genevieve, pressing Robert +against her bosom. + +"Take it to the Foundling!" replied the countrywoman harshly; "the +hospital is a better mother than you are, for it pays for the food of +its little ones." + +At the word "Foundling," Genevieve had exclaimed aloud in horror. With +her arms wound round her son, whose head she hid in her bosom, and her +two hands spread over him, she had retreated to the wall, and remained +with her back against it, like a lioness defending her young ones. The +neighbor and I contemplated this scene, without knowing how we could +interfere. As for Michael, he looked at us by turns, making a visible +effort to comprehend it all. When his eye rested upon Genevieve and the +child, it lit up with a gleam of pleasure; but when he turned toward us, +he again became stupid and hesitating. + +At last, apparently making a prodigious effort, he cried out, "Wait!" + +And going to a tub full of water, he plunged his face into it several +times. + +Every eye was turned upon him; the countrywoman herself seemed +astonished. At length he raised his dripping head. This ablution had +partly dispelled his drunkenness; he looked at us for a moment, then he +turned to Genevieve, and his face brightened up. + +"Robert!" cried he, going up to the child and taking him in his arms. +"Ah! give him me, wife; I must look at him." + +The mother seemed to give up his son to him with reluctance, and stayed +before him with her arms extended, as if she feared the child would have +a fall. The nurse began again in her turn to speak, and renewed her +claims, this time threatening to appeal to law. At first Michael +listened to her attentively, and when he comprehended her meaning he +gave the child back to its mother. + +"How much do we owe you?" asked he. + +[Illustration: "HOW MUCH DO WE OWE YOU?"] + +The countrywoman began to reckon up the different expenses, which +amounted to nearly 30 francs. The joiner felt to the bottom of his +pockets, but could find nothing. His forehead became contracted by +frowns; low curses began to escape him. All of a sudden he rummaged in +his breast, drew forth a large watch, and holding it up above his head-- + +"Here it is--here's your money!" cried he with a joyful laugh; "a watch, +number one! I always said it would keep for a drink on a dry day; but it +is not I who will drink it, but the young one. Ah! ah! ah! go and sell +it for me, neighbor, and if that is not enough, I have my earrings. Eh! +Genevieve, take them off for me; the earrings will square all! They +shall not say you have been disgraced on account of the child--no, not +even if I must pledge a bit of my flesh! My watch, my earrings, and my +ring--get rid of all of them for me at the goldsmith's; pay the woman +and let the little fool go to sleep. Give him me, Genevieve; I will put +him to bed." + +And taking the baby from the arms of his mother, he carried him with a +firm step to his cradle. + +It was easy to perceive the change which took place in Michael from this +day. He cut all his old drinking acquaintances. He went early every +morning to his work, and returned regularly in the evening to finish the +day with Genevieve and Robert. Very soon he would not leave them at all, +and he hired a place near the fruit shop and worked in it on his own +account. + +They would soon have been able to live in comfort, had it not been for +the expenses which the child required. Everything was given up to his +education. He had gone through the regular school training, had studied +mathematics, drawing, and the carpenter's trade, and had only begun to +work a few months ago. Till now, they had been exhausting every resource +which their laborious industry could provide to push him forward in his +business; but, happily, all these exertions had not proved useless; the +seed had brought forth its fruits, and the days of harvest were close +by. + +While I was thus recalling these remembrances to my mind, Michael had +come in and was occupied in fixing shelves where they were wanted. + +During the time I was writing the notes of my journal, I was also +scrutinizing the joiner. + +The excesses of his youth and the labor of his manhood have deeply +marked his face; his hair is thin and gray, his shoulders stooping, his +legs shrunken and slightly bent. There seems a sort of weight in his +whole being. His very features have an expression of sorrow and +despondency. He answered my questions by monosyllables, and like a man +who wishes to avoid conversation. From whence is this dejection, when +one would think he had all he could wish for? I should like to know! + +_Ten O'clock._--Michael is just gone downstairs to look for a tool he +has forgotten. I have at last succeeded in drawing from him the secret +of his and Genevieve's sorrow. Their son Robert is the cause of it! + +Not that he has turned out ill after all their care--not that he is idle +and dissipated; but both were in hopes he would never leave them any +more. The presence of the young man was to have renewed and made glad +their lives once more; his mother counted the days, his father prepared +everything to receive their dear associate in their toils; and at the +moment when they were thus about to be repaid for all their sacrifices, +Robert had suddenly informed them that he had just engaged himself to a +contractor at Versailles. + +Every remonstrance and every prayer were useless; he brought forward the +necessity of initiating himself into all the details of an important +contract, the facilities he should have in his new position of improving +himself in his trade, and the hopes he had of turning his knowledge to +advantage. At last, when his mother, having come to the end of her +arguments, began to cry, he hastily kissed her and went away that he +might avoid any further remonstrances. + +He had been absent a year, and there was nothing to give them hopes of +his return. His parents hardly saw him once a month, and then he only +stayed a few moments with them. + +"I have been punished where I had hoped to be rewarded," Michael said to +me just now. "I had wished for a saving and industrious son, and God has +given me an ambitious and avaricious one! I had always said to myself +that when once he was grown up we should have him always with us, to +recall our youth and to enliven our hearts. His mother was always +thinking of getting him married and having children again to care for. +You know women always will busy themselves about others. As for me, I +thought of him working near my bench and singing his new songs; for he +has learned music and is one of the best singers at the Orpheon. A +dream, sir, truly! Directly the bird was fledged, he took to flight, +and remembers neither father nor mother. Yesterday, for instance, was +the day we expected him; he should have come to supper with us. No +Robert to-day either! He has had some plan to finish, or some bargain to +arrange, and his old parents are put down last in the accounts, after +the customer's and the joiner's work. Ah! if I could have guessed how it +would have turned out! Fool! to have sacrificed my likings and my money, +for nearly twenty years, to the education of a thankless son! Was it for +this I took the trouble to cure myself of drinking, to break with my +friends, to become an example to the neighborhood? The jovial good +fellow has made a goose of himself. Oh! if I had to begin again! No, no! +you see women and children are our bane. They soften our hearts; they +lead us a life of hope and affection; we pass a quarter of our lives in +fostering the growth of a grain of corn which is to be everything to us +in our old age, and when the harvest-time comes--good night, the ear is +empty!" + +While he was speaking, Michael's voice became hoarse, his eye fierce, +and his lips quivered. I wished to answer him, but I could only think of +commonplace consolations, and I remained silent. The joiner pretended he +wanted a tool and left me. + +Poor father! Ah! I know those moments of temptation when virtue has +failed to reward us and we regret having obeyed her! Who has not felt +this weakness in hours of trial, and who has not uttered, at least once, +the mournful exclamation of Brutus? + +But if virtue is only a word, what is there then in life which is true +and real? No, I will not believe that goodness is in vain! It does not +always give the happiness we had hoped for, but it brings some other. In +the world everything is ruled by order and has its proper and necessary +consequences, and virtue cannot be the sole exception to the general +law. If it had been prejudicial to those who practice it, experience +would have avenged them; but experience has, on the contrary, made it +more universal and more holy. We only accuse it of being a faithless +debtor because we demand an immediate payment, and one apparent to our +senses. We always consider life as a fairy tale, in which every good +action must be rewarded by a visible wonder. We do not accept as payment +a peaceful conscience, self-content, or a good name among men--treasures +that are more precious than any other, but the value of which we do not +feel till after we have lost them! + +Michael is come back and returned to his work. His son had not yet +arrived. + +By telling me of his hopes and his grievous disappointments, he became +excited; he unceasingly went over again the same subject, always adding +something to his griefs. He has just wound up his confidential discourse +by speaking to me of a joiner's business which he had hoped to buy and +work to good account with Robert's help. The present owner had made a +fortune by it, and after thirty years of business he was thinking of +retiring to one of the ornamental cottages in the outskirts of the city, +a usual retreat for the frugal and successful workingman. Michael had +not indeed the 2,000 francs which must be paid down; but perhaps he +could have persuaded Master Benoit to wait. Robert's presence would +have been a security for him, for the young man could not fail to insure +the prosperity of a workshop; besides science and skill, he had the +power of invention and bringing to perfection. His father had discovered +among his drawings a new plan for a staircase, which had occupied his +thoughts for a long time; and he even suspected him of having engaged +himself to the Versailles contractor for the very purpose of executing +it. The youth was tormented by this spirit of invention, and while +devoting his mind to study he had not time to listen to his feelings. + +[Illustration: MICHAEL IS COME BACK] + +Michael told me all this with a mixed feeling of pride and vexation. I +saw he was proud of the son he was abusing, and that his very pride made +him more sensible of that son's neglect. + +_Six O'clock P. M._--I have just finished a happy day. How many events +have happened within a few hours, and what a change for Genevieve and +Michael! + +He had just finished fixing the shelves and telling me of his son, while +I laid the cloth for my breakfast. + +Suddenly we heard hurried steps in the passage, the door opened, and +Genevieve entered with Robert. The joiner gave a start of joyful +surprise, but he repressed it immediately, as if he wished to keep up +the appearance of displeasure. + +The young man did not appear to notice it, but threw himself into his +arms in an open-hearted manner which surprised me. Genevieve, whose face +shone with happiness, seemed to wish to speak, and to restrain herself +with difficulty. + +I told Robert I was glad to see him, and he answered me with ease and +civility. + +"I expected you yesterday," said Michael Arout rather dryly. + +"Forgive me, father," replied the young workman, "but I had business at +St. Germain's. I was not able to come back till it was very late, and +then the master kept me." + +The joiner looked at his son sideways, and then took up his hammer +again. + +"All right," muttered he in a grumbling tone; "when we are with other +people we must do as they wish; but there are some who would like better +to eat brown bread with their own knife than partridges with the silver +fork of a master." + +"And I am one of those, father," replied Robert merrily; "but, as the +proverb says, 'you must shell the peas before you can eat them.' It was +necessary that I should first work in a great workshop--" + +"To go on with your plan of the staircase," interrupted Michael, +ironically. + +"You must now say M. Raymond's plan, father," replied Robert, smiling. + +"Why?" + +"Because I have sold it to him." + +The joiner, who was planing a board, turned round quickly. + +"Sold it!" cried he, with sparkling eyes. + +"For the reason that I was not rich enough to give it him." + +Michael threw down the board and tool. + +"There he is again!" resumed he angrily; "his good genius puts an idea +into his head which would have made him known, and he goes and sells it +to a rich man, who will take all the honor of it himself." + +"Well, what harm is there done?" asked Genevieve. + +"What harm!" cried the joiner in a passion. "You understand nothing +about it--you are a woman; but he--he knows well that a true workman +never gives up his own inventions for money, no more than a soldier +would give up his cross. That is his glory; he is bound to keep it for +the honor it does him! Ah! thunder! if I had ever made a discovery, +rather than put it up at auction I would have sold one of my eyes! Don't +you see that a new invention is like a child to a workman? He takes care +of it, he makes a way for it in the world, and it is only poor creatures +who sell it." + +Robert colored a little. + +"You will think differently, father," said he, "when you know why I sold +my plan." + +"Yes, and you will thank him for it," added Genevieve, who could no +longer keep silence. + +"Never!" replied Michael. + +"But, wretched man!" cried she, "he only sold it for our sakes!" + +The joiner looked at his wife and son with astonishment. The latter +related how he had entered into a negotiation with Master Benoit, who +had positively refused to sell his business unless one-half of the 2,000 +francs were first paid down. It was in the hopes of obtaining this sum +that he had gone to work with the contractor at Versailles; he had had +an opportunity of trying his invention and of finding a purchaser. +Thanks to the money he received for it, he had just concluded the +bargain with Benoit, and had brought his father the key of the new +work-yard. + +This explanation was given by the young workman with so much modesty and +simplicity that I was quite affected by it. Genevieve cried; Michael +pressed his son to his heart, and seemed to ask his pardon for having +unjustly accused him. + +All was now explained with honor to Robert. The conduct which his +parents had ascribed to indifference really sprang from affection; he +had neither obeyed the voice of ambition nor of avarice, nor even the +nobler inspiration of inventive genius; his whole motive and single aim +had been the happiness of Genevieve and Michael. The day for proving his +gratitude had come, and he had returned them sacrifice for sacrifice! + +After the explanation and exclamations of joy were over, all three were +about to leave me; but the cloth being laid, I added three more places, +and kept them to breakfast. + +The meal was prolonged: the fare was only tolerable, but the +overflowings of affection made it delicious. Never had I better +understood the unspeakable charm of family love. What calm enjoyment in +that happiness which is always shared with others; in that community of +interests which unites such various feeling; in that association of +existences which forms one single being of so many! What is man without +those home affections which, like so many roots, fix him firmly in the +earth and permit him to imbibe all the juices of life? Energy, +happiness--does it not all come from them? Without family life where +would man learn to love, to associate, to deny himself? A community in +little, is it not this which teaches us how to live in the great one? +Such is the holiness of home, that to express our relation with God we +have been obliged to borrow the words invented for our family life. Men +have named themselves the sons of a heavenly Father! + +Ah! let us carefully preserve these chains of domestic union; do not let +us unbind the human sheaf and scatter its ears to all the caprices of +chance and of the winds; but let us rather enlarge this holy law; let us +carry the principles and the habits of home beyond its bounds; and, let +us realize the prayer of the Apostle of the Gentiles when he exclaimed +to the new-born children of Christ: + +"Be ye like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one +mind." + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[314-1] This is adapted from _An Attic Philosopher in Paris_. + +[315-2] The cheap wine shops of Paris are outside the Barriers, to avoid +the city tax. + + + + +ON THE RECEIPT OF MY MOTHER'S PICTURE + +_By_ WILLIAM COWPER + + +INTRODUCTORY NOTE + +Before we read this beautiful little poem, let us prepare ourselves by +learning something about the author. + +William Cowper, the son of an English clergyman, was born in 1731. He +was a delicate, sensitive little boy whose life was made miserable by +his companions in play and at school. So timid was he that the larger +boys tyrannized over him shamefully, and the smaller ones teased him as +much as they liked. When his mother died, William was but six years old, +and the shrinking little lad was placed in a large boarding school where +the other boys were cruel and heartless. At least, so they seemed to the +frightened newcomer. Probably they were no more cruel and heartless than +most strong and healthy youngsters who are accustomed to give and take +without whimpering. Young Cowper was merely the strange lad whose timid +and hesitating manner seemed to call for discipline. Years afterwards, +still remembering the agony of these years, he wrote of one big boy in +particular. + +"His savage treatment of me impressed such a dread of his figure upon my +mind that I well remember of being afraid to lift my eyes up higher +than to his knees, and that I knew him better by his shoe-buckles than +by any other part of his dress." + +At ten he was removed to Westminster School, where he made some good +friends. Here, too, he took a more manly stand, played football and +cricket with the other boys, and redeemed himself from some of his +weakness. But he had numerous spells of moodiness and sadness, during +which he hid himself from his fellows and refused to join their plays +even. He was unusually intelligent, distinguished himself in his +studies, and became a favorite with his teachers. + +Among his friends here was Warren Hastings, who long years afterwards, +as governor of India, was convicted of cruelty and extortion. Cowper +showed the loyalty of his nature by refusing utterly to believe in the +guilt of his old friend. + +William's father wished to make a lawyer of his son, and when the boy +had finished at Westminster he was sent to study law in London. If he +had been unhappy in school, he became even more so now, for there was +nothing in the legal profession to attract him. Instead of reading law +he read literature; instead of writing legal papers he wrote poems and +sketches. Finally, however, he became a lawyer, but he could never bring +himself to practice his profession. + +At one time he was given a clerkship, but in preparation for it he was +asked to take an examination before the bar at the House of Lords. Here +his old nervousness and timidity overpowered him, and he failed to +appear; in fact, he ran away, planning to kill himself, but at the last +moment his courage again failed him. After this, his mind gave way, and +he was for a time in an asylum. In fact, at intervals thereafter, he had +attacks of despondency and moodiness, of fear and discouragement, which +showed how seriously his mind was affected. + +So far this is not a very attractive picture; but it is one side of the +great poet's character. That there was another we knew, for he made the +most loyal friends, who opened their homes to him and were ever willing +to care for him. + +At one time he was engaged to be married, but an attack of insanity +prevented the union, though it did not destroy the ardent friendship of +the lovers. Cowper could never wholly throw off the fear of the future. +"Day and night," he once wrote, "I was upon the rack, lying down in +horror and rising up in despair." + +His most attached friends, the Unwins, were deeply religious people, and +at their house Cowper spent his happiest years. It was a great shock to +him when Mr. Unwin was thrown from a horse and killed. From that time a +succession of kind friends aided him, watched him through his periods of +despair and provided for his simple wants. He was passionately fond of +pets, and was happiest in caring for his rabbits, cats and other +animals. He liked gardening, too, and spent a great deal of energy upon +his plants. + +Cowper was one of the finest correspondents that ever wrote, and his +graceful and humorous letters are still read with pleasure by all who +know them. Strangely enough, his gloominess rarely found its way into +his poetry, which often was highly amusing, as you know who have read +_John Gilpin_. _The Task_ is his greatest poem, though there are many +short ones of great beauty. + +Cowper was sincere and honest, and used good judgment in everything that +did not concern himself. Occasionally he became dissatisfied with the +style of poetry then most popular, because it was written so strictly +according to rule and because heart and nature were all forgotten. What +he wrote was different; putting his truthful eyes on birds and flowers, +on fine scenery and on noble men and women, he wrote exactly as he saw, +and let his fine sentiment and loving heart find gracious expression. +The result was that he led the way for Wordsworth, the greater man, who +brought our poetry back from the bonds of formality and made it +beautiful, sincere and true. + +The final years of Cowper were sad ones. Mrs. Unwin was stricken with +paralysis, and the poet repaid her years of care and protection by an +unfailing attention that lasted till she died. It is said that after the +one heart-breaking cry he uttered when he saw her dead body, he never +again mentioned her name, though he lived for four years. His end came +peacefully enough, in April, 1800. + +When Cowper was fifty-six years old his cousin sent to him from Norfolk +a picture of his mother, who had then been dead for half a century. How +vivid a recollection of her loving care remained to the saddened man may +be seen in the poem. + + + + +MY MOTHER'S PICTURE + +OUT OF NORFOLK, THE GIFT OF MY COUSIN, ANN BODHAM + + + O that those lips had language! Life has passed + With me but roughly since I heard thee last. + Those lips are thine,--thy own sweet smile I see, + The same that oft in childhood solaced me; + Voice only fails, else how distinct they say, + "Grieve not, my child; chase all thy fears away!" + The meek intelligence of those dear eyes + (Blest be the art that can immortalize,-- + The art that baffles time's tyrannic claim + To quench it!) here shines on me still the same. + + Faithful remembrancer of one so dear! + O welcome guest, though unexpected here! + Who bid'st me honor with an artless song, + Affectionate, a mother lost so long. + I will obey,--not willingly alone. + But gladly, as[335-1] the precept were her own; + And, while that face renews my filial grief, + Fancy shall weave a charm for my relief,-- + Shall steep me in Elysian[335-2] revery, + A momentary dream that thou art she. + +[Illustration: "MY MOTHER!"] + + My mother! when I learned that thou wast dead, + Say, wast thou conscious of the tears I shed? + Hovered thy spirit o'er thy sorrowing son,-- + Wretch even then, life's journey just begun? + Perhaps thou gavest me, though unfelt, a kiss; + Perhaps a tear, if souls can weep in bliss-- + Ah, that maternal smile! it answers--Yes. + I heard the bell tolled on thy burial day; + I saw the hearse that bore thee slow away; + And, turning from my nursery window, drew + A long, long sigh, and wept a last adieu! + But was it such?--It was.--Where thou art gone + Adieus and farewells are a sound unknown; + May I but meet thee on that peaceful shore, + The parting word shall pass my lips no more. + Thy maidens, grieved themselves at my concern, + Oft gave me promise of thy quick return; + What ardently I wished I long believed, + And, disappointed still, was still deceived,-- + By expectation every day beguiled, + Dupe of to-morrow even from a child. + Thus many a sad to-morrow came and went, + Till, all my stock of infant sorrow spent, + I learned at last submission to my lot; + But, though I less deplored thee, ne'er forgot. + + Where once we dwelt our name is heard no more; + Children not thine have trod my nursery floor; + And where the gardener Robin, day by day, + Drew me to school along the public way, + Delighted with my bauble coach, and wrapt + In scarlet mantle warm, and velvet capped, + 'Tis now become a history little known, + That once we call'd the pastoral house[337-3] our own. + Shortlived possession! but the record fair, + That memory keeps of all thy kindness there, + Still outlives many a storm, that has effaced + A thousand other themes less deeply traced. + Thy nightly visits to my chamber made, + That thou mightst know me safe and warmly laid; + Thy morning bounties ere I left my home, + The biscuit, or confectionery plum; + The fragrant waters on my cheeks bestow'd + By thy own hand, till fresh they shone and glow'd; + All this, and more endearing still than all, + Thy constant flow of love, that knew no fall, + Ne'er roughen'd by those cataracts and breaks, + That humour[338-4] interposed too often makes; + All this still legible in memory's page, + And still to be so to my latest age, + Adds joy to duty, makes me glad to pay + Such honours to thee as my numbers[338-5] may; + Perhaps a frail memorial, but sincere, + Not scorn'd in Heaven, though little noticed here. + Could Time, his flight reversed, restore the hours, + When, playing with thy vesture's tissued[338-6] flowers, + The violet, the pink, the jessamine, + I prick'd them into paper with a pin,[338-7] + (And thou wast happier than myself the while-- + Wouldst softly speak, and stroke my head and smile,)-- + Could those few pleasant days again appear, + Might one wish bring them, would I wish them here? + I would not trust my heart,--the dear delight + Seems so to be desired, perhaps I might. + But no,--what here we call our life is such, + So little to be loved, and thou so much, + That I should ill requite thee to constrain + Thy unbound spirit into bounds again. + + Thou--as a gallant bark, from Albion's[339-8] coast, + (The storms all weathered and the ocean crossed,) + Shoots into port at some well-havened isle, + Where spices breathe and brighter seasons smile; + There sits quiescent on the floods, that show + Her beauteous form reflected clear below, + While airs impregnated with incense play + Around her, fanning light her streamers gay,-- + So thou, with sails how swift! hast reached the shore + "Where tempests never beat nor billows roar": + And thy loved consort[339-9] on the dangerous tide + Of life long since has anchored by thy side. + But me,[339-10] scarce hoping to attain the rest, + Always from port withheld, always distressed,-- + Me[339-10] howling blasts drive devious, tempest-tossed, + Sails ripped, seams opening wide, and compass lost;[339-11] + And day by day some current's thwarting force + Sets me more distant from a prosperous course. + Yet O, the thought that thou art safe, and he!--[339-12] + That thought is joy, arrive what may to me. + My boast is not that I deduce my birth + From loins enthroned,[339-13] and rulers of the earth; + But higher far my proud pretensions rise,-- + The son of parents passed into the skies. + And now, farewell!--Time, unrevoked,[340-14] has run + His wonted course; yet what I wished is done. + By contemplation's help, not sought in vain, + I seem to have lived my childhood o'er again,-- + To have renewed the joys that once were mine, + Without the sin of violating thine; + And, while the wings of fancy still are free, + And I can view this mimic show of thee, + Time has but half succeeded in his theft,-- + Thyself removed, thy power to soothe me left. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[335-1] As _though_ the request were her own. + +[335-2] The Elysian Fields were the blessed lands of beauty and joy to +which the Greeks hoped to go at their death. + +[337-3] The _pastoral house_ means the rectory, the home of the +clergyman. + +[338-4] _Humour_ here means _temper_. + +[338-5] _Numbers_ is used for _poetic measures; poetry_. + +[338-6] _Tissued_ is a poetic word for _variegated_. + +[338-7] He pricked into paper with a pin the outlines of the variegated +forms of violets, pinks and jessamine that decorated his mother's dress. + +[339-8] _England's._ The old name Albion, which means _white_, is still +used in poetry. Just how the name originated no one knows. Perhaps it +alluded to the white chalk cliffs of England which the Gauls could see. + +[339-9] Cowper's father died in 1756; his mother in 1737. + +[339-10] _Me_ is repeated for emphasis; it is the object of _drive_: +"Howling blasts drive me out of the straight line," is what the lines +mean. + +[339-11] Cowper was too strongly conscious of his weakness and his +difference from other men. He wrote in a letter to a friend, "Certainly +I am not an absolute fool, but I have more weaknesses than the greatest +of all the fools I can recollect at present. In short, if I was as fit +for the next world as I am unfit for this,--and God forbid I should +speak of it in vanity,--I would not change conditions with any saint in +Christendom." + +[339-12] "That thou art safe, and that he is safe." + +[339-13] Cowper descended from ancient and high lineage on both sides. + + + + +THOSE EVENING BELLS + +_By_ THOMAS MOORE + + + Those evening bells! those evening bells. + How many a tale their music tells, + Of youth, and home, and that sweet time + When last I heard their soothing chime! + + Those joyous hours are passed away; + And many a heart that once was gay, + Within the tomb now darkly dwells, + And hears no more those evening bells. + + And so 'twill be when I am gone-- + That tuneful peal will still ring on; + While other bards shall walk these dells, + And sing your praise, sweet evening bells. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[340-14] _Unrevoked_ means _not called back_. + + + + +ANNABEL LEE + +_By_ EDGAR ALLAN POE + + + It was many and many a year ago, + In a kingdom by the sea, + That a maiden lived, whom you may know + By the name of Annabel Lee; + And this maiden she lived with no other thought + Than to love, and be loved by me. + + I was a child and she was a child, + In this kingdom by the sea; + But we loved with a love that was more than love, + I and my Annabel Lee,-- + With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven + Coveted her and me. + + And this was the reason that long ago, + In this kingdom by the sea, + A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling + My beautiful Annabel Lee; + So that her highborn kinsmen came, + And bore her away from me, + To shut her up in a sepulchre, + In this kingdom by the sea. + + The angels, not so happy in heaven, + Went envying her and me. + Yes! that was the reason (as all men know) + In this kingdom by the sea, + That the wind came out of the cloud by night, + Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee. + +[Illustration: IN HER SEPULCHRE THERE BY THE SEA] + + But our love it was stronger by far than the love + Of those who were older than we, + Of many far wiser than we; + And neither the angels in heaven above, + Nor the demons down under the sea, + Can ever dissever my soul from the soul + Of the beautiful Annabel Lee. + For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams + Of the beautiful Annabel Lee, + + And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes + Of the beautiful Annabel Lee. + And so, all the night-tide I lie down by the side + Of my darling, my darling, my life, and my bride, + In her sepulchre there by the sea, + In her tomb by the sounding sea. + + + + +THE THREE FISHERS + +_By_ CHARLES KINGSLEY + + + Three fishers went sailing out into the west-- + Out into the west as the sun went down; + Each thought on the woman who loved him the best, + And the children stood watching them out of the town; + For men must work, and women must weep; + And there's little to earn, and many to keep, + Though the harbor bar be moaning. + + Three wives sat up in the lighthouse tower, + And trimmed the lamps as the sun went down; + And they looked at the squall, and they looked at the shower, + And the night rack came rolling up, ragged and brown; + But men must work, and women must weep,-- + Though storms be sudden, and waters deep, + And the harbor bar be moaning. + +[Illustration: THE NIGHT RACK CAME ROLLING UP] + + Three corpses lay out on the shining sands + In the morning gleam as the tide went down, + And the women are weeping and wringing their hands, + For those who will never come back to the town; + For men must work, and women must weep, + And the sooner it's over, the sooner to sleep,-- + And good-bye to the bar and its moaning. + + + + +THE REAPER'S DREAM + +_By_ THOMAS BUCHANAN READ + + + The road was lone; the grass was dank + With night-dews on the briery bank + Whereon a weary reaper sank. + His garb was old; his visage tanned; + The rusty sickle in his hand + Could find no work in all the land. + + He saw the evening's chilly star + Above his native vale afar; + A moment on the horizon's bar + It hung, then sank, as with a sigh; + And there the crescent moon went by, + An empty sickle down the sky. + + To soothe his pain, Sleep's tender palm + Laid on his brow its touch of balm; + His brain received the slumberous calm; + And soon that angel without name, + Her robe a dream, her face the same, + The giver of sweet visions came. + + She touched his eyes; no longer sealed, + They saw a troop of reapers wield + Their swift blades in a ripened field. + At each thrust of their snowy sleeves + A thrill ran through the future sheaves + Rustling like rain on forest leaves. + + They were not brawny men who bowed, + With harvest voices rough and loud, + But spirits, moving as a cloud. + Like little lightnings in their hold, + The silver sickles manifold + Slid musically through the gold. + + O, bid the morning stars combine + To match the chorus clear and fine, + That rippled lightly down the line,-- + A cadence of celestial rhyme, + The language of that cloudless clime, + To which their shining hands kept time! + + Behind them lay the gleaming rows, + Like those long clouds the sunset shows + On amber meadows of repose; + But, like a wind, the binders bright + Soon followed in their mirthful might, + And swept them into sheaves of light. + + Doubling the splendor of the plain, + There rolled the great celestial wain, + To gather in the fallen grain. + Its frame was built of golden bars; + Its glowing wheels were lit with stars; + The royal Harvest's car of cars. + + The snowy yoke that drew the load, + On gleaming hoofs of silver trode; + And music was its only goad. + To no command of word or beck + It moved, and felt no other check + Than one white arm laid on the neck,-- + + The neck, whose light was overwound + With bells of lilies, ringing round + Their odors till the air was drowned: + The starry foreheads meekly borne, + With garlands looped from horn to horn, + Shone like the many-colored morn. + + The field was cleared. Home went the bands, + Like children, linking happy hands, + While singing through their father's lands; + Or, arms about each other thrown, + With amber tresses backward blown, + They moved as they were music's own. + +[Illustration: THE CRESCENT MOON WENT BY] + + The vision brightening more and more, + He saw the garner's glowing door, + And sheaves, like sunshine, strew the floor,-- + The floor was jasper,--golden flails, + Swift-sailing as a whirlwind sails, + Throbbed mellow music down the vales. + + He saw the mansion,--all repose,-- + Great corridors and porticos, + Propped with the columns, shining rows; + And these--for beauty was the rule-- + The polished pavements, hard and cool, + Redoubled, like a crystal pool. + + And there the odorous feast was spread; + The fruity fragrance widely shed + Seemed to the floating music wed. + Seven angels, like the Pleiad seven, + Their lips to silver clarions given, + Blew welcome round the walls of heaven. + + In skyey garments, silky thin, + The glad retainers floated in + A thousand forms, and yet no din: + And from the visage of the Lord, + Like splendor from the Orient poured, + A smile illumined all the board. + + Far flew the music's circling sound; + Then floated back, with soft rebound, + To join, nor mar, the converse round, + Sweet notes, that, melting, still increased, + Such as ne'er cheered the bridal feast + Of king in the enchanted East. + + Did any great door ope or close, + It seemed the birth-time of repose, + The faint sound died where it arose; + And they who passed from door to door; + Their soft feet on the polished floor + Met their soft shadows,--nothing more. + + Then once again the groups were drawn + Through corridors, or down the lawn, + Which bloomed in beauty like a dawn. + Where countless fountains leapt alway, + Veiling their silver heights in spray, + The choral people held their way. + + There, midst the brightest, brightly shone + Dear forms he loved in years agone,-- + The earliest loved,--the earliest flown. + He heard a mother's sainted tongue, + A sister's voice, who vanished young, + While one still dearer sweetly sung! + + No further might the scene unfold; + The gazer's voice could not withhold; + The very rapture made him bold: + He cried aloud, with clasped hands, + "O happy fields! O happy bands! + Who reap the never-failing lands. + + "Oh master of these broad estates, + Behold, before your very gates + A worn and wanting laborer waits! + Let me but toil amid your grain, + Or be a gleaner on the plain, + So I may leave these fields of pain! + + "A gleaner, I will follow far, + With never look or word to mar, + Behind the Harvest's yellow car; + All day my hand shall constant be, + And every happy eve shall see + The precious burden borne to thee!" + + At morn some reapers neared the place, + Strong men, whose feet recoiled apace; + Then gathering round the upturned face, + They saw the lines of pain and care, + Yet read in the expression there + The look as of an answered prayer. + + + A poem like the preceding abounds in beautiful word pictures, which + add to the charm of the imaginary incident which is related. + + Here is the first: It is a country road in the harvest season. On + one side, stretching away into the dim distance, lie fields already + reaped; upon the other, a bank, covered with briery vines, rises + steeply into the darkness. The evening star lies close to the + horizon, and in the sky the cold crescent moon hangs like an empty + sickle. In the grass under the bank, with night dews thickly + gathered upon him, lies a poor and weary reaper. His torn clothes, + old and ill-kept, his tanned face, slender figure, and more than + all else the rusty sickle in his hand, show that he has been long + without work, and has suffered in poverty. + + The next four scenes are from the reaper's dream: + + 1. It is a busy afternoon, and in a field of ripening grain reapers + are busy wielding their sickles, but they are not the strong men + who talk with loud, rough voices and bind the sheaves with joke and + laughter; they are gentle spirits moving like clouds, and their + sickles seem like little strokes of lightning as they slide + musically through the golden grain. Their shining hands keep time + to a beautiful song, and often the reapers glance across the + gleaming rows of grain into the rich red of the sunset. The binders + follow the reapers and place the sheaves in gleaming rows, while + behind them follows the great wagon gathering in the fallen + grain,--a wagon not of earth, but built of gold. Beautiful cattle + draw the wain, cattle that tread on silver hoofs and move without + other command than sweet music, or the soft touch of a white-armed + angel. Around the necks of the cattle are white lilies, and from + the horns droop garlands of many-colored flowers, freshly picked + from the dewy grass. + + 2. A jasper floor on which the grain lies like sunshine, and where + golden flails, falling swiftly, beat out the grain to mellow music, + gleams with increasing brightness. + + 3. The great mansion shines with its long corridors, its gleaming + porticos and polished pavement, all beautiful and hard and cool. + Inside is spread a fragrant feast to which seven angels sing + invitation with their silver clarions. Softly the invited guests + float in, a multitude in number, but silently as the stars move in + heaven. Sweet music floats around the beautiful room, and smiling + faces nod around the board. Doors are opened and closed without + sound, and the feet of the servants on the polished floor give no + more sound than falling shadows. + + 4. The groups of angel guests are gathered like flowers upon the + lawn where countless fountains play, and among them, moving here + and there, are the forms of the loved ones who have passed away + before him. His mother, his sister, and one still dearer than + either, sing sweetly and walk among fragrant flowers more beautiful + than his fancy ever painted. + + The last scene is the same as the first, except that it is a cold, + chilly morning instead of a damp evening. Some reapers coming near + see lying under the briers the poor old reaper with his upturned + face, peaceful and quiet, now in death, but bearing the look of an + answered prayer. + + + + +THE RECOVERY OF THE HISPANIOLA[352-1] + +_By_ ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON + + +The coracle--as I had ample reason to know before I was done with +her--was a very safe boat for a person of my height and weight, both +buoyant and clever in a seaway--but she was the most cross-grained +lop-sided craft to manage. Do as you pleased, she always made more +leeway than anything else, and turning round and round was the maneuver +she was best at. + +She turned in every direction but the one I was bound to go; the most +part of the time we were broadside on, and I am very sure I never should +have made the ship at all but for the tide. By good fortune, paddle as I +pleased, the tide was still sweeping me down; and there lay the +_Hispaniola_ right in the fair way, hardly to be missed. + +First she loomed before me like a blot of something yet blacker than +darkness, then her spars and hull began to take shape, and the next +moment, as it seemed (for, the further I went, the brisker grew the +current of the ebb), I was alongside of her hawser, and had laid hold. + +The hawser was as taut as a bowstring, and the current so strong she +pulled upon her anchor. All round the hull, in the blackness, the +rippling current bubbled and chattered like a little mountain stream. +One cut with my sea-gully, and the _Hispaniola_ would go humming down +the tide. + +So far so good; but it next occurred to my recollection that a taut +hawser, suddenly cut, is a thing as dangerous as a kicking horse. Ten to +one, if I were so foolhardy as to cut the _Hispaniola_ from her anchor, +I and the coracle would be knocked clean out of the water. + +This brought me to a full stop, and if fortune had not again +particularly favored me, I should have had to abandon my design. But the +light airs which had begun blowing from the southeast and south had +hauled round after nightfall into the southwest. Just while I was +meditating, a puff came, caught the _Hispaniola_, and forced her up into +the current; and, to my great joy, I felt the hawser slacken in my +grasp, and the hand by which I held it dip for a second under water. + +With that I made my mind up, took out my gully, opened it with my teeth, +and cut one strand after another, till the vessel swung only by two. +Then I lay quiet, waiting to sever these last when the strain should be +once more lightened by a breath of wind. + +All this time I had heard the sound of loud voices from the cabin; but, +to say truth, my mind had been so entirely taken up with other thoughts +that I had scarcely given ear. + +One I recognized for the coxswain's, Israel Hands, that had been Flint's +gunner in former days. The other was, of course, my friend of the red +nightcap. Both men were plainly the worse of drink, and they were still +drinking. But they were not only tipsy; it was plain that they were +furiously angry. Oaths flew like hailstones, and every now and then +there came forth such an explosion as I thought was sure to end in +blows. But each time the quarrel passed off, and the voices grumbled +lower for a while, until the next crisis came, and, in its turn, passed +away without result. + +[Illustration: I LOOKED INTO THE CABIN] + +On shore I could see the glow of the great campfire burning warmly +through the shoreside trees. Some one was singing a dull, old, droning +sailor's song, with a droop and a quaver at the end of every verse, and +seemingly no end to it at all but the patience of the singer. I had +heard it on the voyage more than once, and remembered these words: + + "But one man of her crew alive, + What put to sea with seventy-five." + +And I thought it was a ditty rather too dolefully appropriate for a +company that had met such cruel losses in the morning. But, indeed, from +what I saw, all these buccaneers were as callous as the sea they sailed +on. + +At last the breeze came; the schooner sidled and drew nearer in the +dark; I felt the hawser slacken once more, and with a good, tough +effort, cut the last fibers through. + +The breeze had but little action on the coracle, and I was almost +instantly swept against the bows of the _Hispaniola_. At the same time +the schooner began to turn upon her heel, spinning slowly, end for end, +across the current. + +I wrought like a fiend, for I expected every moment to be swamped; and +since I found I could not push the coracle directly off, I now shoved +straight astern. At length I was clear of my dangerous neighbor; and +just as I gave the last impulsion, my hands came across a light cord +that was trailing overboard across the stern bulwarks. Instantly I +grasped it. + +Why I should have done so I can hardly say. It was at first mere +instinct; but once I had it in my hands and found it fast, curiosity +began to get the upper hand, and I determined I should have one look +through the cabin window. + +I pulled in hand over hand on the cord, and, when I judged myself near +enough, rose at infinite risk to about half my height, and thus +commanded the roof and a slice of the interior of the cabin. + +By this time the schooner and her little consort were gliding pretty +swiftly through the water; indeed, we had already fetched up level with +the campfire. The ship was talking, as sailors say, loudly, treading the +innumerable ripples with an incessant weltering splash; and until I got +my eye above the window-sill I could not comprehend why the watchmen had +taken no alarm. One glance, however, was sufficient; and it was only one +glance that I durst take from that unsteady skiff. It showed me Hands +and his companion locked together in deadly wrestle, each with a hand +upon the other's throat. + +I dropped upon the thwart again, none too soon, for I was near +overboard. I could see nothing for the moment, but these two furious, +encrimsoned faces, swaying together under the smoky lamp; and I shut my +eyes to let them grow once more familiar with the darkness. + +The endless ballad had come to an end at last, and the whole diminished +company about the campfire had broken into the chorus I had heard so +often: + + "Fifteen men on the dead man's chest-- + Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! + Drink and the devil had done for the rest-- + Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!" + +I was just thinking how busy drink and the devil were at that very +moment in the cabin of the _Hispaniola_, when I was surprised by a +sudden lurch of the coracle. At the same moment she yawed sharply and +seemed to change her course. The speed in the meantime had strangely +increased. + +I opened my eyes at once. All round me were little ripples, combing over +with a sharp, bristling sound, and slightly phosphorescent. The +_Hispaniola_ herself, a few yards in whose wake I was still being +whirled along, seemed to stagger in her course, and I saw her spars toss +a little against the blackness of the night; nay, as I looked longer, I +made sure she also was wheeling to the southward. + +I glanced over my shoulder, and my heart jumped against my ribs. There, +right behind me, was the glow of the campfire. The current had turned at +right angles, sweeping round along with it the tall schooner and the +little dancing coracle; ever quickening, ever bubbling higher, ever +muttering louder, it went spinning through the narrows for the open sea. + +Suddenly the schooner in front of me gave a violent yaw, turning, +perhaps, through twenty degrees; and almost at the same moment one shout +followed another from on board; I could hear feet pounding on the +companion ladder; and I knew that the two drunkards had at last been +interrupted in their quarrel and awakened to a sense of their disaster. + +I lay down flat in the bottom of that wretched skiff, and devoutly +recommended my spirit to its Maker. At the end of the straits, I made +sure we must fall into some bar of raging breakers, where all my +troubles would be ended speedily; and though I could, perhaps, bear to +die, I could not bear to look upon my fate as it approached. + +So I must have lain for hours, continually beaten to and fro upon the +billows, now and again wetted with flying sprays, and never ceasing to +expect death at the next plunge. Gradually weariness grew upon me; a +numbness, an occasional stupor, fell upon my mind even in the midst of +my terrors; until sleep at last supervened, and in my sea-tossed coracle +I lay and dreamed of home and the old tavern "Benbow." + +It was broad day when I awoke, and found myself tossing at the southwest +end of Treasure Island. The sun was up, but was still hid from me behind +the great bulk of the Spyglass, which on this side descended almost to +the sea in formidable cliffs. + +Haulbowline Head and Mizzenmast Hill were at my elbow; the hill bare and +dark, the head bound with cliffs forty or fifty feet high, and fringed +with great masses of fallen rock. I was scarce a quarter of a mile to +seaward, and it was my first thought to paddle in and land. + +That notion was soon given over. Among the fallen rocks the breakers +spouted and bellowed; loud reverberations, heavy sprays flying and +falling, succeeded one another from second to second; and I saw myself, +if I ventured nearer, dashed to death upon the rough shore, or spending +my strength in vain to scale the beetling crags. + +Nor was that all; for crawling together on flat tables of rock, or +letting themselves drop into the sea with loud reports, I beheld huge +slimy monsters--soft snails, as it were, of incredible bigness--two or +three score of them together, making the rocks to echo with their +barkings. + +I have understood since that they were sea lions, and entirely harmless. +But the look of them added to the difficulty of the shore and the high +running of the surf, was more than enough to disgust me of that landing +place. I felt willing rather to starve at sea than to confront such +perils. + +In the meantime I had a better chance, as I supposed, before me. North +of Haulbowline Head the land runs in a long way, leaving, at low tide, a +long stretch of yellow sand. To the north of that, again, there comes +another cape--Cape of the Woods, as it was marked upon the chart--buried +in tall green pines, which descended to the margin of the sea. + +I remembered that the current sets northward along the whole west coast +of Treasure Island; and seeing from my position that I was already under +its influence, I preferred to leave Haulbowline Head behind me, and +reserve my strength for an attempt to land upon the kindlier-looking +Cape of the Woods. + +There was a great, smooth swell upon the sea. The wind blowing steady +and gentle from the south, there was no contrariety between that and the +current, and the billows rose and fell unbroken. + +Had it been otherwise, I must long ago have perished; but as it was, it +is surprising how easily and securely my little and light boat could +ride. Often, as I still lay at the bottom, and kept no more than an eye +above the gunwale, I would see a big blue summit heaving close above me; +yet the coracle would but bounce a little, dance as if on springs, and +subside on the other side into the trough as lightly as a bird. + +I began after a little to grow very bold, and sat up to try my skill at +paddling. But even a small change in the disposition of the weight will +produce violent changes in the behavior of a coracle. And I had hardly +moved before the boat, giving up at once her gentle dancing movement, +ran straight down a slope of water so steep that it made me giddy, and +stuck her nose, with a spout of spray, deep into the side of the next +wave. + +I was drenched and terrified, and fell instantly back into my old +position, whereupon the coracle seemed to find her head again, and led +me as softly as before among the billows. It was plain she was not to be +interfered with, and at that rate, since I could in no way influence her +course, what hope had I left of reaching land? + +I began to be horribly frightened, but I kept my head, for all that. + +First, moving with all care, I gradually bailed out the coracle with my +sea-cap; then getting my eye once more above the gunwale, I set myself +to study how it was she managed to slip so quietly through the rollers. + +I found each wave, instead of the big, smooth, glossy mountain it looked +from shore, or from a vessel's deck, was for all the world like any +range of hills on the dry land, full of peaks and smooth places and +valleys. The coracle, left to herself, turning from side to side, +threaded, so to speak, her way through these lower parts, and avoided +the steep slopes and higher, toppling summits of the waves. + +"Well, now," thought I to myself, "it is plain I must lie where I am, +and not disturb the balance; but it is plain, also, that I can put the +paddle over the side, and from time to time, in smooth places, give her +a shove or two toward land." No sooner thought upon than done. There I +lay on my elbows, in the most trying attitude, and every now and again +gave a weak stroke or two to turn her head to shore. It was very tiring, +and slow work, yet I did visibly gain ground; and, as we drew near the +Cape of the Woods, though I saw I must infallibly miss that point, I had +still made some hundred yards of easting. I was, indeed, close in. I +could see the cool, green tree tops swaying together in the breeze, and +I felt sure I should make the next promontory without fail. + +It was high time, for now I began to be tortured with thirst. The glow +of the sun from above, its thousandfold reflection from the waves, the +sea-water that fell and dried upon me, caking my very lips with salt, +combined to make my throat burn and my brain ache. The sight of the +trees so near at hand had almost made me sick with longing; but the +current had soon carried me past the point; and, as the next reach of +sea opened out, I beheld a sight that changed the nature of my thoughts. + +Right in front of me, not half a mile away, I beheld the _Hispaniola_ +under sail. I made sure, of course, that I should be taken; but I was so +distressed for want of water, that I scarce knew whether to be glad or +sorry at the thought; and, long before I had come to a conclusion, +surprise had taken entire possession of my mind, and I could do nothing +but stare and wonder. + +The _Hispaniola_ was under her mainsail and two jibs, and the beautiful +white canvas shone in the sun like snow or silver. When I first sighted +her, all her sails were drawing; she was lying a course about northwest; +and I presumed the men on board were going round the island on their way +back to the anchorage. Presently she began to fetch more and more to the +westward, so that I thought they had sighted me and were going about in +chase. At last, however, she fell right into the wind's eye, was taken +dead aback, and stood there awhile helpless, with her sails shivering. + +"Clumsy fellows," said I; "they must still be drunk as owls." And I +thought how Captain Smollett would have set them skipping. + +Meanwhile, the schooner gradually fell off, and filled again upon +another tack, sailed swiftly for a minute or so, and brought up once +more dead in the wind's eye. Again and again was this repeated. To and +fro, up and down, north, south, east, and west the _Hispaniola_ sailed +by swoops and dashes, and at each repetition ended as she had begun, +with idly-flapping canvas. It became plain to me that nobody was +steering. And, if so, where were the men? Either they were dead drunk, +or had deserted her, I thought, and perhaps if I could get on board, I +might return the vessel to her captain. + +The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate. +As for the latter's sailing, it was so wild and intermittent, and she +hung each time so long in irons, that she certainly gained nothing, if +she did not even lose. If only I dared to sit up and paddle, I made sure +that I could overhaul her. The scheme had an air of adventure that +inspired me, and the thought of the water-breaker beside the fore +companion doubled my growing courage. + +Up I got, was welcomed almost instantly by another cloud of spray, but +this time stuck to my purpose; and set myself, with all my strength and +caution, to paddle after the unsteered _Hispaniola_. Once I shipped a +sea so heavy that I had to stop and bail, with my heart fluttering like +a bird; but gradually I got into the way of the thing, and guided my +coracle among the waves, with only now and then a blow upon her bows and +a dash of foam in my face. + +I was now gaining rapidly on the schooner. I could see the brass glisten +on the tiller as it banged about; and still no soul appeared upon her +decks. I could not choose but suppose she was deserted. If not, the men +were lying drunk below, where I might batten them down, perhaps, and do +what I chose with the ship. + +For some time she had been doing the worst thing possible for +me--standing still. She headed nearly due south, yawing, of course, all +the time. Each time she fell off her sails partly filled, and these +brought her in a moment right to the wind again. I have said this was +the worst thing possible for me; for helpless as she looked in this +situation, with the canvas cracking like cannon and the blocks trundling +and banging on the deck, she still continued to run away from me, not +only with the speed of the current, but by the whole amount of her +leeway, which was naturally great. + +But now at last I had my chance. The breeze fell for some seconds very +low, and the current gradually turning her, the _Hispaniola_ revolved +slowly round her center, and at last presented me her stern, with the +cabin window still gaping open, and the lamp over the table still +burning on into the day. + +The mainsail hung drooped like a banner. She was stock-still, but for +the current. + +For the last little while I had even lost; but now, redoubling my +efforts, I began once more to overhaul the chase. + +I was not a hundred yards from her when the wind came again in a clap; +she filled on the port tack and was off again, stooping and skimming +like a swallow. + +My first impulse was one of despair, but my second was toward joy. Round +she came till she was broadside on to me--round still till she had +covered a half, and then two thirds, and then three quarters of the +distance that separated us. I could see the waves boiling white under +her forefoot. Immensely tall she looked to me from my low station in the +coracle. + +And then, of a sudden, I began to comprehend. I had scarce time to +think--scarce time to act and save myself. I was on the summit of one +swell when the schooner came stooping over the next. The bowsprit was +over my head. I sprang to my feet and leaped, stamping the coracle under +water. With one hand I caught the jib-boom, while my foot was lodged +between the stay and the brace; and as I still clung there panting a +dull blow told me that the schooner had charged down upon and struck the +coracle, and that I was left without retreat on the _Hispaniola_. + +I had scarce gained a position on the bowsprit, when the flying jib +flapped and filled upon the other tack, with a report like a gun. The +schooner trembled to her keel under the reverse; but next moment, the +other sails still drawing, the jib flapped back again and hung idle. + +This had nearly tossed me off into the sea; and now I lost no time, +crawled back along the bowsprit, and tumbled head foremost on the deck. + +I was on the lee side of the forecastle, and the mainsail, which was +still drawing, concealed from me a certain portion of the after-deck. +Not a soul was to be seen. The planks, which had not been swabbed since +the mutiny, bore the print of many feet; and an empty bottle, broken by +the neck, tumbled to and fro like a live thing in the scuppers. + +Suddenly the _Hispaniola_ came right into the wind. The jibs behind me +cracked aloud; the rudder slammed to; the whole ship gave a sickening +heave and shudder, and at the same moment the main-boom swung inboard, +the sheet groaning in the blocks, and showed me the lee after-deck. + +There were the two watchmen, sure enough: red-cap on his back, as stiff +as a handspike, with his arms stretched out like those of a crucifix, +and his teeth showing through his open lips; Israel Hands propped +against the bulwarks, his chin on his chest, his hands lying open before +him on the deck, his face as white, under its tan, as a tallow candle. + +For awhile the ship kept bucking and sidling like a vicious horse, the +sails filling, now on one tack, now on another, and the boom swinging to +and fro till the mast groaned aloud under the strain. Now and again, +too, there would come a cloud of light sprays over the bulwark, and a +heavy blow of the ship's bows against the swell: so much heavier weather +was made of it by this great rigged ship than by my home-made, lopsided +coracle, now gone to the bottom of the sea. + +At every jump of the schooner red-cap slipped to and fro; but--what was +ghastly to behold--neither his attitude nor his fixed teeth-disclosing +grin was anyway disturbed by this rough usage. At every jump, too, Hands +appeared still more to sink into himself and settle down upon the deck, +his feet sliding ever the farther out, and the whole body canting toward +the stern, so that his face became, little by little, hid from me; and +at last I could see nothing beyond his ear and the frayed ringlet of one +whisker. + +At the same time, I observed, around both of them, splashes of dark +blood upon the planks, and began to feel sure that they had killed each +other in their drunken wrath. + +While I was thus looking and wondering, in a calm moment, when the ship +was still, Israel Hands turned partly round, and, with a low moan, +writhed himself back to the position in which I had seen him first. The +moan, which told of pain and deadly weakness, and the way in which his +jaw hung open, went right to my heart. But when I remembered the talk I +had overheard from the apple barrel, all pity left me. + +I walked aft until I reached the mainmast. + +"Come aboard, Mr. Hands," I said ironically. + +He rolled his eyes round heavily; but he was too far gone to express +surprise. All he could do was to utter one word: "Brandy." + +It occurred to me there was no time to lose; and, dodging the boom as it +once more lurched across the deck, I slipped aft, and down the companion +stairs into the cabin. + +It was such a scene of confusion as you can hardly fancy. All the +lockfast places had been broken open in quest of the chart. The floor +was thick with mud, where ruffians had sat down to drink or consult +after wading in the marshes round their camp. The bulkheads, all painted +in clear white, and beaded round with gilt, bore a pattern of dirty +hands. Dozens of empty bottles clinked together in corners to the +rolling of the ship. One of the doctor's medical books lay open on the +table, half of the leaves gutted out, I suppose, for pipe-lights. In the +midst of all this the lamp still cast a smoky glow, obscure and brown as +umber. + +I went into the cellar; all the barrels were gone, and of the bottles a +most surprising number had been drunk out and thrown away. Certainly, +since the mutiny began, not a man of them could ever have been sober. +Foraging about I found a bottle with some brandy left, for Hands; and +for myself I routed out some biscuit, some pickled fruits, a great bunch +of raisins, and a piece of cheese. With these I came on deck, put down +my own stock behind the rudder head, and well out of the coxswain's +reach, went forward to the waterbreaker, and had a good, deep drink of +water, and then, and not till then, gave Hands the brandy. + +He must have drunk a gill before he took the bottle from his mouth. + +"Ay," said he, "by thunder, but I wanted some o' that!" + +I had sat down already in my own corner and begun to eat. + +"Much hurt?" I asked him. + +He grunted, or, rather, I might say, he barked. + +"If that doctor was aboard," he said, "I'd be right enough in a couple +of turns; but I don't have no manner of luck, you see, and that's what's +the matter with me. As for that swab, he's good and dead, he is," he +added, indicating the man with the red cap. "He warn't no seaman, +anyhow. And where mought you have come from?" + +"Well," said I, "I've come aboard to take possession of this ship, Mr. +Hands; and you'll please regard me as your captain until further +notice." + +He looked at me sourly enough, but said nothing. Some of the color had +come back into his cheeks, though he still looked very sick, and still +continued to slip out and settle down as the ship banged about. + +"By the bye," I continued, "I can't have these colors, Mr. Hands; and, +by your leave, I'll strike 'em. Better none than these." + +And, again dodging the boom, I ran to the color lines, handed down their +cursed black flag, and chucked it overboard. + +"God save the king!" said I, waving my cap. + +He watched me keenly and slyly, his chin all the while on his breast. + +"I reckon," he said at last--"I reckon, Cap'n Hawkins, you'll kind of +want to get ashore, now. S'pose we talks." + +"Why, yes," says I, "with all my heart, Mr. Hands. Say on." And I went +back to my meal with a good appetite. + +"This man," he began, nodding feebly at the corpse--"O'Brien were his +name--a rank Irelander--this man and me got the canvas on her, meaning +for to sail her back. Well, _he's_ dead now, he is--as dead as bilge; +and who's to sail this ship, I don't see. Without I gives you a hint, +you ain't that man, as far's I can tell. Now, look here, you gives me +food and drink, and an old scarf or ankecher to tie my wound up, you do; +and I'll tell you how to sail her; and that's about square all round, I +take it. + +"I'll tell you one thing," says I: "I'm not going back to Captain Kidd's +anchorage. I mean to get into North Inlet, and beach her quietly there." + +"To be sure you did," he cried. "Why, I ain't such an infernal lubber, +after all. I can see, can't I? I've tried my fling, I have, and I've +lost, and it's you has the wind of me. North Inlet? Why, I haven't no +chi'ce, not I! I'd help you sail her up to Execution Dock, by thunder! +so I would." + +Well, as it seemed to me, there was some sense in this. We struck our +bargain on the spot. In three minutes I had the _Hispaniola_ sailing +easily before the wind along the coast of Treasure Island, with good +hopes of turning the northern point ere noon, and beating down again as +far as North Inlet before high water, when we might beach her safely, +and wait till the subsiding tide permitted us to land. + +Then I lashed the tiller and went below to my own chest, where I got a +soft silk handkerchief of my mother's. With this, and with my aid, Hands +bound up the great bleeding stab he had received in the thigh, and after +he had eaten a little and had a swallow or two more of the brandy, he +began to pick up visibly, sat straighter up, spoke louder and clearer, +and looked in every way another man. + +The breeze served us admirably. We skimmed before it like a bird, the +coast of the island flashing by, and the view changing every minute. +Soon we were past the high lands and bowling beside low, sandy country, +sparsely dotted with dwarf pines, and soon we were beyond that again, +and had turned the corner of the rocky hill that ends the island on the +north. + +I was greatly elated with my new command, and pleased with the bright, +sunshiny weather and these different prospects of the coast. I had now +plenty of water and good things to eat, and my conscience, which had +smitten me hard for my desertion, was quieted by the great conquest I +had made. I should, I think, have had nothing left me to desire but for +the eyes of the coxswain as they followed me derisively about the deck, +and the odd smile that appeared continually on his face. It was a smile +that had in it something both of pain and weakness--a haggard, old man's +smile; but there was besides that, a grain of derision, a shadow of +treachery in his expression as he craftily watched, and watched, and +watched me at my work. + +The wind, serving us to a desire, now hauled into the west. We could run +so much the easier from the northeast corner of the island to the mouth +of the North Inlet. Only, as we had no power to anchor, and dared not +beach her till the tide had flowed a good deal farther, time hung on our +hands. + +The coxswain told me how to lay the ship to; after a good many trials I +succeeded, and we both sat in silence over another meal. + +"Cap'n," said he, at length, with that same uncomfortable smile, "here's +my old shipmate, O'Brien; s'pose you was to heave him overboard. I ain't +partic'lar as a rule, and I don't take no blame for settling his hash; +but I don't reckon him ornamental, now, do you?" + +"I'm not strong enough, and I don't like the job; and there he lies, for +me," said I. + +"This here's an unlucky ship--this _Hispaniola_, Jim," he went on, +blinking. "There's a power of men been killed in this _Hispaniola_--a +sight o' poor seamen dead and gone since you and me took ship to +Bristol. I never seen sich dirty luck, not I. There was this here +O'Brien, now--he's dead, ain't he? Well, now, I'm no scholar, and you're +a lad as can read and figure; and, to put it straight, do you take it as +a dead man is dead for good, or do he come alive again?" + +"You can kill the body, Mr. Hands, but not the spirit; you must know +that already," I replied. "O'Brien there is in another world, and maybe +watching us." + +"Ah!" says he. "Well, that's unfort'nate--appears as if killing parties +was a waste of time. Howsomever, sperrits don't reckon for much, by what +I've seen. I'll chance it with the sperrits, Jim. And now, you've spoke +up free, and I'll take it kind if you'd step down into that there cabin +and get me a--well, a--shiver my timbers! I can't hit the name on't; +well, you get me a bottle of wine, Jim--this here brandy's too strong +for my head." + +Now, the coxswain's hesitation seemed to be unnatural; and as for the +notion of his preferring wine to brandy, I entirely disbelieved it. The +whole story was a pretext. He wanted me to leave the deck--so much was +plain; but with what purpose I could in no way imagine. His eyes never +met mine; they kept wandering to and fro, up and down, now with a look +to the sky, now with a flitting glance upon the dead O'Brien. All the +time he kept smiling and putting his tongue out in the most guilty, +embarrassed manner, so that a child could have told that he was bent on +some deception. I was prompt with my answer, however, for I saw where my +advantage lay; and that with a fellow so densely stupid I could easily +conceal my suspicions to the end. + +"Some wine?" I said. "Far better. Will you have white or red?" + +"Well, I reckon it's about the blessed same to me, shipmate," he +replied; "so it's strong and plenty of it, what's the odds?" + +"All right," I answered. "I'll bring you port, Mr. Hands. But I'll have +to dig for it." + +With that I scuttled down the companion with all the noise I could, +slipped off my shoes, ran quietly along the sparred gallery, mounted the +forecastle ladder and popped my head out of the fore companion. I knew +he would not expect to see me there; yet I took every precaution +possible; and certainly the worst of my suspicions proved too true. + +He had risen from his position to his hands and knees; and though his +leg obviously hurt him pretty sharply when he moved--for I could hear +him stifle a groan--yet it was at a good, rattling rate that he trailed +himself across the deck. In half a minute he had reached the port +scuppers, and picked out a coil of rope, a long knife, or rather a +short dirk, discolored to the hilt with blood. He looked upon it for a +moment, thrusting forth his under jaw, tried the point upon his hand, +and then, hastily concealing it in the bosom of his jacket, trundled +back again into his old place against the bulwark. + +That was all that I required to know. Israel could move about; he was +now armed; and if he had been at so much trouble to get rid of me, it +was plain that I was meant to be the victim. What he would do +afterward--whether he would try to crawl right across the island from +North Inlet to the camp among the swamps, or whether he would fire Long +Tom, trusting that his own comrades might come first to help him, was, +of course, more than I could say. + +Yet I felt sure that I could trust him in one point, since in that our +interests jumped together, and that was in the disposition of the +schooner. We both desired to have her stranded safe enough, in a +sheltered place, and so that, when the time came, she could be got off +again with as little labor and danger as might be; and until that was +done I considered that my life would certainly be spared. + +While I was thus turning the business over in my mind, I had not been +idle with my body. I had stolen back to the cabin, slipped once more +into my shoes, and laid my hand at random on a bottle of wine, and now, +with this for an excuse, I made my reappearance on the deck. + +Hands lay as I had left him, all fallen together in a bundle, and with +his eyelids lowered, as though he were too weak to bear the light. He +looked up, however, at my coming, knocked the neck off the bottle, like +a man who had done the same thing often, and took a good swig, with his +favorite toast of "Here's luck!" Then he lay quiet for a little, and +then, pulling out a stick of tobacco, begged me to cut him a quid. + +"Cut me a junk o' that," says he, "for I haven't no knife, and hardly +strength enough, so be as I had. Ah, Jim, Jim, I reckon I've missed +stays! Cut me a quid, as'll likely be the last, lad; for I'm for my long +home, and no mistake." + +"Well," said I, "I'll cut you some tobacco; but if I was you and thought +myself so badly, I would go to my prayers, like a Christian man." + +"Why?" said he. "Now, you tell me why." + +"Why?" I cried. "You were asking me just now about the dead. You've +broken your trust; you've lived in sin and lies and blood; there's a man +you killed lying at your feet this moment; and you ask me why! For God's +mercy, Mr. Hands, that's why." + +I spoke with a little heat, thinking of the bloody dirk he had hidden in +his pocket, and designed, in his ill thoughts, to end me with. He, for +his part, took a great draught of the wine, and spoke with the most +unusual solemnity. + +"For thirty years," he said, "I've sailed the seas, and seen good and +bad, better and worse, fair weather and foul, provisions running out, +knives going, and what not. Well, now I tell you, I never seen good come +o' goodness yet. Him as strikes first is my fancy; dead men don't bite; +them's my views--amen, so be it. And now, you look here," he added, +suddenly changing his tone, "we've had about enough of this foolery. The +tide's made good enough by now. You just take my orders, Cap'n Hawkins, +and we'll sail slap in and be done with it." + +All told, we had scarce two miles to run; but the navigation was +delicate, the entrance to this northern anchorage was not only narrow +and shoal, but lay east and west, so that the schooner must be nicely +handled to be got in. I think I was a good, prompt subaltern, and I am +very sure that Hands was an excellent pilot; for we went about and +about, and dodged in, shaving the banks, with a certainty and a neatness +that was a pleasure to behold. + +Scarcely had we passed the heads before the land closed around us. The +shores of North Inlet were as thickly wooded as those of the southern +anchorage; but the space was longer and narrower, and more like, what in +truth it was, the estuary of a river. + +Right before us, at the southern end, we saw the wreck of a ship in the +last stages of dilapidation. It had been a great vessel of three masts, +but had lain so long exposed to the injuries of the weather that it was +hung about with great webs of dripping seaweed, and on the deck of it +shore bushes had taken root, and now flourished thick with flowers. It +was a sad sight, but it showed us that the anchorage was calm. + +"Now," said Hands, "look there; there's a pet bit for to beach a ship +in. Fine flat sand, never a catspaw, trees all around of it, and flowers +a-blowing like a garding on that old ship." + +"And once beached," I inquired, "how shall we get her off again?" + +"Why, so," he replied: "you take a line ashore there on the other side +at low water; take a turn about one o' them big pines; bring it back, +take a turn round the capstan, and lie-to for the tide. Come high water, +all hands take a pull upon the line, and off she comes as sweet as +natur'. And now, boy, you stand by. We're near the bit now, and she's +too much way on her. Starboard a little--so--steady--starboard--larboard +a little--steady--steady!" + +So he issued his commands, which I breathlessly obeyed; till, all of a +sudden, he cried: "Now, my hearty, luff!" And I put the helm hard up, +and the _Hispaniola_ swung round rapidly, and ran stem on for the low +wooded shore. + +The excitement of these last maneuvers had somewhat interfered with the +watch I had kept hitherto, sharply enough, upon the coxswain. Even then +I was still so much interested, waiting for the ship to touch, that I +had quite forgot the peril that hung over my head, and stood craning +over the starboard bulwarks and watching the ripples spreading wide +before the bows. I might have fallen without a struggle for my life, had +not a sudden disquietude seized upon me, and made me turn my head. +Perhaps I had heard a creak, or seen his shadow moving with the tail of +my eye; perhaps it was an instinct like a cat's; but, sure enough, when +I looked round, there was Hands, already halfway toward me, with the +dirk in his right hand. + +We must both have cried out aloud when our eyes met; but while mine was +the shrill cry of terror, his was a roar of fury like a charging +bull's. At the same instant he threw himself forward, and I leaped +sideways toward the bows. As I did so I let go of the tiller, which +sprang sharp to leeward; and I think this saved my life, for it struck +Hands across the chest and stopped him, for the moment, dead. + +Before he could recover, I was safe out of the corner where he had me +trapped, with all the deck to dodge about. Just forward of the mainmast +I stopped, drew a pistol from my pocket, took a cool aim, though he had +already turned and was once more coming directly after me, and drew the +trigger. The hammer fell, but there followed neither flash nor sound; +the priming was useless with sea-water. I cursed myself for my neglect. +Why had not I, long before, reprimed and reloaded my only weapons? Then +I should not have been as now, a mere fleeing sheep before this butcher. + +Wounded as he was, it was wonderful how fast he could move, his grizzled +hair tumbling over his face, and his face itself as red as a red ensign +with his haste and fury. I had no time to try my other pistol, nor, +indeed, much inclination, for I was sure it would be useless. One thing +I saw plainly: I must not simply retreat before him, or he would +speedily hold me boxed into the bows, as a moment since he had so nearly +boxed me in the stern. Once so caught, and nine or ten inches of the +bloodstained dirk would be my last experience on this side of eternity. +I placed my palms against the mainmast, which was of a goodish bigness, +and waited, every nerve upon the stretch. + +Seeing that I meant to dodge, he also paused; and a moment or two passed +in feints on his part, and corresponding movements upon mine. It was +such a game as I had often played at home about the rocks of Black Hill +Cove; but never before, you may be sure, with such a wildly beating +heart as now. Still, as I say, it was a boy's game, and I thought I +could hold my own at it, against an elderly seaman with a wounded thigh. +Indeed, my courage had begun to rise so high that I allowed myself a few +darting thoughts on what would be the end of the affair; and while I saw +certainly that I could spin it out for long, I saw no hope of any +ultimate escape. + +Well, while things stood thus, suddenly the _Hispaniola_ struck, +staggered, ground for an instant in the sand, and then, swift as a blow, +canted over to the port side, till the deck stood at an angle of +forty-five degrees, and about a puncheon of water splashed into the +scupperholes, and lay in a pool between the deck and bulwark. + +We were both of us capsized in a second, and both of us rolled, almost +together, into the scuppers; the dead red-cap, with his arms still +spread out, tumbled stiffly after us. So near were we, indeed, that my +head came against the coxswain's foot with a crack that made my teeth +rattle. Blow and all, I was the first afoot again; for Hands had got +involved with the dead body. The sudden canting of the ship had made the +deck no place for running on; I had to find some new way of escape, and +that upon the instant, for my foe was almost touching me. Quick as +thought I sprang into the mizzen shrouds, rattled up hand over hand, and +did not draw a breath till I was seated on the crosstrees. + +I had been saved by being prompt; the dirk had struck not half a foot +below me, as I pursued my upward flight; and there stood Israel Hands +with his mouth open and his face upturned to mine, a perfect statue of +surprise and disappointment. + +Now that I had a moment to myself, I lost no time in changing the +priming of my pistol, and then, having one ready for service, and to +make assurance doubly sure, I proceeded to draw the load of the other, +and recharge it afresh from the beginning. + +My new employment struck Hands all of a heap; he began to see the dice +going against him; and after an obvious hesitation, he also hauled +himself heavily into the shrouds, and, with the dirk in his teeth, began +slowly and painfully to mount. It cost him no end of time and groans to +haul his wounded leg behind him; and I had quietly finished my +arrangements before he was much more than a third of the way up. Then, +with a pistol in either hand, I addressed him. + +"One more step, Mr. Hands," said I, "and I'll blow your brains out! Dead +men don't bite, you know," I added, with a chuckle. + +He stopped instantly. I could see by the working of his face that he was +trying to think, and the process was so slow and laborious that, in my +new-found security, I laughed aloud. Then with a swallow or two, he +spoke, his face still wearing the same expression of extreme perplexity. +In order to speak he had to take the dagger from his mouth, but, in all +else, he remained unmoved. + +"Jim," says he, "I reckon we're fouled, you and me, and we'll have to +sign articles. I'd have had you but for that there lurch: but I don't +have no luck, not I; and I reckon I'll have to strike, which comes hard, +you see, for a master mariner to a ship's younker like you, Jim." + +I was drinking in his words and smiling away, as conceited as a cock +upon a wall, when, all in a breath back went his right hand over his +shoulder. Something sang like an arrow through the air; I felt a blow +and then a sharp pang, and there I was pinned by the shoulder to the +mast. In the horrid pain and surprise of the moment--I scarce can say it +was by my own volition, and I am sure it was without a conscious +aim--both my pistols went off, and both escaped out of my hands. They +did not fall alone; with a choked cry, the coxswain loosed his grasp +upon the shrouds, and plunged head first into the water. + + + Stevenson was not one of the men who can write only one sort of + thing. The numerous little poems contained in the first volume of + this series show his sympathetic knowledge of children, while his + essays prove that he could handle serious subjects in a most + masterly manner. The extract from _Treasure Island_ which you have + just been reading displays his skill in still another field--the + writing of stories of pure adventure. + + One of the striking things in all Stevenson's writings is his power + of vivid description, his ability to make us see things. Nor does + he make us wait while he gives us page-long descriptions; he + suggests pictures to us with a few words. It may be safely said of + descriptions, when they are part of a story, that those which are + given in the fewest words, if those few words are the right ones, + are most effective. Stevenson fully grasped this fact, and that is + the reason he is able to bring all his scenes before us so vividly, + without wearying our patience. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[352-1] From _Treasure Island_. + + + + +JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER[381-1] + +_By_ GRACE E. SELLON + + +Near the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts, in the old homestead of his +father's family, the poet John Greenleaf Whittier was born December 17, +1807. Like all the other children who generation after generation had +come to live in this Quaker dwelling, he was brought up in simple, +useful ways, and was early given his full share of the duties about the +farm. No matter how sharply the cold of the harsh New England winter +pierced his homespun clothes, the snow must be shoveled from the paths, +firewood must be brought, the stalls in the barn must be littered, and, +worst task of all for him, seven cows must be milked. Yet there was +plenty of fun to be had, too. When the snow fell so heavily that it +blocked all the roads and closed in tightly about the house, the two +Whittier boys found it exciting work to dig their way to the outside +world. + +When the early twilight fell and passed into night, the boys with their +sisters joined the group gathered about the great hearth, and there +listened to stories of Indians, witches and Christian martyrs, and to +many another weird or adventurous tale told by the older members of the +family. While they were being thus entertained, the blaze of the red +logs went roaring up the chimney, + + "The house-dog on his paws outspread + Laid to the fire his drowsy head, + The cat's dark silhouette on the wall + A couchant tiger's seemed to fall; + And, for the winter fireside meet, + Between the andirons' straddling feet, + The mug of cider simmered slow, + The apples sputtered in a row, + And, close at hand, the basket stood + With nuts from brown October's wood." + +All too soon this pleasant time came to an end, and the boys must go to +their bare, unheated room upstairs. There, the poet has written, + + "Within our beds awhile we heard + The wind that round the gables roared, + With now and then a ruder shock, + Which made our very bedsteads rock. + We heard the loosened clapboards tost, + The board-nails snapping in the frost; + And on us, through the unplastered wall, + Felt the lightsifted snowflakes fall; + But sleep stole on, as sleep will do + When hearts are light and life is new; + Faint and more faint the murmurs grew, + Till in the summer-land of dreams + They softened to the sound of streams. + Low stir of leaves, and dip of oars, + And lapsing waves on quiet shores." + +In the warm season, though there was much to do in helping plant and +harvest the crops, there were good times to be had in climbing to the +top of Job's hill, next to the house, where the friendly oxen were +pastured, or in gathering berries or nuts, or in watching the birds, +bees and squirrels as they worked or played about their homes. It was +these delights of his childhood that the poet was calling to +remembrance when he wrote _The Barefoot Boy_, which may be found +elsewhere in these volumes. + +[Illustration: WHITTIER'S BIRTHPLACE] + +Probably there are few country lads to-day who know so little as did the +Whittier boys of the common sights and pleasures of city life. The +strict Quaker belief regarding children's amusement barred them from +most of the enjoyment familiar to the young people in the great world +that lay beyond their home. So little were they acquainted with the +forbidden attractions at the circus that one time when President Monroe +visited Haverhill, Greenleaf (as the poet was known in his home), +looking next day for traces of the presence of the great man, whom he +had not been allowed to see, came upon the tracks of an elephant that +had been in town with a traveling menagerie, and in his ignorance +believed that these were the footsteps of the famous visitor. The +theater, so the children were taught, was to be shunned as a place of +wickedness. Once when Greenleaf was visiting in Boston he was asked to +go to a play by a lady whom he met in the home where he was staying. +When he found that the lady was an actress, he became so much afraid of +being led into sinful ways that, not daring to remain longer, he started +off at once for home. + +Though young Whittier was a wide-awake boy and eager to learn, there was +only the district school, held for a few weeks each winter, for him to +attend. Yet an opportunity was not lacking for bringing to light his +poetic gift. One of his schoolmasters, who lived for part of the term in +the Whittier home, used to read to the family from various interesting +books, and one night chose for their entertainment a volume of Burns's +poems. As the lines of the much-loved Scotch poet fell from the reader's +lips, the young boy listened as he had never before listened in his +life. His own power awakened and responded warmly to that of the older +poet. From that hour, whether he was at home or at school, he found +great pleasure in writing verses, which he often showed to his young +friends. Thus it was that his older sister Mary was able, all unknown to +him, to send off one of his poems to the Newburyport _Free Press_. When +the paper containing the verses came, the young poet read the lines over +and over again, almost too dazed to recognize them as his own. This +contribution was followed by another made to the same paper. By this +time the editor's interest had been so much aroused that, learning from +the postman of the author's whereabouts, he traveled to Haverhill to +visit him. This editor was no other than William Lloyd Garrison, who +later became famous as a leader of the cause of abolition. He urged +strongly that the boy's education be continued. Perhaps his words would +have counted for nothing, however, had it not been that somewhat later +the editor of the Haverhill _Gazette_, in which some of young Whittier's +verses had been published, entreated the boy's parents to send him to +the new Haverhill Academy. His father's consent having been gained, +Greenleaf learned from a man who worked on the farm how to make +slippers, and thus he became able to pay his own expenses during a term +at the Academy. By teaching school in the winter, and by helping to keep +the books of a Haverhill merchant, he was able to provide for a second +term. Thus was completed his regular schooling. + +In the meanwhile his friend Garrison had kept an eye on him, and at the +close of 1825 secured for him the editorship of _The American +Manufacturer_, a weekly magazine published in Boston. Young Whittier +entered with great interest into the work, contributing articles on +politics and temperance as well as numerous poems. Though he received +only nine dollars a week, he was able, when called back to Haverhill in +1829, by his father's illness, to give about one half of what he had +earned to help remove the mortgage on the farm. + +He remained at home until his father's death in 1830, editing for a time +the Haverhill _Gazette_ and sending to the _New England Review_, of +Hartford, Connecticut, various poems and articles. So much favor did +these find with the editor, George D. Prentice, that he invited the +young writer to fill his position during a temporary absence. The offer +was highly complimentary, for the _Review_ was the principal political +journal in Connecticut supporting Henry Clay. However, Whittier was well +prepared for the work, for he had become acquainted with the leaders and +with the chief interests of the Whig party while editing the +_Manufacturer_, and was himself an enthusiastic follower of Clay. His +common sense and shrewd but kindly reading of human nature, united with +a high sense of honor and justice, enabled him to fill this responsible +position with marked success until his failing health forced him to give +it up in January, 1832. + +There was much reason for Whittier to look for success in political +life, for his editorial work had made him widely known as a man of sane +and practical views, and he was so highly regarded in the district where +he lived that had he reached the required age of twenty-five, he would +in all probability have been made a candidate for Congress in 1832. Thus +it was that although he had published more than a hundred favorably +received poems between 1828 and 1832, he wrote in the latter year: "My +prospects are too good to be sacrificed for any uncertainty. I have done +with poetry and literature." + +A far nobler mission, however, and greater usefulness than he could have +planned for himself lay before Whittier. It was not political success +that was to draw forth the greatness of his nature. The strong and +fearless interest with which his friend Garrison had begun to champion +the abolition of slavery in the United States appealed to him, he felt +with all his heart that the cause was right, and, closing his eyes to +the bright promise of political success, he chose to unite himself with +the scorned and mistreated upholders of freedom. After thorough +consideration and study, he wrote and published in 1833 the pamphlet +_Justice and Expediency_, in which he set forth fully the arguments +against slavery. This was the first of his strong and stirring protests +against oppression. From that time until the close of the Civil War his +fervent, fearless love of liberty voiced itself through ringing verses, +in constant appeals to the conscience of the nation. The greatness of +this influence, as it worked silently in men's hearts, who can estimate? + +[Illustration: JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER +1807-1892] + +Whittier's part in the anti-slavery struggle was not always a quiet one. +On one occasion, when in company with a famous but unpopular English +reformer he was to address an audience on the subject of abolition, he +was attacked by a mob while passing quietly along the street with a +friend, and narrowly escaped being tarred and feathered. Somewhat later +he was set upon in another town by a crowd armed with sticks and stones +and other missiles, from which he fled with more haste than dignity. It +was while he was editor of the _Freeman_ that Pennsylvania Hall, where +the Philadelphia Abolitionists held their meetings, was burned by a mob, +and the papers from Whittier's editorial room in this building were used +to help start the blaze. + +In 1836 the farm at Haverhill had been sold, and a cottage was bought in +Amesbury near the Quaker meetinghouse. It was in this quiet place, under +the loving care of his mother and sister, that Whittier made his home +after resigning his position with the _Freeman_. These two women were in +their way as unselfishly devoted to the cause of freedom as was the poet +himself, for they encouraged his loyalty and bore privation +uncomplainingly. In the darkest hour of their need, when it seemed as if +their home must be mortgaged, Whittier was invited to become a +contributor to the _Atlantic Monthly_, then being founded, and thus the +long period of want was brought to an end. + +After the death of his mother, in the following year (1858), Whittier's +association with his sister Elizabeth became even closer than before, +though they had always shared each other's hopes and interests with +unusual sympathy and understanding. When she died, in 1864, it seemed to +him that part of his life had gone with her. It was with this grief +still fresh in his mind that he wrote the best known of his poems, +_Snow-Bound, A Winter Idyl_, in which he pictures in the most simple and +lifelike manner the quiet loveliness of his childhood home. With +especial tenderness he tells of the much-loved sister, and lets his +mingled grief and hope of reunion be seen: + + "As one who held herself a part + Of all she saw, and let her heart + Against the household bosom lean, + Upon the motley-braided mat + Our youngest and our dearest sat, + Lifting her large, sweet, asking eyes, + Now bathed within the fadeless green + And holy peace of Paradise. + Oh, looking from some heavenly hill, + Or from the shade of saintly palms, + Or silver reach of river calms, + Do those large eyes behold me still? + With me one little year ago:-- + The chill weight of the winter snow + For months upon her grave has lain; + And now, when summer south-winds blow, + And brier and harebell bloom again, + I tread the pleasant paths we trod, + I see the violet-sprinkled sod, + Whereon she leaned, too frail and weak, + The hillside flowers she loved to seek, + Yet following me where'er I went + With dark eyes full of love's content. + The birds are glad; the brier-rose fills + The air with sweetness; all the hills + Stretch green to June's unclouded sky; + But still I wait with ear and eye + For something gone which should be nigh, + A loss in all familiar things, + In flower that blooms, and bird that sings. + And yet, dear heart! remembering thee, + Am I not richer than of old? + Safe in thy immortality, + What change can reach the wealth I hold? + What chance can mar the pearl and gold + Thy love hath left in trust with me? + And while in life's late afternoon + Where cool and long the shadows grow, + I walk to meet the night that soon + Shall shape and shadow overflow, + I cannot feel that thou art far, + Since near at need the angels are; + And when the sunset gates unbar, + Shall I not see thee waiting stand, + And, white against the evening star, + The welcome of thy beckoning hand?" + +After the death of Elizabeth Whittier, the Amesbury home was cared for +by the poet's niece. During the remaining years of his life Whittier +passed his time here or in the country. He lived in comparative comfort, +for the publication of _Snow-Bound_ in 1866 had brought very good +returns. These were years of great peace, in which he remained actively +interested in the affairs of the nation, yet liked most to dwell upon +the beauty of nature and especially upon the thought of God's goodness +that must triumph over all the evil in the world. _Among the Hills_ and +the collections _Tent on the Beach_ and _At Sundown_ were produced in +the last period; but his religious poems seem best to represent his +thought and feeling in the closing years. From these were taken the +beautiful verses _At Last_, read as the poet passed away from earth, +September 7, 1892. + +Though Whittier remained throughout his life a Quaker not only in dress +and speech but in belief and character, yet with his quietness and +quaint simplicity was blended no severity nor gloom. He had a great love +of fun, which alone can account for his mischievous habit of teasing, +and for his keeping such pets as the little bantam rooster that aroused +the household each morning with its crowing, and the parrot "Charlie" +that swore when excited, stopped the horses in the street with its cries +of "whoa," and nipped the ankles of unwary visitors. Then, too, he was +always attractive to children, and often preferred their society to that +of older people. But above all else, with each succeeding year he became +more just and compassionate towards others. The kindliness of his nature +was untouched by the sorrow and sickness that he bore. "Love--love to +all the world," he would often repeat in his last years, and the sweet +influence of the benediction is felt by all who read his life and works: + + "Best loved and saintliest of our singing train, + Earth's noblest tributes to thy name belong. + A lifelong record closed without a stain, + A blameless memory shrined in deathless song."[390-2] + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[381-1] The poetical quotations given in this article are from +_Snow-Bound_. + +[390-2] From an ode written by Oliver Wendell Holmes upon the death of +Whittier. + + + + +WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT + + +Plain indeed was the little home among the hills of Western +Massachusetts, near the town of Cummington, where was born on November +3, 1794, the first great American poet, William Cullen Bryant. His +father was a physician of scholarly tastes, and his mother, though not +highly educated, was a woman of much practical wisdom. Both parents were +kind and affectionate, but followed the custom of that time in treating +their children with a strictness unknown to American boys and girls of +to-day. Even small acts of disrespect or disobedience were promptly +punished, and to aid in the work of correction the Bryant home as well +as that of almost every neighbor was provided with a good-sized bundle +of birch sticks hanging warningly on the kitchen wall. As the poet +himself tells us in a sketch of his early life, the children looked upon +the older people of the family with so much awe that they could not go +to them freely nor act naturally in their presence. + +This severity in his home must have made young Bryant, who was by nature +grave and thoughtful, even more serious. Then, too, his mental powers +developed with surprising quickness, so that by the time he had reached +his teens, he was thinking and expressing himself upon subjects usually +discussed by men rather than boys. Having begun to write verses when +only nine years old, he had had enough practice in this kind of exercise +to compose when thirteen years of age a satirical poem addressed to +President Jefferson, because of his part in passing the Embargo Act by +which New England commerce had been greatly injured. These verses were +published and met with a ready sale. But far more remarkable as an early +expression of genius was _Thanatopsis_, written several months before +Bryant's eighteenth birthday. This poem deals with the subject of death +with such deep thoughtfulness and in such a stately and powerful style +that although it did not appear until six years later, it was even then +believed to have been written by the poet's father, who had sent it to +the publisher. + +Though he was thoughtful beyond his years and had shown unusual poetic +power, young Bryant was in other ways quite an ordinary boy. He was +quiet and studious in the school room, but was active enough in the +games played outside. Of the sports enjoyed by himself and the other +boys of the district school, he writes: "We amused ourselves with +building dams across the rivulet, and launching rafts made of old boards +on the collected water; and in winter, with sliding on the ice and +building snow barricades, which we called forts, and, dividing the boys +into two armies, and using snowballs for ammunition, we contended for +the possession of these strongholds. I was one of their swiftest runners +in the race, and not inexpert at playing ball, but, being of a slight +frame, I did not distinguish myself in these sieges." Sometimes, on long +evenings, Cullen and his elder brother Austin would play that they were +the heroes of whom they had read in the _Iliad_, and, fitted out with +swords and spears and homemade armor, they would enact in the barn the +great battles of the Trojan War. + +[Illustration: WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT +1794-1878] + +Not only the _Iliad_, but other carefully chosen works of literature +were discovered by the boy in his father's library, and he read widely +and well. It proved that this reading had to take the place of a much +hoped-for course at college. After attending Williams College for only +two terms, he left there, expecting to enter Yale, but was forced to +give up his plan, owing to his father's inability to supply him with the +necessary means. He did not let this great disappointment overcome him, +however, but a few months later began the study of law, with the result +that in 1815 he was admitted to the bar. + +It is a fact well worth noting that at the very beginning of his career +as a lawyer, on the day when he was walking from his home to the little +village where he was to start his practice, having learned, in his doubt +and loneliness, a great lesson in faith, he wrote the beautiful poem +that shows his genius at its best, and probably more than any other made +him famous, the ode _To a Waterfowl_. + +When a little boy, he had prayed, in his simple way, that he might be a +great poet, and though he had outgrown the prayer, his desire was +unchanged. More than this, he had now produced two works that +undoubtedly showed genius. It is not surprising, then, that in a few +years a literary career was opened to him and he was able to give up the +law, for which he had no especial liking. + +In 1825, after his marriage to a Miss Fairchild of Great Barrington, he +removed from that town to New York. There he became editor of the _New +York Review_ and _Athenaeum Magazine_; and a year later he accepted the +position of assistant editor of the _Evening Post_, a newspaper with +which he remained for the rest of his life, assuming in 1829 the office +of editor-in-chief. Though his contributions to this paper were not a +poet's work, they enabled him to unite his literary power with his deep +interest in the political concerns of the country, and for many years to +help direct public opinion during the most critical periods in the +history of the new nation. More than this, while steadily provided with +a good income he could spend his leisure hours among the quiet country +scenes where he found inspiration for his greatest works, his simple +nature poems. + +The busy years of his life as a journalist were several times +interrupted by travel. Besides visiting Mexico, Cuba and various parts +of the United States, he made six voyages to Europe, and on the fourth +extended the journey to Egypt and the Holy Land. His _Letters of a +Traveller_ and _Letters from the East_ tell of the impressions he +received in these countries. + +Besides translating the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_ and writing the two +fairy stories in verse, _Sella_ and _The Little People of the Snow_, +Bryant undertook no poetic work of any length. The poems for which his +name is most honored are the little lyrics in which the calm and beauty +of nature tell us of truths that never change. Among these, some that +are best liked by readers both young and old are _The Yellow Violet_, +_The Fringed Gentian_, _A Forest Hymn_, _The Planting of the Apple +Tree_, _Robert of Lincoln_, _The Gladness of Nature_, _March_ and _To a +Waterfowl_. + +These poems, when studied, are sure to reveal the simplicity and +sincerity not only of Bryant's love for nature, but of his character as +a man. They show the freedom from affectation that marks alike his +writings and his everyday life. He followed almost sternly his high +ideals both of moral right and literary correctness, and this has made +him seem somewhat cold and formal. But probably all who can read most +clearly the meaning of his life and works feel that so true-hearted a +man could not have been lacking in warm and generous kindliness. + + + + +TO A WATERFOWL + +_By_ WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT + + + NOTE.--"He says in a letter that he felt, as he walked up the + hills, very forlorn and desolate indeed, not knowing what was to + become of him in the big world, which grew bigger as he ascended, + and yet darker with the coming on of night. The sun had already + set, leaving behind it one of those brilliant seas of chrysolite + and opal which often flood the New England skies; and, while he was + looking upon the rosy splendor with rapt admiration, a solitary + bird made wing along the illuminated horizon. He watched the lone + wanderer until it was lost in the distance, asking himself whence + it had come and to what far home it was flying. When he went to the + house where he was to stop for the night, his mind was still full + of what he had seen and felt, and he wrote these lines, as + imperishable as our language, _To a Waterfowl_."--Parke Godwin, in + Biography of Bryant. + + +[Illustration: THY FIGURE FLOATS ALONG] + + Whither, 'midst falling dew, + While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, + Far through their rosy depths dost thou pursue + Thy solitary way? + + Vainly the fowler's eye + Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, + As, darkly painted on the crimson sky, + Thy figure floats along. + + Seek'st thou the plashy brink + Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide, + Or where the rocking billows rise and sink + On the chafed ocean side? + + There is a Power whose care + Teaches thy way along that pathless coast-- + The desert and illimitable air-- + Lone wandering, but not lost. + + All day thy wings have fanned, + At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere, + Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, + Though the dark night is near. + + And soon that toil shall end; + Soon shalt thou find a summer home and rest, + And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend, + Soon, o'er thy sheltered nest. + + Thou'rt gone, the abyss of heaven + Hath swallowed up thy form; yet on my heart + Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, + And shall not soon depart. + + He who, from zone to zone, + Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, + In the long way that I must tread alone, + Will lead my steps aright. + + + + +OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES + +_By_ GRACE E. SELLON + + +Besides giving to the United States her great president, Abraham +Lincoln, the year 1809 also bestowed upon us one of the most gifted and +warmly esteemed of American authors, Oliver Wendell Holmes. It was in a +pleasant home in Cambridge, not far from the great university in which +he was to serve ably for so many years, that Holmes was born. His mother +was a bright and sociable little woman, well liked for her lively ways +and quick sympathy, and his father, though a grave and scholarly man, +was of a kindly nature. Both parents were descended from families that +were looked upon as among the best in New England, and this became a +matter of no little pride to their son. + +The old colonial house where his boyhood and youth were spent contained +a well-chosen library. Here, he has written, "he bumped about among +books from the time when he was hardly taller than one of his father's +or grandfather's folios." Yet he did not read many of these volumes +thoroughly. He liked to "read _in_ books rather than _through_ them" and +would hunt out a paragraph here and there that especially pleased and +satisfied him. The collections of sermons were always passed by, the +lives of pious children met with the same neglect, and even _The +Pilgrim's Progress_ seemed to picture the world as such a cruel, +gloomy place that this great book too was shunned. + +[Illustration: OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES +1809-1894] + +The truth was that, being a lively and cheerful boy, he rebelled against +the dark and fear-awakening religion preached by his father, a +Congregational minister, discussed by visiting pastors and taught in +many of the books that he avoided in the library. He seemed to know by +instinct which of the clergymen who called at his father's home were +kindly and friendly, and which of them looked on children as "a set of +little fallen wretches," and for the forlorn looks and solemn ways of +the latter he had an especial dislike. "Now and then," he has written, +"would come along a clerical visitor with a sad face and a wailing +voice, which sounded exactly as if somebody must be lying dead upstairs, +who took no interest in us children, except a painful one, as being in a +bad way with our cheery looks, and did more to unchristianize us with +his woebegone ways than all his sermons were like to accomplish in the +other direction." In fact, he might have pleased his father by becoming +a minister if a certain preacher that he knew had not, to use his own +words, "looked and talked so like an undertaker." + +But the dreary sermons, the visits of the long-faced clergymen and the +drill in the Catechism were only shadows that came and went. Most of the +time young Holmes was as light-hearted a boy as was to be found in all +New England. He liked best of all to go hunting, carrying on such trips +an old gun of the kind used in the Revolution. A good many of his hours +at home were spent in working with tools, and thus he became skilful +enough to carve out of wood a skate on which he learned to travel about +on the ice. He was active and industrious at school, too, and he made +such a good record there that though he whispered a great part of the +time he got along peaceably with the school-master. The only serious +troubles that he had came from two great fears. Many times after he had +gone to bed at night he would be awakened by ghosts or evil spirits +mysteriously roaming through the house. Perhaps he was ashamed to tell +of this dread to his mother or father, and so the foolish belief that +there might be ghosts about stayed with him through boyhood. His other +fear was of the doctor's visits. In helpless terror he would look on +while the old physician pronounced his doom and began to measure out the +bitter medicine. + +In his fifteenth year Holmes left the school at Cambridgeport to attend +Phillips Academy, at Andover, and in the following year, 1825, entered +Harvard College. During his four years at Harvard he took quite as +active an interest in the social life of the college as in his classes. +He joined the society known as the Knights of the Square Table, and at +the lively meetings of the club, where wine and wit passed freely about +the table, he was introduced to a kind of gayety undreamed of in his +quiet home. In a humorous description of himself, given at this time in +a letter to a former classmate at Andover, he writes: + +"I, then, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Junior in Harvard University, am a +plumeless biped of the height of exactly five feet three inches when +standing in a pair of substantial boots made by Mr. Russell of this +town, having eyes which I call blue, and hair which I do not know what +to call.... Secondly, with regard to my normal qualities, I am rather +lazy than otherwise, and certainly do not study as hard as I ought to. I +am not dissipated and I am not sedate, and when I last ascertained my +college rank, I stood in the humble situation of seventeenth scholar." + +After graduating from Harvard, Holmes entered the Dane Law School at +Cambridge. He did not feel at all sure, however, that he wished to be a +lawyer, and at the end of a year he had so far lost interest in his +studies that he gave them up. As the physician's calling seemed much +more to his liking, he took two courses of study in a private school of +medicine. This preparation was not, of course, sufficient to fit him for +a larger practice, so a trip to Europe where he could study under the +great professors of the School of Medicine at Paris became necessary. +Accordingly, his parents, at some sacrifice to themselves, provided him +with the required means, and he set sail from New York in the spring of +1833. + +During the two years spent abroad, Holmes gave himself up wholly to his +chosen study. "I am more and more attached every day to the study of my +profession.... I am occupied from morning to night, and as every one is +happy when he is occupied, I enjoy myself as much as I could wish," he +wrote home. This period of hard work, however, was interrupted by summer +vacations spent in the countries along the Rhine, in England and in +Italy. + +Early in 1836, the young physician established himself in Boston. +Perhaps it was that people thought him too much of a wit to take their +troubles seriously, or perhaps it was that he was better fitted to +teach than to practice the doctor's art. At any rate, his success was +very moderate. He was very glad, then, to be appointed Professor of +Anatomy at Dartmouth College in 1838, a position that he held until +1840. About this time, too, he received prizes for some _Medical Essays_ +that are even to-day regarded as valuable. Thus he was gradually fitting +himself for the honorable office offered him in 1847, that of Professor +of Anatomy and Physiology in the Medical School of Harvard University. +For thirty-five years Holmes filled this position with the greatest +success. He was given the fifth hour in the day as his lecture period +because he was the only one able to hold the attention of students who +had already been listening to four long and difficult lectures. He +enlivened the dry subject with funny stories, droll comparisons and +interesting descriptions, teaching while he entertained. + +In 1840 the young doctor had married Amelia Lee Jackson, daughter of a +highly respected Boston family. His wife was of so gentle and tactful a +nature that their home was always a well-ordered and pleasant place of +rest for the busy doctor, where unwelcome visitors and other annoyances +were not allowed to take his time. Yet he was never too much occupied to +find pleasure in what interested his wife and his three children. + +During all these years when the profession of medicine had been of chief +concern to him, and even before he had begun his medical studies, he had +occasionally written poems that won a good deal of praise from friends, +but brought no widespread notice. From his very earliest years he could +feel very keenly and remember the melody of verse. "The low, soft chirp +of the little bird heard in the nest, while his mother is brooding over +him," he has written, "lives in his memory, I doubt not, through all the +noisy carols of the singing season; so I remember the little songs my +mother sang to me when I was old enough to run about, and had not +outgrown the rhymes of the nursery." He enjoyed writing poems for the +yearly meetings held by his college class long after their graduation, +and he made several contributions to the Harvard _Collegian_. Just once +in these early years had his fame traveled far, and that was the +occasion when he wrote _Old Ironsides_. The frigate _Constitution_ that +had served the country so well was to be done away with as a useless +vessel. Learning of this, Holmes penned in haste the stanzas that +stirred the nation's feelings and saved the old boat from destruction. + +It came, then, as a surprise to the American people, when upon the +founding of the _Atlantic Monthly_ in 1857, the name of Holmes was +signed to the articles that probably were most popular of all published +in that magazine, to which the greatest literary men in the country were +contributing. _The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table_, was the title of +the delightful series of humorous essays in which the author seemed +really to be talking to his readers. A sort of story bound the numbers +together. In the fourth issue appeared, perhaps, the best poem written +by Holmes--_The Chambered Nautilus_. This was a favorite with him and +was one of those poems of which he said: "I did not write it, but it was +written through me," for he believed it to be a work of inspiration. + +_The Autocrat_, which is Holmes' greatest work, was followed by two +similar but inferior series, _The Professor at the Breakfast Table_ and +_The Poet at the Breakfast Table_. Between the last two series he had +published in 1861 his novel _Elsie Venner_, followed in 1867 by _The +Guardian Angel_, and in 1885 by _A Mortal Antipathy_. The first of these +novels is considerably the best, but none of them ranks high, for they +all deal with unusual people who because of weird inherited traits of +mind are forced to go through strange if not impossible experiences. + +Still another kind of writing was attempted by Holmes. In 1878 he +completed a biography of his intimate friend, the historian Motley, and +in 1884 wrote a life of Emerson. These are not, however, among his best +productions. _Over the Teacups_, similar to the _Breakfast Table_ +papers, appeared in 1890, and was his last important work. + +In 1886, accompanied by his daughter, he spent four months in Europe, +chiefly in England. The warm welcome and high honor given him by the +English people were very gratifying to the aged professor. He was always +at his best when talking, and so brilliant and easy was his wit that had +not politeness forbidden he could have entertained a roomful of people +during a whole evening. This fact as well as his literary achievements +made him popular everywhere. + +On the occasion when he received a degree of honor from Cambridge +University, the young collegemen greeted him by singing at the tops of +their voices a song of "Holmes, sweet Holmes;" and on a similar occasion +at Oxford one of the students, making good use of the title of a poem +especially known to Holmes' young readers, asked from the gallery +whether the Doctor had come in the "One-Hoss Shay." It is likely that +the worthy old gentleman was quite as pleased with this hearty good will +as with the more dignified tributes received during his memorable visit. + +After 1890, Holmes wrote only occasionally. Yet he continued to take his +usual walks and to answer a part of his large correspondence, leaving +the rest to a secretary. Now and then he would go to a concert or to a +dinner among friends, and in other ways he showed himself remarkably +active. In fact, he had not become feeble in mind or body when death +quietly came to him, October 7th, 1894. + +Though the brightness of his wit makes Holmes one of the most +entertaining of writers it is his deep kindness that gives to what he +has written an even greater power and attractiveness. More than all +else, he tried both in his writings and in his everyday living to drive +away the shadows of all kinds of suffering, and to share with others the +cheerfulness of his own genial nature. + + "Long be it ere the table shall be set + For the last breakfast of the Autocrat, + And love repeat with smiles and tears thereat + His own sweet songs that time shall not forget."[405-1] + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[405-1] Whittier's ode on the eightieth birthday of Holmes. + + + + +THE CUBES OF TRUTH + +_By_ OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES + + +Listen, Benjamin Franklin.[406-1] This is for you, and such others of +tender age as you may tell it to. + +When we are as yet small children, long before the time when those two +grown ladies offer us the choice of Hercules,[406-2] there comes up to +us a youthful angel, holding in his right hand cubes like dice, and in +his left spheres like marbles. The cubes are of stainless ivory, and on +each is written in letters of gold--TRUTH. The spheres are veined and +streaked and spotted beneath, with a dark crimson flush above where the +light falls on them and in a certain aspect you can make out upon every +one of them the three letters, L, I, E. + +The child to whom they are offered very probably clutches at both. The +spheres are the most convenient things in the world; they roll with the +least possible impulse just where the child would have them. The cubes +will not roll at all; they have a great talent for standing still, and +always keep right side up. But very soon the young philosopher finds +that things which roll so easily are very apt to roll into the wrong +corner, and to get out of his way when he most wants them, while he +always knows where to find the others, which stay where they are left. + +Thus he learns--thus we learn--to drop the streaked and speckled globes +of falsehood, and to hold fast the white angular blocks of truth. But +then comes Timidity, and after her Good-nature, and last of all +Polite-behaviour, all insisting that truth must _roll_, or nobody can do +anything with it; and so the first with her coarse rasp, and the second +with her broad file, and the third with her silken sleeve, do so round +off and smooth and polish the snow-white cubes of truth, that, when they +have got a little dingy by use, it becomes hard to tell them from the +rolling spheres of falsehood. + +The schoolmistress[407-3] was polite enough to say that she was pleased +with this, and that she would read it to her little flock the next day. +But she should tell the children, she said, that there were better +reasons for truth than could be found in mere experience of its +convenience, and the inconvenience of lying. + +Yes--I said--but education always begins through the senses, and works up +to the idea of absolute right and wrong. The first thing the child has +to learn about this matter is, that lying is unprofitable--afterwards, +that it is against the peace and dignity of the universe. + + + 1. What does the stainless ivory in the cubes indicate? + + 2. What is the meaning of the veins, streaks, and spots and the + dark crimson flush in the spheres? + + 3. Are the letters L, I, E, always visible? Does this mean that + lies are not always known to be lies to the person who tells them, + or that they may deceive the person to whom they are told? + + 4. Does Dr. Holmes mean to imply that it is natural for a little + child to lie when he says that the spheres are the most convenient + things in the world? + + 5. What does Dr. Holmes mean when he says that the spheres are apt + to roll into the wrong corner? + + 6. How does Timidity teach a child to lie? How does Good-nature + lead him to lie? What are some of the "polite lies" that help to + make the cubes roll? + + 7. Which cuts most deeply a substance upon which it is rubbed--a + rasp, a file, or a silken sleeve? + + 8. Which causes the most lies, Timidity, Good-nature or + Polite-behavior? + + 9. Do you think the schoolmistress is right? If so, what better + reasons are there for telling the truth than mere convenience and + the inconvenience of lying? + + 10. What do you understand by "against the peace and dignity of the + universe?" + + 11. Do you think the schoolmistress would agree with the Autocrat + in his last statement as to the way in which children are taught + the difference between right and wrong? + + 12. Do you think if a child is first taught that lying is + unprofitable he will without further assistance learn that lying is + wrong in itself? + + 13. Do you gain from the whole selection the idea that all lies, + even the polite lies of society and the common and apparently + harmless lies of business life, are always and wholly wrong? + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[406-1] _The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table_ is the most famous and the +best of the prose works of Oliver Wendell Holmes. It consists of a +series of rambling talks on a great variety of subjects, addressed to +the people who sit at his table in a boarding house. Holmes himself is +the "Autocrat," and his sparkling talks are full of wit and wisdom. +Among those who regularly sit at the Autocrat's table is a schoolboy, +whom he calls Benjamin Franklin, and to whom he tells this beautiful +story of the Cubes of Truth. + +[406-2] When the old Greek hero, Hercules, was a youth, and nearing +manhood, two women appeared to him, both offering beautiful gifts. One +of the women was Duty, the other Pleasure. Hercules chose to accept the +gifts of Duty and to follow her. The opportunity to make this choice did +not come till he was old enough to understand. In Holmes' beautiful +allegory the cubes and spheres are presented long before that time, even +in early childhood. + +[407-3] The schoolmistress is one of the most lovable of the characters +introduced by Mr. Holmes into _The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table_. At +first she appears only at intervals, but in the book her love story and +her marriage to the Autocrat afford the chief interest. + + + + +THE LOST CHILD + +_By_ JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL + + + I wandered down the sunny glade + And ever mused, my love, of thee; + My thoughts, like little children, played, + As gayly and as guilelessly. + +[Illustration: DOWN THE SUNNY GLADE] + + If any chanced to go astray, + Moaning in fear of coming harms, + Hope brought the wanderer back alway, + Safe nestled in her snowy arms. + + From that soft nest the happy one + Looked up at me and calmly smiled; + Its hair shone golden in the sun, + And made it seem a heavenly child. + + Dear Hope's blue eyes smiled mildly down. + And blest it with a love so deep, + That, like a nursling of her own, + It clasped her neck and fell asleep. + +[Illustration] + + + + +JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL + +_By_ GRACE E. SELLON + + +Down the street, about a mile from the center of Cambridge, +Massachusetts, stands a square, three-story colonial dwelling house, +sheltered by pines and great English elms and surrounded by flowering +shrubs. In this home, for many years known as Elmwood, the great +American poet and essayist was born February 22, 1819, and it was here +that he lived during the greater part of his life. In the woods and +meadows that lay about Elmwood in the poet's childhood he spent much +time, for he liked especially to be out-of-doors; and so it was that in +his earliest years he began to feel the great love for flowers, birds +and trees that made him able in later life to show to the readers of his +poems how much beauty there is in the very commonest things of nature. + +However, all of the things he liked were not out-of-doors. In his +father's library were more than three thousand books, and he began when +only a small boy to choose for himself favorite authors. He seems to +have been unusually fond of books, for in a little note written when he +was eight years old,--his first letter, so far as any one knows,--he +tells his brother, "I read French stories," and adds in a postscript, "I +have got three books." The next year, in a letter to the same brother he +writes, "I have got quite a library." + +After learning his letters and other simple things at an elementary +school, Lowell was sent when about nine years old to a higher school, +where he was thoroughly taught Latin, and otherwise prepared for his +entrance into Harvard College in 1834. He was then only fifteen years of +age, yet he had such decided tastes in his studies that he was not +always willing to give attention to the work required in his college +courses, but would follow his own inclinations in his reading. The +result was, that though he gained such a reputation among his +class-mates for appreciation of literature and ability in original +composition that he was made one of the editors of _Harvardiana_, the +college paper, and was chosen in his senior year to write the class +poem, yet he was looked upon with growing disapproval by his +instructors, because of his irregular ways. At length, it is told, he +completely disgraced himself, on the day he was chosen class poet, by +rising at the close of the evening prayer service and bowing solemnly to +right and left. As punishment for this and all preceding misconduct, he +was sent to Concord to continue his studies under a private teacher, and +was not allowed to return to Harvard until after classday. Nevertheless, +he wrote his poem and later had it printed, for his friends, in a little +pamphlet. + +[Illustration: JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL +1819-1891] + +After receiving his degree from Harvard in 1838, Lowell decided upon the +law as the profession most suitable for him to follow, for at that time +a literary career in the United States held out no assurance of a +living, even to the best writers. In the preceding year he had written +to his intimate friend Shackford: "I thought your brother Charles was +studying law. I intend to study that myself, and probably shall be Chief +Justice of the United States." This modest prediction, however, was not +to be fulfilled, for after completing a course at the Harvard Law School +in 1840 and practicing with but slight interest and success for two +years, he gave up the law for a more congenial occupation. + +His letters to his confidants "Shack" and Loring during the years at +college show his aspiration to become a poet. He reports from time to +time his progress in verse making and comments more or less favorably on +his "effusions." This writing of _pottery_--as it pleased him to call +it--continued with more serious interest after his graduation, so that +in 1840 he was ready to publish a volume of verse entitled "A Year's +Life." + +The same year was marked by another event of special importance,--his +engagement to Maria White, a young woman who was herself a poet and who +was deeply interested in all the movements of thought that were making +toward freedom and justice before the Civil War. Her influence upon +Lowell was to strengthen greatly his confidence in his own best powers +as a man and a poet and to help develop in him the broad, kind +democratic feeling for his fellow-men that most endears him to his +readers. This growth of the poet's character seems the more remarkable +when it is considered that his father, a Unitarian minister, was a man +who, though most generous and well-meaning in his regard for others, was +well enough content with conditions in his country to feel little +sympathy with the reforms then being urged for securing fuller liberty +and equality. In his new enthusiasm Lowell turned away from the +influence of his younger days and became devoted to the cause of +abolition. + +In 1842, after abandoning the law, he founded a magazine, _The Pioneer_, +which, however, was issued only three times. After this unsuccessful +venture he went back to his poetry, and late in 1843 published a second +volume of verse. In the following year appeared his first critical +studies in prose, _Conversations on Some of the Old Poets_. This work, +like most of the first book of poems, Lowell found in later life to be +unworthy of reprinting. + +The income from his writings, though small, was sufficient for him to +marry in 1844; and not long after this event he became a regular +contributor to the _Anti-Slavery Standard_. In this appeared the first +series of the _Biglow Papers_, in which, through vigorous prose and +verse, largely in the Yankee dialect of Hosea Biglow, he protested +against the evils that brought on the Mexican War. The collected numbers +of the series were published in 1848 and shared the popularity of two +other of Lowell's greatest works, produced in the same year,--the _Fable +for Critics_ and _The Vision of Sir Launfal_, a beautiful narrative poem +filled with the spirit of Christian brotherhood. + +It was not long after this that Lowell began to feel that his work as a +writer for the abolitionist cause was narrowing in its effect. For +"red-hot" reform he had no liking. It seemed to him that the hope of his +cause lay not so much in treating others harshly as in living according +to the high principles that the reformers professed. "The longer I +live," he wrote, "the more am I convinced that the world must be healed +by degrees. I see why Jesus came eating meat and drinking wine and +companying with publicans and sinners. He preached the highest doctrine, +but he lived the life of other men.... Let us sow the best seed we have +... and convert other men by our crops, not by drubbing them with our +hoes or putting them under our harrows." He decided, then, to take life +in a more leisurely way and let the poetic power that he considered his +best gift express itself freely. + +In 1851, accompanied by his wife and his two children, Lowell visited +Europe. The months spent abroad gave him much wished-for opportunities +for study and observation, but they were darkened by the death of his +son Walter. Close upon this sorrow came the death of Mrs. Lowell in the +following year (1853), after the return of the family to Elmwood. From +that time for many months the poet could find relief from his keen sense +of loss only in his literary work, and in the companionship of his +daughter Mabel, the only one of his four children who had lived. + +Some lectures on the English poets given at the Lowell institute in +1854-55 found so much favor with the authorities at Harvard College that +soon afterward he was appointed to succeed Longfellow as professor of +foreign languages and literatures. After a period of study in Europe, he +assumed charge of classes at Harvard in 1856, and for sixteen years +continued in this work, bringing to it with most remarkable success all +the warmth and sincerity and broad scope of his own interest in the +subjects that he taught. Not many months afterward he was still further +honored by being given the editorship of the newly founded _Atlantic +Monthly_, a position that he held until 1861. The year 1857 was made +memorable also by his marriage to Miss Frances Dunlap, a much-valued +friend and the governess of his daughter. In 1864 he became joint editor +of the _North American Review_, and in this magazine continued the +second series of the _Biglow Papers_, begun in the _Atlantic Monthly_, +the series in which is expressed his finest power as a poet-patriot. Of +the same excellence is the famous _Commemoration Ode_ written for +memorial ceremonies held at Harvard College in honor of the students who +had fallen during the war. Among other contributions to these +periodicals were numerous studies of poets and poetry--essays that rank +among the best of their kind. Thus did Lowell prove himself to possess a +rare combination of the powers of original composition and of criticism. + +So ably had he served the best interests of his country through his +writings, that in 1877 he was appointed Minister of the United States to +Spain, and served here until 1880, when he was sent as Minister to +England. These high trusts, it proved, had not been wrongly placed. +Lowell's devotion to the truest American principles, together with his +large experience in public affairs, made him a most successful diplomat. +He was given high honors by British universities, and he made many +friends in England. + +After his return to America in 1885 he withdrew gradually from his +former active life. Occasionally he wrote and lectured, and several +times he made trips to England where he always received a cordial +welcome. It was in his much loved Elmwood that death came to him August +12, 1891. + +Lowell was a man of wide learning, and has a prominent place in American +literature for his exceptional critical ability and delightful wit, and +for the artistic excellence of both his prose and poetry; but the secret +of his power lies not so much in these things as in the sincerity and +vigor of thought that rise above all bookishness, and in the warm human +feeling that reached out for the love of his fellow-men rather than for +fame and distinction. Probably that which most endears him to his +countrymen is the quality he attributes to others in these words of +admiration: "I am sure that both the President (Hayes) and his wife have +in them that excellent new thing we call Americanism, which, I suppose, +is that 'dignity of human nature' which the philosophers of the last +century were always seeking and never finding, and which, after all, +consists, perhaps, in not thinking yourself either better or worse than +your neighbors by reason of any artificial distinction. As I sat behind +them at the concert the other night, I was profoundly touched by +the feelings of this kingship without mantle and crown from the +property-room of the old world. Their dignity was in their very +neighborliness, instead of in their distance." Certainly in the realm of +American literature, there is no one better entitled than Lowell to this +"kingship without mantle and crown." + + + + +A CHILD'S THOUGHT OF GOD + +_By_ ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING + + + They say that God lives very high, + But if you look above the pines + You cannot see our God, and why? + + And if you dig down in the mines + You never see Him in the gold; + Though, from Him, all that's glory shines. + + God is so good, He wears a fold + Of heaven and earth across His face-- + Like secrets kept, for love, untold. + + But still I feel that His embrace + Slides down by thrills, through all things made, + Through sight and sound of every place. + + As if my tender mother laid + On my shut lids, her kisses' pressure, + Half-waking me at night, and said, + "Who kissed you through the dark, dear guesser?" + + + + +ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING + + +Round the young life of Elizabeth Barrett was so much of illness and +dreariness, that we have accustomed ourselves to thinking joy came to +her only with her marriage, and we forget, often, that her childhood was +not unhappy. Few children, it would seem, were ever born with greater +promise of a bright life. Her father was wealthy and generous; she had +brothers and sisters near her in age and congenial in tastes, and she +was, at least, a fairly strong, active child. + +She was born on March 6, 1806, at Coxhoe Hall, in the county of Durham, +and when she was but three years old, her father removed to Hope End, in +Herefordshire. The estate which he purchased there was a beautiful one, +and the house, with its Turkish windows and Oriental-looking +decorations, was most picturesque. That the scenery which surrounded her +in her youth made on Elizabeth an impression which remained with her all +her life is shown clearly in various passages in her poems: + + "Green the land is where my daily + Steps in jocund childhood played, + Dimpled close with hill and valley, + Dappled very close with shade; + Summer-snow of apple-blossoms running up from glade to glade." + +Of all the brothers and sisters, Elizabeth was her father's favorite, +and he encouraged her constantly in her precocious studies and in her +childish attempts at composition. Long before she was able to read Homer +in the original, she came upon Pope's translation of the _Iliad_, and it +took a rare hold upon her. She showed its influence and her own bent +toward poetry by composing, before she was fourteen, an epic on the +"Battle of Marathon," of which her father, to whom it was dedicated, +thought so highly that he had it printed and circulated it among his +friends. But she also showed the influence of her beloved _Iliad_ in a +much more childish way, of which she has written delightfully in a poem +called _Hector in the Garden_. A great flower bed, roughly shaped like a +man and bordered about with turf, was made for her, and this she named +after Hector, the Trojan hero and her great favorite. + + "Eyes of gentianellas azure, + Staring, winking at the skies; + Nose of gillyflowers and box; + Scented grasses put for locks, + Which a little breeze at pleasure + Set a-waving round his eyes." + + "Brazen helm of daffodillies, + With a glitter toward the light; + Purple violets for the mouth, + Breathing perfumes west and south; + And a sword of flashing lilies, + Holden ready for the fight." + + "And a breastplate made of daisies, + Closely fitting, leaf on leaf; + Periwinkles interlaced + Drawn for belt about the waist; + While the brown bees, humming praises, + Shot their arrows round the chief." + +[Illustration: ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING +1806-1861] + +It was natural enough that Elizabeth should have wanted to begin the +study of Greek; and with the help of her father and of Mr. Boyd, a blind +friend of her father's, she became a most proficient Greek scholar. + +When she was fifteen years old she met with an accident which deprived +her in part of the out-of-door life and rambles which she had loved, and +threw her more than ever upon her books for company. Impatient because a +horse which she desired to ride was not ready just when she wanted it, +she went out into the field and attempted to saddle it herself. She +fell, with the saddle on top of her; and while this did not leave her +the invalid she later became, it weakened her and made her an easy prey +to the troubles which afterward came upon her. + +That Pope, as well as Homer, left his mark on Miss Barrett was shown by +her first published volume, which was brought out when she was about +twenty. It was entitled _An Essay on Mind, and Other Poems_, and the +poem which gave its name to the book was quite after the manner of Pope. +This poem, while remarkable for a girl of Miss Barrett's age, contained +little freshness or originality, and she spoke of it afterwards as +having been "long repented of as worthy of all repentance." + +In 1828 Mrs. Barrett died, and left Elizabeth, the eldest of the ten +children, with much of the responsibility of the family. Since her death +came before her daughter reached fame or began that voluminous +correspondence from which have been gathered most of the facts of her +life, little can be known of the mother's character, or of her influence +on her daughter. That Miss Barrett was devotedly attached to her mother, +however, is to be seen from a sentence in one of her letters. "Her +memory," she says, "is more precious to me than any earthly blessing +left behind!" + +The beloved home at Hope End was sold in 1832, owing, apparently to some +fall in the family fortunes, and the Barretts removed to Sidmouth, in +Devonshire. The life there was uneventful, as the life at Hope End had +been. Miss Barrett, in writing later of herself, declared that "a bird +in a cage would have as good a story." But she was by no means idle, for +her Greek studies and her writing kept her busy and happy. While at +Sidmouth, she brought out a translation of the _Prometheus Bound_ of +AEschylus, a version with which she was so dissatisfied that she later +replaced it, in her collected works, with another. + +For three years the Barretts lived at Sidmouth, and their removal to +London, in 1835, made important changes in Elizabeth's life. Her health, +never good since her fifteenth year, broke down, and from some date +shortly after the arrival in London she became an apparently hopeless +invalid, confined to her room and often to her bed. Some compensation +for this confinement, however, she found in the new friends, few, +indeed, but devoted and congenial, who were admitted to her sick room. +Chief among these friends of her earlier London years were John Kenyon, +a distant cousin, and Mary Russell Mitford, author of _Our Village_. +Miss Mitford made the acquaintance of Miss Barrett in one of the +latter's rare appearances in society, and she has left an account of the +meeting and a description of Miss Barrett which is famous. + +"She was certainly one of the most interesting persons that I had ever +seen. Everybody who then saw her said the same; so that it is not merely +the impression of my partiality or my enthusiasm. Of a slight, delicate +figure, with a shower of dark curls falling on either side of a most +expressive face, large tender eyes, richly fringed by dark eyelashes, a +smile like a sunbeam, and such a look of youthfulness that I had some +difficulty in persuading a friend ... that the translatress of the +_Prometheus_ of AEschylus, the authoress of the _Essay on Mind_, was old +enough to be introduced into company,--in technical language, was +'out.'" + +Although Miss Mitford was nineteen years older than Miss Barrett, the +friendship which sprang up between them was most close, and lasted until +Miss Mitford's death in 1855. Their correspondence was constant and +voluminous, as was that, in fact, of Miss Barrett with all of her +intimate friends. These letters of hers from her sick room are no more +remarkable for number than for brightness and vivacity. Little mention +is made of her ailments, except when her friends have specifically +demanded news of her health, and the letters deal rather with literary +than with other subjects. This was, of course, most natural; the invalid +could have little news to communicate from her couch to her friends in +the outer world. Her literary activity, too, increased, and she began to +contribute to magazines poems of various kinds, which attracted much +attention. Not all comment on them was favorable; the people declared +that some of them were Sphinx-like--too difficult, if not impossible, of +interpretation. But every one realized that here was a real poet, one of +striking individuality, and, for a woman, most remarkable learning. + +By the autumn of 1838, her health had become so much worse that the +doctor ordered removal to a warmer climate, and she was taken to +Torquay, where she remained for three years. Her father and her brothers +and sisters visited her there from time to time, but her constant +companion was her brother Edward, who had all her life been her +favorite. What little good Torquay seemed to be doing her was more than +overbalanced by a tragedy which occurred in the summer of 1840. Her +brother, with two of his friends, went for a sail in a small boat, +intending to be absent only until evening. When they did not return, +inquiry was set on foot, and it was learned that a small boat had been +seen to founder in Babbicombe Bay. The fears caused by this report +became certainty three days later, on the recovery of the bodies. The +effect on Miss Barrett may be partially imagined. Not only had she lost +her best-loved companion, but she was haunted by the morbid feeling that +she had caused his death, since he had come to Torquay only to be with +her. Twelve years afterward she wrote: "I have lived heart to heart with +my husband these five years. I have never yet spoken out, in a whisper +even, what is in me; never yet could find heart or breath; never yet +could bear to hear a word of reference from his lips." + +Naturally her health suffered greatly from the shock, and it was thought +that she could not possibly live more than a few months. Quite +unexpectedly, however, she began to improve; it seemed that the desire +to quit Torquay, which had grown unendurable to her since the tragedy, +gave her strength of body. During the spring and summer of 1841 she was +able to resume work on translations, compositions, plans for new poems. +Indeed, it was this which saved her, for she wrote some time later to a +friend--"I do believe I should be _mad_ at this moment, if I had not +forced back the current of rushing recollections by work, work, work." + +After her return to London in the autumn of 1841, her life went on as +before--or rather, stood still as before. From her couch she continued +to send forth the poems which were bringing her ever-increasing fame, +and the letters which were binding her friends closer to her. But an +event was drawing nearer, which was from the first an event and not an +episode in Miss Barrett's life. In January, 1845, we find her writing +"And I had a letter from Browning the poet last night, which threw me +into ecstasies--Browning, the author of _Paracelsus_, and the king of +mystics;" and a little later she says, "I am getting deeper and deeper +into correspondence with Robert Browning, poet and mystic, and we are +growing to be the truest friends." + +Robert Browning had felt and expressed great admiration for Miss +Barrett's poems and an allusion to himself in her _Lady Geraldine's +Courtship_ gave him an excuse for addressing her. Their correspondence +flourished, and they rapidly passed from regarding each other as mere +acquaintances, to looking upon each other as friends. In fact, there +seems to have been from the very first an almost mystical attraction +between them. Miss Barrett might have contented herself all her life +with this delightfully personal and literary correspondence, but +Browning soon grew impatient and expressed his desire to see her. The +admission of a new friend to Miss Barrett's room was at no time a thing +to be undertaken lightly, so hedged about was she by the care of her +family; and in this case she herself seems to have hesitated long before +allowing Browning to call, for the very feminine reason that "there is +nothing to see in me nor to hear in me." Had she known Browning better, +she would have realized that his determination would carry him past all +obstacles; and so, indeed, it did. + +On May 20, 1845, they met for the first time, and within a short time +his friendship for her had ripened into love, and he asked her to marry +him. She herself told, in a letter to a friend after her marriage, the +story of her courtship. + +"He came, and with our personal acquaintance began his attachment for +me, a sort of _infatuation_ call it, which resisted the various denials +which were my plain duty at the beginning, and has persisted past them +all. I began with the grave assurance that I was in an exceptional +position and saw him just in consequence of it, and that if he ever +recurred to that subject again, I never could see him again while I +lived; and he believed me and was silent. To my mind, indeed, it was a +bare impulse--a generous man of quick sympathies taking up a sudden +interest with both hands." + +Browning was, as she said, silent, but he was not discouraged, and his +letters, his visits, his flowers, at length convinced Miss Barrett that +his feeling was something more than a "bare impulse." + +"So then," she continued, "I showed him how he was throwing into the +ashes his best affections--how the common gifts of youth and +cheerfulness were behind me--how I had not strength, even of _heart_, +for the ordinary duties of life--everything I told him and showed him. +'Look at this--and this--and this,' throwing down all my disadvantages. +To which he did not answer by a single compliment, but simply that he +had not then to choose, and that I might be right or he might be right, +he was not there to decide; but that he loved me, and should to his last +hour.* * * He preferred, he said, of free and deliberate choice, to be +allowed to sit only an hour a day by my side, to the fulfilment of the +brightest dream which should exclude me, in any possible world." + +What Robert Browning wanted so much, it was a foregone conclusion that +he would have; and Miss Barrett was at last brought to consent to an +engagement. But the difficulties were just begun. Mr. Barrett, adored as +he was by his daughter, was more than a little tyrannical, especially +with his favorite daughter. His family all well knew that he would never +under any circumstances be brought to consent to the marriage of any of +his children; and he had, moreover, in the case of Elizabeth, the +appearance of reason on his side, in that she was, in the opinion of her +family and of most of her medical advisers, a hopeless invalid, unfit to +be moved. "A life passed between a bed and a sofa, and avoiding too +frequent and abrupt transitions even from one to the other, was the only +life she could expect on this earth." Browning believed otherwise, and +events showed that he was right. + +In the autumn of 1845, the doctors advised that Miss Barrett be taken to +Italy, declaring, in fact, that her life depended upon it. Some of her +brothers or sisters could easily have accompanied her; there was no lack +of money, and the journey was actually planned. For no apparent reason, +however, Mr. Barrett refused his consent--said that his daughter should +not leave his house. In vain the family argued; in vain a generous +friend offered to accompany Miss Barrett, paying all expenses. He was +brutally firm. Much hurt by this selfishness and disregard for her life, +Miss Barrett promised Browning that if she lived through the winter and +were no worse in the following year, she would marry him without her +father's consent, for which they knew it was useless to ask. +Accordingly, on September 12, 1846, she walked out of her father's +house, accompanied only by her maid, was married and returned home. One +week later she joined her husband, and they set out for Italy, their +future home. Mr. Barrett never forgave his daughter, and his unrelenting +anger was a deep sorrow to her, in the midst of her great life +happiness. + +The Brownings went first to Pisa, and from there to Florence, which they +afterward regarded as their home, though they made many excursions and +spent seasons elsewhere. Mrs. Browning grew so much better that a friend +said to her, "You are not _improved_, you are _transformed_;" and while +she was never strong and was often very ill, she never again sank back +to the state in which she had been before her marriage. The happiness +which shows in her letters is wonderful. "As for me," she writes, "when +I am so good as to let myself be carried upstairs, and so angelical as +to sit still on the sofa, and so considerate, moreover, as _not_ to put +my foot into a puddle, why _my_ duty is considered done to a perfection, +which is worthy of all adoration." And again, "If I could open my heart +to you in all seriousness, you would see nothing there but a sort of +enduring wonder of happiness." + +Mrs. Browning, like her husband, loved Italy, and especially Florence, +and many of her poems, notably the _Casa Guidi Windows_, deal with +Italian subjects. Of the poems published after her marriage, however, +none are more exquisite than the series of _Sonnets from the +Portuguese_. These sonnets, which are not translations, and to which the +name _From the Portuguese_ was given simply as a blind, describe her +uncertainty and her joy in the love which was hers. + +In 1849 another joy came to her. On March 9th of that year a son, Robert +Wiedeman Barrett Browning was born, and from that time on her letters, +quite like the letters of any unliterary mother, are full of the +wonderful doings of this child. Not that her interest in things literary +flagged in the least; she read everything which the libraries of Italy +afforded, or which her friends could send to her--novels, for which she +confessed to a great liking; poems, political pamphlets, newspapers, all +that came to her hand. Her longest and greatest poem, _Aurora Leigh_, +was written during her Italian years. While the story of the poem is in +no sense autobiographical, the heroine is in her beliefs and her ideals +Mrs. Browning's self, and this was the poem by which she felt herself +most willing to be judged. + +Broken by several trips to England and by excursions to the most +beautiful parts of Italy, the years slipped by in uneventful happiness. +Many friends visited the Brownings, and all came away wondering and +delighted at the perfect family life they had been allowed to witness. +Frail always, Mrs. Browning was spoken of by acquaintances in her later +years as seeming "scarce embodied at all." + +In June, 1861, Mrs. Browning had an attack of bronchial trouble and on +the night of the twenty-ninth, alone in the room with her husband, she +died; and one writer says "none ever saw Browning upon earth again, but +only a splendid surface." Mrs. Browning was buried at Florence, the city +she had loved. Upon the wall of Casa Guidi, the building in which she +had lived, the citizens, grateful for her love and understanding of +them, placed a marble tablet in her memory. + +The wonderful thing about Elizabeth Barrett Browning is that from her +weakness should have come poems of such strength. There was nothing +morbid in the words which came from her hushed, darkened sick room. +Indeed, her spirit was never tamed, and she herself confessed that one +of her faults was "head-longness;" that she snatched parcels open +instead of untying the string, and tore letters instead of cutting them. +In Browning's poems, which contain numerous beautiful allusions to her, +there is nothing more beautiful and more descriptive than the lines-- + + "O lyric love, half angel and half bird, + And all a wonder and a wild desire." + + + + +DON QUIXOTE + +_By_ CERVANTES + + +INTRODUCTORY NOTE + +Unlike many of his class, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the greatest of +the old Spanish writers, was born to a changeful and busy life. The year +1547 marked his birth, and during the sixty-nine years of his life he +was constantly in action. + +He served as a soldier in the war against the Turks, and at the Battle +of Lepanto, where he lost the use of his left hand, and in other battles +in which he took part, he showed great bravery and won a reputation of +the highest kind. While returning in 1575 from Italy to Spain, he was +captured by Algerian pirates and was sold in Algiers as a slave. +Throughout his five years' captivity, he was constantly threatened with +torture, but at no time did his courage fail him. Finally his widowed +mother and his sister, helped by some of their friends, none of whom +were by any means wealthy, succeeded in getting together sufficient +money to ransom him, and immediately on his return to Spain he rejoined +his old regiment. + +Cervantes had written verses before the beginning of his military +career, but had won no name for himself. By 1583, however, he seems to +have determined to devote the rest of his life to literature, and in +that year he again began writing verses. For a number of years he earned +his livelihood by writing for the stage, but few of his plays survive. + +In 1605 there appeared the first part of the work which made Cervantes +famous, and which has kept his name before the world ever since. This +was the inimitable _Don Quixote_, which gives the burlesque adventures +of the self-styled "Knight of the Rueful Countenance." This book was not +intended to satirize knight-errantry itself, for that had long before +died out in Spain. What it did aim to do was to make ridiculous the +romances of chivalry over which all Spain at the time of Cervantes +seemed to have gone mad. How well Cervantes succeeded in his aim may be +known from the fact that after the appearance of his masterpiece, no new +romance of chivalry was published in Spain. + +The hero of this great work, Don Quixote, is presented as the most +courteous and affable of gentlemen, wise on all points except those +pertaining to chivalry. It was not only, however, the masterly drawing +of the characters of Don Quixote and his squire, Sancho Panza, which +made the book popular; the inexhaustible fund of humor has made it to +the present day a book which every one delights to read. + +The following selections from _Don Quixote_ describe some of the typical +adventures of the gallant "Knight of the Rueful Countenance," and will +serve to give the reader an idea of the book. + + +DON QUIXOTE PREPARES TO SET OUT ON HIS ADVENTURES + +In a village of La Mancha there lived not long since one of those +gentlemen that keep a lance in the lance-rack, an old buckler, a lean +hack, and a greyhound for coursing. An olla[433-1] of rather more beef +than mutton, a salad on most nights, scraps on Saturdays, lentils on +Fridays, and a pigeon or so extra on Sundays, made away with +three-quarters of his income. The rest of it went in a doublet of fine +cloth, and velvet breeches and shoes to match for holidays, while on +week days he made a brave figure in his best homespun. He had in his +house a housekeeper past forty, a niece under twenty, and a lad for the +field and market-place, who used to saddle the hack as well as handle +the bill-hook. The age of this gentlemen of ours was bordering on fifty, +he was of a hardy habit, spare, gaunt-featured, a very early riser and a +great sportsman. They will have it his surname was Quixada or Quesada +(for here there is some difference of opinion among the authors who +write on the subject), although from reasonable conjectures it seems +plain that he was called Quixana. This, however, is of but little +importance to our tale; it will be enough not to stray a hair's breadth +from the truth in the telling of it. + +You must know, then, that the above-named gentleman whenever he was at +leisure (which was mostly all the year round) gave himself up to +reading books of chivalry with such ardor and avidity that he almost +entirely neglected the pursuit of his field-sports, and even the +management of his property; and to such a pitch did his eagerness and +infatuation go that he sold many an acre of tillage-land to buy books of +chivalry to read, and brought home as many of them as he could get. + + * * * * * + +In short, his wits being quite gone, he hit upon the strangest notion +that ever madman in this world hit upon, and that was that he fancied it +was right and requisite, as well for the support of his own honor as for +the service of his country, that he should make a knight-errant of +himself, roaming the world over in full armor and on horseback in quest +of adventures, and putting in practice himself all that he had read of +as being the usual practices of knights-errant; righting every kind of +wrong, and exposing himself to peril and danger from which, in the +issue, he was to reap eternal renown and fame. Already the poor man saw +himself crowned by the might of his arm Emperor of Trebizond at least; +and so, led away by the intense enjoyment he found in these pleasant +fancies, he set himself forthwith to put his scheme into execution. + +The first thing he did was to clean up some armor that had belonged to +his great-grandfather, and had been for ages lying forgotten in a corner +eaten with rust and covered with mildew. He scoured and polished it as +best he could, but he perceived one great defect in it, that it had no +closed helmet, nothing but a simple morion.[434-2] This deficiency, +however, his ingenuity supplied, for he contrived a kind of half-helmet +of pasteboard which, fitted on to the morion, looked like a whole one. +It is true that, in order to see if it was strong and fit to stand a +cut, he drew his sword and gave it a couple of slashes, the first of +which undid in an instant what had taken him a week to do. The ease with +which he had knocked it to pieces disconcerted him somewhat, and to +guard against that danger he set to work again, fixing bars of iron on +the inside until he was satisfied with its strength; and then, not +caring to try any more experiments with it, he passed it and adopted it +as a helmet of the most perfect construction. + +He next proceeded to inspect his hack, which surpassed in his eyes the +Bucephalus[435-3] of Alexander or the Babieca of the Cid.[435-4] Four +days were spent in thinking what name to give him, because (as he said +to himself) it was not right that a horse belonging to a knight so +famous, and one with such merits of his own, should be without some +distinctive name, and he strove to adapt it so as to indicate what he +had been before belonging to a knight-errant, and what he then was; for +it was only reasonable that, his master taking a new character, he +should take a new name, and that it should be a distinguished and +full-sounding one, befitting the new order and calling he was about to +follow. And so, after having composed, struck out, rejected, added to, +unmade, and remade a multitude of names out of his memory and fancy, he +decided upon calling him Rocinante, a name, to his thinking, lofty, +sonorous, and significant of his condition as a hack before he became +what he was now, the first and foremost of all the hacks in the +world.[436-5] + +Having got a name for his horse so much to his taste, he was anxious to +get one for himself, and he was eight days more pondering over this +point, till at last he made up his mind to call himself Don Quixote, +whence, as has been already said, the authors of this veracious history +have inferred that his name must have been beyond a doubt Quixada, and +not Quesada as others would have it. Recollecting, however, that the +valiant Amadis[436-6] was not content to call himself curtly Amadis and +nothing more, but added the name of his kingdom and country to make it +famous, and called himself Amadis of Gaul, he, like a good knight, +resolved to add on the name of his, and to style himself Don Quixote of +La Mancha, whereby, he considered, he described accurately his origin +and country, and did honor to it in taking his surname from it. + +So then, his armor being furbished, his morion turned into a helmet, his +hack christened, and he himself confirmed, he came to the conclusion +that nothing more was needed now but to look out for a lady to be in +love with; for a knight-errant without love was like a tree without +leaves or fruit, or a body without a soul. As he said to himself, "If, +for my sins, or by my good fortune, I come across some giant +hereabouts, a common occurrence with knights-errant, and overthrow him +in one onslaught, or cleave him asunder to the waist, or, in short, +vanquish and subdue him, will it not be well to have some one I may send +him to as a present, that he may come in and fall on his knees before my +sweet lady, and in a humble, submissive voice say, 'I am the giant +Caraculiambro, lord of the island of Malindrania, vanquished in single +combat by the never sufficiently extolled knight Don Quixote of La +Mancha, who has commanded me to present myself before your Grace, that +your Highness dispose of me at your pleasure'?" Oh, how our good +gentleman enjoyed the delivery of this speech, especially when he had +thought of some one to call his Lady! There was, so the story goes, in a +village near his own a very good-looking farm girl with whom he had been +at one time in love, though, so far as is known, she never knew it nor +gave a thought to the matter. Her name was Aldonza Lorenzo, and upon her +he thought fit to confer the title of Lady of his Thoughts; and after +some search for a name which should not be out of harmony with his own, +and should suggest and indicate that of a princess and great lady, he +decided upon calling her Dulcinea del Toboso--she being of El Toboso--a +name, to his mind, musical, uncommon, and significant, like all those he +had already bestowed upon himself and the things belonging to him. + + +THE ADVENTURE OF THE WINDMILLS + +Upon the plain they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills, and as +soon as Don Quixote saw them he said to his squire, "Fortune is +arranging matters for us better than we could have shaped our desires +ourselves, for look there, friend Sancho Panza,[438-1] where thirty or +more monstrous giants present themselves, all of whom I mean to engage +in battle and slay, and with whose spoils we shall begin to make our +fortunes; for this is righteous warfare, and it is God's good service to +sweep so evil a breed from off the face of the earth." + +"What giants?" said Sancho Panza. + +"Those thou seest there," answered his master, "with the long arms, and +some have them nearly two leagues long." + +"Look, your worship," said Sancho, "what we see there are not giants but +windmills, and what seem to be their arms are the sails that turned by +the wind make the millstone go." + +"It is easy to see," replied Don Quixote, "that thou art not used to +this business of adventures: those are giants; and if thou art afraid, +away with thee out of this and betake thyself to prayer while I engage +them in fierce and unequal combat." + +[Illustration: DON QUIXOTE TILTS WITH THE WIND MILLS] + +So saying, he gave the spur to his steed Rocinante, heedless of the +cries his squire Sancho sent after him, warning him that most certainly +they were windmills and not giants he was going to attack. He, however, +was so positive they were giants that he neither heard the cries of +Sancho, nor perceived, near as he was, what they were, but made at them +shouting, "Fly not, cowards and vile beings, for it is a single knight +that attacks you." + +A slight breeze at this moment sprang up, and the great sails began to +move, seeing which Don Quixote exclaimed, "Though ye flourish more arms +than the giant Briareus,[440-2] ye have to reckon with me." + +So saying, and commending himself with all his heart to his lady +Dulcinea, imploring her to support him in such a peril, with lance in +rest and covered by his buckler, he charged at Rocinante's fullest +gallop and fell upon the first mill that stood in front of him; but as +he drove his lance-point into the sail the wind whirled it round with +such force that it shivered the lance to pieces, sweeping with it horse +and rider, who went rolling over on the plain, in a sorry condition. +Sancho hastened to his assistance as fast as his ass could go, and when +he came up found him unable to move, with such a shock had Rocinante +fallen with him. + +"God bless me!" said Sancho, "did I not tell your worship to mind what +you were about, for they were only windmills? and no one could have made +any mistake about it but one who had something of the same kind in his +head." + +"Hush, friend Sancho," replied Don Quixote; "the fortunes of war more +than any other are liable to frequent fluctuations; and moreover I +think, and it is the truth, that some sage[440-3] turned these giants +into mills in order to rob me of the glory of vanquishing them, such is +the enmity he bears me; but in the end his wicked arts will avail but +little against my good sword." + +"God order it as he may," said Sancho Panza, and helping him to rise got +him up again on Rocinante, whose shoulder was half out; and then, +discussing the late adventure, they followed the road to Puerto Lapice, +for there, said Don Quixote, they could not fail to find adventure, as +it was a great thoroughfare. + +Finally they passed the night among some trees, from one of which Don +Quixote plucked a dry branch to serve him as a lance, and fixed on it +the head he had removed from the broken one. + + +MAMBRINO'S HELMET + +Rain fell in gentle drops, and Sancho was for going into the fulling +mills,[441-1] but Don Quixote had taken such a disgust to them on +account of the late joke that he would not enter them on any account; so +turning aside to the right they came upon another road, different from +that which they had taken the night before. Shortly afterwards Don +Quixote perceived a man on horseback who wore on his head something that +shone like gold, and the moment he saw him he turned to Sancho and said, +"I think, Sancho, there is no proverb that is not true, all being maxims +drawn from experience itself, the mother of all sciences, especially +that one that says, 'Where one door shuts, another opens.' I say so +because if last night fortune shut the door of the adventure we were +looking for against us, cheating us with the fulling mills, it now opens +wide another one for better and more certain adventure, and if I do not +contrive to enter it, it will be my own fault, and I cannot lay it to my +ignorance of fulling mills, or the darkness of the night. I say this +because, if I mistake not, there comes toward us one who wears on his +head the helmet of Mambrino,[442-2] concerning which I took the oath +thou rememberest." + +"Mind what you say, your worship, and still more what you do," said +Sancho, "for I don't want any more fulling mills to finish off fulling +and knocking our senses out." + +"The devil take thee, man," said Don Quixote; "what has a helmet to do +with fulling mills?" + +"I don't know," replied Sancho, "but, faith, if I might speak as I used, +perhaps I could give such reasons that your worship would see you were +mistaken in what you say." + +"How can I be mistaken in what I say, unbelieving traitor?" returned Don +Quixote. "Tell me, seest thou not yonder knight coming towards us on a +dappled gray steed, who has upon his head a helmet of gold?" + +"What I see and make out," answered Sancho, "is only a man on a gray ass +like my own, who has something that shines on his head." + +"Well, that is the helmet of Mambrino," said Don Quixote; "stand to one +side and leave me alone with him; thou shalt see how, without saying a +word, I shall bring this adventure to an issue and possess myself of the +helmet I have so longed for." + +"I will take care to stand aside," said Sancho; "but God grant, I say +once more, that it may not be fulling mills again." + +"I have told thee, brother, on no account to mention those fulling mills +to me again," said Don Quixote, "or I vow--and I say no more--I'll full +the soul out of you." + +Sancho held his peace in dread lest his master should carry out the vow +he had hurled like a bowl at him. + +The fact of the matter as regards the helmet, steed, and knight that Don +Quixote saw, was this: In that neighborhood there were two villages, one +of them so small that it had neither apothecary's shop, nor barber, +which the other that was close to it had; so the barber of the larger +served the smaller; and in it there was a sick man who required to be +bled and another man who wanted to be shaved, and on this errand the +barber was going, carrying with him a brass basin; but as luck would +have it, as he was on the way it began to rain, and not to spoil his +hat, which probably was a new one, he put the basin on his head, and +being clean it glittered at half a league's distance. He rode upon a +gray ass, as Sancho said, and this was what made it seem to Don Quixote +to be a dapple-gray steed and a knight and a golden helmet; for +everything he saw he made to fall in with his crazy chivalry and ill +errant notions; and when he saw the poor knight draw near, without +entering into any parley with him, at Rocinante's top speed he bore down +upon him with the pike pointed low, fully determined to run him through +and through, and as he reached him, without checking the fury of his +charge, he cried to him, "Defend thyself, miserable being, or yield me +of thine own accord that which is so reasonably my due." + +[Illustration: "DEFEND THYSELF, MISERABLE BEING!"] + +The barber, who without any expectation or apprehension of it saw this +apparition coming down upon him, had no other way of saving himself from +the stroke of the lance but to let himself fall off his ass; and no +sooner had he touched the ground than he sprang up more nimbly than a +deer and sped away across the plain faster than the wind. + +He left the basin on the ground, with which Don Quixote contented +himself, saying that the pagan had shown his discretion and imitated the +beaver, which finding himself pressed by the hunters bites and cuts off +with its teeth that for which by its natural instinct, it knows it is +pursued. + +He told Sancho to pick up the helmet, and he, taking it in his hands, +said, "By God the basin is a good one, and worth a piece of eight[445-3] +if it is worth a maravedi," and handed it to his master, who immediately +put it on his head, turning it round, now this way, now that, in search +of the visor. Not finding it he said, "Clearly the pagan to whose +measure this famous headpiece was first forged must have had a very +large head; but the worst of it is half of it is wanting." + +When Sancho heard him call the basin a headpiece he was unable to +restrain his laughter, but remembering his master's wrath he checked +himself in the midst of it. + +"What art thou laughing at, Sancho?" said Don Quixote. + +"I am laughing," said he, "to think of the great head the pagan must +have had who owned this helmet, for it looks exactly like a regular +barber's basin." + +"Dost thou know what I suspect, Sancho?" said Don Quixote; "that this +wonderful piece of this enchanted helmet must by some strange accident +have come into the hands of some one who was unable to recognize or +realize its value, and who, not knowing what he did, and seeing it to +be of the purest gold, must have melted down one half for the sake of +what it might be worth, and of the other made this which is like a +barber's basin, as thou sayest; but be it as it may, to me who recognize +it, its transformation makes no difference, for I will set it to rights +at the first village where there is a blacksmith, and in such style that +that helmet the god of smithies[446-4] forged for the god of battles +shall not surpass it or even come up to it; and in the meantime I will +wear it as well as I can, for something is better than nothing; all the +more as it will be quite enough to protect me from any chance blow of a +stone." + +"Will your worship," said Sancho, "tell me what are we to do with this +dapple-gray steed that looks like a gray ass, which that Martino[446-5] +that your worship overthrew has left deserted here? for, from the way he +took to his heels and bolted, he is not likely ever to come back for it; +and by my beard but the gray is a good one." + +"I have never been in the habit," said Don Quixote, "of taking spoil of +those whom I vanquish, nor is it the practice of chivalry to take away +their horses and leave them to go on foot, unless indeed it be that the +victor have lost his own in the combat, in which case it is lawful to +take that of the vanquished as a thing won in lawful war; therefore, +Sancho, leave this horse, or ass, or whatever thou wilt have it to be; +for when its owner sees us gone hence he will come back for it." + +"God knows I should like to take it," returned Sancho, "or at least to +change it for my own, which does not seem to me as good a one; verily +the laws of chivalry are strict, since they cannot be stretched to let +one ass be changed for another; I should like to know if I might at +least change trappings." + +"On that head I am not quite certain," answered Don Quixote, "and the +matter being doubtful, pending better information, I say thou mayest +change them, if so be thou hast urgent need of them." + +"So urgent is it," answered Sancho, "that if they were for my own person +I could not want them more;" and forthwith, fortified by this license, +he effected the change, and rigged out his beast to the ninety-nines, +making quite another thing of it. This done, they broke their fast on +the remains of the spoils of war plundered from the sumpter mule, and +drank of the brook that flowed from the fulling mills, without casting a +look in that direction, in such loathing did they hold them for the +alarm they had caused them; and, all anger and gloom removed, they +mounted and, without taking any fixed road (not to fix upon any being +the proper thing for true knights-errant), they set out, guided by +Rocinante's will, which carried along with it that of his master, not to +say that of the ass, which always followed him wherever he led, lovingly +and sociably; nevertheless they returned to the high road, and pursued +it at a venture without any other aim. + + +DON QUIXOTE'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIONS + +When the author of this great history came to relate what is set down in +this chapter he would have preferred to pass it over in silence, fearing +it would not be believed, because here Don Quixote's madness reaches the +confines of the greatest that can be conceived, and even goes a couple +of bowshots beyond the greatest. But after all, though still under the +same fear and apprehension, he has recorded it without adding to the +story or leaving out a particle of the truth, and entirely disregarding +the charges of falsehood that might be brought against him. + +When Don Quixote called Sancho to bring his helmet, Sancho was buying +some curds the shepherds agreed to sell him, and flurried by the great +haste his master was in did not know what to do with them or what to +carry them in; so, not to lose them, for he had already paid for them, +he thought it best to throw them into his master's helmet, and acting on +this bright idea he went to see what his master wanted with him. He, as +he approached, exclaimed to him, "Give me that helmet, my friend, for +either I know little of adventures, or what I observe yonder is one that +will, and does, call upon me to arm myself." + +He of the green gaban,[448-1] hearing this, looked in all directions, +but could perceive nothing except a cart coming towards them with two or +three small flags, which led him to conclude it must be carrying +treasure of the King's, and he said so to Don Quixote. He, however, +would not believe him, being always persuaded and convinced that all +that happened to him must be adventures and still more adventures; so he +replied to the gentleman, "He who is prepared has his battle half +fought; nothing is lost by my preparing myself, for I know by experience +that I have enemies, visible and invisible, and I know not when or +where, or at what moment, or in what shapes they will attack me;" and +turning to Sancho he called for his helmet; and Sancho, as he had no +time to take out the curds, had to give it as it was. + +Don Quixote took it, and without perceiving what was in it, thrust it +down in hot haste upon his head; but as the curds were pressed and +squeezed the whey began to run all over his face and beard, whereat he +was so startled that he cried out to Sancho, "Sancho, what's this? I +think my head is softening, or my brains are melting, or I am sweating +from head to foot! If I am sweating it is not indeed from fear. I am +convinced beyond a doubt that the adventure which is about to befall me +is a terrible one. Give me something to wipe myself with, if thou hast +it, for this profuse sweat is blinding me." + +Sancho held his tongue, and gave him a cloth, and gave thanks to God at +the same time that his master had not found out what was the matter. Don +Quixote then wiped himself, and took off his helmet to see what it was +that made his head feel so cool, and seeing all that white mash inside +his helmet, he put it to his nose, and as soon as he had smelled it he +exclaimed, "By the life of my lady Dulcinea del Toboso, but it is curds +thou has put here, thou treacherous, impudent, ill-mannered squire!" + +To which, with great composure and pretended innocence, Sancho replied, +"If they are curds let me have them, your worship, and I'll eat them; +but let the devil eat them, for it must have been he who put them there. +I dare to dirty your worship's helmet! You have guessed the offender +finely! Faith, sir, by the light God gives me, it seems I must have +enchanters too, that persecute me as a creature and limb of your +worship, and they must have put that nastiness there in order to provoke +your patience to anger, and make you baste my ribs as you are wont to +do. Well, this time, indeed, they have missed their aim, for I trust to +my master's good sense to see that I have got no curds or milk, or +anything of the sort; and that if I had, it is in my stomach I would put +it and not in the helmet." + +"May be so," said Don Quixote. All this the gentleman was observing, and +with astonishment, more especially when, after having wiped himself +clean, his head, face, beard, and helmet, Don Quixote put it on, and +settling himself firmly in his stirrups, easing his sword in the +scabbard, and grasping his lance, he cried, "Now come who will, here am +I, ready to try conclusions with Satan himself in person!" + +By this time the cart with the flags had come up, unattended by any one +except the carter on a mule, and a man sitting in front. Don Quixote +planted himself before it and said, "Whither are you going, brothers? +What cart is this? What have you got in it? What flags are those?" + +To this the carter replied, "The cart is mine; what is in it is a pair +of fine caged lions, which the governor of Oran is sending to court as a +present to his Majesty; and the flags are our lord the King's, to show +that what is here is his property." + +"And are the lions large?" asked Don Quixote. + +"So large," replied the man who sat at the door of the cart, "that +larger, or as large, have never crossed from Africa to Spain; I am the +keeper, and I have brought over others, but never any like these. They +are male and female; the male is in that first cage and the female in +the one behind, and they are hungry now, for they have eaten nothing +to-day, so let your worship stand aside, for we must make haste to the +place where we are to feed them." + +Hereupon, smiling slightly, Don Quixote exclaimed, "Lion-whelps to me! +to me whelps of lions, and at such a time! Then, by God! those gentlemen +who send them here shall see if I am a man to be frightened by lions. +Get down, my good fellow, and as you are the keeper open the cages, and +turn me out those beasts, and in the midst of this plain I will let them +know who Don Quixote of La Mancha is, in spite and in the teeth of the +enchanters who send them to me." + +"So, so," said the gentleman to himself at this; "our worthy knight has +shown of what sort he is; the curds, no doubt, have softened his skull +and brought his brains to a head." + +At this instant Sancho came up to him, saying, "Senor, for God's sake do +something to keep my master, Don Quixote, from tackling these lions; for +if he does they'll tear us all to pieces here." + +"Is your master then so mad," asked the gentleman, "that you believe and +are afraid he will engage such fierce animals?" + +"He is not mad," said Sancho, "but he is venturesome." + +"I will prevent it," said the gentleman; and going over to Don Quixote, +who was insisting upon the keeper's opening the cages, he said to him, +"Sir Knight, knights-errant should attempt adventures which encourage +the hope of a successful issue, not those which entirely withhold it; +for valor that trenches upon temerity savors rather of madness than of +courage; moreover, these lions do not come to oppose you, nor do they +dream of such a thing; they are going as presents to his Majesty, and it +will not be right to stop them or delay their journey." + +"Gentle sir," replied Don Quixote, "you go and mind your tame partridge +and your bold ferret, and leave every one to manage his own business; +this is mine, and I know whether these gentlemen the lions come to me or +not"; and then turning to the keeper he exclaimed, "By all that's good, +sir scoundrel, if you don't open the cages this very instant, I'll pin +you to the cart with this lance." + +The carter, seeing the determination of this apparition in armor, said +to him, "Please your worship, for charity's sake, senor, let me unyoke +the mules and place myself in safety along with them before the lions +are turned out; for if they kill them on me I am ruined for life, for +all I possess is this cart and mules." + +"O man of little faith," replied Don Quixote, "get down and unyoke; you +will soon see that you are exerting yourself for nothing, and that you +might have spared yourself the trouble." + +The carter got down and with all speed unyoked the mules, and the keeper +called out at the top of his voice, "I call all here to witness that +against my will and under compulsion I open the cages and let the lions +loose, and that I warn this gentleman that he will be accountable for +all the harm and mischief which these beasts may do, and for my salary +and dues as well. You, gentlemen, place yourselves in safety before I +open, for I know they will do me no harm." + +Once more the gentleman strove to persuade Don Quixote not to do such a +mad thing, as it was tempting God to engage in such a piece of folly. To +this, Don Quixote replied that he knew what he was about. The gentleman +entreated him to reflect, for he knew he was under a delusion. + +"Well, senor," answered Don Quixote, "if you do not like to be a +spectator of this tragedy, as in your opinion it will be, spur your +flea-bitten mare and place yourself in safety." + +Hearing this, Sancho with tears in his eyes entreated him to give up an +enterprise compared with which the one of the windmills, and the awful +one of the fulling mills, and, in fact, all the feats he had attempted +in the whole course of his life, were cakes and fancy bread. "Look ye, +senor," said Sancho, "there's no enchantment here, nor anything of the +sort, for between the bars and chinks of the cage I have seen the paw of +a real lion, and judging by that I reckon the lion such a paw could +belong to must be bigger than a mountain." + +"Fear, at any rate," replied Don Quixote, "will make him look bigger to +thee than half the world. Retire, Sancho, and leave me; and if I die +here thou knowest our old compact; thou wilt repair to Dulcinea--I say +no more." To these he added some further words that banished all hope of +his giving up his insane project. He of the green gaban would have +offered resistance, but he found himself ill-matched as to arms, and did +not think it prudent to come to blows with a madman, for such Don +Quixote had shown himself to be in every respect; and the latter, +renewing his commands to the keeper and repeating his threats, gave +warning to the gentleman to spur his mare, Sancho his Dapple, and the +carter his mules, all striving to get away from the cart as far as they +could before the lions broke loose. Sancho was weeping over his master's +death, for this time he firmly believed it was in store for him from the +claws of the lions; and he cursed his fate and called it an unlucky hour +when he thought of taking service with him again; but with all his tears +and lamentations he did not forget to thrash Dapple so as to put a good +space between himself and the cart. The keeper, seeing that the +fugitives were now some distance off, once more entreated and warned Don +Quixote as he had entreated and warned him before; but he replied that +he heard him, and that he need not trouble himself with any further +warnings or entreaties, as they would be fruitless, and bade him make +haste. + +During the delay that occurred while the keeper was opening the first +cage, Don Quixote was considering whether it would not be well to do +battle on foot, instead of on horseback, and finally resolved to fight +on foot, fearing that Rocinante might take fright at the sight of the +lions; he therefore sprang off his horse, flung his lance aside, braced +his buckler on his arm, and drawing his sword, advanced slowly with +marvelous intrepidity and resolute courage, to plant himself in front of +the cart, commending himself with all his heart, first to God, and then +to his lady Dulcinea. + +[Illustration: THE LION PUT HIS HEAD OUT OF THE CAGE] + +The keeper, seeing that Don Quixote had taken up his position, and that +it was impossible for him to avoid letting out the male without +incurring the enmity of the fiery and daring knight, flung open the +doors of the first cage, containing, as has been said, the lion, which +was now seen to be of enormous size, and grim and hideous mien. The +first thing he did was to turn round in the cage in which he lay, and +protrude his claws, and stretch himself thoroughly; he next opened his +mouth, and yawned very leisurely, and with near two palms'-length of +tongue that he had thrust forth, he licked the dust out of his eyes and +washed his face; having done this, he put his head out of the cage and +looked all round with eyes like glowing coals, a spectacle and demeanor +to strike terror into temerity itself. Don Quixote merely observed him +steadily, longing for him to leap from the cart and come to close +quarters with him, when he hoped to hew him in pieces. + +So far did his unparalleled madness go; but the noble lion, more +courteous than arrogant, not troubling himself about silly bravado, +after having looked all round, as has been said, turned about and +presented his hind-quarters to Don Quixote, and very coolly and +tranquilly lay down again in the cage. Seeing this, Don Quixote ordered +the keeper to take a stick to him and provoke him to make him come out. + +"That I won't," said the keeper, "for if I anger him, the first he'll +tear to pieces will be myself. Be satisfied, sir knight, with what you +have done, which leaves nothing more to be said on the score of courage, +and do not seek to tempt fortune a second time. The lion has the door +open; he is free to come out or not to come out; but as he has not come +out so far, he will not come out to-day. The greatness of your worship's +courage has been fully manifested already; no brave champion, so it +strikes me, is bound to do more than challenge his enemy and wait for +him on the field; if his adversary does not come, on him lies the +disgrace, and he who waits for him carries off the crown of victory." + +"That is true," said Don Quixote; "close the door, my friend, and let me +have, in the best form thou canst, what thou hast seen me do, by way of +certificate; to wit, that thou didst open for the lion, that I waited +for him, that he did not come out, that I still waited for him, and that +still he did not come out, and lay down again. I am not bound to do +more; enchantments avaunt, and God uphold the right, the truth, and true +chivalry! Close the door as I bade thee, while I make signals to the +fugitives that have left us, that they may learn this exploit from my +lips." + +The keeper obeyed, and Don Quixote, fixing on the point of his lance the +cloth he had wiped his face with after the deluge of curds, proceeded to +recall the others, who still continued to fly, looking back at every +step, all in a body, the gentleman bringing up the rear. Sancho, +however, happening to observe the signal of the white cloth, exclaimed, +"May I die, if my master has not overcome the wild beasts, for he is +calling to us." + +They all stopped, and perceived that it was Don Quixote who was making +signals, and shaking off their fears to some extent, they approached +slowly until they were near enough to hear distinctly Don Quixote's +voice calling to them. They returned at length to the cart, and as they +came up, Don Quixote said to the carter, "Put your mules to once more, +brother, and continue your journey; and do thou, Sancho, give him two +gold crowns for himself and the keeper, to compensate for the delay they +have incurred through me." + +"That will I give with all my heart," said Sancho; "but what has become +of the lions? Are they dead or alive?" + +The keeper, then described the end of the contest, exalting to the best +of his power and ability the valor of Don Quixote, at the sight of whom +the lion quailed, and would not and dared not come out of the cage, +although he had held the door open ever so long; and showing how, in +consequence of his having represented to the knight that it was tempting +God to provoke the lion in order to force him out, which he wished to +have done, he very reluctantly, and altogether against his will, had +allowed the door to be closed. + +"What dost thou think of this, Sancho?" said Don Quixote. "Are there any +enchantments that can prevail against true valor? The enchanters may be +able to rob me of good fortune, but of fortitude and courage they can +not." + +Sancho paid the crowns, the carter put to, the keeper kissed Don +Quixote's hands for the bounty bestowed upon him, and promised to give +an account of the valiant exploit to the King himself, as soon as he saw +him at court. + +"Then," said Don Quixote, "if his Majesty should happen to ask who +performed it, you must say The Knight of the Lions; for it is my desire +that into this the name I have hitherto borne of Knight of the Rueful +Countenance be from this time forward changed, altered, transformed, and +turned." + + +THE ADVENTURE OF THE ENCHANTED BARK + +Upon proceeding with their journey, they discovered a small boat, +without oars or any other gear, that lay at the water's edge tied to the +stem of a tree growing on the bank. Don Quixote looked all around, and +seeing nobody, at once, without more ado, dismounted from Rocinante and +bade Sancho get down from Dapple and tie both beasts securely to the +trunk of a poplar or willow that stood there. Sancho asked him the +reason of this sudden dismounting and tying. Don Quixote made answer, +"Thou must know, Sancho, that this bark here is plainly, and without the +possibility of any alternative, calling and inviting me to enter it, and +in it go to give aid to some knight or other person of distinction in +need of it, who is no doubt in some sore strait; for this is the way of +the books of chivalry and of the enchanters who figure and speak in +them. When a knight is involved in some difficulty from which he cannot +be delivered save by the hand of another knight, though they may be at a +distance of two or three thousand leagues or more one from the other, +they either take him up on a cloud, or they provide a bark for him to +get into, and in less than the twinkling of an eye they carry him where +they will and where his help is required; and so, Sancho, this bark is +placed here for the same purpose; this is as true as that it is now day, +and ere this one passes tie Dapple and Rocinante together, and then in +God's hand be it to guide us; for I would not hold back from embarking, +though bare-footed friars were to beg me." + +"As that's the case," said Sancho, "and your worship chooses to give in +to these--I don't know if I may call them absurdities--at every turn, +there's nothing for it but to obey and bow the head, bearing in mind the +proverb, 'Do as thy master bids thee, and sit down to table with him;' +but for all that, for the sake of easing my conscience, I want to warn +your worship that it is my opinion this bark is no enchanted one, but +belongs to some of the fishermen of the river, for they catch the best +shad in the world here." + +As Sancho said this, he tied the beasts, leaving them to the care and +protection of the enchanters with sorrow enough in his heart. Don +Quixote bade him not be uneasy about deserting the animals, for he who +would carry themselves over such longinquous roads and regions would +take care to feed them. + +"I don't understand that logiquous," said Sancho, "nor have I ever heard +the word all the days of my life." + +"Longinquous," replied Don Quixote, "means far off; but it is no wonder +thou dost not understand it, for thou art not bound to know Latin, like +some who pretend to know it and don't." + +"Now they are tied," said Sancho; "what are we to do next?" + +"What?" said Don Quixote, "cross ourselves and weigh anchor; I mean, +embark and cut the moorings by which the bark is held;" and jumping into +it, followed by Sancho, he cut the rope, and the bark began to drift +away slowly from the bank. But when Sancho saw himself somewhere about +two yards out in the river, he began to tremble and give himself up for +lost; but nothing distressed him more than hearing Dapple bray and +seeing Rocinante struggling to get loose, and said he to his master, +"Dapple is braying in grief at our leaving him, and Rocinante is trying +to escape and plunge in after us. O dear friends, peace be with you, and +may this madness that is taking us away from you, turned into sober +sense, bring us back to you." + +And with this he fell weeping so bitterly, that Don Quixote said to him, +sharply and angrily, "What art thou afraid of, cowardly creature? What +art thou weeping at, heart of butter-paste? Who pursues or molests thee, +thou soul of a tame mouse? What dost thou want, unsatisfied in the very +heart of abundance? Art thou, perchance, tramping barefoot over the +mountains, instead of being seated on a bench like an archduke on the +tranquil stream of this pleasant river, from which in a short space we +shall come out upon the broad sea? But we must have already emerged and +gone seven hundred or eight hundred leagues; and if I had here an +astrolabe to take the altitude of the pole, I could tell thee how many +we have traveled, though either I know little, or we have already +crossed or shall shortly cross the equinoctial line which parts the two +opposite poles midway." + +"And when we come to that line your worship speaks of," said Sancho, +"how far shall we have gone?" + +"Very far," said Don Quixote, "for of the three hundred and sixty +degrees that this terraqueous globe contains, as computed by Ptolemy, +the greatest cosmographer known, we shall have traveled one-half when we +come to the line I spoke of." + +"By God," said Sancho, "your worship gives me a nice authority for what +you say, putrid Dolly something transmogrified, or whatever it is." + +Don Quixote laughed at the interpretation Sancho put upon "computed," +and the name of the cosmographer Ptolemy. + + * * * * * + +"I can see with my own eyes," said Sancho, "that we have not moved five +yards away from the bank, or shifted two yards from where the animals +stand, for there are Rocinante and Dapple in the very same place where +we left them; and watching a point, as I do now, I swear by all that's +good, we are not stirring or moving at the pace of an ant." + +They now came in sight of some large water mills that stood in the +middle of the river,[462-1] and the instant Don Quixote saw them he +cried out to Sancho, "Seest thou there, my friend? there stands the +city, castle, or fortress, where there is, no doubt, some knight in +durance, or ill-used queen, or infanta, or princess, in aid of whom I am +brought hither." + +"What the devil city, fortress, or castle is your worship talking about, +senor?" said Sancho; "don't you see that those are mills that stand in +the river to grind corn?" + +"Hold thy peace, Sancho," said Don Quixote; "though they look like mills +they are not so; I have already told thee that enchantments transform +things and change their proper shapes; I do not mean to say they really +change them from one form into another, but that it seems as though they +did, as experience proved in the transformation of Dulcinea, sole refuge +of my hopes." + +By this time, the boat, having reached the middle of the stream, began +to move less slowly than hitherto. The millers belonging to the mills, +when they saw the boat coming down the river, and on the point of being +sucked in by the draught of the wheels, ran out in haste, several of +them, with long poles to stop it, and being all mealy, with faces and +garments covered with flour, they presented a sinister appearance. They +raised loud shouts, crying, "Devils of men, where are you going to? Are +you mad? Do you want to drown yourselves, or dash yourselves to pieces +among these wheels?" + +"Did I not tell thee, Sancho," said Don Quixote at this, "that we had +reached the place where I am to show what the might of my arm can do? +See what ruffians and villains come out against me; see what monsters +oppose me; see what hideous countenances come to frighten us! You shall +soon see, scoundrels!" And then standing up in the boat he began in a +loud voice to hurl threats at the millers, exclaiming, "Ill-conditioned +and worse-counselled rabble, restore to liberty and freedom the person +ye hold in durance in this your fortress or prison, high or low or of +whatever rank or quality he be, for I am Don Quixote of La Mancha, +otherwise called the Knight of the Lions, for whom, by the disposition +of Heaven above, it is reserved to give a happy issue to this +adventure;" and so saying he drew his sword and began making passes in +the air at the millers, who, hearing but not understanding all this +nonsense, strove to stop the boat, which was now getting into the +rushing channel of the wheels. + +[Illustration: SANCHO FELL ON HIS KNEES] + +Sancho, in very real despair, fell upon his knees devoutly appealing to +Heaven to deliver him from such imminent peril; which it did by the +activity and quickness of the millers, who, pushing against the boat +with their poles, stopped it, not, however, without upsetting it and +throwing Don Quixote and Sancho into the water; and lucky it was for Don +Quixote that he could swim like a goose, though the weight of his armor +carried him twice to the bottom; and had it not been for the millers, +who plunged in and hoisted them both out, it would have been Troy town +with the pair of them. As soon as, more drenched than thirsty, they were +landed, Sancho went down on his knees and with clasped hands and eyes +raised to heaven, prayed a long and fervent prayer to God to deliver him +evermore from the rash projects and attempts of his master. + +The surprised fishermen, the owners of the boat, which the mill-wheels +had knocked to pieces, now came up, and seeing it smashed they proceeded +to strip Sancho and to demand payment for it from Don Quixote; but he +with great calmness, just as if nothing had happened to him, told the +millers and fishermen that he would pay for the bark most cheerfully, on +condition that they delivered up to him, free and unhurt, the person or +persons that were in durance in that castle of theirs. + +"What persons or what castle art thou talking of, madman?" said one of +the millers; "art thou for carrying off the people who come to grind +corn in these mills?" + +"That's enough," said Don Quixote to himself, "it would be preaching in +the desert to attempt by entreaties to induce this rabble to do any +virtuous action. In this adventure two mighty enchanters must have +encountered one another, and one frustrates what the other attempts; one +provided a bark for me, and the other upset me; God help us, this world +is all machinations and schemes at cross purposes one with the other. I +can do no more." And then turning towards the mills he said aloud, +"Friends, whoe'er ye be that are immured in that prison, forgive me +that, to my misfortune and yours, I cannot deliver you from your misery; +this adventure is doubtless reserved and destined for some other +knight." + +So saying he settled with the fishermen, and paid fifty reals for the +boat, which Sancho handed to them very much against the grain, saying, +"With a couple more bark businesses like this we shall have sunk our +whole capital, which is none too large." + +The fishermen and the millers stood staring in amazement at the two +figures, so very different to all appearance from ordinary men, and were +wholly unable to make out the drift of the observations and questions +Don Quixote addressed to them; and coming to the conclusion that they +were madmen, they left them and betook themselves, the millers to their +mills, and the fishermen to their huts. + +Whereupon Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, like a pair of senseless animals +themselves, returned to the animals they had left, and thus ended the +adventure of the enchanted bark. + + +THE ADVENTURE OF THE WOODEN HORSE + + NOTE.--Don Quixote and Sancho his squire, having encountered in a + forest a certain duke and his duchess, had been invited to pass + some time in the ducal palace. The duke and his friends, bent on + amusement, persuaded Don Quixote that a vile enchanter, angered at + some ladies, had for punishment caused heavy beards to grow on + their faces. They even showed him the ladies, impersonated, of + course, by men; and they persuaded him that the beards would be + removed if he, with his squire, would take a long ride on a famous + wooden horse, Clavileno. + + +And now night came, and with it the appointed time for the arrival of +the famous horse Clavileno, the non-appearance of which was already +beginning to make Don Quixote uneasy, for it struck him that, as +Malambruno[467-1] was so long about sending it, either he himself was +not the knight for whom the adventure was reserved, or else Malambruno +did not dare to meet him in single combat. But lo! suddenly there came +into the garden four wild-men all clad in green ivy bearing on their +shoulders a great wooden horse. They placed it on its feet on the +ground, and one of the wild-men said, "Let the knight who has heart for +it mount this machine." + +Here Sancho exclaimed, "I don't mount, for neither have I the heart nor +am I a knight." + +"And let the squire, if he has one," continued the wild-man, "take his +seat on the croup, and let him trust the valiant Malambruno; for by no +sword save his, nor by the malice of any other, shall he be assailed. +It is but to turn this peg the horse has in his neck, and he will bear +them through the air to where Malambruno awaits them; but lest the vast +elevation of their course should make them giddy, their eyes must be +covered until the horse neighs, which will be the sign of their having +completed their journey." + +With these words, leaving Clavileno behind them, they retired with easy +dignity the way they came. As soon as the Distressed One[468-2] saw the +horse, almost in tears she exclaimed to Don Quixote, "Valiant knight, +the promise of Malambruno has proved trustworthy; the horse has come, +our beards are growing, and by every hair in them we all of us implore +thee to shave and shear us, as it is only mounting him with thy squire +and making a happy beginning with your new journey." + +"That I will, Senora Countess Trifaldi," said Don Quixote, "most gladly +and with right good will, without stopping to take a cushion or put on +my spurs, so as not to lose time, such is my desire to see you, +senora, and all these duennas shaved clean." + +"That I won't," said Sancho, "with good will or bad will or any way at +all; and if this shaving can't be done without my mounting on the croup, +my master had better look out for another squire to go with him, and +these ladies for some other way of making their faces smooth; I'm no +witch to have a taste for traveling through the air. What would my +islanders say when they heard their governor was going strolling about +on the winds?"[468-3] + +"Friend Sancho," said the duke at this, "the island that I have promised +you is not a moving one, or one that will run away; it has roots so +deeply buried in the bowels of the earth that it will be no easy matter +to pluck it up or shift it from where it is; you know as well as I do +that there is no sort of office of any importance that is not obtained +by a bribe of some kind, great or small; well, then, that which I look +to receive for this government is that you go with your master Don +Quixote, and bring this memorable adventure to a conclusion; and whether +you return on Clavileno as quickly as his speed seems to promise, or +adverse fortune brings you back on foot traveling as a pilgrim from +hostel to hostel and from inn to inn, you will always find your island +on your return where you left it, and your islanders with the same +eagerness they have always had to receive you as their governor, and my +good will will remain the same; doubt not the truth of this, Senor +Sancho, for that would be grievously wronging my disposition to serve +you." + +"Say no more, senor," said Sancho; "I am a poor squire and not equal to +carrying so much courtesy; let my master mount; bandage my eyes and +commit me to God's care, and tell me if I may commend myself to our Lord +or call upon the angels to protect me when we go towering up there." + +To this the Trifaldi[469-4] made answer, "Sancho, you may freely commend +yourself to God or whom you will; for Malambruno, though an enchanter, +is a Christian, and works his enchantments with great circumspection, +taking very good care not to fall out with any one." + +"Well then," said Sancho, "God and the most holy Trinity give me help!" + +"Cover thine eyes, Sancho," said Don Quixote, "and mount; for one who +sends for us from lands so far distant cannot mean to deceive us for the +sake of the paltry glory to be derived from deceiving persons who trust +in him; though all should turn out the contrary of what I hope, no +malice will be able to dim the glory of having undertaken this exploit." + +"Let us be off, senor," said Sancho, "for I have taken the beards and +tears of the ladies deeply to heart, and I shan't eat a bite to relish +it until I have seen them restored to their former smoothness. Mount, +your worship, and blindfold yourself, for if I am to go on the croup, it +is plain the rider in the saddle must mount first." + +"That is true," said Don Quixote, and, taking a handkerchief out of his +pocket, he begged the Distressed One to bandage his eyes very carefully; +but after having them bandaged he uncovered them, saying, "If my memory +does not deceive me, I have read in Virgil of the Palladium of Troy, a +wooden horse the Greeks offered to the goddess Pallas, which was big +with armed knights, who afterwards destroyed Troy; so it would be as +well to see, first of all, what Clavileno has in his stomach." + +"There is no occasion," said the Distressed One; "I will be bail for +him, and I know that Malambruno has nothing tricky or treacherous about +him; you may mount without any fear, Senor Don Quixote; on my head be it +if any harm befalls you." + +Don Quixote thought that to say anything further with regard to his +safety would be putting his courage in an unfavorable light; and so, +without more words, he mounted Clavileno, and tried the peg, which +turned easily; and as he had no stirrups and his legs hung down, he +looked like nothing so much as a figure in some Roman triumph painted or +embroidered on a Flemish tapestry. + +Much against the grain, and very slowly, Sancho proceeded to mount, and, +after settling himself as well as he could on the croup, found it rather +hard and not at all soft, and asked the duke if it would be possible to +oblige him with a pad of some kind, or a cushion; even if it were off +the couch of his lady the duchess, or the bed of one of the pages; as +the haunches of that horse were more like marble than wood. On this the +Trifaldi observed that Clavileno would not bear any kind of harness or +trappings, and that his best plan would be to sit sideways like a woman, +as in that way he would not feel the hardness so much. + +Sancho did so, and bidding them farewell, allowed his eyes to be +bandaged, but immediately afterwards uncovered them again, and looking +tenderly and tearfully on those in the garden, bade them help him in his +present strait with plenty of Paternosters and Ave Marias, that God +might provide some one to say as many for them, whenever they found +themselves in a similar emergency. + +At this Don Quixote exclaimed, "Art thou on the gallows, thief, or at +thy last moment, to use pitiful entreaties of that sort? Cover thine +eyes, cover thine eyes, abject animal, and let not thy fear escape thy +lips, at least, in my presence." + +"Let them blindfold me," said Sancho; "as you won't let me commend +myself or be commended to God, is it any wonder if I am afraid there is +a legion of devils about here that will carry us off?" + +They were then blindfolded, and Don Quixote, finding himself settled to +his satisfaction, felt for the peg, and the instant he placed his +fingers on it, all the duennas and all who stood by lifted up their +voices exclaiming, "God guide thee, valiant knight! God be with thee, +intrepid squire! Now, now ye go cleaving the air more swiftly than an +arrow! Now ye begin to amaze and astonish all who are gazing at you from +the earth! Take care not to wobble about, valiant Sancho! Mind thou fall +not, for thy fall will be worse than that rash youth's who tried to +steer the chariot of his father the Sun!"[472-5] + +As Sancho heard the voices, clinging tightly to his master and winding +his arms round him, he said, "Senor, how do they make out we are going +up so high, if their voices reach us here and they seem to be speaking +quite close to us?" + +"Don't mind that, Sancho," said Don Quixote; "for as affairs of this +sort and flights like this are out of the common course of things, you +can see and hear as much as you like a thousand leagues off; but don't +squeeze me so tight or thou wilt upset me; and really I know not what +thou hast to be uneasy or frightened at, for I can safely swear I never +mounted a smoother-going steed all the days of my life; one would fancy +we never stirred from one place. Banish fear, my friend, for indeed +everything is going as it ought, and we have the wind astern." + +"That's true," said Sancho, "for such a strong wind comes against me on +this side, that it seems as if the people were blowing on me with a +thousand pair of bellows;" which was the case; they were puffing at him +with a great pair of bellows; for the whole adventure was so well +planned by the duke, the duchess, and their majordomo, that nothing was +omitted to make it perfectly successful. + +Don Quixote now, feeling the blast, said, "Beyond a doubt, Sancho, we +must have already reached the second region of the air, where the hail +and snow are generated; the thunder, the lightning, and the thunderbolts +are engendered in the third region, and if we go on ascending at this +rate, we shall shortly plunge into the region of fire, and I know not +how to regulate this peg, so as not to mount up where we shall be +burned." + +And now they began to warm their faces, from a distance, with tow that +could easily be set on fire and extinguished again, fixed on the end of +a cane. + +On feeling the heat Sancho said, "May I die if we are not already in +that fire place, or very near it, for a good part of my beard has been +singed, and I have a mind, senor, to uncover and see whereabouts we +are." + +"Do nothing of the kind," said Don Quixote; "remember the true story of +the licentiate Torralva, that the devils carried flying through the air +riding on a stick with his eyes shut; who in twelve hours reached Rome +and dismounted at Torre di Nona, which is a street of the city, and saw +the whole sack and storming and the death of Bourbon, and was back in +Madrid the next morning, where he gave an account of all he had seen; +and he said, moreover, that as he was going through the air, the devil +bade him open his eyes, and he did so, and saw himself so near the body +of the moon, so it seemed to him, that he could have laid hold of it +with his hand, and that he did not dare to look at the earth lest he +should be seized with giddiness. So that, Sancho, it will not do for us +to uncover ourselves, for he who has us in charge will be responsible +for us; and perhaps we are gaining an altitude and mounting up to enable +us to descend at one swoop on the Kingdom of Kandy, as the saker or +falcon does on the heron, so as to seize it however high it may soar; +and though it seems to us not half an hour since we left the garden, +believe me we must have travelled a great distance." + +The duke, the duchess, and all in the garden were listening to the +conversation of the two heroes, and were beyond measure amused by it; +and now, desirous of putting a finishing touch to this rare and +well-contrived adventure, they applied a light to Clavileno's tail with +some tow, and the horse, being full of squibs and crackers, immediately +blew up with a prodigious noise, and brought Don Quixote and Sancho +Panza to the ground half singed. By this time the bearded band of +duennas, the Trifaldi and all, had vanished from the garden, and those +that remained lay stretched on the ground as if in swoon. Don Quixote +and Sancho got up rather shaken, and looking about them, were filled +with amazement at finding themselves in the same garden from which they +had started, and seeing such a number of people stretched on the ground; +and their astonishment was increased when at one side of the garden they +perceived a tall lance planted in the ground, and hanging from it by +two cords of green silk, a smooth, white parchment on which there was +the following inscription in large gold letters: "The illustrious Don +Quixote of La Mancha has, by merely attempting it, finished and +concluded the adventure of the Countess Trifaldi, otherwise called the +Distressed Duenna; Malambruno is now satisfied on every point, the chins +of the duennas are now smooth and clean, and when the squirely +flagellation shall have been completed, the white dove shall find +herself delivered from the pestiferous hawks that persecute her,[476-6] +and in the arms of her beloved mate; for such is the decree of the sage +Merlin, arch-enchanter of enchanters." + +[Illustration: THE HORSE BLEW UP, WITH A PRODIGIOUS NOISE] + +As soon as Don Quixote had read the inscription on the parchment he +perceived clearly that it referred to the disenchantment of Dulcinea, +and returning hearty thanks to Heaven that he had, with so little +danger, achieved so grand an exploit as to restore to their former +complexion the countenances of those venerable duennas, now no longer +visible, he advanced towards the duke and duchess, who had not yet come +to themselves, and taking the duke by the hand he said, "Be of good +cheer, worthy sir, be of good cheer; it's nothing at all; the adventure +is now over and without any harm done, as the inscription fixed on this +post shows plainly." + +The duke came to himself slowly and like one recovering consciousness +after a heavy sleep, and the duchess and all who had fallen prostrate +about the garden did the same, with such demonstrations of wonder and +amazement that they would have almost persuaded one that what they +pretended so adroitly in jest had happened to them in reality. The duke +read the placard with half-shut eyes, and then ran to embrace Don +Quixote with open arms, declaring him to be the best knight that had +ever been seen in any age. Sancho kept looking about for the Distressed +One, to see what her face was like without the beard, and if she was as +fair as her elegant person promised; but they told him that, the instant +Clavileno descended flaming through the air and came to the ground, the +whole band of duennas with the Trifaldi vanished, and that they were +already shaved and without a stump left. + +The duchess asked Sancho how he had fared on that long journey, to which +Sancho replied, "I felt, senora, that we were flying through the region +of fire, as my master told me, and I wanted to uncover my eyes for a +bit; but my master, when I asked leave to uncover myself, would not let +me; but as I have a little bit of curiosity about me, and a desire to +know what is forbidden and kept from me, quietly and without any one +seeing me I drew aside the handkerchief covering my eyes ever so little, +close to my nose, and from underneath looked towards the earth, and it +seemed to me that it was altogether no bigger than a grain of mustard +seed, and that the men walking on it were little bigger than hazel nuts; +so you may see how high we must have got to them." + +To this the duchess said, "Sancho, my friend, mind what you are saying; +it seems you could not have seen the earth, but only the men walking on +it; it is plain that if the earth looked to you like a grain of mustard +seed, and each man like a hazel nut, one man alone would have covered +the whole earth." + +"That is true," said Sancho, "but for all that I got a glimpse of a bit +of one side of it, and saw it all." + +"Take care, Sancho," said the duchess; "with a bit of one side one does +not see the whole of what one looks at." + +"I don't understand that way of looking at things," said Sancho; "I only +know that your ladyship will do well to bear in mind that as we were +flying by enchantment, so I might have seen the whole earth and all the +men by enchantment, whatever way I looked; and if you won't believe +this, no more will you believe that, uncovering myself nearly to the +eyebrows, I saw myself so close to the sky that there was not a palm and +a half between me and it; and by everything that I can swear by, senora, +it is mighty great! And it so happened we came by where the seven +she-goats[478-7] are, and by God and upon my soul, as in my youth I was +a goatherd in my own country, as soon as I saw them I felt a longing to +be among them for a little, and if I had not given way to it I think I'd +have burst. So I come and take, and what do I do? without saying +anything to anybody, not even to my master, softly and quietly I got +down from Clavileno and amused myself with the goats--which are like +violets, like flowers--for nigh three-quarters of an hour; and Clavileno +never stirred or moved from one spot." + +"And while the good Sancho was amusing himself with the goats," said the +duke, "how did Senor Don Quixote amuse himself?" + +To which Don Quixote replied, "As all these things and such like +occurrences are out of the ordinary course of nature, it is no wonder +that Sancho says what he does; for my own part I can only say that I +did not uncover my eyes, either above or below, nor did I see sky or +earth or sea or shore. It is true I felt that I was passing through the +region of the air, and even that I touched that of fire; but that we +passed farther I cannot believe; for the region of fire being between +the heaven of the moon and the last region of the air, we could not have +reached that heaven where the seven she-goats Sancho speaks of are +without being burned; and as we were not burned, either Sancho is lying +or Sancho is dreaming." + +"I am neither lying nor dreaming," said Sancho; "only ask me the tokens +of those same goats, and you'll see by that whether I'm telling the +truth or not." + +"Tell us them then, Sancho," said the duchess. + +"Two of them," said Sancho, "are green, two blood-red, two blue, and one +a mixture of all colors." + +"An odd sort of goat, that," said the duke; "in this earthly region of +ours we have no such colors; I mean goats of such colors." + +"That's very plain," said Sancho; "of course there must be a difference +between the goats of heaven and the goats of the earth." + +"Tell me, Sancho," said the duke, "did you see any he-goat among those +she-goats?" + +"No senor," said Sancho; "but I have heard say that none ever passed the +horns of the moon." + +They did not care to ask him anything more about his journey, for they +saw he was in the vein to go rambling all over the heavens giving an +account of everything that went on there, without having ever stirred +from the garden. Such, in short, was the end of the adventure of the +Distressed Duenna, which gave the duke and duchess laughing matter not +only for the time being, but for all their lives, and Sancho something +to talk about for ages, if he lived so long. + + +THE STORY OF THE LASHES + + NOTE.--It had been prophesied, by a pretended enchanter, that the + Lady Dulcinea del Toboso could be freed from the enchantment under + which a wicked magician had placed her, if Sancho would of his own + free will give himself three thousand three hundred lashes. + + +Sancho went along anything but cheerful, and finally he said to his +master, "Surely, senor, I'm the most unlucky doctor in the world; +there's many a physician that, after killing the sick man he had to +cure, requires to be paid for his work, though it is only signing a bit +of a list of medicines, that the apothecary and not he makes up, and, +there, his labor is over; but with me, though to cure somebody else +costs me drops of blood, smacks, pinches, pin-proddings, and whippings, +nobody gives me a farthing." + +"Thou art right, Sancho, my friend," said Don Quixote, "and I can say +for myself that if thou wouldst have payment for the lashes on account +of the disenchantment of Dulcinea, I would have given it to thee freely +ere this. I am not sure, however, whether payment will comport with the +cure, and I would not have the reward interfere with the medicine. +Still, I think there will be nothing lost by trying it; consider how +much thou wouldst have, Sancho, and whip thyself at once, and pay +thyself down with thine own hand, as thou hast money of mine." + +At this proposal Sancho opened his eyes and his ears a palm's breadth +wide, and in his heart very readily acquiesced in whipping himself, and +said he to his master, "Very well then, senor, I'll hold myself in +readiness to gratify your worship's wishes if I'm to profit by it; for +the love of my wife and children forces me to seem grasping. Let your +worship say how much you will pay me for each lash I give myself." + +"If, Sancho," replied Don Quixote, "I were to requite thee as the +importance and nature of the cure deserves, the treasures of Venice, the +mines of Potosi, would be insufficient to pay thee. See what thou hast +of mine, and put a price on each lash." + +"Of them," said Sancho, "there are three thousand three hundred and odd; +of these I have given myself five, the rest remain; let the five go for +the odd ones, and let us take the three thousand three hundred, which at +a quarter real apiece (for I will not take less though the whole world +should bid) make three thousand three hundred quarter reals; the three +thousand are one thousand five hundred half reals, which make seven +hundred and fifty reals; and the three hundred make a hundred and fifty +half reals, which come to seventy-five reals, which added to the seven +hundred and fifty make eight hundred and twenty-five reals in all. These +I will stop out of what I have belonging to your worship, and I'll +return home rich and content, though well whipped." + +"O blessed Sancho! O dear Sancho!" said Don Quixote; "how we shall be +bound to serve thee, Dulcinea and I, all the days of our lives that +Heaven may grant us! If she returns to her lost shape (and it cannot be +but that she will) her misfortune will have been good fortune, and my +defeat a most happy triumph. But look here, Sancho; when wilt thou begin +the scourging? For if thou wilt make short work of it, I will give a +hundred reals over and above." + +"When?" said Sancho; "this night without fail. Let your worship order it +so that we pass it out of doors and in the open air, and I'll scarify +myself." + +Night, longed for by Don Quixote with the greatest anxiety in the world, +came at last. They made their way at length in among some pleasant trees +that stood a little distance from the road, and there vacating +Rocinante's saddle and Dapple's pack-saddle, they stretched themselves +on the green grass and made their supper off Sancho's stores, and he, +making a powerful and flexible whip out of Dapple's halter and +headstall, retreated about twenty paces from his master among some beech +trees. Don Quixote, seeing him march off with such resolution and +spirit, said to him, "Take care, my friend, not to cut thyself to +pieces; allow the lashes to wait for one another, and do not be in so +great a hurry as to run thyself out of breath midway; I mean, do not lay +on so strenuously as to make thy life fail thee before thou hast reached +the desired number; and that thou mayest not lose by a card too much or +too little, I will station myself apart and count on my rosary here the +lashes thou givest thyself. May heaven help thee as thy good intention +deserves." + +"'Pledges don't distress a good paymaster,'" said Sancho; "I mean to lay +on in such a way as without killing myself to hurt myself, for in that, +no doubt, lies the essence of this miracle." + +He then stripped himself from the waist upwards, and snatching up the +rope he began to lay on and Don Quixote to count the lashes. He might +have given himself six or eight when he began to think the joke no +trifle, and its price very low; and holding his hand for a moment, he +told his master that he cried off on the score of a blind bargain, for +each of those lashes ought to be paid for at the rate of half a real +instead of a quarter. + +"Go on, Sancho, my friend, and be not disheartened," said Don Quixote; +"for I double the stakes as to price." + +"In that case," said Sancho, "in God's hand be it, and let it rain +lashes." But the rogue no longer laid them on his shoulders, but laid on +to the trees, with such groans every now and then, that one would have +thought at each of them his soul was being plucked up by the roots. Don +Quixote, touched to the heart, and fearing he might make an end of +himself, and that through Sancho's imprudence he might miss his own +object, said to him, "As thou livest, my friend, let the matter rest +where it is, for the remedy seems to me a very rough one, and it will be +well to have patience; Rome was not built in a day. If I have not +reckoned wrong thou hast given thyself over a thousand lashes; that is +enough for the present." + +"No, no, senor," replied Sancho; "it shall never be said of me, 'The +money paid, the arms broken'; go back a little further, your worship, and +let me give myself at any rate a thousand lashes more; for in a couple +of bouts like this we shall have finished off the lot, with even cloth +to spare." + +"As thou art in such a willing mood," said Don Quixote, "may heaven aid +thee; lay on and I'll retire." + +Sancho returned to his task with so much resolution that he soon had the +bark stripped off several trees, such was the severity with which he +whipped himself; and one time, raising his voice, and giving a beech a +tremendous lash, he cried out, "Here dies Samson, and all with him!" + +At the sound of his piteous cry and of the stroke of the cruel lash, Don +Quixote ran to him at once, and seizing the twisted halter, said to him: + +"Heaven forbid, Sancho my friend, that to please me thou shouldst lose +thy life, which is needed for the support of thy wife and children; let +Dulcinea wait for a better opportunity, and I will have patience until +thou hast gained fresh strength so as to finish off this business to the +satisfaction of everybody." + +"As your worship will have it so, senor," said Sancho, "so be it; but +throw your cloak over my shoulders, for I'm sweating and I don't want to +take cold; it's a risk that novice disciplinants run." + +Don Quixote obeyed, and stripping himself covered Sancho, who slept +until the sun woke him; they then resumed their journey, which for the +time being they brought to an end at a village that lay three leagues +farther on. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[433-1] The _olla_ is the national dish of Spain, and is a stew composed +of beef, bacon, sausage, chick-peas and cabbage, with any other meat or +vegetables which may be on hand. + +[434-2] A _morion_ is a helmet without visor or beaver for protecting +the face. + +[435-3] Alexander the Great was so fond of his horse Bucephalus that +when it died in India during Alexander's sojourn there, he founded a +city which he called Bucephalia, in honor of the steed. + +[435-4] The Cid was the greatest of Spanish heroes. + +[436-5] _Rocin_ is, in Spanish, a horse used for labor, as distinguished +from one kept for pleasure or for personal use; _ante_ means _before_. +Thus the name Rocinante meant that the horse had formerly been a hack, +or work horse. + +[436-6] Amadis de Gaul was the hero of one of the most celebrated +romances of chivalry. + +[438-1] When Don Quixote first set out on his quest of adventures, he +was unattended. Having been forced, however, to return to his native +town, he persuaded a peasant, Sancho Panza by name, to go with him and +serve as his squire. While Sancho was a hard-headed, practical man, he +was carried away by Don Quixote's promises of reward, and in time, +through listening constantly to the Don's conversation, he became almost +as mad as his master. + +[440-2] Briareus was a famous giant of ancient mythology, who had fifty +heads and one hundred arms. + +[440-3] By _sage_ is here meant an enchanter or magician. + +[441-1] Don Quixote and Sancho had remained in terror through an entire +night, fancying from the noise they heard that they were near some +terrible danger. In the morning they found that this noise proceeded +from some fulling mills in the neighborhood. + +[442-2] Mambrino was a Moorish king, mentioned in some of the romantic +poems which _Don Quixote_ is intended to burlesque. He possessed an +enchanted golden helmet which rendered the wearer invulnerable, and +which was naturally much sought after by all the knights. Rinaldo +finally obtained possession of it. Don Quixote, whose helmet had been +destroyed, had sworn that he would lead a life of particular hardship +until he had made himself master of the wonderful helmet. + +[445-3] The _piece of eight_ is equal to about one dollar of American +money. The _maravedi_ is a small copper coin, of the value of three +mills in American money. + +[446-4] The _god of smithies_ was the old Greek and Roman god Hephaestus, +or Vulcan; the _god of battles_ was Mars. + +[446-5] _Martino_ is a blunder of Sancho's for _Mambrino_. + +[448-1] This was a gentlemanly person whom Don Quixote had met on the +road a short time before. + +[462-1] In certain rivers of Spain, floating mills, moored in +mid-stream, were common. + +[467-1] This was the wicked enchanter who had caused the beards to grow. + +[468-2] This was the leader of the sorrowful bearded ladies. + +[468-3] The duke had promised to bestow on Sancho the government of an +island. + +[469-4] The name of the "Distressed One." + +[472-5] This was Phaeton, whose story is told in Volume II. + +[476-6] Don Quixote and Sancho Panza had been persuaded that Dulcinea +del Toboso, Don Quixote's lady, was under enchantment, from which she +could not be released until Sancho had given himself three thousand +three hundred lashes. + +[478-7] The "seven she-goats" were the Pleiades. + + + + +PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES + + +NOTE.--The pronunciation of difficult words is indicated by respelling +them phonetically. _N_ is used to indicate the French nasal sound; _K_, +the sound of _ch_ in German; _ue_, the sound of the German _ue_, and +French _u_; _oe_, the sound of _oe_ in foreign languages. + + + ACTAEON, _ak tee' on_ + AENEAS SYLVIUS, _ee nee' as sil' vy us_ + ALLEGHANIES, _al'' le gay' niz_ + AESCHYLUS, _es' ky lus_ + AMADIS, _am' a dis_ + BABIECA, _ba be ay' ka_ + BENOIT, _ben wah'_ + BOSE, _bo' zeh_ + BRIAREUS, _bri a' re us_ + BUCEPHALUS, _bu sef' a lus_ + CASA GUIDI, _kah' sa gwee' dee_ + CERVANTES, SAAVEDRA, MIGUEL DE, _sur van' teez, sah ved' ra, mee + gayl' deh_ + CHINGACHGOOK, _chin gahk' gook_ + CHOTEAU, _sho to'_ + CHRISTIERN, _Kris' tee urn_ + CLAVILENO, _klah ve lay' nyo_ + DON QUIXOTE, _don kwiks' oat_, (Sp.) _don'' kee ho' tay_ + DU CHAILLU, _due shay lue'_ + HOTEL DES INVALIDES, _o tel' day zaN'' va'' leed'_ + MAMBRINO, _mam bree' no_ + MARTINO, _mar tee' no_ + MICHAEL AROUT, (Fr.) _mee shel' ah roo'_ + MOHICANS, _mo hee' kanz_ + MONTCALM, _mont cahm'_ + NGOBI, _ngo' bi_ + OLAUS MAGNUS, _o lay' us mag' nus_ + ORAN, _o rahn'_ + ORPHEON, _or fay oN'_ + PARA, _pah rah'_ + PARACELSUS, _par a sel' sus_ + PHAETHON, _fay' eh thon_ + PLEIADES, _plee' ya deez_ + POTOSI, _po to see'_ + PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, _pray' ree doo sheen'_ + PTOLEMY, _tol' e my_ + QUASHQUAMME, _quash guah' me_ + QUESADA, _kee sah' da_ + ROCINANTE, _ro'' see nahn' tay_ + RODERICH VICH ALPINE, _rod' rick vick al' pine_ + ST. GERMAIN, _saN zher'' maN'_ + SANCHO PANZA, _sang' ko pan' za_, (Sp.) _sahn' cha pahn' tha_ + SIOUX, _soo_ + SOUVESTRE, EMILE, _soo'' vestr', ay meel'_ + TETE ROUGE, _tate roozh_ + THOREAU, _tho' ro_, or _tho ro'_ + VERSAILLES, _vur saylz'_ + WILLAMETTE, _wil ah' met_ + XENIL, _hay' neel_ + + + + + Transcriber's Note + + Corrections + + 24 Muleteeer changed to Muleteer + 102 Neverthelesss changed to Nevertheless + 107 hugh changed to huge + 123 distiguish changed to distinguish + 139 postion changed to position + 191 fellow-ceatures changed to fellow-creatures + 196 immeditatively changed to meditatively + 219 and Tom Tolliver changed to and Tom Tulliver + 267 miscroscope changed to microscope + 314 acquintance changed to acquaintance + 369 round, I take it. changed to round, I take it." + 407 Goodnature changed to Good-nature + 417 profundly changed to profoundly + 420 Holden ready for the fight: changed to Holden ready for the fight." + 442 out, answered changed to out," answered + 468 senora changed to senora + 476 of enchanters. changed to of enchanters." + 482 Rosinante's saddle changed to Rocinante's saddle + 485 Actaeon changed to Actaeon + 485 Aeneas changed to AEneas + 485 Aeschyllus changed to AEschylus + 485 Buchephalus changed to Bucephalus + 485 Clavileno changed to Clavileno + 486 Orpheon changed to Orpheon + 486 Pleiadas changed to Pleiades + 486 Quashguamme changed to Quashquamme + 486 Tete changed to Tete + + Inconsistent hyphenation + + daylight / day-light + farmhouse / farm-house + firearms / fire-arms + highborn / high-born + homemade / home-made + lopsided / lop-sided + roadside / road-side + skylark / sky-lark + tipsy cake / tipsy-cake + tomorrow / to-morrow + upstream / up-stream + waterbreaker / water-breaker + + Other comments + + The footnote referred to by marker number 4 on page 30 was + printed on page 31. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 7, by +Charles H. 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